Rome;The "Great Whore" Of Revelation

I am writing these words with a sense of fear, and trepidation, because I know they will be taken by many to be the expression of a discriminatory hatred that I don't feel, and never have, to my knowledge. I merely put forth the interpretation of scriptures, as I see them, and leave it up to the reader, whether they think there is any truth herein. If you prayerfully consider my words, I believe you will either draw a similar conclusion, or you will at least see how well-intended people can disagree on the following points, with no malice intended between them.

One point in particular has bugged me for years with regards to the prophecy concerning the "Great Whore" of Revelation 17, where it talks of "her" judgment. It begins with a description of her as "sitting on many waters". Later, it explains that the "waters...are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages". And it explains that the "Great Whore" is a city, and it is sitting on "seven mountains". To my knowledge, there is only one great city that has been historically famous for sitting on seven hills ("hills" in scripture are often referred to as "mountains", such as "Mount Zion", and the "Mount of Olives", and the Temple of the Lord being built upon "Mount Moriah"). That city is none other than Rome, Italy. The "beast" that this prophecy alludes to has been accepted by Scholars to be the ten nation confederation that the European Commonwealth will apparently break down into, and which will relinquish all their authority to the Antichrist, for his One-World government.

The major problem with this, so far, is that the E.U. is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. I wonder if the recent bombings in Brussels will eventually cause the headquarters to be moved to Rome, due to their present proximity to the largest concentration ("Per Capita") of Muslim immigrants in Europe being located a short distance from the E.U. headquarters. I don't think the recent bombings are enough to scare the politicians into moving the headquarters. But if it happens again, and soon, and Belgium demonstrates a decided incapacity to protect the headquarters, and the surrounding areas, I could see the politicians deciding to move to some place "safer", like Rome, perhaps??? This would be also taken as a challenge to the murderous terrorists, who hate Christianity, almost as much as they hate Judaism. They don't particularly hate Rome, but the Vatican sits in Rome, the city that "sits on seven 'Mountains'". I'm sure they would consider it a great coup to destroy the Vatican, and the Pope with it, because they couldn't see how the Christian Church could survive a loss like that!!! Certainly, they will have achieved one objective, to terrorize western Europe, which is heavily populated with Catholic believers. This would be their best attempt at wiping out "Christianity", so that Islam could become the dominant religion in Europe.

To their chagrin, they will discover that the Christian Church is much more than the Vatican, and even the Pope, but that will not end their terrorism. That won't end until the true leader of the Christian Church returns; Jesus Christ, and, boy, will they be surprised then!!! But, in the mean time, it is possible that the destruction of Rome will become the major goal of the terrorists, because Revelation 18 describes the destruction of the city referred to in chapter 17, with a symbolism of an Angel taking a stone, "like a great millstone" and throwing it into the sea. Those of you who have seen a stone dropped into a pool of water, or for that matter a drop of water, filmed in slow-motion as it drops into a bucket of water; it has a similar reaction to that of a Nuclear blast upon the earth. Is this God's way of warning us that a Nuclear devise will some day wipe out the city of Rome??? This destruction is described as being watched from the sea (a great distance away), and it is not described as a great fire, or a great explosion, but as a great "smoke of her burning" ( that sounds like a witness's description of a Nuclear "Mushroom Cloud", to me!) I don't prophecy things, remember, I just try to explain the symbolism as best I can. If I am in error, I alone bare the responsibility for missing God on any point; but, if I am correct, then God deserves the glory, for He gave the prophecy to the apostle John, and the ability to understand it to me. This symbolism can't be ignored!!! The consequences of error are too great! If I am in error, I risk being labeled a fool, and becoming a "laughing stock". I'll gladly face that risk, for the opportunity to save even one person, if my warning is true. Revelation 18: 4 cautions us all to, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins; lest you share in her plagues..." I make no judgment beyond that; I think the conclusion should be clear.

There are reports, today, that workers at some of Europe's Nuclear plants have been arrested for trying to join I.S.I.S., leading to speculation that the terrorists are trying to get some enriched Plutonium with which they hope to build a "Dirty" Nuclear Bomb, that can be carried in a suit case, and detonated by a time-fuse (or for that matter, they might prefer to follow their handy-work to their reward, personally)! I wouldn't care to partake of that reward, myself, at all!!!

[UPDATE]--4/1/2016:
Some 50 countries are reported to be meeting, somewhere in Europe, to "discuss" how to stop "Nuclear Proliferation", and part of the discussion is reputed to be methods of keeping terrorists from obtaining Plutonium. I can't see any way of accomplishing that, unless the Europeans are ready to admit that their "misplaced compassion" (as I've earlier referred to it) is a failure, and they must fire all Muslim workers at their Nuclear power plants. I don't think their collective obsession with "Political Correctness" will allow this level of blatant discrimination, no matter how dire the risk to public safety! So, if Rome is blown up by a "Dirty" Nuclear bomb, I guess you can chalk that one up to the obsessive believers in "Political Correctness"!

[UPDATE]--4/3/2016:
And then there's this story of our "living-in-denial", boob of a President, Obama closing the international conference on ways to stem the proliferation of Nuclear weapons around the world, claiming that real progress has been made. His "reasoning" (if that word could laughably be applied here) was based on his belief that the recent treaty signed by Iran will actually prevent them from acquiring Nuclear capability (don't hold your breath on that one!), and that new policies with other governments will make it more difficult for terrorists to acquire enriched plutonium, in order to build a "Dirty" bomb, like the one I described above. If I am reading Biblical prophecy correctly, it apparently will not make it hard enough!

"The Sign Of (Jesus') Coming..."

Today is the day we have selected throughout the world to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, after He was crucified to death, not for His sins (for He was sinless), but for ours, that we might be forgiven, and granted the free gift of eternal life after death that we don't deserve, and can not earn by our own good works, or otherwise merit. The symbolism of allowing His Son to be sacrificed for our sins was not one of God's making, but "ours" (in the sense that "we", or heathen mankind in general, were in need of someone sinless to be sacrificed in our place, in order to satisfy our guilt before a Holy God.) This was a concept created by the heathen nations that surrounded Israel, in ancient times, and would be well understood by the Israelites of Jesus day, many of whom had been worshipping the false deities of the pagan nations, and hypocritically trying to "keep" the commandments of their own God, at the same time. (Except for the minor transgression of "... thou shalt have no other gods before me."--The #1 commandment, of their Ten Commandments!!!) The pagan concept of sacrificing a new-born child, before it was old enough to enter into "sin", was common in the neighboring countries. But God condemned this practice, and even said that it had never entered His mind to expect this kind of sacrifice. So, why did He allow Jesus to pay this price for us? Because He knew that He alone could come to earth and be born as a child, and live approximately 33 years of sinless life, and allow Himself to be crucified, as His own son, as a substitutionary sacrifice for the death we are all deserving of (in this way, God, Himself, conquered the penalty for sin that Satan has devised for all of mankind to suffer. And if you don't believe in a real Devil, than who do you think created the concept of I.S.I.S., and who do you think was the real author of the Koran?).

He paid it so we wouldn't have to!!! All we have to do is believe it, and receive Jesus' forgiveness for all of our sins, and thank Him for dying in our place! That's called being "Born Again"!

Please don't ask me why we have selected this day, because I don't have a clue. I thought that it should be celebrated more closely in proximity to the Jewish celebration of the Passover, since Jesus was crucified on the Friday when they killed the Passover lamb (with all the appropriate symbolism that entails). But, for some reason, probably having something to do with the difference between the Jewish calendar, and our "Gregorian" calendar, we have designated today as "Easter Sunday", the day when the whole world is supposed to rejoice because of the "miraculous" proliferation of rabbits "eggs", all brightly colored the various colors of the rainbow (however the rabbits manage that!), along with various candies, including bags of Jelly Beans, and chocolate "rabbits", etc. In all my years I've never seen any rabbits buying Jelly Beans, or other candy, at a grocery store, or a convenience store, so I have no idea how they do that! That must be part of the "Easter Miracle" that was never explained to me as a child. I guess I'll stick with the Biblical account, and let others give their children a method of rotting their teeth out. Maybe we should call this "Happy Dentists' Visitation Day"! Oh well, I guess I've digressed a little.

In today's Bible reading, I was reminded of what I have come to believe is perhaps the true meaning of the phrase "the sign of (Jesus') coming", which is referred to in Matthew 24: 3, when His disciples asked Him about it, and in verse 27, and 30, when He referred to it, by way of His answer. He mentioned this after describing a scene that reminds one (today) of a description of a Nuclear attack, described in ancient terms, to a people who would have no concept of today's nuclear terminology. While the textual sequence of this reference is not necessarily an indication of the chronology of the events, it is significant, I think, that He is describing His return (to "Rapture" the Church to "meet Him in the air") immediately before this description of what seems to be a Nuclear holocaust. (This is what I believe is the true meaning of "the sign of [His coming]"; the fact that hundreds of millions of people would "disappear", instantly [a "sign", not seen, but UNSEEN!], and those remaining would know that all of them had professed faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord, and Savior). (Note that this refers to His "Coming again", but says nothing about Him touching down on the earth, like it does in Zechariah 14: 4, when it describes His landing on the Mount of Olives, before His final Judgment of the world. This, I hope should clarify the discrepancy of my belief in the pre-tribulation "Rapture", and those who discount it because Jesus is not propecied to "come again, and again", but only once.) Many will probably be well versed in the prophecies of His "Coming Again", but chose not to believe it (or not "...Right now...", as I've heard others say.) This agrees with my conclusion from reading Revelation 6: 12, through 17. It describes a situation, in almost the same terms, when something like a Nuclear holocaust takes place (as Ezekiel: 39, 6 says He will send "fire" upon "Magog") [the land that biblical scholars have long agreed was settled by the ancient tribal ancestors of present-day Moscow], and upon the land that scholars think could be America (just before the Nuclear blasts hit the earth). Then Revelation 7 goes on to describe a scene where God sends His angels to, "hold back the four winds" ( a description of a temporary hesitation in the normal rotation of the earth, perhaps as a result of the force of the Nuclear blasts?), while they "seal" various "witnesses" of the Lord, the 144,000 that have confused the Jehovah's Witnesses for almost 200 years. A little meditating on the Word made me wonder why the Lord would be concerned with only 144,000, when there are estimated to be some 200,000,000 Christians, worldwide (and we are all supposed to be witnesses for Christ), unless He has already "Raptured" us to meet Him in the air! I admit the logic may be flimsy, but it is enough for me to believe in, and I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourselves, if you agree, or not. Anyway, Happy Easter! Praise the Lord! And I hope all your teeth don't rott out today!!!

Misplaced European Compassion

We know who the terrorists were, at least most of them, and we will probably determine any who escaped detection, in time. But who else is the real "culprit", besides the perpetrators themselves? Does extraneous blame for the Brussels bombings need to be passed on to seemingly innocent parties? I believe so.

The whole concept of European compassion for the Muslim refugees has been blown so far out of realistic proportion, that it must take the "lion's share of the blame", certainly not for the bombings themselves, but for creating the casual circumstances that allowed the perpetrators to pull it off, at least as easily as they did. I recognize that it is always too easy to point the finger of blame, after the fact, but the circumstances are so dire that they must be freely, and thoroughly examined, if real measures of protection from future attacks are to be found.

I wonder if this level of what I consider to be profoundly misplaced compassion is virtually a byproduct of "Political Correctness", and whether this has it's roots in the high level of Socialism that pervades the European Community. Not to suggest that all compassion is dangerous, but to blatantly extend it to a group that contains elements of terrorism, and a society that supports this terrorism, and even approves of it, without participating in it, must be reconsidered, if only to secure the safety of the rest of society from the risk of future attacks. The love of freedom is certainly to be encouraged in all societies. But when the very freedoms that are extended to a refugee group are used to create a situation that so endangers the people who extended their compassionate hospitality to them, it is time to reconsider the wisdom of that compassion. I know how offensive this must seem, especially from someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, but the same Bible that encourages us to, "...love your enemies", also tells us to, "..see the danger, and hide [ourselves]". God clearly expects us to use discernment in determining when compassion is called for, and when judgement is required, and to what level it is necessary to apply it, based on the circumstances that surround the issue. That's why the book of Leviticus discusses God's principles of Law so minutely; not that every circumstance that will ever occur is dealt with, but that enough of them are covered that reasonable people can draw just conclusions from similar aspects of Law, to conclude wise, and just decisions from similar situations, and circumstances. God did not expect everyone to recognize these principles, so He cautioned His people to choose out Judges who had demonstrated previously a capacity to understand them. Today, we have Politicians who have demonstrated a greater capacity for embracing the principles of "Political Correctness", than for understanding the necessary balance that must be tenuously measured, between compassion for the innocent needy, and fair judgement for the blatant criminal element, from which we all need protection. "Political Correctness" extends too much compassion for the criminals, while looking too hard at the innocent, trying to find some reason to Judge them harshly, not for crimes they commit, but simply because they disagree with the "Politically Correct".

The government in Belgium has come under some criticism for allowing the situation in Brussels to deteriorate to the point that the terrorists must have felt that the opportunity was too great for them to pass up, since terrorism was their goal. I don't suggest that I know if the criticism is valid, but if it is, then the voters in Belgium must hold their politicians culpable, and vote accordingly, or there will surely be repetitions of the recent attacks. The concept of protecting individual freedoms has become so sacrosanct that one nation's government intelligence is not considered relevant, and is therefore dismissed as false, and dangerous terrorists are allowed to go free until they blow themselves up, with a lot of innocent people along with them! We must recognize that the threat is so dire that we must pass laws that temporarily suspend some freedoms, with the condition that they will automatically be restored at some future date, unless additional laws are passed to renew them. This will give the voters the opportunity to hold their representatives responsible if the suspension is too harsh, or to allow it's renewal, if not.

The Turkish government is reputed to have arrested one of the bombers and deported him back to Europe, with the charge that he was a dangerous terrorist. The European governments promptly released him, and we see the result of their misplaced compassion in the headlines of the newspapers' accounts of the bomb blasts that followed. I'm not suggesting that potential terrorists should be locked up before they commit crimes, but neither should they be given freedom to roam around society at will, perhaps looking for future targets. When someone from a terror-prone background is determined to be a dangerous threat, he, or she should be deported back to the country of his origin. In other words if they want to continue to enjoy the freedoms extended compassionately by their host country, they must learn to quell their desire to enforce "Sharia Law" on their hosts, who don't want it. Let them return to their former homeland and try to explain why "Sharia Law" has brought nothing but poverty, and violence to their country, and why they want to extend it to other countries that do not want their poverty, and violence. The truth is that "Sharia Law" enforces the principles that force many to live in poverty, and the violence is used to keep them obedient to those principles, so that those who foment the violence don't also have to live in poverty!

The Humiliation Of False Prophecy

From day one I have always professed that I am not trying to pretend that I am a prophet of some kind, or other, fearing that my inevitable inaccuracy would soon expose the lie in that. I came dangerously close to violating that important positon last December 11th when I stated that, "I wouldn't be surprised if..." the Russian invasion of Israel (prophesied by Ezekiel, some 2500 years ago) happened either last summer, or this winter. Middle-East wars tend to be fought when the ground is dry enough to support mass transportation (chariots, in ancient times; and tanks, trucks, and artillery, in modern times). Well, I was humiliated to be pathetically wrong, even though my presumptions were sound, and the same conditions will simply roll over for each successive year until it does happen. My embarrassment was in being impatient with the apparent fulfillment of God's prophecies, for which He has been patient enough to wait 2500 years to fulfill them. Since I don't quite have another 2500 years to wait, my impatience forced me to expect immediate fulfillment (which could easily happen). The negotiations that are set to take place between Syria's Assad regime, and the rebel forces, may put my expectations on hold, while somehow giving Putin breathing room to solidify his Russian invasion forces, and tighten his alliances with the prophecied Arab countries that will unite with him. If anyone actually believes Putin's promises to begin to draw down his forces, let me remind you of the statement of one of his heroes, Lenin, who said that, "Promises are like pie crusts; they are made to be broken." But I forgot that God never asked my opinion on when He will choose to bring it all to pass, and He's not likely to do so any time soon! So, I'll swallow my pride and keep expecting it each summer, and a bit less so each following winter, until it happens. But, rest assured, it will happen, and I believe that it will happen sooner, rather than later! More than that, I can not guess.

The reason I'm writing about it now is because of yesterday's tragic terror bombings in Brussels, Belgium, which revealed the problem decent people face, worldwide, in trying to respond to the humanitarian need for compassion for the refugees of Syria's war zone, balanced against the obvious concern for not allowing terrorists to slip into our countries, undetected, to carry out further acts of domestic terrorism, on our home turf. The conundrum this creates is too difficult for our human minds to successfully deal with. My point is that we need not despair, for God is not limited by our feeble brains! The prophecy of Ezekiel 38, & 39 makes it quite clear that this apparently runaway international terrorism, for which we seem to be unable to do more than merely limit it's effects, but not stop it outright, will be brought effectively under control when He destroys (in some manner that is not quite clear) the Middle-East Invasion Force (up to 83 1/3rd %), slamming this concept of "international Jihad" to a screeching halt!!! The international terrorists will simply hide quietly, and generally stop their evil ways, if not their evil, false religion, when they realize that their belief in the Islamic worldwide Caliphate is at least not yet to be, if ever. Without the "safe" zone of their so-called Caliphate to repair to, I suspect many of these "courageous" Jihadists will become quite cowardly. I suspect that God will give them this seven year period to effectively question the correctness of their Muslim beliefs, and to repent and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, before it's too late! After which God will get the glory, and His Chosen people (Israel) will know that He still loves them, as he reveals Himself to them through their salvation from their blood enemies, for at least seven years. After that, those of us who believe will be watching what happens from Heaven, after we are "Raptured" by the Lord. And frankly, I personally don't much care what happens then, 'cause it won't directly effect me at all!!! Praise the Lord!!!

For those of you who find my enthusiasm for the fulfillment of the Ezekiel prophecy a bit bloodthirsty, I would caution you to try and view it from God's perspective. He has been patiently watching us, His creation, for thousands of years! This includes the holocaust of 6 million of His Chosen People, by the Nazis, some sixty years ago. Now we have another people bent on finishing the job that Hitler started, and adding to it those of us Christians who resist them! I don't think He appreciates that very much!!! Then there is the admonition that He, "...will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." The implication is that the opposite (in the negative) also holds true! Forgive me if I seem to have trouble believing that the I.S.I.S. head-hunters fall into the former category!!!

So Why Brussels, For Crying Out Loud???

The International Islamic Terrorists have struck again!!! This time they've chosen to murder innocent people in Brussels, Belgium, for whatever reason. Probably because the Belgian police had the unmitigated gall to arrest the presumed mastermind of the Paris attack (in November, of last year), over the weekend. That was apparently considered a terribly rude way to treat some of their "loyal citizens", I guess. After all, they were just trying to make a living as international terrorists (or should I say, "a dying"; I guess that would be more appropriate).

So, the question remains, why Brussels, aside from their trying to repay the local police for their rude behavior. Generally speaking, Brussels has become a hotbed of radical Islamic Terrorists, disproportionately compared to any other European country. As the capitol of the European Union, the terrorists would create the greatest propaganda "bang for their buck" (or Euro, if you'll pardon the crass expression). But, I suspect their most specific, and profound answer would be, "Why not???". I think the best reason they could come up with is similar to the Mount Everest climbers who answer the same question with, "Because it's there!". Like the ghetto muggers who steal from those who live in their own neighborhoods, I guess there are so many people who disagree with their concept of "Sharia Law", that they don't feel a need to go far from home to perform their acts of terror. Which raises the issue of why should we Americans be opening our doors to settle the refugees from their own terror-torn countries, when we have no reliable way of telling the difference between those who will become future terrorists, and those who will be law-abiding citizens all their lives?

As a Christian I am particularly torn over this issue; obviously I am concerned for the basic safety of all of our American citizens, excluding those naturalized "citizens" who want to use their new-found Constitutional "rights" as a tool to foment mayhem on others, and thereby steal away the Constitutional rights of others, let alone their lives. But, there is concern for the Biblical commandment to welcome the, "strangers who live among us", which is considered by God to be on a parallel with caring for the poor, widows, and orphans. God certainly didn't mean to be sweet as molasses to those that you know are about to commit mass murder. But how does one tell the difference, before the fact? After the fact is difficult enough, so what are we supposed to do without turning a cold, heartless back on the refugees who simply want to live safely, and raise their families in peace?

The precedent we set during World War II, the internment of all Japanese/American citizens has been roundly criticized for decades as simple Racism. True, it was racist in practicality, since it was easier to determine their ethnicity, than if we had determined to do the same with all the German/Americans as well. But there was a basic concern for public safety behind this, even if it proved unnecessary.

I can't see America approving of a national Muslim roundup of all the people who attend services at their local Mosques, on a given Friday. But something must be done to protect us from a Brussels-like attack from those would-be Islamic terrorists who already live among us. Perhaps we, and the Europeans should pay countries like Turkey to keep the refugees, and build reasonably comfortable living quarters for them, and supply food aid, etc., for the duration, through United Nations donations. We simply cannot keep this open-door policy for terrorists to take advantage of to murder us on our streets!

There may soon come a day when we are not talking about the terrorism that struck Brussels, or Paris. It's not that long ago that we were talking about New York City, and "911"..., it can happen again!

The crux of the issue is that the real solution is too complex for mankind to solve himself. I think God is allowing us to deal with a terrorism that is bigger and more complex than the world has ever seen, including Hitler, and the Nazis. Instead of one nation wanting to conquer the world, and kill all the Jews, we have a people of one religion that wants to conquer the world, and force everyone else to believe as they do, or die (they just want the Jews to die first!)!!! (Doesn't it seem strange that the evil in the last World War was culminated in a hatred of the Jews, and the next one will also! Does it seem as though God's trying to get our attention???) That seems a bit more diabolical to me! I think the point from God's perspective is, "how long will we keep trying to solve our problems without Him!" He already promised to end this terrorism, His way (in Ezekiel 38, &39), but that's another story!!! (See the post for December 11 of last year, for a brief review of my expectations of the Ezekiel 38, & 39 Prophecy) [for Jo, and Christine...if you're still holding your breath, and gritting your teeth...you can breathe now.]

Obama In Cuba...So What's New???

So Obama is visiting Cuba. So what's surprising, or unexpected about that?

Obama is set to leave office next January, and like previous Presidents he will likely retire to a state (or "State"?) that has a warm climate, and a local government that is sympathetic with the policies he has promoted while in office. Bingo!!! Is Obama planning to retire to Cuba??? I wouldn't be surprised!

Like Reagan retired to California, Bush "Sr." retired to Maine (mostly), Clinton retired to anyplace that would pay excessive speaking engagement fees, and Bush "Jr." to Texas, why wouldn't Obama think of Cuba as his perfect retirement destination? After all the local government is almost as radically "leftist" as his administration has been for his eight-year term (once completed), and couldn't be more cooperative with anything he needed for the future "Obama Presidential Library", once all the American sanctions are lifted, and trade between our countries is normalized. Congress can be expected to fall all over themselves to rubber-stamp approval of his trade-normalization pact, once the Republicans have made a pathetic appearance of blustering about how much they are offended about supporting this deal. (A few of them, like Ted Cruz, will actually be sincere, and will even vote against the act). All of the "Establishment" Republicans will vote in "lock-step" with their Wall Street backers' interests, for it (one imagines the Wall Street Bankers salivating over the potential money flow from increased trade with a new economy [including the more easily laundered money from Mexico's drug cartel]). This will set Obama up nicely, to spend the rest of his days on the Havana beaches, making occasional (and highly paid) public appearances, as the Leftist "Elder Statesman", in support of any Left-wing issue that comes before Congress, or any issue that effects Cuban interests, in particular.

Speaking of more easily laundered drug money being made available through these negotiations, reports today are that Cuban/American meetings are likewise ongoing with the Columbian government representatives, and the representatives of the so-called F.A.R.C. (Leftist Terror group) to negotiate a peace treaty, ending their nearly fifty-years of civil war. But, where is the line drawn between the "Leftist Terror Group", in Columbia, and the "Medeline Cartel" that has been reputed to be funding their terrorist activities for years? Is this really a final capitulation of the Columbian government to the cocaine drug Cartel, in an effort to stop the years of bloody terrorism? And if so, can we expect Mexico to follow suit shortly hereafter, with Obama acting as a supposedly "neutral" negotiator??? So, is Obama setting himself up to expect a steady flow of lucrative fees from both leftist governments, and drug cartels, all "legally" laundered through Cuba's banking system (he may even get an "honorary seat" on one of their bank's Board of Directors, at the Castros' direction).

All this is appearing to be, "curiouser, and curiouser..." as Alice (of "Wonderland" fame) once said about equally corrupt shenaningans.

Mountain Moving Faith

There is a scripture that has troubled me for many years, and I suspect it has likewise troubled many others as well, when Jesus talked with His disciples and explained how they could, "...have whatever they asked in prayer..." if they believed, and "doubted not", in their hearts. Why, they could even have "Mountain Moving Faith", if they simply "doubted not". For years this has been interpreted by many to mean we could speak to any mountain, and frivolously command it to be, "lifted up, and cast into the sea", as Jesus said, in Matthew 21:21, but if it didn't happen immediately before our eyes, then the logical conclusion must follow that we must not have enough faith. But, a simple examination of what Jesus said, and the context, and setting of where He was when He said it reveals a whole different aspect of this truth.

This story is told in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and a bit more briefly in John's Gospel, in conjunction with the story of Jesus' triumphal entering of Jerusalem, which we celebrate today (and call it, "Palm Sunday", for all the Palm fronds that the people laid in His pathway as He rode upon the foal of a donkey (I suspect this was a traditional way of honoring the arrival of someone, by covering up the filth of the roadway so that even their animals would not step on the filth). The account tells of His arriving in Jerusalem, spending the day there, and then returning to Bethany, to spend the night (so as not to be easily arrested, in Jerusalem, by the Jewish leaders, whom Jesus knew were filled with jealousy at His presence).

The next morning, He, and His disciples returned to Jerusalem, and along the way He saw a fig tree that caused him to see if there were some figs on it that they could eat. His disappointment at finding none caused Him to "curse" the tree, saying, "May you never bare fruit again." As the tree apparently withered away immediately, His disciples remarked how quickly this all came to be. This is the context in which Jesus said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, (one of the smallest herbal seeds) you will say to THIS mountain (italics added) 'be lifted up, and cast into the sea', and it will be done."

Is this meant to condemn us for doubting that we could go around casting mountains into the sea, or was Jesus referring to some deeper meaning, unspoken at that time? I am reminded of a description, in the Old Testament book of Zechariah, chapter 14: verse 4, where the prophet speaks of a time when "the Lord" (who had not even been revealed to that generation, yet) will, "stand on the Mount of Olives...and the Mount of Olives shall split in two from the east to the west...so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward." Some translations add that some of this mountain shall be cast into the "former sea" (the Mediterranean Sea???), and half into the "Latter Sea" (the "Dead Sea", or the "Arabian Sea", which flows into the Indian Ocean???).

When one considers this, they can easily see how Jesus would compare the faith required to believe this with a small seed, because this is a fundamental tenant of His prophecies of His second coming. One either believes it, or not, along with the rest of the prophecy of His soon return, when he will judge the whole world for their belief in Him,... or not!

Remember, Jesus never said, " if you say to ANY mountain..." etc., etc. But, He said, "If you say to THIS mountain..."etc. And they were traveling on the road between Bethany, and Jerusalem, which went across the top of the Mount of Olives. So He was clearly referring to the Old Testament prophecy, with which His disciples would have been very familiar, and would have understood His meaning easily. So don't beat yourself up because you doubt that you have "Mountain Moving Faith", and can't go around casting mountains into the sea, just by speaking! I don't believe that's what Jesus was talking about. He was referring to our belief that the prophecies about His Second Coming were true, not that we could play magic games with the local topography!!!

If Trump Wins, Is America Prepared For Another War With Mexico???

Alright Rick, have you been smoking some of that "wacko-weed" that they make in foreign countries, like Mexico, and Colorado?

The answer is no, at least, not for some 40 years. And back then, it was illegal in America, not like it is in today's formerly American state of Colorado. Now that Colorado has seceded from the union, and united with the Mexican drug cartel, it can no longer be considered part of the "UNITED" States of America. They seem more interested in bringing new meaning to the term,"Rocky Mountain High", than in raising their children in a safe, drug-free environment. Taken to the extreme, one imagines Colorado's plan for handling all criminal activity will soon be to declare everything legal, and fire all the police, and criminal justice employees, throw open all the prison doors, and sit back, and wait for all the formerly illegal behavior to simply go away! Yeah, right!!! That'll work!!!

So what's this about Trump leading us into a third war with Mexico? I'm making no predictions (remember I've said from Day One that I don't pretend to be a Prophet), I'm just taking his rhetoric to the extreme, and trying to imagine logical responses, from evil, and illogical people. Trump says he wants to build a wall between us and Mexico, and "make Mexico pay for it". Okay, ...how!? How do you force a sovereign State to pay for something that it doesn't want to, short of going to war with them??? Even if you could, how do you stop the drug cartel from digging tunnels under it, like they are already doing, in mostly urban areas? And how do you stop them from shipping drugs, and illegal aliens by sea, to America's port cities on the pacific, and the gulf of Mexico? And don't forget the baggage-checking nightmare at all of our airports. And when the Mexican border is mythically closed, what's to stop the cartel from organizing a Canadian smuggling operation? Will he build another wall across the Can-Am border? I'm sure Canada would just love to pay for that!!! I guess we can go to war with both Mexico, and Canada, at the same time. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Now, lets pretend that all his plans to close the border work out miraculously well. Then he wants to ship back all the eleven million illegals who are already here! That will be a massive task in itself, just rounding them all up, and paying the transportation costs for eleven million passengers! Oh, I forgot, Mexico will oblige with that expense as well, won't they? And Mexico will welcome them all back to their homeland, before deciding who stays, and who keeps going to other countries, and will pay the added transport costs, as well. I didn't know Mexico was so friendly to this concept!

Wait a minute! Just who runs Mexico, anyway??? Is it the Mexican government, or the illegal drug cartels??? I don't think the Mexican people know that yet, either. So when the planeloads of our illegals start landing in Mexico, are they going to be met with open arms, or with machine gun bullets? Remember, these drug cartel kingpins care nothing about human life, beyond their own, and genocide is an acceptable option, as far as they are concerned.

The American people would demand a military response to that kind of brutality! So we would be forced to drive the drug cartels out of Mexico, and ascertain that any government we set up afterwards would not let the cartels back in once we left. Then, we would have to do the same thing in whatever countries the cartels fled to. Maybe Canada would be,next! But, since Canada is, at least, nominally part of the British Empire, does that mean we'll have to take on England, too? My gosh, this is turning out to be a nightmare!!! Maybe Jesus will fix all this, 'cause I can't figure it all out. But, I know one thing; Trump can"t either!!!

Yessir! I'm real optimistic about Trump's anti-immigration plans! But,he may get elected, just because he is willing to try something! That's light-years better than what we have now, or what Hillary, or Bernie will offer!!!

"America Is Great, Because..."

"...America is good"-- Alexis De Tocqueville. The previous quote, from the early 19th century, French political philosopher, and social scientist was followed immediately by the very prophetic warning: "When America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." These words were written in his book, "Democracy In America", published in 1835, after traveling throughout America making these observations, in contrast to the trends that were shaping Europe in the years following the French Revolution.

One has to wonder if he had a time-machine to jump into the 21st century, to compare what America was, with what it was to become today! Is America still "good"??? And if not, what makes us feel we will remain "great", as if it is some inherited trait from our ancestors; an automatic characteristic that is neither earned, nor can be lost, nor even stolen? Is President Obama aware of these prophetic words? And is he endeavoring to apply them (in a negative manner)??? Remember, Socialism (which Obama studiously promotes, even if he refuses to admit it) believes in economic pastry symbols, such as pieces of economic pies, which can only be obtained for the "have-nots" by taking away large chunks from the "haves". This is done primarily through oppressive government taxation, and re-distribution ("Welfare"); and secondarily through the inflationary "taxation" of borrowing against future presumed income, and inflating the currency, as we see it done today. An interesting quote from De Tocquevilles "Democracy In America" could describe the prevailing attitude of the leaders of the Democratic Party today; "But one finds in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to want to bring down the strong to their level, and which reduces men to preferring equality in servitude, to inequality in freedom." Of course, the leaders of Socialism exclude themselves from such "equality", preferring an inequality of elitism for themselves, while professing a level of "poverty", such as Hillary recently proclaimed (forgetting to mention the millions that her husband raked in through his speaking engagements).

Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton talk much about "equality". I guess they are referring to an "equality of servitude", since they mean to take away the wealth of the rich. Do you suppose they will give that wealth to the poor, or will they keep most of it for themselves, and their political appointees, and bureaucrats??? I wonder!!!

Republicans Are Angry, But Are They Fed Up???

"How long,oh Lord, holy and true...?" is a famous Biblical quote from Revelation 6:10, expressing the exasperation of those martyred believers who are already in Heaven, desperately awaiting the return of Jesus Christ to establish His Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and destroy an evil and sinful world, once, and for all. They are patiently, and lovingly rebuked for their understandable impatience, while being reminded that there are still others who must be given the opportunity to be martyred so they could be brought to heaven for their ultimate, and eternal reward, which is not available for the rest of us, though the reward for all believers who die in their faith in Jesus will be equally eternal (how can one person's eternity be less than another's?) , and wonderful beyond our wildest imaginations! Whatever all this entails, it is apparently God's purpose to wait until this evil world has run it's full course, and those believers who stand for the Lord, and His Gospel, suffer martyrdom, both as a testament for their faith, and a condemnation of those who stand for the great evil that will envelope the world, in the Last Days. His plan will be carried out to the end, even though He already knows who will eventually come to a saving faith in Jesus, and who will not. I guess this is so no one can complain that they were "not given a chance" and therefore God's judgement against them is "unfair". And He is the only one who knows when that "end" will come; when the very last person to come to the Lord will already have done so! And, frankly, He ain't telling us when that will be!!!

This crazy Presidential campaign, at least for the Republican candidates, has become somewhat similar, though certainly in a much more insignificant, and less deadly manner. It's becoming clear that the Republican voters are angry at the "Washington Establishment", but I question whether they are yet "fed up". It's one thing to realize that there is a problem, and quite another to recognize the best solution for it. I think they are mostly angry at the Obama Administration, and the steady deterioration of America's position in the geopolitical world, economically, and with Obama' defunding of the military,and the defense department.

On the other hand, the Democrats appear to not only be comfortable with the degrading of our Constitutional government, but want the decline to be increased, either with a Socialist President, or an undeclared Socialist, who may be the first ever indicted candidate, to be elected President, on the way to jail! I guess they will have to learn the hard way, and force the rest of us to suffer with them while they do.

My main concern for today's political movement is the establishment wing of the Republican party; the so-called moderates. They don't realize it but they are the real cause of what is wrong with our politics, today. And you can throw in any Democrats who are uncertain about Hillary, and Bernie, but will vote for one of them just because their family members, and friends say they should! These are the real people who are most responsible for giving us someone like Obama in the White House, and likewise the Democratic idiots in Congress, who controlled the Senate for years, before 2012.

These people are so used to compromising their views, just to "get along" with others that we now have a state of government that is run by Liberals who want nothing more than to perpetuate their own aggrandizement, and fatten their own pockets. And the Federal Bureaucracy that is made up mostly of Liberals, and Moderates, acting out their own personal agendas, can not be easily fired (and perhaps not even legally, due to their labor contracts), for any level of incompetence, such as Lois Lerner's vendetta against the Tea Party movement, recently. I almost puked when I saw Hillary's campaign slogan today, which read, "Fighting for us". My reaction was, "I'll bet the 'us' in that slogan is not meant to stand for 'United States', but rather for those members of her immediate family: herself, Bill, Chelsea, and maybe (to a lesser extent) those who helped her get where she is (especially if they can finagle her out of jail-time)! After all, we must take pity on a family that is as poor as she recently characterized them. That is until it was reported that Bill was earning millions from his speaking tours.

Donald Trump seems to be cut from the same clothe; I'll bet he is fairly drooling over his prospects of profiting from a possible victory. He would presumably turn over his business holdings to his sons, who I'll bet would have no trouble getting government contracts for any Administration business dealings. Those expensive I.R.S. junkets would probably be scheduled for Donald's casinos, for the duration of his presidency.

Trump seems to be garnering all the secular, angry, Conservative voters, and sadly some of the Evangelicals seem to be swayed by his generalized diatribes, as well. Frankly, he's welcome to all of the White Supremacist voters he wants, we don't have much in common except for a hatred of Obama's Administration. I hate it for what they have done to our country; while they probably can't see past the color of his skin.

I just hope this country wakes up before November, and realizes that it takes more than anger to solve problems. Perhaps an Evangelical Christian candidate should run on a third party ticket, even if it would guarantee a Democratic victory. After all, no matter how badly the Democrats can screw things up, God is still in control, and He will clean up our mess someday!!!

[Addendum--3/11/2016]

Just a thought...It seems as if a split within the Republican Party could be permanent, especially if Donald Trump wins the electoral lottery, but the Party Big-Wigs (translation: Wall Street Establishment "Moderates") manage to finagle a brokered convention into choosing someone else. Perhaps the conservative wing of the party would finally wise up to the fact that the Establishment Republicans would never allow a really conservative candidate to run their Party, excluding Ronald Reagan, of course, and let the moderates try to win an election without them. That's not to say that I think Donald Trump is a conservative, but he has supported enough Conservative issues that I think the "handwriting is on the wall". Or will Trump win the nomination, outright, and the Establishment Moderates go with their wishy-washy, warmed-over candidate, Mitt Romney, for one more last-ditch effort at pablum politics???

Cuba-- [Obama] "... Meant It For Evil, But God..."

"... meant it for good!"

One recalls the famous quote of Joseph, who had been cast into an Egyptian prison by his treacherous owners; a slave, sold by his jealous brothers, falsely accused of something he was innocent of...only to be raised up as the Egyptian equivalent of what we might call today the "Prime Minister" of the Egyptian empire. It couldn't have looked much worse for him, while in prison, and yet God had great future plans for him, because He knew Joseph's obedient heart. God even knew of the four Hundred years of slavery that Joseph's people would endure, just so He could glorify Himself by forcing another Pharaoh to "Let my people go!", or ELSE!!! (times ten!).

This same God works the same today as He did thousands of years ago, with the faithful people of this generation, who will wait for His good timing. Case in point: Cuba, that bastion of Marxist domination, and atheistic persecution of His people in their land, since the early 1960's. Obama has endeavored to "open the doors" to the worst Communist nation in the western hemisphere, this year. I'm sure he did not intend to stimulate the Christian revival that is spreading like wildfire across the island, which has been apparently growing in thousands of house-churches since the Communist regime collapsed in Russia, in the late 1980's.

Obama's intent could more likely be presumed to open America to the increased communist indoctrination that could be expected to grow out of increased trade between our two countries. But, a story on today's "700 CLUB" showed that God is still in the business of using evil people to accomplish His good purposes, in spite of their evil intentions.

When Russia's Communist empire collapsed, they intended to cut their financial ties with all their satellite dependents, in order to desperately try and hold onto their own country's economy. Meanwhile, God used this opportunity to bring about His Revival among the churches of those countries that had been so starved for Christian faith for nearly 100 years. Apparently, what we're seeing in Cuba stems from that. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Cuban missionaries coming to that heathen nation, America, soon!

On the same show ,today, a story about the turmoil in Syria, and Iraq leading to a new semi-allied cooperation between the historical enemies of Israel, and their formerly hostile neighbors Egypt, and Saudi Arabia! (God truly does, "work in mysterious ways,..."!) The Egyptians, and the Saudis apparently have concluded that the Shiite Muslims of Iran, and Lebanon are more of an immediate threat to their safety, than Israel is, and therefore, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", etc. I wouldn't be surprised to see a scenario work out something like this: Iran decides it's nuclear missiles are so deadly, that it tries to launch a first-strike attack on Saudi Arabia...and Israel's American supplied Patriot anti-missile missiles knock them down. Then Israel retaliates with it's own strike, pulverizing Iran (see Jeremiah 50, and 51???). Russia would be bound to honor it's alliance with Iran, by attacking Israel, which would probably have enough Patriots left to shoot down their missiles, and then wipe out the Russian forces in Syria. America would then be forced to consider defending our ally, Israel, by attacking Russia, knowing that a full scale nuclear war would break out between us. (Is this the "fire" that God promises in Ezekiel 38, & 39 that He will bring upon Magog [an ancient name for the tribe that would eventually settle in the area of present-day Moscow], and a country that He refers to as living peacefully on their "coastlands"?) Is America that country??? Many Bible scholars have thought so, for many years!

This could never happen on Obama's watch, and probably not, under president "Hillary", or "Bernie", either. So, am I about to change my presumption that some idiot Democrat will win the 2016 Presidential election, so they can further destroy America's greatness, in preparation for the Anti-Christ's rise to control over a one-world government? Perhaps so; Donald Trump seems to be bent on proving that the Republicans can come up with every bit as good of an idiot as the Democrats can! My earlier assumption was that we would still be here, and that we would have to be a third-rate power by then. But, perhaps we aren't even around any more! Perhaps "President Trump" pushes the button for a strike on Russia, and Jesus sends his angels to "Rapture" His Church, before Russia can retaliate! Frankly, I don't much care which!!! I am convinced the "Rapture" is coming, I just can't guess when. But, either way, "Even so! Come quickly, Lord Jesus...!"

Has America Been "Trump(ed)" by The "Donald"???

Is it over, already? "Are we there yet???" Donald Trump's incredible run of political popularity seems to have "no end in sight", as they say. No, it is not over, yet; at least not mathematically. But it almost seems to be, after his colossal "Super Tuesday" victories, yesterday. Hillary Clinton's victories were even more impressive, but she has to worry more about the likelihood of being indicted for her E-mail scandals, than being defeated for her party's nomination. As an interested spectator in today's political Soap Operatic campaigns, I am about ready to throw up my hands in frustration, and say, "a pox on both your houses", and sit back and let God sort it all out!

The thing that has me the most confounded is the apparent willingness of the Evangelical Christian voters to buy Donald Trumps rhetoric as if he is sincere in what he says, and they are apparently voting for him as much, or more than they are willing to vote for Ted Cruz, or Dr. Ben Carson; both of whom strike me as being more sincere in backing Christian issues, if elected. But I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. I've seen this all before. We tend to think of Evangelicals as voting as one monolithic block, for the same candidate, but that is unfortunately not always the case. I'm reminded of a lady friend, back in Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign, who apparently voted for him, obviously because she thought he was handsome, though she tried to rationalize it otherwise, strenuously. This lady was my idea of the devout Christian conservative, politically, and to think of her falling for Bill Clinton's campaign line of, "I'm a conservative Democrat!" was absolutely unbelievable to me! But she did!

I guess it goes to show you that Christians are people, too, though we sometimes try to make it seem that we are not subject to the same temptations, and the same strong delusions that befall non-Christians alike. The one thing I agree with Marco Rubio about is when he calls Trump a "con-artist", which I strongly suspect he is! I guess the establishment wing of the Republican Party thinks so too, because there is talk that they might form a third party if Trump wins the Republican nomination. After forcing Trump to "promise" not to form a third party campaign, himself, it's interesting that the party bigwigs would consider it okay if they did it themselves! I guess those "Wall Street 'Conservatives'", who are conservative only when their candidate wins, and are just as comfortable with a liberal president when they don't, will do anything to win with their "wishy-washy" candidates, even if they don't play by their own rules to do it. I expect they'll back somebody like Marco Rubio, if they do. Could we have a four-party election this year, with former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg reputedly considering a run, himself, or was that only in case Hillary gets indicted?

Is God showing us what a mockery of our Constitutional system we have allowed our government to become? I wonder if He is allowing us to elect some idiot who will continue the trend Obama started of destroying the aspects of our government that have made us the greatest nation in history. Are we being set up to accept the Anti-Christ's one-world system of government, because we can't elect a decent president of our own??? May God have mercy on us all, if that proves to be the case!!!