Purim: An Urgent Message for America

This week I’ve been reading the book of Esther and meditating on its rich meaning. The biblical holiday known as Purim is established in the story and its application to today’s world has become all too real for me. This year Purim will begin at sundown on February 25, 2021 and end at sundown on February 26. It is celebrated every year on the 14^th of Adar on the biblical calendar. On the Gregorian calendar this would fall in February or March, depending on the year.  

Purim is a holiday that commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people from extermination in ancient Persia. In the book of Esther, the story of how Purim came to be is laid out verse by verse. It tells the amazing story of a young Jewish woman named Esther who stood up for her people at great cost to her own life. She used her royal position “for such a time as this.”

 Purim not only commemorates the story of Esther and the deliverance of the Jewish people, but it also showcases victory over the enemy. In the story of Esther, an edict was established that called for the annihilation of an entire race of people! This edict was the brainchild of a bitter, hateful man named Haman. Esther, however, stood up for her people and they were not destroyed.

This particular post will not go into the full story or biblical meaning behind Purim. If you want to read more about this, go ahead and read this article I wrote last year. The date of Purim will be different, but the content will be informative.

As I was reading and studying about Purim this year I came upon some information that blew my mind. It disturbed me greatly and I realized it bore the shadows of Esther’s story. The information I will share highlights a very real enemy, whose goal is just as evil as the one showcased in the story of Esther.

The event I will share happened over five years ago and somehow it escaped my attention. But recently I read the book The Harbinger 2, by Jonathan Cahn and there it was in front of my face. 

The strange thing is that back in 2019 I was visiting New York City and while I was there, I had a strange feeling I was missing something. It happened while visiting the Empire State Building.  I stood there, admiring the architecture of the building, pondering the amount of work it took to create such a tall structure.  It towered 102 stories high and I couldn’t help but gaze upward with awe and wonder. My family and I went inside the tower and took pictures on the observation deck. While walking among the throngs of people, who were smiling and snapping great shots of the view, I had an ominous feeling. At the time, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt like there was something I needed to know about that building. Researching information on the history of the Empire State Building didn’t yield any meaning. I decided it must be my imagination.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago. I am reading the Harbinger 2 and I come to chapter 22, which is called The Image. This is where I read about something that happened on August 1, 2015 in New York City at the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING. Maybe you already know about it, but if you don’t get ready to be disturbed.

On this date, the image of the Indian goddess Kali was projected onto the Empire State Building. This goddess wasn’t a “benevolent” one either. She is called the goddess of destruction, darkness and death. In Sanskrit Kali means “she who is death.” She is the goddess of time and creation. Here’s some info that’s particularly disturbing. Tradition says she wears a chain around her neck that contains a string of demon heads. She’s also known for chopping off heads and drinking her enemies’ blood. I could tell you more, but you get the picture.

Excuse me, but what kind of sick craziness is this? Why on earth would an image of this Satanic goddess be projected onto the Empire State Building? Take a good look at the image of Kali. Her face is pitch black, with a blood red tongue sticking out. Her three eyes produce an ominous stare that makes my skin crawl.

Actually, the display of Kali was meant to bring awareness to endangered animals. Before her face illuminated the building, there were displays of endangered animals projected such as a lion, snow leopard, golden tamarin, snakes, whales and birds to name a few. Filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, said it was a “Noah’s Ark of animals.”  The display itself used 20,000-lumen projectors, which produced images that covered a space on the wall of the Empire State Building that was 375 feet tall and 186 feet wide. The image spanned the breadth of 33 floors.

Kali was the final image shown and her likeness was compared to Mother Earth. The artist who created her image said he “wanted to depict Mother Earth in her fiercest form in order to draw attention to sustainable development and climate change.”

The whole display, in my opinion, highlights the idol worship our nation is steeped in right now. Many worship the earth and taut ideas of “saving the planet.” They ignore the real creator–Jesus– and instead display their own fake gods. Not only that, they choose to use the pagan goddess of death and destruction.

I can’t say I’m surprised because New York City has become shrouded in idolatry and death. It heralds the killing of unborn babies up to the day they are born and brags about it. Planned Parenthood has full sway in this city of abortions. Sadly, more black babies are aborted here than are born.

The timing of this demonic display cannot be ignored. This particular year (2015) there were two blood moons (total lunar eclipses) that occurred on the Feasts of the Lord. One had already occurred on Passover on April 4, 2015. This date just happened to line up with when the original Twin Towers were dedicated on April 4, 1973 in New York City. These towers were destroyed on 9-11. Another blood moon occurred September 28, 2015 on the Feast of Tabernacles. So, there was a blood moon before and after this idol appeared on the Empire State Building. The image was displayed just before the month of Elul on the biblical calendar. This sacred month is set aside for repentance and precedes God’s High Holy Days.

There’s another event that preceded the display of this idol. On June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states may not deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples and must recognize same-sex couples’ existing marriages. 

In honor of this event, the White House was lit up with rainbow colors. God’s covenant sign was used to honor something that is clearly identified as sin in the Bible.

The White House symbolizes our sovereignty in government, whereas New York symbolizes our wealth. New York was our nation’s first capital and it’s where our first President was inaugurated. 

So what does any of this have to do with Purim- a holiday commemorating the salvation of the Jewish people from destruction? Well, in the story of Esther (where Purim was established) an edict was written to annihilate the Jewish people. They had done nothing wrong, but were specifically targeted for death.

Here is how it relates to our nation. Every time unborn babies are killed it’s because many of our leaders have signed edicts for their deaths. These laws become death warrants for the innocent. Just as the innocent Jews were targeted as enemies in the story of Esther, our nation’s “unwanted” babies are treated as enemies. Our lawmakers hold great responsibility in acting on our behalf to make sure laws are passed that protect the unborn. As intercessors, we are like Esther because we must pray for our leaders daily and intercede for those who do not have a voice. Speaking out against abortion is how we work to end the decrees that have been established. The ultimate goal is victory over the enemy-victory over evil. 

The pagan goddess Kali represents an idea that’s been carefully planted into the thinking of modern day Americans. Satan does not revere life. Neither does Kali. She is the goddess of death after all. Many people don’t realize that by supporting abortion they are supporting these idols of death.

As our world gets darker, Christians are being seen as the enemy. We are like Esther and the Jews, who were part of the Persian Empire, but separated unto God.  Our ways and ideas go against the ideals of the world we live in. The edicts drawn up by those who think they are kings fly in the face of our values. Like Esther, we must fight against these extermination decrees that target innocent babies. We must also stand up for the sanctity of marriage that God designed.

 At Purim the Jews celebrate victory over the enemy and his plans to exterminate them. Esther stepped up and God stepped into the situation. They were saved.

No matter what happens in our nation we know we have the salvation that comes from Jesus. His blood overturns any edict written against us. He will return at some point and all the injustices of this world will vanish. He is the only righteous King we can truly count on.

Sadly, our nation has traveled far from its foundational roots of Christianity. We’ve gone from a nation that respects and reveres God to one who pushes him out of our borders. We allow illegal immigration, yet we keep God behind a border fence.  The image of Kali (the goddess of death) on the Empire State Building reminds me that many in our nation want to kill our babies, kill marriage and kill liberty. They want to save endangered animals, but not endangered babies! 

Just look at this photo (below) from 1956 when the Empire State Building and several other buildings displayed illuminated crosses on their facades during Easter. Oh how far we have sunk when we go from displaying crosses to evil goddesses.

The Empire State Building was dedicated on May 1, 1931, during the depths of the Great Depression. It rose to the height of 1,250 feet (1,454 feet to the top of the lightning rod).  The idea to erect such a tower was born out of competition. Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation and John Raskob of General Motors wanted to see who could build the tallest tower. The Empire State Building won the competition and became known as a symbol of American dominance. It was named after New York–the Empire State. The seat of America’s financial empire began here.

But it’s also the place where America’s empire can fall.

Listen up America because it’s the same old biblical story. The Tower of Babel continues to play out as men assert their importance and dominance by building ideas and agendas into towers. When you see an idolatrous goddess of death being given prominence over the lives of innocent babies, it has to give you pause. This Purim I will be praying not only for the nation of Israel, but also for America. Jonathan Cahn makes a stunning parallel in his book when he reminds us that the image of Kali on the facade of the Empire State Building is a reminder that the “writing is on the wall.” Daniel 5 records this event:

“King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.  So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.”

America, when we toast the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone–and even pay homage to an idol named KALI–we put ourselves in a dangerous position.

The handwriting is on the wall. Let us intercede and pray for our nation. Our “such a time as this” moment is now.

Frodo and gandalf from Lord of the Rings- it reminds us that we only have the time that’s given to us

Click here to see the photo of the 1956 display or you can look at this link as well

The Baal Arch in New York City– this arch was displayed in New York City in 2016- Baal is the pagan God of child sacrifice. One day I will blog about this as well…Ugh….just awful….

To understand more about how abortion is tied to idol worship read this post.