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OCCUPY ‘TILL I COME or … OCCUPY WALL STREET …which will it be? by Doug Krieger Chapter 29 – The False Prophet TALKING ABOUT MONEY HERE…
What’s ironic about the parable of the talents is the phrase in Luke 19:11-27 which is subtlety hidden in the Old English of the King James Version but glaringly visible in the Revised editions and perfectly fitting for the remainder of the parable; to wit: “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they [the crowds which had gathered around the home of Zacchaeus – shortly after Zacchaeus, a “chief tax collector,” was overwhelmed, after meeting Jesus at his dinner party, to give fourfold restitution to all from whom he had illicitly accused of “tax fraud” – sound familiar?] thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: ‘A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’” (vs. 11-13) In the KJV it says: “Occupy till I come.” So – “Occupy till I come” vs. “Do business till I come.” Now, again, mind you – this famous parable of the three who each received a talent/mina for “investment purposes” is right after the “rich young ruler” who couldn’t give up his riches in Luke 18:18-23 and then Jesus telling the discouraged disciples that “with God all things are possible” (even if you can’t squeeze through the eye of a needle because of your wealth) found in Luke 18:24-30. So, all these “money matters” precede the parable of the talents. You’d think that after the nouveau riche ruler and the IRS-style agent Zacchaeus, that we’d have enough money illustrations – but there’s always more on the topic – in that “money” has everyone’s number! Sitting around (occupying) as we understand it in laymen’s terms is not what Jesus had in mind – nor doing garrison duty as in an “occupying army.” He had BUSINESS in mind – and His illustration is tantalizing insofar as its exegesis concerns. Interestingly enough, the crowd, after witnessing the miracle of opening up the eyes of the blind man (Luke 18:35-43) and all this talk about money, was pumped about taking the kingdom by force – that “the kingdom of God would appear immediately.” Why, the “Gospel of the Kingdom” was ready to uncork its millions, thereby gratifying the masses – talk about the redistribution of wealth! After all, guys like this nouveau riche twerp and that government hack, Zacchaeus, had better cough it up now because we’re takin’ the kingdom by storm. And, just how in the world are we going to do that? Well, for starters, Jesus will pull it off and establish the Gospel of the Kingdom – fair and square – so what little of mine is mine (i.e., non-negotiable) and what little of yours (more of less) is mine (up for grabs, non-negotiable as well) – big of me, isn’t it?
The Pharisees tried to stop the mouths of the crowd declaring, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!” (Luke 19:38) and attempted to get Jesus to shut their mouths – but Jesus rebuked them and said that if the crowds wouldn’t cry out the rocks would! Well, that just about did it . . . especially disconcerting, were these same youngsters who Jesus blessed in Luke 18:15-17 running around the Temple at the time Jesus decided to head on up there again and crying out – yes, not only the masses crying out “Hosanna to the Son of David!” – but those little rascals running around the temple: How INDIGNANT (“they were indignant” – Matthew 21:1-16). But wait a minute, these religious power brokers got all pushed out of shape, not so much because folks were crying out Hosanna to the Son of David – especially the kids – but the children were doing this right after Jesus kicked out – YES – the MONEYCHANGERS from the temple for the second and last time (having done so at the commencement of His ministry in John 2:13-22). Now, you’d think that once was enough to throw these guys out – but there had to be a “second coming” – a coming which ultimately crucified the Lord of Glory – Jesus knew full well that the religio-politico leaders would really get ticked off…and they certainly did. Yet, the money issue and pushing around money – i.e., MAKING MONEY ON MONEY and worse yet, doing it in the name of religion, was probably the most heinous crime against humanity ever revealed during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Rich young ruler, tax collector, doing business with your talents (investment?), and finally, Jesus throwing out these money grubbers for the second time – it’s all there (including two additional parables about a tax collector repenting (man, what’s up with all these tax collectors?) and the self-righteous bigot who didn’t and then the parable of the widow, who was probably flat broke to begin with, and the judge who finally caved to her wishes (not that he feared man…especially the ones with the big bucks not backing his next effort to judge matters – see Luke 18:1-14). Yes, we have these little kids trying to get to Jesus, Who blessed them (despite the rebuke of Jesus’ disciples over having these kids come that close to Him – Luke 18:15-17 – after all – takes coin to take the Kingdom by force, doesn’t it? – and these kids don’t have a dime), and boy, did they bless Him – right after He threw out the money changers they cried out: HOSANNA, BLESSED IS HE THAT COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! By the way…”Hosanna” means SALVATION NOW! Don’t you love it? Sure, Jesus could have taken the Kingdom Now – but instead just before His Triumphal Entry He tells the disciples that He’s headed for Jerusalem to be crucified – man, what a way to bring in the Gospel of the Kingdom (Luke 18:31-34). But the twelve didn’t get the picture – they were totally blind-sided by the Gospel of the Kingdom either now or we’re really close to it, so let’s roll! No wonder then, right after He told them of His plans to get crucified and resurrected – to make a point – He heals this blind guy along the road coming into Jericho. The blind man was told that Jesus was coming and he too cried out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Naturally, the crowd control experts who had gone on before to pave the way heard this guy popping off and tried to shut him up…but to no avail… “he cried out all the more!” You see, we’ve got to get real desperate when we’re this blind – the rich young ruler was really blind. So was Zacchaeus the tax collector, for “he was rich” as well…but “he sought to SEE WHO JESUS WAS” … and when Jesus came to the place (Zacch was up in a sycamore because he was really short – not a bad place to be for a short guy to see Jesus!) … He (Jesus) looked up and saw him (Luke 19:3-5). And wouldn’t you know it, again, when Zacch invited Jesus to come to his pad for a meal – “they all grumbled” (which sounds like Matthew, another tax collector among the 12 blew it here, after all, he knew the tax racket and should have given Zacch some slack). Notwithstanding, Jesus knew that by accepting Zacch’s invitation to dinner that Zacchaeus would experience His HOSANNA: “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10 – and so much for Jesus not coming to the Jews the first time as their Messiah!) GETTING BACK TO OUR INVESTMENTS – DOING BUSINESS or OCCUPYING WALL STREET?
Each one of the TEN investors was told: “Do business till I come.” And, how fair is it for Jesus to commend Investor-Business Person #1 for turning his one “mina” into a ten spot? Imagine this: “Well done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.” (Luke 19:17) Grief, shouldn’t the rest of the story be one of sharing? What kind of a Gospel of the Kingdom is this? Then Investor #2 turned his mina of money into five minas – and the nobleman gave him jurisdiction over five cities (after, of course, the Gospel of the Kingdom had been “received” by the nobleman). And how come Jesus gave those greedy profiteers a pass…man, talk about discernment? The shocker is the third guy (and only three of the ten are mentioned) turns his talent (mina) into nothing more than the same mina he got in the first place! Bad move. Strange how some respond to getting off their rears and making good on what they’re given – all started out with the same amount – the end results were quite different. Furthermore, when it came to the reality of the Gospel of the Kingdom, instead of heavenly egalitarianism, we’ve got the nobleman (obviously Jesus Himself) giving a pot load of jurisdiction to the HAVES, instead of the HAVE NOTS! It would appear, and it certainly does, that Jesus was encouraging a little competition here – now, don’t accuse me of Jesus being a rank capitalist…but where was the State in all of this? I mean, tax collectors galore were the topic of the day but Jesus just passes over all that and starts talking about good business practices and being a hard nose about it too! Now, don’t get mad at me – and as you very well know, what we’re talking about here in these “talents” has to be measured against other Scriptures that talk about piling up “riches in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt and where thieves cannot break into and steal” – you know, the “gold, silver and precious stones” – not the “wood, hay and stubble” of the riches of this world; and, of course, the Epistle of James that rails on the filthy rich who could care less about the poor – but it’s obvious here, Jesus is looking for a profit! THE “GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM” IS A SHAM – ECONOMIC INTERRUPTUS Whoops! Now I know I’ve got you upset. They who give the impression that we must forsake the greed of physical Babylon – i.e., the United States of America – and truck off to Botswana or Germany in a committed effort to “flee Babylon” – are normally the same ones who proclaim some form of Liberation Theology (be it Black, Catholic or Sojourner-style economic egalitarianism). So, just in case your of the regrettable opinion that Jesus plans to practice some form of economic egalitarianism when the “manifestation” of the Kingdom takes place on the earth and think that the “Good News or Gospel of the Kingdom” means that the rich will finally get their comeuppance – allow me to disabuse you of this materialistic notion…a notion deeply ensconced in the minds of some who can’t wait for Kingdom Now living (no doubt some weird form of entitlement and six months a year of vacationing on the French Riviera), much like the crowd who wanted Jesus to go after those Romans when “they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.” Well, get ready for a shocker: “And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man (grief, a typical entrepreneurial capitalist, no doubt), collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow (this is still Jesus/the Nobleman speaking). Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’ (after all, let’s be fair here) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him” (Luke 19:22-26). There is absolutely nothing of egalitarianism involved here – absolutely nothing of economic fairness – nothing of redistributing wealth. Aren’t you mystified over the crowd when they heard from the nobleman that he wanted the mina from the guy who sat on his rear and did nothing with his investment/talent/mina but instead told those who stood by to take it away from the mina-miser and give it, not to the investor with five mina (that would have at least been fairer) but to the investor who had the most! “Give it to him who has 10 minas!” Who’s being wicked around here? The mina maker or the miniscule mina man? Not only does the mina maker get 10 cities over which to govern (somewhat prestigious, don’t you think?) but now he scores again and makes off with a bonanza from the guy who didn’t invest his mina – how fair can that be? Let these words of Jesus leave an indelible impression upon those who surmise (so wrongly) that the Gospel of the Kingdom rewards those who could care less about investing in the “kingdom is within you!” “And from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him!” Listen, I don’t want to sound preachy, but for goodness sakes alive, man, what is it that you don’t see about fairness in this parable? God is not fair – he is righteous and just. Furthermore, when the Kingdom does manifest – or, as some wrongly interpret, the Gospel of the Kingdom finally arrives – the hallmark of that kingdom kicks off with those who did something with their lives with the Lord, their talents, a huge kingdom benefit package (not that such authority or resource matters much in any event, especially when you’re in the presence of the King in the first place) – but the idea (which is from the pit) that we derive from our fallen, sinful nature (as my brother Jack Hook so clearly outlines) that when “the Kingdom of God would appear” its revelation has absolutely nothing to do with our carnal presumptions, mansions or materialistic baloney and, especially, some contorted form of Liberation Theology wherein everyone is on the same economic plain – they’re not on the same plain as such – some are sitting closer to Jesus than others…sorry about that, but they earned the right, plain and simple. That’s called rewards in the kingdom, by the way, and then there are losses – that’s the way it goes! Insofar as those who “came up against Jerusalem” who will repopulate the Millennium, they’ll carry on via the “Year of Jubilee” when every 49 years or so all debts are erased and all property is returned to its original owners. You might say that’s fair and doesn’t give folks much of an opportunity to heap up riches unto themselves. But the “Kingdom Standard” is hardly one of economic egalitarianism, by any stretch of the imagination. The King will be ruling and if it’s anything like the parable of the talents – it’ll be King Jesus who calls the shots, not some “fairness squad” sittin’ on their rears telling hardworking folks where to get off! OCCUPY RAGE – AND IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE or IS IT? The merchants of the earth are going to hang around here until Babylon goes up in smoke – read Revelation 18 about the merchants, and commence the weeping. But, as they say, it’s always the darkest before the dawn. Here we have folks rioting and getting violent about it all in Rome, Greece and the like, and just plain hedonism in New York with a few cops getting wacked. Not to minimize the despair of the troublemakers but, come on now, trying to frame the consternation of the disgruntled is not all that easy. But, nothing wrong with that! This “thing” kicked off six days after 9/11 and the solemn ceremonies at ground zero…well, after remembering, enough of that – we went on to bigger and more tragic things. It’s time to remember me! Let me be prophetic here: We await the bonfires . . . when it gets cold; we stoke up the fires . . . that’ll be next. So – on October 17 (Monday – while I’m writing this article) we celebrate one month of how to keep the zombies off the sidewalks and the streets of New York while they stagger through Wall Street to Times Square with their new-found freedom, under local government acquiescence, to live in their own trash and gunk without cleaning up their mess (a lot like a lot of their bedrooms – I’m sure of it….). “End the war, tax the rich!” Indeed, the smell of money is in the air – and we must stop the pending revolution. But how? Enter the G-20. MEGA-BAILOUT!! One thing about Babylon the Great is this: It knows the Greek word: MEGA – which means GREAT. Now, allow me, once again, to “propheticate” a bit here. You and I – rich and poor – small and great – are about to witness the biggest bailout in the history of the world. You’ll be shocked as to where all this money will come from. But, alas, the earth brings forth her known riches and those yet to be discovered or anticipated. But if I were to bet you dollars to donuts, these two little statements below might just begin to make sense to some of you perceptive types out there…and, since we have a very large college-trained audience (so it would appear) – I’m sure (not to sound condescending, too much here) that you’ll figure this out . . . . read these strange soundings, these nuances between the tea leaves and then ponder how our present President and the world’s leaders plan to turn things around, because keeping the natives pacified is better than full-scale riots any day; and in so doing, it’ll help ‘um to stay in power:
“The European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, America’s Federal Reserve and the Swiss National Bank joined to provide the three tranches of dollar liquidity. [Good grief, whatever happened to the vaunted Euro and where is the Bundesbank?] “The tranches will be made available at fixed interest rates, with counterparties able to borrow any amount against eligible collateral. The first tender will be held on October 12.” (France Given a Safety Net By Central Bank, by Alex Ferreras on September 20, 2011 in Banks). Now, compare this with the mega-news we heard as the G-20 commenced their plotting and planning: NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – “Finance ministers from the world's largest economies pledged Saturday to take ‘all necessary actions’ to stabilize global financial markets and ensure that banks are well capitalized. [Note: While they’re rioting and rabble rousing all over Europe!] ‘We will ensure that banks are adequately capitalized and have sufficient access to funding to deal with the current crisis,’ the Group of 20 finance ministers said in a statement issued after a two-day meeting in Paris. The meeting comes as officials in Europe move closer to an agreement on a comprehensive plan to secure the banking system and resolve Europe’s long-standing sovereign debt problems. “The plan, outlined by European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso last week, will be discussed in detail at a meeting being held by the European Council in Brussels on Oct. 23.” (G20 Finance Chiefs Back Europe Bank Rescue, by Ben Rooney, October 15, 2011) Behold, glad tiding from our Department of the Treasury Guru Geithner: “We heard encouraging things from our European colleagues in Paris about a new comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis on the continent…clearly (European leaders) have more work to do on the strategy and details…When France and Germany agree on a plan together and decide to act, big things are possible.” (Ibid.) Wow – “a new comprehensive plan” that includes unlimited amounts of cash being loaned to sovereign banks (i.e., central banks) hither, thither and yon. Everyone’s broke but the banks – the GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING! Japan’s broke, Europe’s broke and the USA should be broke – but there’s nothing like leveraging the assets of the world on the backs of the same crowd marching around Wall Street, and especially the children they’ll produce – nothing like it. And nothing like amassing the resources of the world – you know – those in the ground hither, thither and yon again wherein the “hidden treasures” convert into immediate and limitless cash for the beloved banks and the merchants of the earth to heap up, all the more, riches unto themselves – and, don’t forget, the fringe benefits to the masses gathered together in the Winter of our Discontent enabling their entitlements full throttle so that the Euro-vacation times never cease to amaze – O glorious safety net; who shall keep me from thy swinging back and forth as always! “Geithner said in his statement that the IMF has a ‘substantial arsenal of financial resources’ that can be used to ‘supplement’ Europe's comprehensive plan.
“The G20 consists of large, industrialized economies such as the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada. It also includes emerging economic powers China, India, Brazil and Russia.” (Ibid.) Well, there you have it: Capitalization of the banks – share the blessing; Europe’s comprehensive plan; all necessary actions; substantial commitment; a substantial supplement; working on plans to strengthen the global financial system; contain the risks for those financial institutions too-big-to-fail, ad nausea, ad infinitum. Sound familiar? All hail AIG and Goldman Sachs…to name but a few! WHAT IS IT ABOUT “HIDDEN TREASURES” WE DON’T UNDERSTAND? Are we talking about creating ex nihilo – something out of nothing – as if we were some god? Of course not – God’s creation came from existing matter – which, of course, begs the question of where that came from. But, when it comes to money, you have to base it upon something other than printing or monetizing more of it – so, where do we get it – and don’t tell me it’ll come from the Big Bang? “And at the end time the king of the South will collide with HIM, and the king of the North will storm against HIM . . . and HE will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through . . . HE will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall . . . then HE will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape . . . but HE will gain control over the HIDDEN TREASURES of gold (black gold?) and silver, and over all the precious things . . . ” (Daniel 11:40-43) (My emphasis). “Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’” (Ezekiel 38:13).
The mysterious lamentation against the Prince who would be the King of Tyre takes on haunting tones of prophetic unease upon the earthlings rambling around Manhattan and Rome… “Yet you are a man, and not a god. Though you set your heart as the heart of a god (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! With your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself, and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches),” (Ezekiel 28:2-6). Ezekiel’s lament is far more extensive but suffices it to say, behind the world’s establishment of “Earthlings” and their terrestrial concerns there is a supernatural personage of Babylon’s King – the Prince who would be the King of Tyre – money is his game and God would be his fame…but the day comes when… “You have become a horror, and shall be no more forever” (Ezekiel 28:19). A FINAL WORD
“By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones” (Ezekiel 28:16). The hopelessness of the hapless masses around the globe suffers the genius who gathers in France to capitalize the treasuries of the earth. Under him are they who unwittingly provide the base until no secret can be hidden from him. Friend, the Gospel of the Kingdom shall come but not the way the natural mind configures, nor of those who parade about the streets of Manhattan, no matter how justified their indignation appears … “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). We all have been given a talent - “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us…while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Cor. 4:7, 18). |
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