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Gold, natural gas, and oil certainly gets their air time when it comes to the stock market, and certainly they have been good to their investors. But as you look at the morning news and the emphasis of governments and business, healthcare is certainly the new gold being mined. Few will argue against the big money that flows into it worldwide and its huge profit potential...of course, if there wasn't the enormous profit potential, there wouldn't be the big money flowing like an ocean into it.

Let's get on track. My reason for writing is not to talk about the investment potential of healthcare, but to help explain why it has become big business in these last days. Take a look at Revelation 18:23b:

"for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."

Notice that this verse says that the merchants are being judged because of their sorceries. Certainly a strange combination until you understand that the Greek for sorceries is pharmikeia (5331), and means a) the use or the administration of drugs; and b) poisoning. With these definitions in mind, the above verse may be paraphrased in the following way:

"for our businessmen and bankers are the great wealthy men of the earth; for by them they use and administer drugs to poison and to lead people away from the way of Christ."

Drugs, and what we typically understand as sorcery, has always been associated with the devil's arts. Revelation 18:23 makes it clear that sorcery released within our world on a large scale is called healthcare and pharmacies. Looking at the devil's hands in this way we see what a great stronghold he has upon Christians and non-Christians alike. I mean, how many people do you know who do not see their doctor who administers to them drugs manufactured from some business interested in turning a profit? Also consider how much of our food is now "fortified" with unnatural vitamins and minerals and other chemical additives. If he can't get you to a doctor, he'll bring the drugs to you in your food.

There is a reason the devil wants to drug us: to deceive us. The Greek for deceived in Revelation 18:23 is planao (4105) and means a) to cause to stray; b) to lead astray; c) lead aside from the right way. As long as the devil can keep us dependent upon drugs for our healthcare, he can keep us subdued and keep us from depending upon Christ.

In these last days, when we think we must have drugs (medicines) in some form, God seems to be warning us to avoid these money making, faith destroying sorceries. I must admit, this is a hard lesson...but I am more and more realizing that trust in God is not an easy choice. God has a lot to say about health...but do we really know what the Bible says? God has a lot to say about trust in Him...but do we have an excessive trust in things that do not belong to Him? Would you have real trust in God if your paycheck stopped coming in, or you would go to your pantry only to find there is no food to set on the table?

If we live in the last of the last days--and we are--then we also must recognize that we are living in a time of great deception when we think we are a Christian when we are actually far removed from God. There is so much we must consider...so much we must remove ourselves from (repentance)... so much the more we must be to keep ourselves in His abiding, comforting, healing presence.

Until next time…