Sheep and Goats

Category: Prophesy

  • Written Trumps Spoken Every Time

    One would think that the written word, from a trusted source, would trump the spoken word every time.

    The written word has been prepared, reviewed, fact-checked and edited, not just by the author, but often by a third party. But not so the spoken word, which is more readily swayed by emotion of the moment. The statements you later come to regret most often come through the spoken route.

    Um…that really didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean to say it that way. Who hasn't said these words?

    A speaker might be voicing a pet peeve. He might be promoting some personal view. He might be flat out wrong, repeating a view he thinks is true, or would like to be true, but isn’t.

    So it’s unsettling when we think of all the folks who vividly remember what so-and-so said 20 years ago but cannot recall what was written one month ago on the same topic.

    We’re people persons, of course. We like personalities, we like characters. They bring life to the dull printed word. It’s all understandable and fine, so long as we don’t lose track of the inherent weakness of the spoken word.

    Even such awkward events as 1975 were much easier on the written word folks than those of the spoken word.

    1975 was the end of 6000 years of human history, calculated from the Bible’s own internal chronology. But it’s complicated and obscure in a few places and mistakes are possible. Smart Isaac Newton took a stab at the EOW date and came up with 2060! At any rate, many of us figured that the end of this system of things would occur in 1975. It didn’t turn out that way. (as is easily proven by newspapers)

    If you mostly relied on what is written, you had an easier time of it. To be sure, it was written. But it was written with restraint, in proportion to overall events, and always with a sense of tentativeness. The end of the system was possible in that year, even probable. But it wasn’t a sure thing. That was the written word.

    But the spoken word…there were people who spoke of nothing else!

    Yeah, yeah, yeah! The end of the system of things!! I can almost taste it!! There were many pumped like this.

    Let’s go borrow some money! We won’t have to pay it back!!! There were a few who reasoned this way. You should have seen Tom Barfendogs tooling around in his new Maserati! He’d always driven AMC products.  Alas, the Day of the Lord did not come as expected. The Day of the Bank, on the other hand, came right on time.

    In hindsight, the whole episode left us with egg on the face. Of course, it’s understandable, for what Christian doesn’t look forward to the rule of God’s Kingdom?

    Even Jesus’ disciples wanted to know when would the time come.

    When, now, they had assembled, they went asking him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”  He said to them: “It does not belong to you to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction…."   Acts 1:6-7

    Here, as in all other areas, a Christian does better when he or she puts primary trust in the written word, not the spoken.

    For we all stumble many times. If anyone does not stumble in word, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle also [his] whole body.    James 1:2

    “Do not go beyond the things that are written” 1 Cor 4:6  (note that written is the benchmark, not spoken)

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    Tom Irregardless and Me       No Fake News but Plenty of Hogwash

  • What Makes a Great War Great?

    The Great War began in 1914. Never had the whole world been at war at the same time. No doubt that’s why the word “great” was still available when they went to name the war. Afterwards, since there was a sequel, they rechristened it World War I.

    The Spanish flu epidemic followed in 1918-19, right on the heels of the Great War. It originated in the United States and spread earth wide. It is the greatest, most intense, pestilence in history, before or since. It claimed more lives than did the war.

    On the heels of the war came the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. When Stalin rose to power, in the 1920’s, he instituted a man-made famine, to tighten his control over the peasants. The famine claimed 10 million lives.

    These, and similar, events have been connected with Jesus prophesy starting at Matt 24:3-7

    While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things? And in answer Jesus said to them……..For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.

    Luke’s [another gospel writer, there were four] account of the same event reads: Then he went on to say to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages…

    All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. – Matt 24:8 

    Apparently, a time period is involved. It starts with a bang, and is followed by “pangs of distress.”

    Question: Could 1914 have marked the beginning of the time period Jesus spoke of? If the greatest war in history, followed by the greatest plague in history, and massive food shortages as described does not fulfill this scripture, what does? Just what would it take?

    The Greek word parousia is often translated return, as in what will be the sign of your return? But it should, more accurately, be translated presence – what will be the sign of your presence? When parousia occurs at Phil 2:12, every translator translates it as presence.

    "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence (Gr parousia) only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

    Since a sign is needed for Christ’s presence, it is apparently invisible. He is not to be found tromping around on the earth, so that you need only open your eyes and see him, but he is empowered in the heavens.

    Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet. -  Ps 110:1

    Nearly 40 years in advance, Jehovah’s Witnesses pointed to 1914 as a marked year. [How they were able to do that will be the subject of another post.]

    The World, a leading New York newspaper, featured this headline in its August 30, 1914 magazine section: “End of All Kingdoms in 1914”

    “The terrific war outbreak in Europe has fulfilled an extraordinary prophecy….For a quarter of a century past, through preachers and through press, the ‘International Bible Students [Jehovah’s Witnesses], best known as ‘Millennial Dawners,’ have been proclaiming to the world that the Day of Wrath prophesied in the Bible would dawn in 1914. ‘Look out for 1914!’ has been the cry of the hundreds of traveling evangelists who, representing this strange creed, have gone up and down the country enunciating the doctrine that ‘the Kingdom of God is at hand.’”

    ………………………

    Two other passages link Christ’s coming to power with chaos on earth.  Bracketed comments [ ] are my own.

    And I saw, and, look! a white horse; and the one seated upon it had a bow; and a crown [Christ empowered in the heavens] was given him, and he went forth conquering and to complete his conquest……And another came forth, a fiery-colored horse; and to the one seated upon it there was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another; and a great sword was given him…..And I saw, and, look! a black horse; and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice as if in the midst of the four living creatures say: “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the olive oil and the wine.”….And I saw, and, look! a pale horse; and the one seated upon it had the name Death. And Hades was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.
    Revelation  6:2-8

    And Revelation 12:9-12

    And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ [Christ comes to power in the heavens] , because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down….On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.

    The common thread in all these passages is as follows: Christ comes to power invisibly in the heavens. [in 1914] He cleans house, just as a new Republican administration will toss out all the Democrats, hide though they might. (Or vice versa, not to liken either party to the Devil! Don’t even think it.) The Devil and his angels, now on earth, proceed to…um….raise hell. They know they’re time is short. So the establishment of God’s Kingdom in the heavens means, temporarily, horrible conditions on earth. How’s that for counterintuitive!

    But it’s only temporary pangs of distress. (Matt 24:8) In time comes inauguration day, in which Kingdom government extends over the earth.

    These are among the facts one may learn through a personal home Bible study.

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    Civilization entered on a cruel and perhaps terminal illness in 1914 – Frank Peters, St Louis Post-Dispatch, January 27, 1980

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    Tom Irregardless and Me             No Fake News but Plenty of Hogwash

  • Another Farewell to Mickey Spillane

    Here’s the first. Click here.

    Mickey Spillane’s Black Alley…a book review:

    If private eye Mike Hammer takes some lead in the gut and needs a doctor to patch him up, will he get a loving sincere TV doctor? Or will it be the fallen skid row bum type… some has-been doctor clawing his way back to respectability? (Hint: Mike likes to swill beer with his doctor.) Is Black Alley to be a tale of redemption?

    Or is it a love story? For at long last, Mike proposes to his knock-out secretary Velda….violating doctors orders….he is not supposed to get excited, but how can you not with a woman like Velda?  She’s long hoped, but never thought, the day would come. But there will be no shacking up before the knot is tied….Mike is an old fashioned type of guy. And it’s going to be one heck of a courtship.

    See, the mob has lost all their money, and they’re not too happy about it. Turns out they think Mike knows where the dough is. The Feds think so too, and they want the money for taxes. So Mike has to dodge them both and beat them all to the stash. Oh, did I mention that he’s recuperating from a near fatal wound, and the dead beat doctor has to show up now and then to patch his guts with duct tape? Will Mike be up to the challenge?

    As Mike himself would say, don’t be a jerk! You know very well he’ll be. This is Mike Hammer! It’s the mob that better watch out!

    This is a crime story, and it may sound over the top, but writer Spillane pulls it off with flair. He’s doing what he does best…writing cops and robbers. He’s was doing it while I was still….well…he’s been doing it a long time, and it shows. His first novel sold in 1947, and he has mastered his craft. No cardboard, techno-thriller characters in Black Alley. Love and redemption subplots operate in the background. Here are characters with depth that you can care about. If they’re not entirely believable, they are nonetheless riveting, well-sketched. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, and they are all well worth the read.

    The preceding is the book review I wrote a while back to be released someday, and now that Mickey Spillane has died, (July 17, 2006) it seems a good a time as ever.

    Mickey was one of our people, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He may have been in and out once or twice….I’m not really sure….but he died faithful.

    A worthy pastime, if you are going to read any of his novels, is to find in them references to the faith. You have to bypass the first super violent Hammer novels, written from 1947 on, because he didn’t become a JW until 1952. And I’ve only read three, one of which doesn’t count: (pre-1952) I, the Jury, Black Alley, and Something’s Down There. I, the Jury was his first. Black Alley and Something’s Down There were his last.

    Mako, in Something’s Down There, speaks of the nutty evolutionists. That’s a clue. Evolutionists aren’t nutty….they’re revered. Thus, the book’s author is either a JW or a fundamentalist Christian. If he is a fundamentalist Christian, the characters will spend lots of time in church. No one does in this book, so the author must be a JW.

    But the real giveaway is Mike Hammer eying the Mafioso’s house in Black Alley. It is heavily fortified, he observes, like ancient Babylon! Mike Hammer, tough private eye, familiar with ancient Babylon?? Not likely, but Jehovah’s Witnesses know all about Babylon. They’ve studied it time and again….it’s impregnability, it’s system of canals, it’s massive walls and gates….and it’s one vulnerability. It’s imprisonment of exiled Jews. And their unexpected, even miraculous, release.

    Jehovah’s Witnesses take great interest in Babylon because its fall foreshadows events in the modern day.

    Old Testament        She has fallen! Babylon has fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he has broken to the earth!  Isa 21:9

    New Testament:      After these things I saw another angel descending from heaven, with great authority; and the earth was lighted up from his glory.  And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: “She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen…  Rev 18:1

    Every Jehovah’s Witness knows about this.