No Flesh

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:... Matt. 24:22

Chapter 24 of Matthew is held by many to be the greatest prophecy in the Bible. I certainly agree. We are warned of deception at its beginning. Yet deception and bad interpretation abounds concerning these words.

I had a young seminarian say, "My professor says this is speaking of the Maccabean revolt." I assume his professor knew the date of this revolt. It was in 168-167 BC, about two hundred years before Jesus gave the prophecy. The professor has Jesus prophesying an event that occurred two hundred years before! And does the professor believe that the intervention of God prevented all flesh from perishing?

Another false teaching is that the Roman destruction of the temple in 70 AD was in view. Did God intervene in this destruction? Would a Roman attack on Jerusalem endanger all flesh?

This is the kind of teaching many seminary students receive. Many young people do not question their teachers--their mis-leaders. Some even graduate to go on and teach what they have been told. No wonder seminaries are often called "theological cemetaries".

The Beginning of the Arabs

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; ... Gen. 16:11,12

The sixteenth chapter of Genesis is devoted to the birth of the father of the Arabs. It is good to read the whole chapter to see how it all began. Hagar left the home of Abraham and almost died in the desert. An angel found her there and told her she was going to have a child. He would be the progenitor of a fierce race.

Hagar was an Egyptian. Abraham was the child's father. This was before the birth of Isaac, so Ishmael has a long history. Arabs, which came from Ishmael, are half Egyptian.

I saw a learned Egyptian woman interviewed. She dismissed the Arabs as "Tribes without flags," but the Bible tells of their origin, and we may do well to learn its prophecies.

Snowball

There has been much said about the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. People were disarmed. There were people killed by police as they fled on a bridge. People were herded into a sports stadium not fit to live in. They were not allowed to leave. All kinds of excuses can be made, some of them valid perhaps.

But what stays in my mind is the fate of a little boy and the dog that was taken from him. After several days a number of people were to leave the area. They were loaded onto buses, two per seat. A woman sat with her child, a boy of about five. In his arms he held a tiny white dog.

A uniformed officer approached him. She took the little dog away from him. "No dogs," she said. She carried the dog away as the boy began to cry. When the bus pulled out the boy cried, "Snowball, Snowball." He could have continued to hold the dog in his arms, but a rule must be enforced, in some minds.

Little things mean a lot to us, like little dogs. This is what I remember even today. I remember you, little boy, and I remember your dog, Snowball.

No Smith in Israel

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: I Samuel 13:19

Some ladies were quilting in upper Ohio. It grew dark and they lighted lamps. Two thugs passing by saw the lights and pushed their way into the home. They were armed with hand guns.

The home was part of an Amish farm community. The Amish men were unarmed pacifists. They were held at bay as they watched two of the women raped. There was no chance for the Amish men to get even farm implements had they chosen to.

The response to this horror was the decision not to work at quilting so late that lamps needed to be lit. Maybe they would be left alone in the future?

Self defense is an option, I believe. If a person, acting alone, wishes not to resist they have that right. This has been an issue since some have adopted the Sermon on the Mount as a rule of life.

Thomas Aquinas was asked, must we be pacifists? His answer, We have that right, but not the right to make it for others. We must make the defense of wives, children, and all our loved ones our duty. Do not offer them up because of your creed.

Our nation faces disarmament. It is not a US policy, it is a UN policy. In defense of the innocent my stand is to resist unto death. Many of us are of the same mind.

The Synagogue of Satan

David Ben Gurion was asked to define "Jew". He said, "Anyone who calls himself a Jew is one. Who would say they were a Jew if they were not?" This was a clever reply, but not true. Jesus warns of people who say they are Jews, but are not. Twice in the book of Revelation, we are warned of them.

Now who would benefit from such a lie? One may think being called a Jew is a great disadvantage. There was a time in a nation's history when an identity had to be chosen. It was either Moslem or Jew.

Judaism was adopted by a non-Jewish people. They had no heritage or connection to Israel in any way. If you have read The Thirteenth Tribe, by Arthur Koestler, this is laid out there. There are Jews, or fake Jews, who think that they are on a path to world domination without their Messiah. My beloved Torah Jews understand this so well and try to warn against it.

Am I anti- Jewish? God forbid. But I am anti-Zionist, where unreligious people seek to gain power before the time for it. Until Jesus returns, Israel will be under gentile domination (Luke 21:24).

These people may not be the ones Jesus warns us against. But the warning is there.

I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, ( but thou art rich) and (I know) the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev. 2:9

Their Angels

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Matt. 18:10

Do we have angels dedicated to us? If there was no other passage than the one in Matthew we would need to say "yes," and joyfully.

A child died in England, and a monument was placed by his grave. It showed the child as an angel. This was on church property and the church insisted the monument be removed. When asked why, the head of the church said that one thing that does not happen to a dead child is that they become an angel. It seemed harsh at the time, but I believe the church was right.

We have a lot of strong feelings about the dead and about angels. In my recovery home a lady brought me a cup of coffee. I said, "You're an angel." Later I learned that her name was Angela. It is part of our language and our sentiments too.

But what if we had even better news than that we become angels when we die? Not only children, but adults have what could be called dedicated angels. We are warned not to worship them, but we should be aware of the blessing and protection that they can give us.

A Catholic friend was asked why people with Saint Christopher medals in their cars still had wrecks. He said, "Above 60 miles an hour, Saint Christopher jumps out."

I believe I understand him. We can ignore our protectors and over ride them. But I believe to ignore them is wrong.

The Church Disappears

For a book dedicated to the seven churches, it seems strange that the word "church" is not mentioned after chapter 3. Except a sign off statement at the end, our name disappears.

However, there is a simple explanation--our name has changed. We will then be the Bride. Our address changes too. We won't live here any more.

When my sister got married and moved away, I gave her a gift of a pen. She wanted to try it out. She wrote her maiden name. She had yet to adapt completely to her new name.

Some interpreters forget that we too will have a new name and address. They look for us on earth during the tribulation events coming for those who dwell upon the earth. We will not be here.

May I say it once again? Jesus says he will take us out of here so we won't have to endure these terrible things. This promise is in Rev. 3:10. Hard to believe, but many forget this, and many are not told at all.

Some theologies see "church" in every group on the earth. They say Moses was in the church. Even Abel.

I repeat a lot, but church is a generic term. The church in the wilderness is not the church of God. It merely is a reference to a group called out of a larger group. As soon as you see the term "church of God", that is us.

My sister soon adapted to her new name and her new address. I hope we can too.