(Journal entry, 2-22-03)
Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” has aroused the sleeping masses. Hearts are shaken, emotions are welling up in gratitude that someone out there has said what they are feeling.
There is a reason for this awakened response to this song. It is founded on scriptural themes. The prominent theme is the evilness of the rich men, the kings of the world system. The rich men will have their judgement in God’s good timing. The apostle James said of them, “Woe unto you rich men who heap treasure together for the last days” (5:3). All the while “they promise them liberty, but they themselves are the servants of corruption” (II Peter 2:19).
At his free concert, Oliver Anthony led off with a quote from David’s Psalm 37. Its main theme is trusting God, knowing that “Yahweh laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming.” So, “do not fret because of evil men…for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away” (37:1,13 NIV).
In lieu of all the pain in just surviving the system, to get to that spiritual state of trusting and not fretting, He says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Eph. 5:14).
All this notwithstanding, we His elect, we who are the called and chosen to be His mouth as watchmen, we must first awaken, yes. But we must rise from being spiritually dead. Remember Christ saying, “Let the dead bury the dead.” And then Christ will give us light. He is the light; His way, truth, and purpose we must learn. We must sit at the prophet’s feet and learn how Yahweh prepares us for the arduous tasks ahead after awakening from spiritual sleep.
The prophet is Habakkuk. Small book, seldom read. Through the prophet, Yahweh’s voice cries to us and lays the prophetical vision of how the awakening fits into Yahweh’s end time scenario. Let us let the Spirit through the pen of the prophet teach us how to be His watchmen.
Overview Chapter One
Habakkuk the prophet sees the following in a vision. He is crying out to Yahweh, wanting answers as to why the wicked hold all the power on earth. He is wondering why God does not pay the wicked back with what they deserve—punishment. It seems like God is letting evil doers get away with it (1: 2-4).
Yahweh answers Habakkuk’s pleas with more oppression! God is raising up the Babylonians to roll over God’s people Judah/Israel. The Babylonians were evil impetuous people, full of violence. Yet they are used by God to punish the children of Jacob/Israel, who have turned and served other gods (1:5-12).
Habakkuk says that God makes men as fishes. The Babylonians are like fishermen who catch men with their hooks and nets, which they worship as gods. The Babylonians offer “sacrifices unto their net and burn incense unto their drag.” They worship their gods that can “catch” men like a fish. “Sacrifices” and “incense” are symbols for religious worship. So, Babylonian worship straight out of “Mystery Babylon the Great” is the false world system and its false doctrines of the religious denominations. These false doctrines are what catches people like fish. The false political and religious system gathers men like a net gathers together fish. This “net” “slays nations” (1:17)
And yet, Habakkuk was brought to realize that it was Yahweh who was raising the Babylonian army up. He was allowing them to prosper at the expense of His chosen people who had sinned against Him. This is what Habakkuk could not understand.
This dominance of the world system over all of us is the Babylon of our day. Yahweh could destroy it today. Of course, He has that power. We like Habakkuk wonder, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but You do not save? Why do You make me look at injustice? why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore, justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted” (1:2-4). What a description of the world today!
The Babylonian net goes beyond just the Kingdom of Judah in 600 B.C. It prophetically reaches into our day, as the world system continues to slay nations and peoples. This is the spiritual prophetic context that the masses are awakening from.
Chapter Two
Habakkuk awakes unto this knowledge that God is allowing Babylon, the world system, to spread its degradation throughout the earth. And so, he says, I will watch, observe, and peer into the distance, to see what He will say to me concerning my lack of clear vision about Babylon’s dominance over God’s people. I will stand upon my watch…and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved (2:1).
But Yahweh answers, “Write the vision and make it plain upon tables” that whoever reads it–whoever understands the vision–may run. The vision is yet for an appointed time.” The “vision” shows the destruction of the rich men who control the world system. It also shows the revealing of the “manifestation of the sons of God” and their part in God’s scenario. It also shows what shall happen to the whole earth and all the nations upon it.
For the revelation [vision] awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (2:3). The vision shows us the end of evil and the evil rich who destroy men’s souls. Justice will be served upon them at the “appointed time.” The vision will come on time. What is meant to happen to man and the earth is what God has foreordained, and it shall come to pass exactly when God plans it. And the righteous man will live by faith, not by sight. We shall continue in God’s plan though we cannot see with our eyes the end fruit of God’s doing. We will trust Him, though His thoughts are not our thoughts.
The rest of Chapter Two describes the reach of the rich men. Mystery Babylon uses wine [doctrines] and wealth [deceitfulness] to deceive the nations. Chapter Two is a description of those whom the devil controls.
The Book of Habakkuk correlates with Revelation 18 and should be studied together. In Chapter 18 we see the fall of the world system at the time of the end. It shows the rich men mourning their losses of all that they merchandized in: Everything fine like “gold, silver, precious stones” and all the beautiful, exquisite things, “and souls of men.” The rich men of the earth have bought and sold the souls of the masses! At the appointed time, they will lose it all in one hour! Rejoice over her, you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her [the world system] (18:16-20).
Chapter Three
The vision of the destruction of the rich men and their desire to dethrone God is given. It reaches through 2600 years to our day. It is a far-reaching prophetical vision. It is a prayer request for God to do his work here on earth, putting an end to the evilness as outlined in Chapter One and Two. Even after hearing God speak of what shall take place, even after knowing what God will do, even after Habakkuk expresses longings for God’s wrath on the evil ones–it still is a fearful thing to him. In fact, Habakkuk pleads, “In wrath remember mercy.”
The vision then is a vision of Yahweh’s wrath that He will exact on the inhabitants of earth! It is a vision that is to take place in the latter days. It will be at the “time of the end” of this present world system as outlined in Revelation. At that time the vision will speak. The events of the time of the end will scream out to the elect and will let them know. The events that enfold during the latter days will not lie to us; they will fulfill exactly what He always said would happen (v. 3).
The “Rich Men” song has done a good job of awakening the masses as to the problem of the rich persecuting the middle classes and the poor. First, one must wake up and see who your enemy is. Awake thou that sleepest. Then one must turn to God and repent of their sins, letting their old self die with Christ on the cross. Rise from the dead and begin to follow the King Christ who will teach us the deep things that only the Light can give us. And Christ shall give thee light. The Light shines on us His purpose and plan and teaches us how to become His watchmen.
The “Rich Men North of Richmond” Awakening is a necessary first step. The people are waking up from the anesthesia of the kool aid fed to them by the rich men who own the world and billions of “the souls of men.” The prophet Habakkuk shows us that there are more steps that the Light will reveal to us…at the appointed time. Kenneth Wayne Hancock