Saturday Night Begins Tisha B’Av

Saturday evening begins the ninth day of the fifth month in the Jewish calendar, which is “Tisha B’Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, many of which have occurred on the ninth of Av,” according to Judaism 101.

“Tisha B’Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70 C.E.).

“Although this holiday is primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temple, it is appropriate to consider on this day the many other tragedies of the Jewish people, many of which occurred on this day, most notably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and from England in 1290.” —Judaism 101

There is another tradgedy that concerns the ninth of Av. “The year is 1313 BCE. The Israelites are in the desert, recently having experienced the miraculous Exodus, and are now poised to enter the Promised Land. But first they dispatch a reconnaissance mission to assist in formulating a prudent battle strategy. The spies return on the eighth day of Avand report that the land is unconquerable. That night, the 9th of Av, the people cry. They insist that they’d rather go back to Egypt than be slaughtered by the Canaanites. G‑d is highly displeased by this public demonstration of distrust in His power, and consequently that generation of Israelites never enters the Holy Land. Only their children have that privilege, after wandering in the desert for another 38 years. — Chabad.org

Those things happened a long time ago. More recently,”World War II and the Holocaust, historians conclude, was actually the long drawn-out conclusion of World War I that began in 1914. And yes, amazingly enough, Germany declared war on Russia, effectively catapulting the First World War into motion, on the 9th of Av, Tisha b’Av.” — Chabad.org

So, how long must we remember things of the past? As long as it takes that they are not repeated.

Chabad.org put it this way: “What do you make of all this? Jews see this as another confirmation of the deeply held conviction that history isn’t haphazard; events—even terrible ones—are part of a Divine plan and have spiritual meaning. The message of time is that everything has a rational purpose, even though we don’t understand it.”

Ebola. . . A Bowl of What?

Not long ago, here in American, there was a lot of talk in the news about Ebola. Not a little fear spread around. A number of countries barred their borders to persons traveling from West Africa. While the U.S. President did not, responding to public pressure, some American States’ Governors did. Some news outlets, at least that’s what they call themselves, tried unsuccessfully to bring the pot of fear to full-boil panic. That’s all changed. While certainly other newsworthy events have pushed to the media’s “front page,” a Presidential appointee, Ron Klain, Vice President Joe Biden’s former chief-of staff, was appointed to coordinate the Ebola response. Perhaps through his doing, mention of Ebola is nearly wiped from the media’s collective attention. This is certainly keeping panic down. The epidemic, however, was far from over. America fell into the “Hear no Evil” mode. The World Health Organization released newly consolidated data early last December, saying that 16,169 cases of Ebola had been reported, with almost 7,000 people dying. The three countries most affected by the outbreak are Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. While certainly that’s tragic, it hasn’t made it to the quarter million as some sources predicted. Within a month, another four thousand cases of Ebola had been officially reported, bringing the total to over twenty thousand. And still we Americans went merrily along not knowing the true nature of this epidemic.

“For more than a year, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone have been experiencing the largest and most complex outbreak of Ebola in history. Cases continue to be reported in Guinea and Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia on May 9, 2015, meaning that 42 days (two incubation periods) had passed since the last Ebola patient was buried. The health system in Liberia continues to monitor for new cases and to take precautions to prevent transmission in the country. CDC is also closely monitoring the situation and will update information and advice for travelers as needed.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported.

So Guinea and Sierra Leone continue with the outbreak. American public health personnel continue to travel for short tours of duty to Sierra Leone. And Americans continue business as usual. Well, not quite. There’s something new on the horizon that is a continuation of the racial divide in Ferguson, MO. The news focus is about bad police officers (white police officers) and their racism and violence toward black people. Racial tension seems higher now that it was fifty years ago. More things for which we are to be fearful. Fear is a useful tool.

Crisis breeds fear; unchecked fear leads to panic, which results in lawlessness. But crisis makes for news. So it seems that we move from one story to another, one fear to another, and remain just fearful enough but never so much as to panic. Why would anyone want to incite fear? I don’t seriously think the media in general wants to incite fear; it is simply a byproduct of crisis, which sells papers, attracts viewers. Perhaps there are others, however, that find a crisis, and resulting fear, useful. American politician Rahm Emanuel is reported to have said: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”(1)

While the reporting of police violence is a central component of the news cycle, it seems clear that the one of the greatest crisis in America during this century is the act of war against America by Islamic forces. These forces destroyed the Twin Towers in New York, part of the Pentagon, and four passenger airplanes. One might argue that this act sparked the beginning of WWIII. Out of that crisis was born the Homeland Security Agency. This was a response to what was perceived as a lack of coordination between various law enforcement agencies in the United States, and the lack of a national command structure to oversee both domestic and international interventions. Another response to the attack was the PATRIOT act. “the PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The title of the act is a ten-letter ackronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. On May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, a four-year extension of three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act: roving wiretaps, searches of business records (the “library records provision”), and conducting surveillance of “lone wolves”—individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities not linked to terrorist groups.” (2) The argument has been made that the PATRIOT Act allows the government to set aside the American Constitution in order to fight an undeclared war, a war on terrorism committed by groups and individuals rather than nations. Fear of terror, additional acts of terror, enable implementation of PATRIOT Act activities on broad scales within America, and are used to forge America’s international response to perceived threats around the world.

For the PATRIOT act, and its sweeping away of Constitutional protections, America must constantly face new and ever-greater threats to its national security. Its a vicious cycle fed by fear. We fear an enemy, whether a nation, a group, or one person acting alone, or a disease. Our fear paralyses us. We accept measures that will make us feel safe, not considering the effects. Appeasement. We are willing do give up our own personal liberty to feel safe from a perceived threat.

And all the while, we are being led to believe we can no longer trust our police officers. The underlying message brought to us is that They are not serving and protecting us. Some “conspiracy” theories say that Americans are being led toward a massive federal take over of law enforcement duties. Some “conspiracy” theories say we are being led toward a massive civil war.

So, back to ebola. It’s still going on. It’s not dead yet. All that needs to happen is to announce a new case in the United States, brought back by health workers, perhaps. The news establishment doesn’t need to start a new crisis to get attention—just recycle an old one. Doing so helps cool the on-going crisis, distracting the public. Distracting us? Yes, distracting us from another, eminent crisis. But wait. What else is going on in the news at the moment? How about hackers? We seem to be having a lot of breaches of information that is contained on computer servers, both commercial as well as government.

It’s a bit like a magic show. The magician distracts our attention to the left while he does something on his left, and then to the right as he does something on his right. Eventually, when all is set up, the magician springs the trap. So, what’s the finale? I suppose it will be a financial crisis. Perhaps hackers cause the banks to close up shop. Perhaps “Wall Street” will ring the bell early one day. People have spoken about the potential of a financial-system collapse looming over us.

But enough gloom and doom. Let us rise above the fear. Let us not look for solutions here or there or in any human form or agency. And whatever you do, don’t sign a loyalty oath. Be loyal to our Father in Heaven and His Son our only Savior. Let us remember the words G-d breathed to His servants long ago:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1,2)

(1) Brainyquotes
(2) Wikipedia

Don’t mess with our G-d!

King David, before he was crowned king, was pursued by King Saul. Taking refuge in the town of Zif, King David was betrayed by the local people, who reported his whereabouts to King Saul, then sent spies to follow David’s trail, assisting King Saul in his attempt to capture King David. It was regarding this time that King David wrote Psalm 54 (or a psalm that we now know as Psalm 54), which begins:

O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.

For strangers have risen against me;
ruthless men seek my life;
they do not set God before themselves.
Selah

Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
in your faithfulness put an end to them.
—v.1-5

So here’s the thing. King David had found a place of security and relative peace in his flight from King Saul, who had already given up the pursuit. Then all of a sudden, King David is betrayed. It would be easy to despair. But King David looked to the L-rd, the G-d of Israel, asking to be vindicated by G-d’s Name. King David didn’t say that he was blameless or that he didn’t deserve what was happening. He simple placed himself in G-d’s hands. King David knew the L-rd as his L-rd. The G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, the G-d of Jacob, the G-d of David. Personalized.

Today, we can personally know the L-rd who is G-d, when we let go of our false sense of self, yielding to the Son of G-d, the Messiah, Lord Y’shua. Savior. We are vindicated by the G-d of Israel through Lord Y’shua. Those, like the betrayers of King David, who come against us “do not set G-d before themselves.” King David’s enemies, like our enemies of today, did not realize that their efforts were doomed from the start. Though it may appear that they might win, they lose. King David knew what we must know and understand, his enemies as our enemies have the evil turned back upon themselves.

If you have a sense that this is leading somewhere else, you are right. Check out who’s going to find herself in the angry hands of a Holy G-d: “Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth, and laws don’t count for much if they’re not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice—not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed,” said Hilary Clinton at an address at the Women in the World Summit. Hilary Clinton is out to change the religious beliefs of Christians.

More to think about—an article in CharismaNews interprets Ms. Clinton’s comment, saying: “It used to be, you were considered compassionate, caring and humble to embrace the values of the Bible. Now you are the enemy … according to Secretary Clinton and President Obama. It is only going to get worse.”

Provoking Fear

As I’ve followed more closely current events and reporting over the last several months, I see three broad divisions in news reporting originating here in America. The first is what has become to be known as the mainstream media (MSM). These include corporately owned outlets such as CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, and the major newspapers and magazines that publish online, such as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and my favorite, the Christian Science Monitor. While there are hundreds of television networks and print media, I’ve read that all are owned by only six corporations. Interesting, if true.

Generally, all media in this division report the news in a journalistic fashion, using a variety of sources, are written in a news-reporting style, and, unless in an opinion column, leave out opinions except where quoted by a source. Can these news outlets slant the news? Of course. How a report is put together, the various sources and what they say, and IF an event is even reported, all work toward a particular self-interest.

The second group are not outwardly owned by corporate media, are relatively well written and well reported, yet occasionally contain some reporter opinion within the main articles. An example would be Breitbart. These sites offer their own take on the news that is reported in the mainstream, as well as adding news that isn’t generally covered, or is covered in a limited way.

Then there are the individuals and small teams that say they report the news that the mainstream media isn’t telling us. They know something that the mainstream either doesn’t know, isn’t paying attention to, or doesn’t want you to know. At least that’s what they’ll tell us. This group is collectively referred to as “conspiracy theorists.” Yet while they aren’t corporately owned, many are heavily sponsored by one company. My favorite in this category is Steve Quayle. Most of the articles are links to other, similar, news sources. Of those written by Mr. Quayle, I read that he’s a Christian, believes that satin with come to Earth through a stargate, and will do so very soon, perhaps in September during the final blood moon. Many in the category of news quote each other. Mr. Quayle becomes an expert that is quoted by the All News Pipeline, for instance.

These news outlets have in common a lack of journalistic style, poor grammar, dubious sources or un-named sources, and after an article or two, leave me wanting to run, not walk, for the hills in abject fear of any of a hundred very horrible things that are about to happen, and happen especially to me. Often, we are called “shepple,” and ridiculed for not believing in what they write, by believing the mainstream media, whom they say are liars. We all, we are told, are being lied to by government officials. One of these websites that foretells of the fall of money, that the banks will soon close their doors along with our access to what we though was our money, will sell us silver and gold. Mostly they give away fear.

The thing about these sites, another common bond, is that there is a thread of truth to their writing. Take the simple fact that our own government is spying on us, has set up fake cell phone towers to listen in on our phone conversations and read our texts, and does have a very large database that tracks us. This we know, if we are any bit an American citizen, is completely against our rights under the Constitution. From this simple fact of spying conducted against Americans by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), these blogger newsies tell us our names are compiled into a “red list.” They say this list that will be used this summer to raid our homes and drag us all off to concentration camps. They say there are thousands of “disposable coffins” stashed for ready use. Wait, disposable coffins? Does that mean there are also reusable coffins?

But wait, there’s more. To continue the Orwellian nightmare, the military exercise this summer know as Jade Helm 15, has train cars with shackles in the floors traveling to the southern states, foreign troops being smuggled into America through our southern border, and lots of stuff is being stored in closed-down Walmarts in several states. There are even tunnels beneath most Walmarts we are told, that lead to airports and connect other Walmarts and military bases. All of this so troops can freely move about. (Back in the day I used to shop at the Post Exchange, but maybe Walmart is under contract.) And the reason for the military exercise coming up? Well, if we wouldn’t bury our heads in the sand, if we’d wake up, these newsies tell us, then we’d know that the military is practicing for martial law and confiscation of our guns. Well, confiscating guns somebody’s, that is. Can’t get guns from homes where there are none.

NOTE TO NSA, or to whomever: See, I’ve just been doing some research. Really. Please take my name of the Main Core watch list now. Thanks in advance. Yours Truly, Wil Robinson.

Seriously, though. There are things happening that aren’t explainable. There are wars and rumors of wars. There are earthquakes and Tsunamis. Fish are dying in the Pacific Ocean, chickens and turkeys in several northern states of America. There are riots and there is lawlessness in the land. And don’t forget the desertification of my home state of California, the once-great Republic of California that we so affectionally called the ROC. And what about the spiritual forces, dark forces, that are moving gullible men and women to commit acts, or support them, that are abominable in the eyes of our Lord Y’shuaJesus. Certainly we are on the eve of destruction, and the Second Coming is, well, coming.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

—Second Coming, by William Butler Yeats

For some interesting notes and links to “end time” fulfillment of Biblical prophesy see Running from Babylon.

Let us pray that we not fall prey to fear, that we look to the Lord and to His Word, which is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. The lamp that shows us where we are, where we stand; the light thats illuminates the path upon which we are to journey.

Let us pray we look not to the hills to rescue us, but the Lord of Heaven, the Creator, the Father of our Lord Y’shuaJesus.

Let us pray we have the strength and wisdom to act in accordance with the will of our Lord Y’shuaJesus. We are not to simple stand by, watching and waiting, but we are called to some action, or will be soon.

Let us be prudent and store up that which is appropriate against the day in which there will be nothing left in stores, or that we are not allowed to buy (see Revelation 13.)

May G-d have mercy upon us in these troubled times.

The Staff of G-d, the Sword of Joshua

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’s hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

—Exodus 17:8-13

It makes sense that Moses should stand upon a hill, above the battle, with upheld arms. The symbolism seems clear. Moses raising his arms, yielding to the will of G-d, his own strength wanes. Aaron and Hur support Moses, allowing him to continue to hold high the staff of G-d. The staff symbolizes authority. It is upon G-d’s authority that Moses sends Josua and the people of G-d into battle. Somewhere I read that the names Aaron and Hur meant Praise and Word. This, too, makes sense. For holding up the arms of Moses, supporting the waning strength is:

Praise of G-d
Word of G-d

But let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that all it takes to gain victory over an enemy is to stand upon the authority of G-d, holding up the Word of G-d as our justification, lifting our hands, our arms in praise. For there, below Moses, boots hit the ground, weapons found their mark. The people of G-d fought for liberty from their enemy, an enemy that would enslave them.

And some 3,000 years later—two-hundred and forty years ago—farmers on what is now American soil stood together against another form of enslavement: British imperial tyranny. They stood together for Liberty. They stood together for Justice. And so it began in Lexington, not far from Boston, that well-trained British soldiers were ordered to move against the colonial people, against farmers and craftsmen. They were ordered to subdue men and women, untrained in the art of war. But the colonist stood bravely against the “red coats.’ Ordered to give up their arms, they refused. Shots were fired. Shooting continued into their backs as they ran. Men died, including their commander. This was the battle, really a massacre, of Lexington. But. . .

. . .came Concord. On April 19th, 1775, things would be different. It began a mile out of Concord, at Meriam’s Corner, as the red coats crossed a bridge, still exuberant from their victory and sacking of Lexington. They marched toward Boston. They met more untrained farmers and craftsmen. But this time, the red coats faced a different tactic, one we call guerrilla warfare.

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Even now, the significance of Lexington and Concord awakens a response in Americans that goes far beyond the details of the day or the identity of the foe. An unmilitary people, at first overrun by trained might, had eventually risen in their wrath and won a hard but splendid triumph.” —Author Willard Wallace

Who will we turn to in times of trouble?

The world as we know it is about to end. We face devistating geological upheavals, increasing in number and scope. The Pacific Ocean is becoming radioactive, fish are dying. Chickens and turkeys are being killed, millions so far, as they are diagnosed with avian flu. We face and imminent monetary collapse, and not just in Greece. Riots rattle America. Racial tension is at an all-time high, like a pot about to boil over. A spirit of control pervades the world, as liberty is sent packing for a long, lonely holiday. We face tyrannical individuals that have allied themselves against the people of G-d. Islamic terror spreads its ugliness, its lawlessness throughout the world. We face deception from within our own ranks, within the Church. And in these times of trouble, to whom shall we turn? We must remember—we must not forget—how David responded:

Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
In your faithfulness put an end to them.
— Psalm 54:4

Matthew Henry commented that “If we are for him, he is for us; and if he is for us, we need not fear. Every creature is that to us, and no more, which God makes it to be. The Lord will in due time save his people, and in the mean time he sustains them, and bears them up, so that the spirit he has made shall not fail. There is truth in God’s threatenings, as well as in his promises; sinners that repent not, will find it so to their cost. David’s present deliverance was an earnest of further deliverance. He speaks of the completion of his deliverance as a thing done, though he had as yet many troubles before him; because, having God’s promise for it, he was as sure of it as if it was done already. The Lord would deliver him out of all his troubles. May he help us to bear our cross without repining, and at length bring us to share his victories and glory. Christians never should suffer the voice of praise and thanksgiving to cease in the church of the redeemed.”

Chaos Coming?

FILE - In this file photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, Nigerian soldiers, left, pass by on the back of an armed truck as they patrol a local market after . Nigerian jets bomb Boko Haram out of a slew of northeastern Nigerian towns and villages. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola, File) (A2015) — FILE – In this file photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, Nigerian soldiers, left, pass by on the back of an armed truck as they patrol a local market after . Nigerian jets bomb Boko Haram out of a slew of northeastern Nigerian towns and villages. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola, File) (A2015)

In a Fox News opinion piece, David Curry says, “Persecution of Christians a significant indicator of future world chaos.” Check out the article here.

Killing us gently

aaa3_1193 — Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi holds what the group said was its first “press conference.”

CNSNews.com – Al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based affiliate, which on Saturday shot dead an American journalist and a South African teacher to prevent their rescue by U.S. Special Forces, wants the world to know that it opposes beheadings and other forms of brutality practiced by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL).

Read the article at CNS.com.

Wow. And there are “churches” that want to join together to form a religious alliance with these folks. I mean, seriously. If we aren’t facing the Last Days, if these things aren’t leading to the final battle between good and evil. . . I’m mean seriously, shooting a person dead is so much kinder than beheading. Wow!

Lord Y’shua, have mercy upon us. . .

Are these the Last Days? Does it really matter?

There is compelling evidence that the Last Days are upon. Throughout the world, we find it more and more difficult to sing of the lazy, hazy days of summer. Even people who normally don’t outwardly mention such things are wondering what’s really happening. People are becoming scarred. Now, certainly, the world has faced its disasters. Since the early Twentieth Century, there have been two world wars with great loss of life, an epidemic that took the lives fifty million people, devastating floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and many prolonged, deadly wars and civil conflicts. Crime is endemic. Here in the United States we have armed our local police departments as if preparing for war. And throughout the last 70 years we’ve had the threat of nuclear annihilation hanging over us. But this year is different.

“Nearly on a daily basis, we witness our very earth in what seems like birth pangs— be it nuclear threat, terrorism, hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes—or violence, wars and rumors of war—while most people seem almost oblivious to what is happening (or may see something is amiss but do not turn to Scripture and Bible prophecy to understand the implications). Again, God is sounding out a warning to make ready.

“Even now, while the reality of the Antichrist and a one-world religion is looming closer and closer all the time, preachers and teachers are sitting at their desks inking out sermons that discredit Bible prophecy.” Lighthouse Blog

“The world is moving so fast, and so many devastating things are happening on a daily basis that even serious issues are constantly placed on the back burner to make way for a more serious or a more current piece of bad news.

“Just to name a few, the list includes: ISIS, Ebola, drought, famine, drug cartels, unabated illegal crossings at our Southern border, a house of cards economy, kidnappings, a gridlocked Congress that is more concerned with inflicting damage on the opposing party than serving the people, unaddressed massive government scandals and potential terrorist attacks on the homeland.” Worrisome Things, Charlie Daniels

See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Matthew 24:4-8

What’s a Christian to do? First, we are told by our Lord Y’shuaJesus to not be alarmed, all these things are to take place. Despite this, I long for the conflicts to end, for peace in this world to prevail. I feel the hurt of the millions of suffering people, and wish for resolve. I feel powerless to stop the agony. And then there are time in which I sit back and say to myself, “Fine. If there is war and disease and famine, let it be.” For these things are to happen. They happen because we made them happen. G-d didn’t start the wars, didn’t make us suffer disease, didn’t make us starve. G-d didn’t inspire a jihad that destroys rather than builds up. G-d, when He stood as a man looking over Jerusalem said that He’d wanted so much to gather up His people like a hen would gather her chicks. G-d wants us to have peace; we choose conflict. We are guilty. We hate. We sin. We have cried out for justice, and we have gotten it.

The second thing that we must do is summed up on that post from Lighthouse Blog: “If you love Jesus Christ and His Word and if you really want to serve Him, now is the time to be fully surrendered to the Lord without reservation. Whatever the cost. We are invited to the wedding feast, ready to meet our Savior, with wicks trimmed and lamps burning. Now is the time to make ready.” Lighthouse Blog

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you. . .

The Movie: GoodBye World!

In programming classes, during the dawning of the computer age, I recall the phrase, “Hello World.” It was used as the first statement a newbee programmer would have his first program write to a screen. This movie, “Goodbye World!” used a spin-off of that phrase as the last thing to be displayed on all cell phones as the computer age crashed into night. The movie, set in Northern California, centered on a group of old college friends, now middle-aged, that managed to get together as the world plummeted into chaos. It is explained that after college, after these friends went their own ways, two of the them, James and Lilly, were awakened to the fragility of the world, especially food production, electricity, and transportation. They not only saw that the modern world was headed toward an abrupt halt, they acted upon that vision. They left the city, heading to Northern California to build a self-sustaining home high on a mountain.

. . .let us keep awake and be sober. (1 Thes 5:6)

It is in this home that the old college friends gather. It’s not a movie with “we all lived happily ever after.” Right from the start the group finds it must deal with diverse personalities and perspectives. Ever the pragmatist, James has collected a sizable cache of food and medicine, and developed a large truck garden. He has a filtered well and solar panels providing power not only for the well, but also for the house. Lilly, on the other hand, would rather not think about tomorrow, and simply eat, drink, smoke dope, and be happy for the moment. James and another, more pragmatic friend, head into town to the small grocery store to pick up some supplies. They find that a motorcycle gang has taken over the store, and raise the prices a thousand percent. They pay with cash and a gold watch. Once outside the store, the witness three men taking groceries away from another man, and they leave without helping him. On the way home, they stop at a neighbor who often has sold them meat and things they don’t raise. They buy it at the same cost, added to their “tab,” that they’d always paid. They are neighbors, after all.

Internal tensions rise in the house as they learn of the extent of civil breakdown in the United States, and that two members of this old-college group, have contributed to the meltdown of society through their computer-hacking and virus-creating activities. Then the neighbor who’d sold them some meat comes by the house to ask for spare medicine. Someone from town has an infection and the motorcycle gang took all the drugs from the store when it left town. James says he doesn’t have anything to offer.

Next major event is that many of the neighbors from lower down the mountain have gathered at the home below James’s. Along come two armed National Guardsmen. They are told they can’t stay at James’s home, that the Constitution forbids it. They don’t leave the area, but settle in with the now larger group living in the home farther down the mountain. Trouble brews when that group is stirred up by these “soldiers,” when they learn of the large food cache and medicines that James and his friends have in their home. These soldiers come to James’s home, and at gun point, declare that James will not only share the food cache, but give all medicine to them. James sees no recourse, and agrees. The next day, James takes food down the hill, but not the medicine. He says that he will share the medicine, but the ill must come to him. It is his preparations, after all. One of the soldiers, a man named Damien, decides to kill James to make a point that to all not to defy Damien and his authority. That group does nothing. Just as Damien is about to kill James, he is shot by one of the old college friends, a woman, who’d come down behind James. She then makes a speech that begins with one spoken by General George Washington:

“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.” (Address to the Continental Army before the battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776.)[Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george_ii.html#x4CP8VkwaPuVvH70.99]

Someone yells, “Who’s our enemy?” To which the woman says, “We are are own enemies.” She then goes on to say that we need to work together, for if we are are going to live free, we must work together.

What strikes me from this movie is that the character James is a hippie sort, yet wants to maintain control of that which he has stored, without sharing beyond his own household. Additionally, while wanting to maintain his home as his, to maintain his freedom and liberty, he is unwilling and unable to fight for it. It is the woman who ends up shooting the soldier Damien, that is willing to not only share, but to band together to form a cooperative, to work together for all their common good. And obviously she is willing to fight for that freedom, that liberty.

This soldier, Damien, represents the reign of tyranny an individual can inflict upon a community. These tyrants are not leaders, not rulers, not raised by G-d to serve people. They only wish to dominate, to control, to live at ease at the expense of humans for which they have no respect, no love. They gather others around them who’d rather join them than be against them. They suck the lives out of those they attempt to control. They are bullies. They deserve nothing more than to die. This is my opinion. As Christians we have a moral obligation to work toward righteousness, keeping always an eternal perspective. What does that mean? I think the meaning includes that the righteous have nothing to do with the schemes of the devil. I think the schemes of the devil include using willing humans to bring chaos and slavery to the lives of the righteous. If we fail to be on guard, fail to watch, we are going to sleep and darkness will fall upon us and we will be enslaved, economically, socially, morally. We will lose the rewards that we’ve gained, we will lose our crowns. If, as so many believe, the time is short, we must be doubly sure that we fall not into the devils way.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine . . .