Turbulence

I once took a jet from Madras, India to Bombay (now called Mumbai) and we experienced a lot of turbulence.  In fact it was the kind of ride that you just sit there in the airplane and pretty much commit your soul to Providence – because it is easy to conclude that your present condition is unpredictable.

They say that is the biggest problems with super cells, the types of weather systems that spawn tornadoes.  It is extremely difficult to predict what is going to take place – and when and where it is going to happen.

The 1960’s were such a time.  The amount of “turbulence” in the society in general resulted in heretofore unknown manifestations of an ever more unrecognizable community and what some saw as extreme rejection of established norms.  The “hippies” as they were called were more or less in the center of it all – the vortex of the maelstrom.  They not only changed their appearance, their expectations, their world-view, their paradigm, but they changed the society around them by their simple existence.   “Make love, not war!”

Their focus on common experience being the touchstone of existence became an anthem – and their rejection of the status quo launched a revolutionary change in the way people thought about themselves and their interactions with others in all spheres of the human experience from their sexual liberties to their personal emancipation from the System – expressions of autonomy that are still echoing around the world.

You only have to look back at the watershed events of that time to begin to see how dramatically “turbulence” can affect not only a group of people like the hippies, but entire nations, and in the case of the changes that took place in the 1960’s – the entire world.

From the explosive research of Masters and Johnson and the Pill to the Beatles, LSD and Pot, Timothy Leary, Woodstock, the Chicago Seven, the Weathermen, Lucifer Rising, A Clockwork Orange, Hearts and Minds, The Black Panthers, Berlin, Czechoslovakia,  Gary Powers and U2, the Apollo program, Vietnam and Mai Lai, The Bay of Pigs, JFK and Robert Kennedy’s assassinations, The Warren Commission, Martin Luther King Jr., George Wallace, Nixon, Kent State, Watergate, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, Black Ops, Eastern religion, EST, Jimi Hendrix, MDA, and Gestalt Therapy,  to the Jesus Revolution, the 1960’s exploded and left an indelible mark on the present and coming generations.

Many believe that we are now entering a “time of trouble” and you don’t have to look very far in our modern world to find it.  Terrorism, political uprisings, nuclear disasters in Russia and Japan, nuclear brinkmanship and the Stuxnet virus, economic catastrophe, unprecedented natural disasters, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, famine, outbreaks of devastating disease, medical malpractice, the public taking to the streets in protest, and all being experienced “live” via the internet by a worried and watching world population that is tottering on the brink of annihilation – or at least that is what we are told by the Mayan Calendar prophecies, Planet X proponents, and other harbingers of some cataclysm that they all agree is soon to come upon us.

“We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!”  – Jer. 8:15

In this passage from the Bible – the word that Jeremiah uses for trouble is a feminine noun that means “dismay” or “terror”.

When Jesus of Nazareth visited the Temple in Jerusalem for the last time before his crucifixion – He warned of a time of trouble that would come, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”  Matthew 24:21

The word that is recorded in the New Testament is also a feminine noun which means “a pressing” or “a pressing together” – pressure!  Most observers would agree that when we add pressure to a system, to any system – that is when we get turbulence.

A boiling pot, a super cell weather system, an ocean tsunami resulting from an earthquake far below the surface, CO2 emissions and “global warming”, unscrupulous financial dealings resulting in economic collapse – and the unnerving reality of a world of scientific, political, and military leaders who freely admit that we have entered ‘unchartered’ waters and that they do not know the solutions for present woes, or what is coming next.

Perhaps we should all accept the inevitability of annihilation – that is what the scientists and the atheist believe in.  They don’t tell you that, but it is the core of their belief, that when you die you rot and are food for the worms.

I wonder if any of them have ever had the experience of annihilation.  Believe me, it is not pretty.

You may have come close to it in your data fueled environment – a hard drive crashed, your I-Pod maybe, or your laptop, and you lost your current work or entertainment, or worse yet, you lost the data of several years.  Gone!  Caput!  Lost!

It is not pretty.

There is a popular drug called Salvia.  You can go on YouTube and find many examples of young people trying it.  It is a powerful and is probably something that kids should not be indulging in.  They may have experiences that are beyond their ability to assimilate and comprehend.

Let us, just for a moment, explore such a “trip”.

The young person, perhaps your son or daughter, takes a good long hit – expecting a thrill, only to find out that the car they are driving has somehow failed to reach the intersection just ahead of them.  They muse, “so, it does have some time-space alterations, cool!”  But cool is suddenly thrust into a reality that is terrifying.  The intersection is now twice as far away as it was.

Now it is five times as far away.

Now it is becoming unreachable.

The car is experiencing some kind of turbulence, and with each jolt the intersection which was a few yards ahead is more distant still.  Then the fabric of their existence seems to fan out – so now they are seeing not one image of themselves, but several, kind of layered back from the actual image that we always see of ourselves, to images that seem to be chasing the “real you”.  Kind of shadows of the reality, and once they fall behind their “real” self they can no longer control the car.

They can’t even stop it, because although they can see their hands on the wheel – somehow, they can’t reach it.

The radio starts to play a song about them never having existed at all, and the passersby become agents of their impending doom.

Suddenly they realize that unless they can connect with their primary image – an image that they are now trailing by several layers, that unless they can come in sync with that image – they will be lost, forgotten, in fact, they will have never existed at all.

In their desperation to be “real” they have the overwhelming, terrorizing realization that if they do not stop the car, and get out, and run back to the house where you are, where you are living and real and touchable – that they will cease to exist – that they will never have existed at all.

It might make a good script for a movie, but for them it is a kind of terror that they have never experienced before.

Annihilation.  Real annihilation – no existence, no memory, no legacy – nothing!

Terror!!

Atheists will actually preach to you that this is what all of us should expect.

Talk about terror!

Believe me, if we are destined for annihilation, then all of us should walk in terror every moment of our lives, because the moment you die, you cease to exist, and in fact, you have never existed at all.

So what do we have to expect in this present day of turbulence – a “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

The Bible tells us that we should expect the coming of the Son of God – and Judgment – and eternal consequences.

“Humbug!” you say, in the spirit of “A Christmas Carol” – but are you certain? – Because there are only two choices here, either we are facing Annihilation, or we are facing Judgment.

And turbulence is the catalyst that brings us to the brink.

Whether you like it or not – we are in the throes of turbulence – and the outcome is as of this writing, unpredictable.

There is definitely one thing that we can expect in the coming days.

Turbulence.

Rapture or Translation?

Where did we get the idea of a Pre-Trib Rapture?

By BBennettJ

One of the seemingly least controversial ideas for Christians is that Jesus Christ will come in some hidden visitation and whisk all the “true believers” out of the world – thus setting the stage for the Anti-Christ to rise up and for God to start pouring out His “wrath” during a period called “The Great Tribulation.”

The idea is so popular that the authors of a series of books on the subject, “Left Behind” were recognized as the most influential Christian voices of the last decade – with their book series pushing sales numbers formerly reserved for politicians and Hollywood stars.  Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins received accolades for their “fiction.”

“In 1998, the first four books of the series held the top four slots in the New York Times best-seller list simultaneously, despite the fact that the New York Times ‘ best-seller list does not take Protestant bookstore sales into account. Book 10 debuted at number one on this list.  Total sales for the series have surpassed 65 million copies. Seven titles in the adult series have reached #1 on the bestseller lists for the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. In 2007 the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) recognized the Left Behind series at its CBA & ECPA Awards Celebration in Atlanta, Georgia with the ECPA Pinnacle Award. ECPA President Mark Kuyper said, “In many ways this series established Christian fiction as a significant category in publishing in general.” Jerry Falwell said about the first book in the series: “In terms of its impact on Christianity, it’s probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible.”  (from Wikipedia)

In fact, this doctrine of a Pre-Tribulation “Rapture” of believers is so strong that in most Christian circles – to have a dissenting opinion is tantamount to admitting to not being “saved” and denying the “truths” of the Bible.

Admittedly, there have been instances in Church history where ideas of this sort have been expressed – but the acceptance of this doctrine on a wide scale as being universally applicable to the entire Church has only been in recent times.

In this article we are going to explore as much of that history as possible – and try to take a look at some of the scriptural references that are being interpreted as “proof” of the Pre-Trib Rapture.

The following is somewhat comprehensive in its documentation of this doctrine through church history, and is re-printed in its entirety.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RAPTURE

Tom’s Perspectives

by Thomas Ice

One of the most often cited objections to pretribulationism is that it is a new teaching in church history having only come on the scene in the 1830s.  It is often argued that if the pre-trib rapture were biblical then it would have been taught earlier and throughout church history.  In the last decade, individuals have found a number of pre-1830 references to a pre-trib rapture.  Here is a summary of that evidence.

THE EARLY CHURCH

Since imminency is considered to be a crucial feature of pretribulationism by scholars such as John Walvoord, 1 it is significant that the Apostolic Fathers, though posttribulational, at the same time just as clearly taught the pretribulational feature of imminence. Since it was common in the early church to hold contradictory positions without even an awareness of inconsistency, it would not be surprising to learn that their era supports both views.  Larry Crutchfield notes, “This belief in the imminent return of Christ within the context of ongoing persecution has prompted us to broadly label the views of the earliest fathers, ‘imminent intratribulationism.’”2

Expressions of imminency abound in the Apostolic Fathers.  Clement of Rome,

Ignatius of Antioch, The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, and The Shepherd of Hermas all speak of imminency. 3 (imminency – the imminent return of Christ – Ed)

Furthermore, The Shepherd of Hermas speaks of the pretribulational concept of escaping the tribulation.

You have escaped from great tribulation on account of your faith, and because you did not doubt in the presence of such a beast.  Go, therefore, and tell the elect of the Lord His mighty deeds, and say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming.  If then ye prepare yourselves, and repent with all your heart, and turn to the Lord, it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye spend the rest of the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly. 4

Evidence of pretribulationism surfaces during the early medieval period in a sermon some attribute to Ephraem the Syrian, but more likely the product of one scholars call Pseudo-Ephraem, entitled Sermon on The Last Times, The Antichrist, and The End of the World. 5

The sermon was written some time between the fourth and sixth century.  The rapture statement reads as follows:

Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms all the world? . . .  For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.

This statement evidences a clear belief that all Christians will escape the tribulation through a gathering to the Lord and is stated early in the sermon.  How else can this be understood other than as pretribulational?  The later second coming of Christ to the earth with the saints is mentioned at the end of the sermon. Pre-Trib Rapture — Ice — Page 2

THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

By the fifth century A.D., the amillennialism of Origen and Augustine had won the day in the established Church–East and West.  It is probable that some form of premillennialism persisted throughout the Middle Ages, but it existed primarily underground.

It is believed that sects like the Albigenses, Lombards, and the Waldenses were attracted to premillennialism, but little is know of the details of their beliefs since the Catholics destroyed their works when they were found.  But there was at least one who held to some form of pretribulationism, namely one named Brother Dolcino in 1304.

Francis Gumerlock is the individual who advocates the Brother Dolcino rapture find and said in his book: “The Dolicinites held to a pre-tribulation rapture theory similar to that in modern dispensationalism.”6

The reason Gumerlock believes that Brother Dolcino and the Apostolic Brethren taught pretribulationism is found the following statement:

“Again, [Dolcino believed and preached and taught] that within those three years Dolcino himself and his followers will preach the coming of the Antichrist.  And that the Antichrist was coming into this world within the bounds of the said three and a half years; and after he had come, then he [Dolcino] and his followers would be transferred into Paradise, in which are Enoch and Elijah.  And in this way they will be preserved unharmed from the persecution of Antichrist.  And that then Enoch and Elijah themselves would descend on the earth for the purpose of preaching [against] Antichrist.  Then they would be killed by him or by his servants, and thus Antichrist would reign for a long time.  But when the Antichrist is dead, Dolcino himself, who then would be the holy pope, and his preserved followers, will descend on the earth, and will preach the right faith of Christ to all, and will convert those who will be living then to the true faith of Jesus Christ.”7

THE REFORMATION CHURCH

After over a thousand years of suppression, premillennialism began to be revived as a result of at least four factors.  By the late 1500′s and the early 1600’s, premillennialism began to return as a factor within mainstream Protestantism.  With the flowering of biblical interpretation during the late Reformation Period, premillennial interpreters began to abound throughout Protestantism and so did the development of sub-issues like the rapture.

Some began to speak of the rapture.  Paul Benware notes:

Peter Jurieu in his book Approaching Deliverance of the Church (1687) taught that Christ would come in the air to rapture the saints and return to heaven before the battle of Armageddon.  He spoke of a secret Rapture prior to His coming in glory and judgment at Armageddon.  Philip Doddridge’s commentary on the New Testament (1738) and John Gill’s commentary on the New Testament (1748) both use the term rapture and speak of it as imminent.  It is clear that these men believed that this coming will precede Christ’s descent to the earth and the time of judgment.  The purpose was to preserve believers from the time of judgment.  James Macknight (1763) andPre-Trib Rapture — Ice — Page 3

Thomas Scott (1792) taught that the righteous will be carried to heaven, where they will be secure until the time of judgment is over. 8

Frank Marotta, a brethren researcher, believes that Thomas Collier in 1674 makes reference to a pretribulational rapture, but rejects the view, 9  thus showing his awareness that such a view was being taught in the late seventeenth century.  There is the interesting case of John Asgill, who wrote a book in 1700 about the possibility of translation (i.e. rapture) without seeing death. 10

Perhaps the clearest reference to a pretrib rapture, if not the most developed system, before Darby comes from Baptist Morgan Edwards (founder of the Ivey League school, Brown University) who saw a distinct rapture three and a half years before the start of the millennium. 11

The discovery of Edwards, who wrote about his pretrib beliefs in 1744 and later published them in 1788, is hard to dismiss. 12

He taught the following:

II.  The distance between the first and second resurrection will be somewhat more than a thousand years. I say, somewhat more—, because the dead saints will be raised, and the living changed at Christ’s “appearing in the air” (I Thes. iv. 17); and this will be about three years and a half before the millennium, as we shall see hereafter: but will he and they abide in the air all that time?  No: they will ascend to paradise, or to some one of those many “mansions in the father’s house” (John xiv. 2), and disappear during the foresaid period of time.  The design of this retreat and disappearing will be to judge the risen and changed saints; for “now the time is come that judgment must begin,” and that will be “at the house of God” (I Pet. iv. 17) . . . (p. 7; The spelling of all Edwards quotes have been modernized.)

CONCLUSION

I have heard from another scholar who is reading through many Latin manuscripts of previously unpublished documents that he has found a number of previously unknown pre-trib rapture statements from pre-nineteenth century Christendom.  He is planning on publishing his material in a few years.  What these pre-Darby rapture statements prove, if nothing else, is that indeed others did see the rapture taught in Scripture similar to the way that pretribulationists in our own day teach.  Thus, the argument that no one ever taught pretribulationism until J. N. Darby in 1830 is just not historically true and it is becoming increasingly clear with each passing year.

Maranatha!

ENDNOTES

1 John F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and  the Tribulation   (Grand Rapids:   Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), pp. 24-25.

2 Larry V. Crutchfield, “The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation in the Apostolic Fathers” in Thomas Ice & Timothy Demy, editors, When The Trumpet Sounds (Eugene, OR:  Harvest House Publishers, 1995), p. 103.

3 Crutchfield, “The Blessed Hope and  the Tribulation in  the Apostolic Fathers”, pp. 88-101.

4 T h e Shepherd  of  Hermas   1.4.2.Pre-Trib Rapture — Ice — Page 4

5 For more information on this matter see Timothy J. Demy and Thomas D. Ice, “The Rapture and an Early  Medieval  Citation,” Bibliotheca  Sacra (Vol.  152, No.  607;  July-Sept.  1995),  pp.  306-17.

6 Francis X. Gumerlock, The Day and the Hour:   A Chronicle of Christianity’s Perennial  Fascination with  Predicting  the  End  of  the World (Powder  Springs,  GA: American Vision, 2000), p. 80.

7 Gumerlock’s  translation of  the Latin  text  in Gumerlock, “A Rapture Citation,” pp. 354-55.

8 Paul N. Benware, Understanding  End  Times  Prophecy:   A  Comprehensive  Approach (Chicago:  Moody Press, 1995), pp. 197-98.

9 Frank Marotta, Morgan  Edwards:   An  Eighteenth  Century  Pretribulationist (Morganville, N.J.:   Present Truth Publishers, 1995), pp. 10-12.

10 The entire title of Asgill’s work  is as follows:   An  argument  proving,  that according  to  the  covenant of Eternal  Life revealed  in  the  Scriptures, Man may be translated  from hence  into  that  Eternal  Life, without passing  through Death, although the Human Nature of Christ himself could not be thus translated till he had passed through Death.

11 Marotta, Morgan Edwards.

12 Morgan  Edwards,  Two Academical Exercised on  Subjects Bearing  the  following Titles;  Millennium,  Last-Novelties (Philadelphia:  self-published,  1788).

So if they believed it, it must be true!

When we say that the Pre-Trib Rapture is a relatively new idea we are talking about the very wide acceptance that it has today.

In all the above cases the purpose of the “rapture” is to take believers out of the world before tribulation and judgement so that they avoid suffering through it.

The Shepherd of Hermas taught that each individual would be taken or left according to their repentance and righteous living, and he makes no reference to it being a universal event.  In other words, he taught a very selective “rapture” of the most righteous.

“it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye spend the rest of the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly.”

Ephraem the Syrian does state that this event will include all the believers in a sermon attributed to him.  However, he does not give any reference to where he got the idea from, IE: he does not state that this doctrine was given to him by the Apostles or any other supporting evidence other than the fact that he believes it.

“For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord . .”

Ephraem was a Syrian believer during the 4^th century and wrote for the Syrian believers.  His works were translated into several languages, and some are still used today.

In his sermon, “On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World” he presents his chronology of Endtime events – and it is his conviction that,

“Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements of nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already been fulfilled, and there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one in the completion of the Roman kingdom.”

He understood that the final rise of the Anti-Christ was all that was left, and he expected all believers to be “raptured” before this.  Even though he believed in a Pre-Trib Rapture – this is still a somewhat obscure reference to the idea and is not in any way representative of it being accepted by the church as a whole or it being a doctrine that was widespread.

In Brother Dolcino’s case – 1304 – note that it is he and his followers who would be removed – much like Elijah and Enoch.

“then he [Dolcino] and his followers would be transferred into Paradise, in which are Enoch and Elijah.”

There were a few more in the Reformation Era that made reference to the idea of a Pre-Trib, or Pre-Armageddon, or Pre-Judgement event (two of which could be applied to the Second Coming at the end of the Great Tribulation.)

In Baptist Morgan Edwards case he even set a time for the “rapture” at 3 ½ Years before the Millenium.

In all cases these men believed that the church would somehow be spared having to go through The Great Tribulation – and thereby escape the judgment or wrath of God.

John Asgill’s belief was along the lines of “translation”.

Then came Margaret Macdonald, James Darby, and Cyrus Scofield in the 1830’s.  It is these people who are predominantly responsible for propagating the doctrine in modern times.

Margaret Macdonald was a prophetess who believed that some Christians would be “raptured”.  James Darby founded the Brethren in 1830.  He is said to have visited Macdonald and taken her ideas and added some of his own – stating that he believed the entire church would be “raptured.”  Darby spent his life speaking and persuading others to accept this – what was considered at the time “new doctrine.”  Cyrus Scofield spread the doctrine further in his Reference Bible, published in 1909, where he constantly espouses the Pre-Trib doctrine.

Most scholars believe that these individuals and those who received the doctrine from them constitute the greatest influence in the widespread acceptance of the Pre-Trib rapture among believers today.

2 Thessalonians 2

The question was obviously being asked of the Apostle Paul.  His response in 2 Thessalonians is as follows:

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:  [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”  - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-9

The passage in italics is probably the one most prominently used to conclude that the church will be taken “out of the way”.  The passage is more or less understood to be referring to the Holy Spirit preventing the rise of the Anti-Christ and the establishing his kingdom.

There is a story in the Old Testament where a similar thing is taking place – with Satan at the throne of God asking God to let him trouble Job,

“Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.  Put put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”  Job 1:9-12

In both cases, God has hedged His people about under the protection of the Holy Spirit – but as you can see in the case of Job – it doesn’t take a “rapture” of the entire church for Satan to be given leave to go about his business.

The passage in Thessalonians is ambiguous in regards to whether or not Satan is just being loosed, or the church is being removed and thereby the Holy Spirit is removed with the church.  It could mean the departure of the church – but it could also mean that the Devil is now simply given the go ahead to persecute the church and raise up the Anti-Christ – the Son of Perdition.

There is a scripture in the Book of Revelation that has a very similar tone.

“Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!  for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”  Revelation 12:12

Paul does say that the day of our “gathering together unto him” will not take place before the Anti-Christ is revealed.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Paul goes on to say just how to know that this man is “the son of perdition”,

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

Most Biblical scholars would agree that this event takes place in the midst of the last 7 years – and that it will usher in the persecution of believers spoken of in Revelation.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.”  – Revelation 13:16-18

How the son of perdition can be revealed and the “gathering together” not happen until then is a problem for those who believe they will be “raptured” before the Great Tribulation begins.

So are there any other clues here?

The Last Trumpet

The Book of Revelation has a number of things that happen in 7’s – 7 churches, 7 candle sticks, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 thunders, 7 plagues, 7 vials of wrath, a 7 headed beast.

It is generally agreed that the “Last Trumpet” sounds at the Second Coming of Christ.

“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”  Revelation 10:7

“And the seventh angel sounded (his trumpet); and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”  Revelation 11:15

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  1 Cor 15:52

“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  Matthew 24:31

This continuity of the “last trumpet” being the signal of the Second Coming and establishing of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth would seem to put all of these verses as references to that single event.

So are there other verses indicate that there is going to be a “secret” rapture?

Verses that the Pre-Trib Rapture is based on

“But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.   Matthew 24:36

The argument here is that if the preceding verses,

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  Matthew 24:30-31

were about The Second Coming it would not make sense – because once the Tribulation begins then Christians who understand the scriptures would know that the Second Coming would happen in 7 years – and therefore Christ’s admonition that “no man knows the day or hour” would not be true.

Of course, the way Jesus said this could also mean that no one at the time he said it would know.  In fact, Paul indicates that we will know a lot about it.

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”  1 Thessalonians 5:1-5

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34-36

Once again, the argument here is that if you have to keep watch to be counted worthy to
“escape” these things – that therefore the “rapture” will take place before these things happen and you will not be here to suffer them.  Exactly who will be “worthy” here brings up other questions that aren’t always answered.  Taking this verse as an indication of the “rapture” tends to revert to the teachings of The Shepherd of Hermas or Dolcino – that some will be worthy and others will not.

It might be good to question if there are any scriptures that indicate that some will be spared the judgments that take place during the Great Tribulation that don’t get to go to heaven in the “rapture.”  In fact there is an entire chapter written about it, Revelation 12.

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”  Revelation 12:14

The duration of this protection, 3 ½ years, is the same amount of time as the persecution described in Matthew 24 – that once the Anti-Christ sets up his throne in the newly built Jewish Temple in Jerusalem – and begins to proclaim himself as God – these believers are miraculously protected from him – and he turns to make war on those Christians left in the world.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”  Revelation 12:17

Those who refuse to worship Satan and the Anti-Christ will be given special recognition according to John.

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.”  Revelation 3:10-12

By the way – how are you going to “overcome” and “hold fast” without facing some tremendous challenges?   It sounds a like a little more than being “raptured” out before these events take place.

Translation – Walking with God

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.  2 Kings 2:11

And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.  Gen 5:24

It would be foolish to ignore that God is able to “rapture” people if He wants to.  The two examples above are the most prominent.  Who knows, there may be others.  However, history tells us that multitudes were put to death for their faith whom God did not rescue.

The Christian martyrs down through the ages have endured all types of persecution.  It is said that Nero blamed the Christians for a fire that reduced much of Rome to rubble.

”In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own garden players for the spectacle . . .” http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/christians.htm

It is recorded that Nero covered them in tar, put them on stakes, and lit them as garden lights – but he had to abandon the frightful practice because they died singing.  How could such a thing take place – because they were overshadowed and delivered even in such torture – not feeling the flames – but glorifying God as their spirits left their bodies.

Martyrs

As I write Christians are being persecuted for their faith worldwide.  If God was going to deliver all the faithful before any tribulation – He is a little late for a lot of Christians.  The latest reports of Christians being martyred each year have reached almost unbelievable numbers.

MARTYRED: 176,000 CHRISTIANS in ONE YEAR

-by Bob Unruh – www.wnd.com

A new ministry partnership has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the fact that an estimated 176,000 Christians around the world were martyred – killed for their faith – in a one-year period from the middle of 2008 to the middle of 2009.

That’s 482 deaths per day, one every three minutes.

Many believers understand that some persecution of Christians is taking place – but most are unaware of the mounting dangers and restrictions on the Christian faith.

The Apostle John was shown these martyrs by the Lord Himself.

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled.”  Revelation 6:9-11

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”  Revelation 20:4-6

We are told that the time of trouble that is coming is going to be greater than anything that has gone before it.  That a world leader called the Son of Perdition in the scriptures – and commonly known as the Anti-Christ will come on the world scene bringing promises of peace.  He will be able to solve the age-old conflict over the city of Jerusalem – making it an international city and allowing the Jewish people to rebuild their Temple and begin animal sacrifices.

The cornerstone for this Temple sits in a traffic circle about a mile from the Temple Mount – and Jewish Levitical Priests are preparing the vessels needed to institute the daily sacrifice.  A special red heifer without spot or blemish was reportedly bred in Israel some years ago.

This world leader will be so dynamic that all the world will wonder after him – but according to Daniel the prophet,

“ . . he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (7 years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”  Daniel 9:27

This will begin the 3 ½ years of persecution spoken of so many times in the New Testament.  Daniel states further that,

“And after the league [made] with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.  – For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.  And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits].  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days.  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.  And [some] of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make [them] white, [even] to the time of the end: because [it is] yet for a time appointed.”  Daniel 11:23, 30-35

So what about escaping the wrath of God?

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”  1 Thessalonians 5:9

Where does the wrath of God come in?  If you read the book of Revelation you will see that the 7 Trumpets of Tribulation are a partial judgment.

“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”  Revelation 8:7

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”  Revelation 8:8-9

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”  Revelation 8:10-11  (by the way – one of the world’s most tragic nuclear disasters was Chernobyl – which in Ukranian is a name for mugwort which is a species of artemesia, known as common wormwood.  – Ed)

“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”  Revelation 8:12-13

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”  Revelation 9:1-12  (Read the entire passage – this is the first “Woe!”

“And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.”  Revelation 9:13-15

So why are these things coming upon “all them that dwell upon the Earth”?

“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”  Revelation 9:20-21

“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”  Revelation 10:7

Aha!  Here it is – the real “Rapture” – which is also The Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  And now comes the wrath of God on those who have not repented, even though they have already suffered through the Great Tribulation.  The saints have been resurrected, and they are going to “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb” while the wrath of God is going to be poured out.

“And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.”  Revelation 15:7

You will see that the vials of the wrath of God are complete.

“And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and [upon] them which worshipped his image.”  Revelation 16:2

“And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]: and every living soul died in the sea.”  Revelation 16:3

“And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.”  Revelation 16:4

“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”  Revelation 16:8,9

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”  Revelation 16:10-11

“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.”  Revelation 16:12

“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.”  Revelation 16:17

Now comes “The Battle of Armageddon” when Jesus Christ returns to Earth to destroy the wicked and cast Satan into the Lake of Fire.

So where do we get the time for this to take place?  The answer is found in an obscure passage in the Book of Daniel.

“And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.  Blessed [is] he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”  Daniel 12:11-12

The time of the Great Tribulation from when the abomination is set up is 1260 days.  The “thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” spoken of here adds an additional 75 days to the equation.  It is during this time, after the Second Coming of Christ, after the Rapture, that the saints, dead and living – are “taken up” to meet the Lord in the air and are invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb – and the wrath of God is poured out on the unrepentant and the wicked.

“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”  Revelation 19:9

During this time the wrath of God is poured out “without mixture” (the wheat and the tares?)– and then Christ returns to Earth to set up His millennial Kingdom.  And in all of this – Christians have “escaped” the wrath of God – but they have not been taken out of the world before the Great Tribulation.

So what does it mean for me?

Is it still possible that the “secret rapture” is going to take place?  You can believe it if you want to – perhaps it is true.  However, the preponderance of scripture points to most of us – if not all of us believers still being here when the Covenant, some kind of international peace treaty spoken of by Daniel is made, and The Great Tribulation begins.

One way to be warned if the “rapture” is not going to happen is if you see the Temple being rebuilt and the sacrifices beginning again in Israel.  If that takes place, then you can be pretty sure that the Covenant has been signed – even in secret.

If the signing is not an official event that is broadcast – then how would you know when the abomination will be set up and the Anti-Christ will sit in the Temple declaring himself to be God – and demanding that the people of the world worship him and receive his mark – the Mark of the Beast.  You would know it was coming soon, but you probably wouldn’t know the exact day.  You might not even know the exact day that the Son of Perdition enters the Temple and declares himself to be God – but you would be more or less aware that the 7 year Covenant was in effect – and that the time of trouble was upon you, and that there was more or less 3 ½ years left before the return of Christ.

Some will tell you that there is nothing that you need to do, but as Jesus Himself warned,

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”  John 9:4

Your faith needs to be more than nominal – it needs to be active.  The word martyr means “witness.”  If you think that you are suddenly going to be “strong and do exploits” you might want to consider the admonition of the writer of the Book of Hebrews.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”  Hebrews 12:1-4

If God didn’t want us to know anything about it – how to navigate these troubled waters, then He sure wasted a lot of the Bible talking about it.

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.”

Matthew 26:41

The Dove

When the Dove of Peace arrives – we will all rejoice, and our eyes will be opened, and we shall see Him as He is – for as the lightening shineth even from the East unto the West – so also shall the coming of the son of man be.  – The Carpenter of Nazareth

The Dove arrived today – a pretty amazing guitar.

The most amazing thing about it is that it was – according to its serial number – manufactured in 1980?????  -  And this is the amazing thing,

It is brand new.  Absolutely like you just went to the factory and bought it this morning.  It is so new it could have come from China this morning.

It is absolutely brand new.  Go figure.

“When the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” – The Preacher of Jerusalem

The only question you have to ask yourself is, “is there any money in it?”  – The case is completely oversized and absolutely form fitted – and it has extra strings – and finger picks that are hard to find – and – well……  looks authentic to me – but in all reality – it is so new looking that it could be a fake – but I doubt it >>>

The sound is good – and the guitar borders on exquisite – ha! spelled it myself! – so I am researching its background.

Anyway – The Dove came today.

The idea that over a period of 8 months it took 10,000 bombing missions to “protect” the people of Libya against “strongman Moammar Gadhafi” is somewhat ludicrous – especially when you consider that these same bombing missions laid the city of Sirte waste and put Libyan oil fields out of production.

I believe they called it ‘humanitarian bombing” – an oxymoron if there ever was one.

Do the math.  Each bombing mission averaged about 5 ordinance – so figure about 50,000 ordinance dropped on that country.  Eight months is roughly 240 days – so if you divide this 50,000 figure by 240 you get an astounding 208 bombs a day continuously for 8 months – roughly a bomb every 6 minutes.  Remember how one bomb took apart the Federal Building in Oklahoma City?

Does anyone really believe that this bombing campaign was about “protecting” anyone?!

If you lived in Detroit, and the local police force were stopping people in the famous 8-mile section, detaining them for acts of terror against the city, and in some cases even killing them in an all-out urban war where these criminals were fighting back – the reasoning here is that to “protect” you a Foreign Military would bomb all of your houses – killing a good number of you in the process.

They would be doing this to enable this group of thugs – known as “rebels” – who by all accounts are a more blatant and ruthless group than the police that were troubling you, to take over.  This new group of thugs would immediately establish their authority in your neighborhood by taking anyone and everyone prisoner that they deemed had been a part of the police and its allies – and then binding the hands of these prisoners behind their backs and shooting them in the head – thereby committing “grave breaches” of the Geneva Conventions.  These are war crimes we are talking about.

For their undeniable criminal actions the “rebels” would be reprimanded by the Foreign Military (NATO in the case of Libya) that their “image had been a little bit tarnished”.  I guess so.

Then, to make sure that everyone was happy the news media would ask the “rebels” about these war crimes, and they would simply reply that “they are glad the police are dead no matter how they died” – and that would pretty much be the end of it – except you would now be living in desperate fear for your life because you realize that if you have survived all of this – all it is going to take for you to get a bullet in the head is for someone to point you out as a collaborator with or a member of the former regime.

Great way to “protect” the innocent – don’t you think.  Reminds you Mai Lai – doesn’t it?

The fact is that the American public is so dumbed down can be highlighted in that their star representative of the people – Angelina Jolie – made her own private visit to the new group of thugs to show all of our “solidarity” with them.  Funny she didn’t ask us to represent us, did she?  Makes her just as guilty as they are – doesn’t it?

In response to these horrors Gadhafi’s wife is going to file war crimes charges against NATO with the International Criminal Court.  This is a woman who not only lost a husband, but at least two sons and 3 grandchildren.  Oh, and don’t forget that they also killed her two year old daughter some years ago when they bombed her home by “mistake”.  She must be some woman.

Will anything come of all of this.  For sure.

The rest of the world is being given notice that the “Western Alliance” will bomb whenever and wherever they choose.  They will install any government they choose – and no government or nation is secure within its own borders.  They will then make the recipients of their bombing campaigns pay for the damages by picking up the bill for the rebuilding of their countries by hiring Corporations such as Bektel and Halliburton.  And they will do all this in the name of their “freedom and democracy”.

What a farce.

The Western Alliance and American’s specifically are setting themselves up for a great calamity – as the Good Book says, “Pride cometh before a fall.”

And what will be the lasting legacy for the American people – well, you just wait and see – Hillary Clinton will be our new Queen.  God help us all.

On Saturday CNN and other news outlets around the world treated us to cell phone video footage of Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi being slapped by rebels who had captured him.  He was then taken to an unknown location and shot in the head, perhaps even right there on the spot.

The news of this atrocity was welcomed by US Secretary of War Hillary Clinton and the Western NATO Alliance.

It should be alarming to any thinking person when the US Secretary of War commends an action that is a direct violation of the Geneva Conventions.  In the case of the murder of Colonel Gadhafi the Geneva Conventions list such actions as “grave breaches”.

Grave breaches – The Geneva Conventions (from Wikipedia)

Not all violations of the treaty are treated equally. The most serious crimes are termed grave breaches, and provide a legal definition of a war crime. Grave breaches of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions include the following acts if committed against a person protected by the convention:

• willful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments
• willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
• compelling someone to serve in the forces of a hostile power
• willfully depriving someone of the right to a fair trial if accused of a war crime.

Clinton is, of course, calling for an investigation.  Ha.

The murder of Gadhafi is one more instance in a pattern of what US President Barak Obama likes to call “leading from behind”.  What it amounts to is taking a criminal route to topple legitimate governments, supporting “rebels” with unlimited air strikes, weapons, finances, and surveillance – and then allowing those same “rebels” to conduct summary executions effectively terminating any chance that leaders like Gadhafi could be brought to trial and were able to defend themselves against charges of torture or other criminal activities in a world court.

This, according to the Geneva Conventions is a “war crime” not unlike what The Hague charged Gadhafi and his son with – except that in this case the crime was broadcast worldwide for everyone to see – and was heralded as a welcomed and sought after action by US Secretary of War Hillary Clinton, who earlier this week in a surprise visit to Libya called for Gadhafi’s capture or death. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD_DTavfG4U)

In the case of a war crime – the Nuremburg Courts who prosecuted the Nazi war criminals concluded that soldiers who carried out criminal actions against Jews and death camp prisoners did not need to be the ones carrying out the torture and executions to be guilty of the crimes against humanity – they were guilty by their participation, even if that participation was working at a desk in a government office.

In aiding and abetting, and then commending the murderers of Colonel Gadhafi – Hillary Clinton has become a war criminal herself – and should be charged as such. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/10/23/rivers-gadhafi-killer-celebrated.cnn)

However, the media has walked everyone through the “righteousness” of these despicable crimes assuring all of us that the Libyan people are now “free”, and that there will be an independent investigation of whether or not Gadhafi was murdered.  Does the name Osama Bin Laden ring any bells?

What a travesty of the truth!  Libya is going to become an extreme Islamic state according to its new leaders – a far cry from the open and prosperous conditions under Gadhafi.  (http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/gaddafi-sharia-islamic-law/2011/10/23/id/415429?s=al&promo_code=D505-1)

The fact is, the powers that be do not want you to know what the real truth is.  Libya was one of the most prosperous countries in Africa – and it now lies in ruins with its people headed for a type of subjugation and slavery that they did not know under Gadhafi.  If you want to know the real reason for the 8 month bombing campaign that ended with a “grave breach” of the Geneva Conventions you should watch this video clip which outlines Gadhafi’s involvement in spearheading a replacement for the US dollar as a currency of exchange for oil – a move that would have changed the face of the international banking industry – but hey, we all are well aware that the US taxpayers are bailing out the big money boys – so why not spend our military budget to ensure their dominance throughout the world. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O35_Ai6EsMU&feature=related <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O35_Ai6EsMU&feature=related>)

You might want to ask yourself the question that, “if they can murder a head of state and bomb a country back into the Stone Age with impunity, is there anything that they are limited in doing to you and me?”  The scary answer is a resounding “NO!” – highlighted by recent incidents such as the bill that was signed into law in Louisiana making it a crime to buy and sell second hand items for cash – articles on which you can find on Google to the tune of 50 million hits.  Here is one example. (http://dailyreckoning.com/louisiana-law/)

We are all headed down a very dangerous path – and the most frightening thing about it is that the ride is not getting better.  Imagine that we are all on an express train – hurtling down the mountain towards the metropolis – with no brakes – and the Devil himself at the switch – and then realize that your wildest imagination is becoming your reality!

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — Libya’s interim leadership gave residents in the pro-Gadhafi stronghold of Bani Walid a 48-hour notice to leave the city . . .

Or What?  They should be expected to die in the ensuing military operations?!  What an expose’ of the real situation that is taking place in Libya.

Remember – the entire reason for US and NATO involvement in Libya in the first place was to” protect civilians from being killed by Gadhafi”.

Obviously that is no longer a consideration since it is now the Western backed “Rebels” who are doing the killing.

The hypocrisy of the Western invasion of Libya and the deposing of its legitimate government is so blatant and undeniable it is pathetic.  In fact, it is criminal.

Anyone who believes that what is happening in Libya represents the interests of the Libyan people should get their head down in a bucket of ice water and see if they can wake themselves up.

Thanks to all the “humanitarian bombing” that has been done some great companies like Halliburton will not be looking for work during a world-wide economic downturn.  And who will be paying them for the gracious work of rebuilding Libya – well, the Libyan people of course.

The dumbing down of the American people has been so successful that you hardly hear a single outcry against what is taking place.   And all under the watchful eye of Barack Obama – The Great Communicator.

What a farce!

Justice in the 21^st Century

Who kills children with impunity?  Who can come to your home in the middle of the night and kill your grandchildren with impunity?  You might want to ask yourself.

Certainly, when the act includes the purported presence of a world reviled figure, such as Moammar Ghadaffi – then killing the grandchildren of such a person is acceptable, isn’t it?  After all, he is a criminal, isn’t he? – and killing his grandchildren is probably in all of our best interests – don’t you think?

Maybe you are one of the less educated or informed among us – and you believe that the attack on the home of Ghadaffi’s son and grandchildren was an unfortunate mistake.  Yea, right!

Remember now, even for a moment with me – say the words, “Nine Eleven” – you know, 911 – and now try to shake yourself awake for a few moments and repeat after me, “the parents and children who were killed were in no way responsible for any crimes but they were intentionally murdered all the same.”

Kind of reminds you of Waco, doesn’t it?

Who in the entire world can kill children with impunity?  You might want to ask yourself – and you might want to consider that if they can murder children in a foreign country with almost no public outcry – what is going to stop them from doing the same to you or me?

Excuse me for a couple of moments while I wax pedantic.   The War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague has an impeccable record of ignoring intent.  In Kosovo – the act of attrition itself was sufficient to warrant a conviction on war crimes – and the perpetrators of such inhumanity were hunted down and jailed.

In fact it was imperative to do so, because in the case of Kosovo the criminals were either military or national leaders that were perceived as being a problem for NATO and the Western Alliance.

But what of these children, sleeping in their beds at home – remember, they murdered these children while they were at home.  Who has the authority to murder such babes in the woods with no thought of consequence or retribution?  Who?

Adolf Hitler’s own brothers renounced their own last name in their own lifetimes.  We are supposed to be living in a world where truth and integrity are the hallmark of the Western Alliance.

I say bring those responsible for these recent heinous crimes to justice – and make sure retribution against those who would willingly and without fear destroy a man’s heritage, and attempt to annihilate his name – by murdering his grandchildren in their sleep.

Ciphers

The only place left to hide is in the open.

“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen – being understood by the things that are made – even His eternal power and Godhead – so that they are without excuse.” – the Apostle

“in the dream there were tiles with letters on them – like the ones you use for Scrabble – and we were supposed to pick them up and put them in some kind of order on the wall – and it was going to have a message – but then the girl in the dream was telling me – these are not what they seem, they have a hidden meaning – if you just look at them as letters they will have one meaning – but if you know the key – you can read a much deeper meaning.” – from “The Chronicles of a fool.”

In truth – everything is written in ciphers, “that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand.” – from “Who was Mark?”

And, that being the case – you begin to wonder when “great thinkers” like Stephen Hawking are warning us that we should not talk to aliens if they happen to show up – “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans,” – and renowned Neo-Darwinists like Richard Dawkins suggest that life on Earth was seeded by the very aliens Hawking warns us against.

According to Dawkins

The aliens of Hawking

Who brought Earth its life

Must be intelligent

Though Hawking warns

Should they come a knockin’

Was it Dawkins or Hawking?

Who warned, “have some sense!”

And, “don’t speak to them!”

But my question becomes

Is it Hawking or Dawkins

We must reverence?

- The Fool

Perhaps this was Darwin’s greatest downfall – he really only saw the surface and in his simplistic observations he failed to recognize the immense complexity that lay just beyond the boundaries of his sight – an encrypted masterpiece that defies a sensible response from either Dawkins or Hawking.

And so they go walking about in the Emperor’s new clothes – disdaining and mocking all criticism – and scorning those who in their intellectual penury have the audacity to point out that they are walking around naked.

Never mind the facts – they have powerful advocates and protectors – but if you listen carefully to the discourse taking place in the public square – you will eventually conclude – by the sheer volume of the broadcast – that the core issue is summed up in these words from the Ancient Texts.

“who hath believed our report?”

To this end each persuasion and the advocates of each point of view line up their own expert witnesses – and the almost endless and futile interrogations and depositions commence – at times reaching a markedly carnival atmosphere – save for the rack, and being drawn and quartered, and the Iron Maiden.  Indeed, this controversy and its resultant conflicts – which throughout history have quickly escalated from debate to debauchery – and from premise to persecution – remains at the center – “are we created a little lesser than the angels for a time and a season?” – or are we “the spawn of an irreverent and random – though somewhat miraculous visitation – eons being what they are – happenstance and accident of the highest order?”

You really must ask yourself what you personally believe in.  Surely something in this wonder of an experience that we call life is “provable.” – And, perhaps something is.

Pythagoras was a Greek mathematician, and like so many “facts” in our records – it is disputed as to whether or not he originated the theory attributed to him – something called “The Pythagorean Theorem” .  If you have ever been to school you may have heard of it.

The theorem itself – whether from Pythagoras or not, goes something like this.  “The area of the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the areas of its squared sides.”  The mathematical equation that expresses this is that if “a” and “b” are the sides of a right triangle – and “c” is the hypotenuse – then a² + b² = c².  There are 367 separate proofs to date – making the Pythagorean Theory one of the most supportable “truths” in our collective understanding – and few except the grossly uneducated or outright fools would deny it.  It is an accepted truth that has been part of our understanding for nearly 2540 years.

One of the proofs is attributed to the 20^th President of the United States – James A. Garfield. (not to be confused with the Garfield you all know and love.)

So, if there is a theorem with such a vast volume of proof – surely this, unlike Darwinism – is something we can trust.

The obvious question arises – are there other truths?  Certainly there are – but as we step into the realm of the “provable” we leave the shore – and we set our bark on troubled seas.

And trouble often brings unexpected results.

Take Buckminster Fuller as an example – twice expelled from Harvard – who decided to embark on “an experiment, to find what a single individual could contribute to changing the world and benefiting humanity.”

Coining the phrase “Spaceship Earth” he set out to see if one person’s contribution and influence was significant – and then he left his indelible mark.

Credited with “discovering” the word “synergy”, Fuller began to set the pearls of his keen observation before us – with perhaps his crown jewel – the evidence of which you need turn perhaps a single page to discover or in some cases, simply turn your head and view the city skyline to observe – the geodesic dome – shining forth as a beacon of progress and promise.

Texas Stadium – “Epcot” at Walt Disney World – The Montreal Biosphere – and countless other manifestations of his concept came into being – delighting and intriguing those that had a first-hand experience of the unique design.

But some argue that Fuller’s greatest gift was in his ability to express and define our common ground – whether the sacred geometry of triangular structures that would rake the heavens and find counterparts in the atomic sub-particle – or a keen understanding that when individuals contribute their full available potential in league with their like-minded and like-motivated constituents – then the product of their cooperation vastly overshadows the mere sum of their collective contributions – resulting in a dynamic that he expressed as “synergy” – an observable phenomenon – and a manifestation of which an entire generation could acknowledge by uttering a single name – “The Beatles”.

After all is said and done – our communication rests on one distinct element – common ground.  And that takes us back to discovering basic truths – if indeed – there are any.

“For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” – a man accused of having a devil

Perhaps the best approach is the clinical – try sowing thistle and see if you get alfalfa.

For the skeptic the better approach may be to test the law of gravity – “that any object released above the surface of the Earth will fall with an acceleration of 10.8 m/sec² until the acceleration of gravity and the resistance of the air on the object become equal reaching what is called terminal velocity” (for a human being in free fall a speed of approximately 120 mph.)

You can test it yourself from any high-rise structure, abatement, or precipice – simply step off.

Your chances of conducting the research more than once are nil – providing you have chosen a sufficient height from which to conduct your research – (although amazingly enough there have been exceptions.)

So what does it all mean?

Maybe the best way to approach the subject is to repeat the question and “ask”,  if the Pythagorean Theory is provable – then it is safe to say it is true – and if it is true – are there other truths?

The general answer is that our science books are filled with established truths – and here is where the present rub comes in.  Neo-Darwinists would have us believe that these proven facts extend to the theory of evolution being “proven” – a mere starting point for Richard – who, once again employing his superior intellect and using the “truth” of Neo-Darwinism as a “given” – extrapolates, and under the glare of this immutable and harsh reality – declares that “God is a myth.” – in fact, he uses his premise of the “truth” of evolutionary theory to take things a step further and state, “The God of the Old Testament is arguable the most unpleasant character in all fiction: Jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” – Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 31.

Answering such a diatribe based on Dawkins’ “truths” that he holds so dear is not only exasperating, but probably futile.

“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou be like unto him.” – the Old Testament

Let me, or should I say – humor me while I point out what I consider to be the flaw in Dawkins’ conclusions.  His beloved “truth” is based on a completely natural world in which, “The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.” – Dawkins

In the natural world lions kill and eat their prey – and if you apply the “truth” of Neo-Darwinism consistently and objectively – then humans employing the same tactics for their survival cannot be judged with a different standard of weights and measures.

Richard, in claiming some kind of moral high ground is simply patronizing us.  In a natural world ruled by the “truth” of natural selection – concepts such as justice, benevolence, and mercy don’t exist – except as ploys to secure an individual’s or a group’s survival and dominance.

In fact – the God of the Old Testament as described by Richard would not only be a primary and formidable adversary in such a game – but he would be the most likely character to be found ruling the hood – almost the kind of character that you would expect Richard to not only laud – but to embrace, if for no other reason than for his own safety.

If you shine the “light” of the “truth” of Neo-Darwinism – that’s all you get.

Paradoxically, in his recent call for the arrest and prosecution of the Pope for covering up “crimes against humanity” in the form of an opinion he wrote suggesting that the Church protect itself from litigation surrounding their ongoing abuse scandal – Richard was appealing to our “higher selves” or our “better nature” – calling on us to stand up and be counted for supporting the rule of law – concepts and ideas that are very much – at least in the laws of Western Civilization – based on the commandments of Richard’s fictitious God of the Old Testament.

When we discover such inconsistencies in the application of the “truths” of Neo-Darwinism – then perhaps it is prudent to heed the words of another voice with whom Richard has little in common.

“A house divided against itself shall not stand.” – Jesus of Nazareth

If Richard’s “truth” is really “the truth” – as sure as Pythagoras – then “let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

And let’s not patronize one another with what by definition must be abandoned as myth and conjecture in the light of Richard’s “truth” – “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” – these are mere illusions mocking the simple – and let us brace ourselves for those who will rise up and secure their own survival – and their chosen destiny – expecting no quarter – for no quarter will be given.

After being handed such “pitiless indifference” – you may – like many who have accepted Richard’s “truth” wonder if it is really so – “is life even worth living?”

Based on the creed of the Neo-Darwinist – the answer for far too many would; in all probability – be a resounding “no!”

The list of candidates for what most of us would consider “lives that are not worth living” is perhaps better left to your imagination.  Suffice it to say that what has for centuries been considered a grievous crime is making steady progress in being accepted in our atheistic modern world – that is – that “lives that are not worth living” can, and in some cases, should be terminated – mercifully of course – it is a solution known as euthanasia.

The Hippocratic oath forbid a doctor to participate in such a things, “I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel” – from The Hippocratic Oath – 400 B.C.

Perhaps more than anything else – as we go quietly into the night with A Clockwork Orange’s Alex and his druges stalking our sanctuaries – perhaps the one truth we may want to discover is indeed, “is life worth living?”

Richard seems to think that believing in those proscribed emotions of love and faith turn us into pitiful mindless dupes who universally fail to experience life and its true meaning – but then, if what Richard believes is the “truth” is in fact the truth – then life has no meaning – no, what we are seeking is some transcendent understanding – something greater than genetic immortality – and where do we look for such truth – is there any evidence whatsoever? – is it hidden – the cipher and the algorithm – or is he really right? – and when we die – nothing.

If such transcendent truth does exist we need evidence.

“For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” – the Apostle Paul

We may go about it in the same manner as any other form of research – what we need is a starting point – a theory – and then we need to test it to see if it is, in fact, true.

Theory – “Having faith in God and being filled with His love enables humans to act in extraordinary ways.” – an idea stated by the Apostle Peter which is found in the New Testament book bearing his name, “charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”

Before we present a single observation of this theory in practice – let me challenge Richard and his “truth.”

In the natural world you will seldom find the gazelle herd inviting the lion that has just killed and eaten one of their number for a sleep over.  For the natural man, such an idea is foolishness – and so it is as it should be – according to Richard, “Blindness to suffering is an inherent consequence of natural selection.  Nature is neither kind nor cruel but indifferent.” – No lions at gazelle sleep overs.

Hold that thought.

On October 2, 2006 Charles Carl Roberts IV walked into a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and took ten girls ages 6-13 hostage.  In the nightmare that followed, (remember now, there is, according to Richard nothing either “kind or cruel” in what you are about to hear) – two of the young girls being held hostage – Marian and Barbie Fisher, 13 and 11, realizing that their captor intended to kill them – stepped forward and requested that he take their lives and spare their classmates.  Roberts murdered five of the girls, and seriously wounded five others, before turning the gun on himself.  The nation and the world were stunned by this, according to Richard – “neither good nor bad” – but nearly indescribable terror.  But the act of love of two minor children is not the final chapter of this unimaginable event – “really just nature being indifferent” – Richard might say – no, the community and the families of the slain and seriously injured called for the forgiveness of the killer – “He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he’s standing before a just God.” But then these amazing people took their loving response to an even more incredible level – visiting Roberts’ widow, parents, and in-laws – visits in which it has been reported that one Amish man held the sobbing father of Carl in his arms – comforting him for more than an hour.

The West Nickel Mine schoolhouse has been torn down – and the new schoolhouse? – mercifully placed in a new location – the New Hope School stands.

And the challenge to the “truth” of the atheist and Neo-Darwinist Richard Dawkins – who believes that “There is no such thing as a Christian child.”

Richard – please shine the “light” of your “truth” – show us how your “truth” empowers human beings in such acts of love and faith – and mercy – bring us your multitudes whose lives have been given meaning by your preaching that “God is a myth” – and that there is “no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”

Show us the missionaries of your “truth” who are this very day giving their lives to alleviate the suffering of the impoverished and the hungry – or picking up those who are dying on the street and taking them to a clean bed of compassion to spend their final hours.

O’ Richard – please show us one example of how your “truth” can transform one single life – and as you do – I charge you to remember Marian Fisher – a Christian child.

To Everything, There is a Time, And a Season, And a Purpose

I just finished reading “The Shack” by William P. Young today – and I was then drawn to do a little research on the Web about whether or not the story was based on any true events – or if it was entirely fictitious.

There is very little question that one would not need to look too far in our modern society to find a “Little Ladykiller” among us, or to have a friend or neighbor who had suffered at the hands of such an atrocity. It is in our daily news broadcasts – even good church goers like  Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer who, by the way, was elected president of the Congregation Council of the church he had attended for 30 years, and was also a Cub Scout leader – can become monsters and prey on the weak and vulnerable among us.

It is not very alarming that a broad spectrum of our society would have serious and lingering questions about why God would not stop such acts, whether there is forgiveness and redemption for those involved, who is to blame if there is any way to ascertain just where such brutality begins from generation to generation, is there any closure or reconciliation possible, and that if there is a God of love – why He allows such things in the first place?

Even those that are not scorched by such tragic events have similar questions about their everyday lives.

What about the way they treat their spouses, children, families, and coworkers? How is God involved in that? What does the Holy Spirit do – and what kind of personality is the Holy Spirit? Was Jesus really real, and if so, what does his sacrifice on the cross mean to me in my everyday life?

And here is a real good one for those of you who read the Old Testament – if God can change His mind, like he did with Moses, does that mean that God can lose His mind too?

In researching and reading reviews and comments on the book, I think the most surprising thing to me was the reaction of “Christian” theologians – warning their flocks to beware of the theological underpinnings of the book.

It reminded me a little bit of the song The Byrds made famous, “Turn, Turn, Turn”, penned by Pete Seeger. I liked the song, and still do – there is a lot of scripture or paraphrased scripture used there – almost the whole song in fact, except that final line, “Turn, turn, turn”. That didn’t come from scripture.

If I were to apply the same reasoning to that song that some of these writers, including Tim Challies, Norman Geisler, and others applied to “The Shack” – then I would have to quit listening to songs like “Turn, Turn, Turn” because of the omission of some words from the original King James Bible – and the addition of that last line. What was Pete Seeger thinking anyway – and what kind of theology is that? “Turn, turn, turn”?

I watched “The Da Vinci Code” too – but I didn’t do so to see if I could improve my understanding of theological tenants.

In other words, if I was going to read “The Shack” for my theology – then perhaps their observations are relevant.

One thing can not be denied, and that is that Willie (he goes by his middle name Paul) certainly broached a lot of deep material in this book – subjects that are not often covered in the Sunday meetings that I have attended. He certainly has some deep, and first hand, insights into losing loved ones under tragic circumstances, the resultant pain, grief, and self-doubt, the need for human relationships – and even our relationship to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He may not have all his ducks lined up as far as the modern council of the Sanhedrin is concerned – but he sure did get people thinking. It is, after all – fiction.

A lot of the criticism is in his approach to the persons of God. He certainly has taken some liberties there.

When you change the paradigm – then you have the opportunity to view the tenants and boundaries of the established or former paradigm in a new way. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to abandon them, you might, in fact, hold to them more dearly than before – providing that your understanding of them was somewhat solid in the first place. Perhaps that is what the theologians are worried about – that they have not prepared their flocks for controversial viewpoints like these.

I have one thought on the resultant theological hair splitting by the status quo – it is this. “The Shack” and its popularity among a large “Christian” audience have hit a sensitive nerve among the Doctors of the Law, and I think it is primarily because “The Shack” does preach freeing yourself from their doctrine, and from their seeming inability to address and answer the deep questions posed in “The Shack”.

Perhaps that is the greatest failure or weakness of the status quo when it comes to our relationship with God – they have put God in a box, their box, and have defined what their understanding of the boundaries of the box are – and they insist that unless we accept God in their way – then we are heretics.

The problem with this is that more often then not – when the Spirit of God moves – the human reaction is just like Peter, when he and James and John saw Jesus transfiguration, “Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.” – Humans want it written in stone. They try to capture the moment so that they can point back to that time and place and say, “it was right there that we met with God.” But as soon as they do that, and try to itemize and set down their rules and requirements for admission into God’s presence, they lose contact with the Spirit of God.

In his book “The Case for Christ” – by Lee Strobel, Ben Witherington III, PH.D. points out that Jesus Himself – when He spoke to the Jewish leaders about who He was, violated some of their most sacred ideas about their relationship with God, “Jesus makes the truly radical statement that it’s not what enters a person that defiles him but what comes out of his heart. Frankly, this sets aside huge portions of the Old Testament book of Leviticus, with its meticulous rules concerning purity.”

These violations of Jewish tradition and the Law were the reason given by the religious leaders to have Him arrested, tried as a blasphemer, and then crucified. However, the scripture tells us another story about their motives, “But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.”

Jesus Himself warned, in His famous “eat my flesh and drink my blood” sermon – “Doth this offend you? [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.”

Presuming to understand all that is written in the Bible is a fairly heady assignment.

If the present day Sanhedrin’s model was working so well, then how come they have not come out with answers to these difficult and challenging questions in a way that has rung true with believers and non-believers alike? Perhaps it is because they don’t have all of their ducks lined up either.

I think that turning this story into a theological debate is missing a lot of the point. Your theology and my theology are probably not based on one or two volumes of study. In fact, your understanding of the Holy Scriptures is probably subjective in some way or another – and you can’t simply declare that since a whole bunch of you have agreed that the scriptures say this or that – that indeed they do. Don’t forget about The Jesus Seminar and others like them.

It is recorded in the Old Testament that “the LORD appeared unto him (Abram) in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,” Some believe that these were three angels. Some believe that one of them was the Son of God. It doesn’t really say does it? It does say that two angels entered Sodom – leaving us to believe that in fact, the one who stayed back was the Son of God, but we really aren’t sure. If it was the Lord Jesus, the question then arises how Jesus had a body before he was born?

Some might consider this to be pretty important theology – but to most people today – the question of what is happening regarding a serial killer and the victims of such crimes is probably a lot more relevant.

Until the theologians and representatives of this present day and age are able to bring the things of God and the things of the Spirit to people in an engaging and vibrant manner – then books like “The Shack” will fill the void – and who’s to say it isn’t God Himself who is behind it.

“And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” – The Apostle

It’s A Sign

Just a few days before he was crucified – Jesus of Nazareth visited the Temple in Jerusalem for one final time.

The Temple was a marvelous structure – but Jesus had not gone there to bask in that holy sanctuary – instead, he had gone for what He himself knew would be His final scathing indictment of the religious leaders of the Jewish people.

“Woe unto you, scribes! Pharisees! – Hypocrites!

As Jesus and his disciples departed – his shocked and bewildered disciples – perhaps in an effort to bring calm to this heated and emotional confrontation – pointed out the beauty of the Temple itself.

But their words fell hollow – and Jesus’ reply and the ensuing destruction of the Temple by the Romans just 40 years later ring down through the centuries – “there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

After they had departed to the Mount of Olives – perhaps to the Garden of Gethsemane – and some repose had come – the disciples – sensing the finality of the deep rift that had just taken place – asked Jesus,

“When shall these things be? – and what shall be the sign of they coming – and of the end of the world?”

And these were the signs,

Troublous times, false messiahs, famine, new devastating diseases, a fear storm, heart attacks, senseless brutality against the innocent, the Earth itself in the throes of death – quaking and shivering – violent eruptions and direful change – and an ever increasingly connected humanity – clamoring for relief – and embracing a final solution while heralding their final King – a ruler so dreadful that he would be worshipped as the King of the entire Earth – a man so overcome and consumed that the Ancient Texts record his name – the Son of Perdition – possessed by that Wicked One – and proclaimed as God in the flesh.