1914: End of Times??

Jehovah's Witness stopped by the other day. Must have missed them, because they left one of their Watchtower's behind. As I was about to throw it away, I noticed on one of the pages a timeline that read something like this: "1914 Christ enthroned in heaven." What?? How do JWs know the exact year of such an occurance?

JWs are really into the apocolyptic vision in Revelations and believe that there are 144,000 annointed ones that will be saved and be placed on the right hand of God, along with Jesus. They are also apparently really big into thinking that unless you are one of the 144,000, you are an observer and will not (or should not) partake in the feast.

Okay then, so who in the JW camp is the all-knowing eye that knows when God enthroned Christ? Well, they explained their calculations based on Bible prophecy. Sure, I read it, and yeah, I am a numbers person, but I am not a mathemetician. Math mumbo-jumbo to me.

So, I thought, is there some cable link between the JW camp and God that captured this significant moment? How do they know and not the Catholics, or the Lutherans, or Anglicans? And what does 1914 have to do with anything today?

[reflection] I have wondered and thought that the end times Jesus spoke of are a more personal echo of the foreseen end times for the world. We all are physically born and we all will likely physically die. Spiritually, we are coming to the end times in our self daily. Each breath marks a breath closer to the end times. Each trial, each struggle marks a strife toward the end time in each of our lives. Our own personal battles and achievements in some way echo the battles and achievements that may be (or have been) met on a worldly scale. [/reflection]

Okay, first of all, there is a possibility that we may be living in the so-called "end times", but no irrefutable proof. So, JWs may think that the end times began in 1914. Maybe. What happened then?

It seems that all the major events listed in Wikipedia could spark the thought of the end of times. Sure, a couple of events stand out:

• Ford Motor Company creates the standard for the work day at 8 hours
• Mexican Revolution on January 10th
• ASCAP is established in February
• The first successful non-direct blood transfusion
• Irving, TX incorporated in April
• Mothers Day proclamation
• July and August see a lot of Countries bickering--must be PMSing
• Pope Benedict XV (yeah, you seeing something familiar there?!) succeeds Pope Pius X in September
• Diamond capital Antwerp, Belgium falls to Germany (must be those Belgian waffles they were after)
• Speaking of diamonds, the Boston Braves (aren't they in Atlanta) defeat the Philadelphia Athletics (wait... what's up here? The As are in Oakland) in the World Series
• The Fed (er the Federal Reserve Bank) opens in November, just before the New York Stock Exchange reopens for bond trading after a war-induced closure in July
• German and British troops stop fighting for Christmas

Yeah, all of those events are kind of crazy. What was up with these folks back in 1914? Were they poisoned by something? Did they have some psychosomatic illness? C'mon, we all know that the Braves belong in Atlanta and the As in Oakland. I do admit that Belgian waffles are worth fighting for, they're that good, but did the whole world have to get into it? Yup. It was the Belgian waffles.

However, I found another info website that states in 1914 that the Federal Trade Commission was set up, Army was the NCAA football champions, and the world's first red-green traffic light was installed in Cleveland. Okay, combine the Belgian waffles and the traffic light, and I think I am beginning to see the light. Yeah. The end of times began in 1914.

Apocalypse Nears...

Current events dictate that the foreseen apocalypse is nearing, just read on...

The Police reunite for the Grammys... And they won't be pulling you over in your gramma's oldsmobile, either. Hopefully, a little bit of Synchronicity will be in order!

A Resurrected Castro Meets with Chavez... There's no other way this previously thought to be dead dictator could travel to Venezuela. And to meet with President Hugo Chavez. Obviously, to barter for the fountain of life. I think we all know the fountain of life is in Paraguay, right Jenna?

US Under Pressure to Stop Saying No... What these poor fleeing Iraqis don't realize is that the US spent most of the 1980s learning how to Just Say NO. The only Yes we know is the one who sang "Owner of a Lonely Heart."

Bush Accused of Distorting Evidence on Global Warming... Oh, c'mon! There are obviously much bigger fish to fry! Hmmm... maybe the bigger fish are too tainted.

Harry Potter Strips... Oh, dear! The world is coming to an end! Eeeeck! Wa..wa..wa...wait! Oh, my. Haaaary Paaahhhhhter! Oh, yeeees! The end times are near.

Seven Minutes to Midnight: The Doomsday Clock

Leave it to the History Channel to give interesting viewing at those twilight hours when sleep doesn't want to come to me. The other night/morning I found myself watch a show about the Doomsday Clock.

The historical timeline of this Doomsday Clock was quite fascinating and I learned a lot about those conflicts that truly had an impact on the stability of our world. It was also interesting to note that the clock was a significant piece of artwork for the Bulletin that publishes the thoughts of atomic scientists about their field and its effects on global tension. Originally, the clock was used by artist Martyl to show urgency, but her idea of good design to place the second hand at seven til the hour soon became the focus and its movement a reflection of current events.

It was with this artwork that propelled it to be more than just a series of lines and dots, but a reflection of humanity's anxiety for the end of the world.

I was also fascinated with the seemingly numerical symbolism that might have been utilized by the first editor of the Bulletin, Eugene Rabinowitch, who originally was the only one who reset the Doomsday Clock, where he used only the numbers 7, 3, 2, 12, and 10.

The number 7 (seven) in Christian numerology (if you so believe in such things), is known to represent the perfect number and divine abundance. According to the Bible, it is also the number of punishment, purification and penitence.

The number 3 (three) represents the Holy Trinity of Christianity and also the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Three is also the perfect number for Chinese.

The number 2 (two) symbolizes duality of many things, including love, sexuality, sin and division. It also symbolizes existence, after 1 (one): the essence.

The number 12 (twelve) represents the completed whole, a perfect unit. It also signifies creativity (and is my favorite number).

The number 10 (ten) symbolizes matter in harmony, and represent the Creator in creation.

After Rabinowitch's death in 1973, the resetting the Doomsday Clock was taken over by the Bulletin's Board of Directors, where in 1974 moved the clock to nine minutes to doomsday (nine -9- shows patience, mediation, which maybe would be indicative of a whole group deciding what previously was individually chosen; it is also the number of finalization).

Maybe the time of the Doomsday Clock represents more than just the face value of the warning?

The last time change for this art was on February 27, 2002 from ten minutes to seven minutes. When will it change again?

We Are Fighting the Wrong War—Part II

We Are Fighting the Wrong War—Part II
(Or, How Much Farther Can I Push the Terrorism Button?)
Originally penned Friday, July 8, 2005

It is strictly in the most Islamic strategic sense that everything is happening during the Bush administration. Many from this Islamic faction have made great efforts to make a positive, trusting relationship with individuals active in the Bush administration. Again, this is no mistake that the Saudi royalty and the Bush family get along so well. Achieving a persuasive public friendship with politically influential families and people in key countries is just a part of their plan. This is about timing, political alignment, and social infiltration.

Their plans would not have been as successful during Clinton’s terms in the White House, nor would they have been in a possible Gore or Kerry Administration. It was in these Islamic world-dominators’ best interests that Bush win the presidential election both in 2000 and again in 2004. And, they will strive to keep the same people in power in the USA during the 2008 elections, too. (Don’t be surprised to see a 2008 Republican presidential ticket with Cheney-Bush on it. It’s very possible and very legal.)

These Islamic globetrotters are tops in spinning things (although not necessarily basketballs, but they will convert as many top basketball stars they can, too). Remember when the Denver Nuggets had a Muslim player who would not stand at attention for the US flag? That was not just an incident with that one player, no it was an act by the Muslim community needed to set a precedence to weaken the symbols of what the US and many Western nations prize, and to make it acceptable in their own culture. They didn’t have to spin the Constitution to achieve this, since the Constitution is all about freedom and the courts saw that, too. The issue with the player refusing to stand at attention for the flag has to do with respect.

It is this dwindling respect for each other in the US that now when we see an act of violence against our fellow man, we tend to walk away instead of helping. We pretend that these acts don’t happen, or shall I say we have grown immune or become blatantly and sometimes subconsciously ignorant. Pope John Paul II during his lifetime started a campaign of “random acts of kindness” because he was well aware of the problem. However, it is now just another catch phrase that gets tossed around when some politician wants to talk about good feelings and self-purification.

The Islamic faith of these globetrotters is all about disproportionate respect, respect that swings to the extreme poles. It’s about creating a caste system again in the civilized world. Pitting the haves against the have-nots. It’s happening right now in the US. The domestic policy that Bush has devised, who claims tax breaks for all, gives the big breaks only to ones that have the highest incomes. Revamping Social Security will only benefit those with enough money to be able to manage and cover the risk of losing everything on the stock market. Bush has spun the “estate tax” into the “death tax” to make everyday Americans think it affects them, but little do they know it is only a tax break for those who stand to inherit well over $6 million. (Bob’s Barbershop or the corner bakery is likely not worth that much, and it would take a huge farm operation to amount to that. If that business is making enough to be worth that much, then the business will be able to cover the tax.)

Walmart is also helping these Islamic globetrotters, too. Walmart is effective in lowering people’s standard of value, and in return devalue not only the merchandise, but exponentially devalue each and every person that is employed by Walmart, each person employed in manufacturing the merchandise, and even devalues each and every person that shops at Walmart. It is almost too dizzying to even totally comprehend the many ways Walmart plays into the hands of these Islamic ideals.

Sure it was our collective tolerance (that these Islamic globetrotters could live among us) all along that lead us, the Western World, into the predicament that we are in now. We tolerated unjust activities against other peoples by our governments. We tolerated the deterioration of our own societal foundations and the breakdown of community relationships.

The only way we will win this war is true civil justice. We need to be aware of what’s going on around us, and tell the proper person(s) if something looks amiss, without undue retribution. We need to be able and willing to speak up for injustice when we see it, and assist those that need our help. We need to uphold the inalienable rights and freedoms of all people, not just in the USA either, least we step, er trample on the rights of others to get our own way. We must hold firm on our country’s foundation and not waiver from that for any reason, lest we weaken the foundation. We must hold firm to God’s foundation of love and charity, from which all our just, moral, and spiritual senses spring.

It is no mistake that Jesus is a major figure in both Islamic and Christian religions. The teachings of Jesus in both camps have just become so twisted and so ignored that we all have fallen away from the charity and love that God (Allah) is all about. That is why we are reeling from the repercussions of our failings.

There are people who seek peace, as Jesus strove for peace and justice.

And, there are others who seek selfish peace (or powermongering), without regard for their fellow man (or woman), that also claim to be Muslim or Christian. You’ll hear them claim peace for their friends over the good of humanity, and kill out of selfishness. They want the world to bow to their whims, not to the will of God (Allah).

We Are Fighting the Wrong War

Originally penned Friday, July 8, 2005

Yesterday’s bombings in London just go to show what the Islamic nation has been doing for at least the last decade or more: living amongst us.

Muslims have been moving out of their birth countries to regions of the world where the people and culture are very, very different from Islamic traditions. When I read reports that Islam was becoming a religion to contend with in Denmark, my ancestral home, I couldn’t believe it. However, the immigration and census reports did not lie. Christianity was being threatened by Islam, and even the natives are starting to change their protestant tune to an Arabian chant.

Psst. And they are here in the USA, too. Right after 9/11, the debate was set in Iowa over a government owned camp that was going to be leased to an Islamic group for $1. I believe the Army Corp. of Engineers accepted a modified version of the Muslim group’s proposed “youth camp.” Thus, there is an Islamic “youth” camp in Iowa, although I can’t seem to find any information about this Camp Heritage near North Liberty, Iowa, next to the Coralville Dam.

This is not a mistake. They are mingling in other geographic regions of the world for a reason. These are carefully planned actions by the Muslim community to take over the world. Whhh—whhhhhaaaa—whaaaat? I know what you’re thinking. I am going over the edge. This is way too radical thinking.

Well, say that to those poor few Germans who thought that after Hitler graced his country with prosperity and the good life, he would try to take over the world. He did try to take over the world, and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling countries. Ah, I digress.

From what the Bush Administration spins, er talks about, they have no idea the magnitude of what they are dealing with. They think these are relatively small cells of terrorists doing this work centered in other parts of the world, with the help of some rogue countries. These people do not see themselves as terrorists, nor are they as small as we think they are. They are a large group of people that have relocated to places around the world, including the US, to carry out plans of covert actions to weaken public societies and accepted cultures. All in an attempt to change the world to their own brand of religion, public policy and government.

Actually Bush and his gang are playing into the hands of the Islamic nation. Bush’s foreign policy and the war on terror make others hate our form of government and ideologies. Thus, swaying more people to defect toward Muslim ideologies and become more involved with their cause.

We are putty in these Muslim factions that want to take over the world. The events of 9/11, instead of uniting our country, have divided the USA and have stripped everyday citizens of our rights and freedoms that previous soldiers died to defend. We have stripped ourselves of attitudes of peaceful tolerance and appropriately civil justice in exchange for righteous revenge. US Citizens are now becoming more accepting to the notion that we must forfeit our freedoms and rights to fight this battle against “terrorism.” Surrendering our freedoms and rights only weakens our societal foundation.

Issues that were mundane in the past are now the forefront of the media and politics, like homosexual marriage and abortion rights. This helps to create a thought process in a population that repression and intolerance is right, exactly what the radical Muslims want to see. It makes their job of clandestine conversion much easier. Even Christianity is becoming more and more twisted in the USA with fundamentalist Christian leaders working themselves into the political and governmental systems to dictate “their” agenda.

And their traditional agenda is changing, too. The more they spout about their pro-life stance in one arena, the more they are covertly giving their blessings to “pro-death” actions in another arena. They have no idea that these Muslims can use this to further twist Christianity into their version of Islamic faith.

Bush declared “war” on terrorism, but it is not a “war on terror” that these Muslims are waging. They are attempting to infiltrate into our public fabric and change the political, moral and religious fibers to a homogenous Islamic thread. And they are winning.

When all Christian churches in the world are lifted from their original foundations onto stilts, the foundation demolished, new foundations poured, and the original church is repositioned to face east, they will still be called Christian churches. Only the worship will be considerably different.