I am not (necessarily) an "end-times" kind of fellow. I stress that no one can possibly predict the Future, or can possibly know that we are nearing any kind of "end-time" event. I doubt that people can even coherently interpret, honestly, what exactly the Bible actually teaches on this subject.
However, a drama nevertheless is continually unfolding in my Mind and Spirit as I watch the World Stage. As I both witness and participate in current events, (as a Christian, as an American, and as a Progressive); as I analyze things I read and watch and hear and allow those things to be met, in me, with the full force of the Values I espouse; as I meditate and intercede according to the traditions of my personal Faith and Practice, I continually feel that we are living in a historic time of Transition. I know that this Transition involves a confrontation between GOOD and EVIL, and yes, I do believe that the words "GOOD" and "EVIL" have definite meaning, and personality, in our current age.
Consider the drama of our generation for but a moment: A technological Singularity is approaching which will enable some Humans to become nearly immortal, virtually omnipresent, and approximately omnipotent. At the same time, an Apocalyptic battle unfolds in America as corporations seize control of our three branches of Government, and as the youth and the underprivileged take to the streets for social and environmental protest. Also occurring simultaneously with these trends, we are a millimeter away from the "tipping point" that may take us past the point of no return with catastrophic climate change. There are meteors and cyclones and volcanic eruptions happening with increasing frequency, as if Nature were responding in fury to a culture which devastates Mountains, toxifies Oceans, and spills oil over the sacred Ground almost daily. The World Drama gets exponentially more intense to take part in if one also casts their glances for but a moment into the International Turmoil that involves the U.S.'s relations with Russia, and China; the proliferation of nuclear weapons in rogue states, including Iran and North Korea; the humanitarian crises in Syria, Palestine, and North Korea; the famine and exploitation of Africa; the unrest and restructuring of Europe. As a person with a degree in History (bestowed upon me summa cum laude), I note with horror that the conditions for a third World War are conclusively present. I feel that everyday in which some tragedy does not strike me or a loved one down is a day on borrowed time. Our culture grows ever more violent, from school shootings to marathon bombings. We truly are in an Age of Global Tribulation and it is the most unlikely blessing that I should be born where I was and when I was, and so far I have avoided poverty, imprisonment, War, torture, persecution, enslavement, homelessness, or unemployment. Billions of others are not as lucky, and the times are changing so rapidly that I know I may not escape forever. Will there come a time that the famine hits me? Will my community one day run out of food? Will I be drafted to fight in a War? Will I inherit a future policed by military drones, with government and corporate corruption run amok, with nuclear power facilities spewing forth radioactive waste? Will even protest and demonstration be outlawed, at last, by the ever more powerful Corporate Elite? Might my own rights eventually be taken away?
All of this is possible, and I believe its important to acknowledge. An honest and frank look at what could possibly happen to Us is not fear-mongering, or cynicism. It is a good exercise in Reality, and maybe, if we examine the potentials here for disaster in a truly grown-up and unflinching way, perhaps we will be shocked into the proper level of Urgency that should be ours, now. If things are bound to get worse (before they get better?), then we should most definitely maximize the Time and Freedom that we have Now. EVERY ONE OF US should be involved, in Reconciliation, in Peace Advocacy, in Environmental Defense, in the Rescue of Refugees. Perhaps we can be moved into Preparation for what happens when the World falls apart. Perhaps we can start building the World now the way that we wanted it all along. A "Plan B" that we can fall back on when the rubble clears. A survival network, an underground response to living through a coming Transition Time.
This is the age of blogging, you know, and my blog is both small and strange. However, I know that I reach some of You, because some of You have told me so. You are reading right now, and You are Someone, so, Someone is always reading. I would be remiss if I were able to impress upon my Readers only the idea that things are Changing, and I didn't also arouse within them (You!) a need to Do Something useful about it. I have been encountering enthusiasm as well as doubt and discouragement as I have talked to fellow Humans about what's happening in the World. I have observed that some choose blissful Ignorance and devote their attention to entertainment, sports, and television, instead. I have observed that some folks love to debate the viewpoints, analyze the stories, and share an opinion: but in the end they always throw up their hands, conclude that nothing can be done, and all their politics is just empty talk. Then there are those who think that change is a great idea, and they wish you well, but they aren't really going to get involved because that's just not their thing.
What is the appropriate response? Better, what is the appropriate response if we consider ourselves spiritual people? Or, even if not spiritual people, at least moral people? Do we really have the option to sit this out? Do we have the option to look at the odds stacked against us and say, never mind, let it all go to shit? I would argue that we do not have those options. And if we look at what the Bible says about it, it says Not to Be Afraid. It says to Carry On, to Keep Going, to Occupy Until He Comes, to be just as much about Love and Peace in the midst of adversity as you are when times are great, if not even more so.
Maybe the Bible doesn't mean as much to You as it does to me. And that is quite all right. I'm a Christian but I'm not that type of Christian who excludes, judges, or even who tries to proselytize. I am convinced that even without a background in what the Bible has to say about being involved in the doing of good during times of great trial, You, whoever You are, can still be convinced that we are 1.) responsible for the Times we live in, and 2.) able to make a Change.
I will be honest. Although I, the FoX, am the consummate Optimist about the events we are seeing every day on the World Stage, that does not mean for a second that I don't face moments when I question whether what I am doing as an Activist is all just pointless or not. I recall when I worked for Greenpeace that I had a surprising conversation with a fellow Activist (who shall remain nameless) in which he expressed his belief that it was all over, the World was already too far gone for saving, and that we are bound to lose. I asked him, "Why then, do you continue to fight?" He answered simply, "Because it is fun." I smiled. I suppose it is indeed, fun, to lock arms with one's friends, to hold intentions with the heroic people who are choosing to fight the forces of Evil at this late hour. Even if we are doomed to fail, there is still some meaning to be found in our struggle. And so I am proud to fight alongside even those who seem to have lost Hope. But in the final analysis, I do not really share his conviction that we are going to lose. "I am realistic," said Dr. Wayne Dyer. "I expect miracles."
Let me take a few Moments to transmit this Optimism to You. It may scare You a little bit to know what my Optimism is founded upon, especially if you are not a Believer of any particular stripe. Nevertheless, let me try to tell you how it is that I think we are going to win. Let me rally You past your sense of defeat and back into the Fray with a shout of Victory, even Assurance.
Who are our Enemies? Who are the Oppressors? Who are the vampires that manage the banks, own the corporations, buy the candidates, write the laws, start the Wars? THEY ARE MEN OF FLESH AND BLOOD. They have names, addresses, bank accounts. They can be isolated, overtaken, neutralized. Each one of them are mortal. Each one is subject to Fate and the Wrath of God and the Wrath of Nature. What is more, there are not so many of them! They are less than 1% of us. There are, specifically, 1,342 of them. Their names are David and Charles Koch, Jim Walton, Christy Walton, Alice Walton, George Soros, Phil Knight, George Kaiser, Rex Tillerson. Click for a full list here These men (and a few women) are the Global Elite, and I believe that they can be silenced.
But how? What is the mechanism for this profound overthrow? Should we be training for violence? Should we be talking in code and meeting in secret to discuss our coup against them? And even if so, how could we ever hope to get past these men's bodyguards and security forces? How can we reach them in their skyscraper offices or behind their walled cities? Isn't it obvious that any move against these de facto autocrats would land even the most careful of us in a federal prison (or maybe even murdered in an alley way by unknown agents?) Really, what chance do we stand?
This is where I remind you yet again of the Promises God has made. It is a shame, it is a damn crying shame, that so many of You are losing Faith in a God of Justice and a God of Strength and a God of Recompense. Hell and judgement aren't fashionable subjects. But I can promise You: although the Vultures of Commerce and Industry, the Princes of Pollution, are unreachable to a Revolutionary like You or I, there is One Who Knows where each man of them sleeps. There is an Avenger, an Angel of Death, and it is He Who, I promise, will Repay.
Back in 2011 I prayed a frequent prayer, that the dictators of the World would be struck down. That Year we saw the deaths of Osama bin Laden, Muammar Gadhaffi, and Kim Jong Il. It is not a sin to seek God for Justice, you know. And so now I continue to pray against Bashar al-Assad, Kim Jong Un, other heads of state, and even heads of corporations who are more powerful than the heads of State. "Deliver me, O Lord, from the violent man," is what the Psalmist David used to pray (see Psalm 140), and throughout history the oppressed class has PRAYED for Justice from our Ultimate Savior. "Judgement Day is a-rolling round," says one Negro spiritual. "O Lord I would love to go." You see, it is okay to take comfort in the notion of God's justice.
There is a saying which says, "Where attention goes, Energy flows." There are also the promises in the Bible which say that what a follower of Christ binds is bound, and what he looses is loosed. There are Laws that Underpin this Universe known as Sowing & Reaping, Blessing & Cursing. God already has laid a Curse against those who curse us, His People. It is found in Genesis 12:3. And I agree with God's Curse! If those of us who are moved by the ailments of this World would be so bold as to really pray, passionately, fervently, that the specific evil forces at work on this Planet would be stopped in their tracks, God would indeed be quick to hear us. “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe," said Mary, Queen of Scots. So look carefully at this Hippie Peace Freak who writes this Blog and calls himself the FoX. I do indeed pray for Peace, and Love, and Harmony: but I will also seek Justice, the Vengeance of the Creator. And when I lift my Voice to God for Blood, He IS NOT deaf to my Cry. Tremble, you mis-rulers of injustice!
Isaiah chapter 14:
5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Am I speaking too violently? Have I gotten way off track? Should I start to watch what I am saying? Should I fear being placed on some list when the data is gathered? I remind you that Prophecy is indeed a gift of the Spirit whom I worship, and the words of His Prophets are often full of judgement to the wicked. I will not be afraid, but I will speak. "For know Ye that the LORD has set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call to Him." (Psalm 4:3)
From Psalm 10:
Am I speaking too violently? Have I gotten way off track? Should I start to watch what I am saying? Should I fear being placed on some list when the data is gathered? I remind you that Prophecy is indeed a gift of the Spirit whom I worship, and the words of His Prophets are often full of judgement to the wicked. I will not be afraid, but I will speak. "For know Ye that the LORD has set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call to Him." (Psalm 4:3)
From Psalm 10:
17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Brothers and sisters, we live in a time when Christians have either distorted God's sense of Justice or shied away from it. LET ME BE AN EXCEPTION TO THAT RULE. I have remained astute, I have read the Scriptures for my own self. My Mind and Heart have not been dulled by sitting too long under false teaching that demonizes "the least of these" for choices regarding whom to love, or how to worship. I worship a God Who is not petty, Who is full of grace to the humble, but Who resists the proud. Who says:
1Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. 2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.6Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one ; he doth not resist you.
7Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain. 8Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
The blood of Abel has been crying out from the days of the very first Injustice and is not Silenced, still. You may not hear it with your Human Ears but that is because the Sound has always been present since before the day you were born and you are acclimated to it. God hears the voice of innocent blood, however, anywhere and everywhere that it is spilled.
We have a tragic spectacle unfolding in our Congress, and in our Courts of Law, where People believe that the way in which they govern will not be something they are held accountable for in the Scale of Eternity. I have news for People who hold that mindset: they will indeed be held accountable. It is not on the balance sheet for Exxon's financial quarter that they will be held accountable, but in the Eyes of the Lamb Who Was Worthy to Open the Seals of the Book.
REVELATION 18:
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
I know that these verses above are attributed usually to either a historical City or to a future global government, depending on your religious affiliation. But the Mystery of "Babylon" is that it is a spiritual force which moves in Society. Babylon's corruption is found in every empire, in every storehouse of ill-gotten wealth, and in EVERY AGE it is an offense to God.
Recall that someone (not Abraham Lincoln, though the quote is usually attributed to him) once said, "God must have loved the common people. He made so many of them!" This is true, and I believe that only so much injustice will be tolerated by God before He steps forth and intervenes. I know, keenly, that no one can with any certainty say WHEN God will intervene. He said himself, in an above quoted passage, that we should have patience, because He waits for the ripeness of the precious Fruit of the Earth. He does indeed allow tragedy and mayhem that seems soul-crushing and endless.
But the right response is not to give up. The right response is not to sit it out. The right response is not to believe that we are doomed. The right response is to continue fighting, to believe that He is on the side of the Oppressed, and to be ever watchful for the King of the Morning to appear. A Day is coming when He will indeed appear. YOU will see this Moment in Your Lifetime, because if the Truth is told, He checks injustice in every Age that has ever been. This fact, and only this fact, is why Humanity is not yet completely succumbed to chaos. We have a Savior with a delicate, yet deadly, Touch. WHEN we see Him, would it not be best to be found fighting for the Right? Would it not be best to be found a Faithful Witness? I believe that the Crucified Christ will scoff bitterly at indifference and at the Victim Mentality. "You have not yet resisted unto blood," He will say, and He will show off His own pierced Hands and Feet, reminding us that He overcame the World.
"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star." - Revelation 2:26-28
