Prophesy, End of the World

Having come and gone.

As I begin this writing on May 22, 2011, with no deadline as to the publishing, it has been less than 24 hours since, according to Pastor Harold Camping, the world would end. Obviously that didn't happen. In a posting dated May 21, 2011 I wrote: "Another point is that no one knows when the end of time will come." I stand corrected. I have been told that there is one who knows all and, I too, believe that God is more than capable of seeing and knowing all things including the future but I don't, at this time, think He spends a lot of time contemplating the life you or I will be living years from now. If he dwelt on the future very much He would probably turn to Jesus and say; "Go bring them home Son, go bring Our Children home" but even God has been recorded as changing His mind about some punishment He was on the verge of meting out to His chosen people. As a case in point I turn to the Bible and the Book of Amos.

The Book of Amos is said to be the oldest written Hebrew Prophesy which has been preserved. Amos was a native of Tokoa, a village about twelve miles south of Jerusalem. His Prophecies were delivered during the reign of King Jeroboam, probably about 760 - 750 b.c.. Amos, as stated by himself, "I was no Prophet, neither was I a Prophet's son but I was a herdsman and a gatherer of Sycomore fruit" but God called him to go and prophesy to the Northern Kingdom which was Israel.

Amos Chapter 1, verse 1
"The word of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."

I dont know what the significance the words "two years before the earthquake" hold, whether it was the first or the strongest to be recorded but it must have been an event from which others were dated. Was it a part of God's judgement?

Amos Chapter 1, verse 2
"And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither."

Maybe that was the earthquake from verse one and there were two years before the prophesy took place.

Amos Chapter 7, verses 1 through 9
"Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, He formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said,O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee; by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small.
The Lord repented for this; It shall not be, saith the Lord.
Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
Then said I, O Lord God cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small.
The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.
Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them anymore;
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

Twice God showed Amos the means by which he intended to punish His people, Israel and twice Amos begged him not to be so harsh. Both times The Lord repented and said that it shall not be but the third time He said; "I will not pass by them again."

Amos Chapter 9, verses 8 and 9
"Behold the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
For, lo, I, will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."

These prophesies took place over a number of years probably spanning the period between 755 and 735 b.c.. Israel was taken by the Asserians in 722 b.c. and Judah was conquered by Babylon about 135 years later in 587 b.c.. Probably the punishment promised by God through Amos years before. Does anyone know where the remnants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ended up or where they are today?

I began this posting by writing about how God had been recorded as changing His mind about punishing His chosen people, the Israelites but I want to end it with His promise about their future. Some say that the last two verses of the Book of Amos are pointing toward the coming of the Messiah but I believe that it is more about present day Israel. In 1948 what was left of the Israelites were granted the right to move back to, what should already have been, their homeland. Now, as it was in the time of Amos, they are surrounded by their enemies.

Amos Chapter 9, verses 14 and 15
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.

That, to me , sounds like a promise to the present day Israelites that they would never lose their homeland again. What do you think?

Meanwhile, here on the hill, all is as well as could be expected. The garden and the blueberries are growing along with the grass and weeds. All in all, it keeps us fairly busy. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. _ William

No Excuses

This time anyway.

A Beautiful Sound

I looked up in the sky and thought I saw Jesus
descending with His Angels gathered round
Gabriel was blowing on that golden trumpet
and Lord it was a beautiful sound.
That's how it's going to be sometime in the future
when Jesus comes to claim His rightful throne
and all of us poor sinners who have made the right decision
will rejoice to see our Savior coming home.

This could be the last day and for some of us it is
to repent and give our soul to Him
so that when He comes followed by His Angels
we'll be taken up to forever be with them.
Livinng in Heaven's glory with our friends and loved ones
praising Him who was Master all along
helping with the celebration for each new arrival
and knowing all the words to ever song.

I looked up in the sky and thought I saw Jesus
descending with His Angels gathered round
Gabriel was blowing on that golden trumpet
and Lord that was a beautiful sound
and Lord that was a beautiful sound

Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned, - William

The End of the World

According to who?

It has happened again - whatever it was. I had no intention of writing a blog posting this week or maybe forever but several times in the past ten days I have heard mentions as to how a television preacher (I can't recall his name) had done the math and arrived at the conclusion that the world would end on May 21, 2011. There has been so much talk about it that I decided it might be my last chance but probably not really.
When I first heard the preacher's explanation as to how he arrived at his conclusion that the world would end that particular day, I thought he was using the wrong numbers and if you begin with the wrong numbers it won't matter how accurate the multipliers are the answer will always be wrong.

Herod the Great was born about 74 b.c. and died about 4 b.c.. He became King of Judea in 40 b.c. and it was in the last year of his life that he ordered the "Massacre of the Innocents" in and around Bethlhem which was an attempt to kill Jesus because he (Herod) believed Him (Jesus) to be a threat to his Kingship. Therefore Jesus would have probably been born in 5 or 6 b.c., not in 1 a.d. as most people suppose.
When He was about 30 years old, Jesus began His teaching in towns around Galilee. That would have been about 25 a.d. and His crucifixion probably took place in late 28 or early 29 a.d.. I don't believe that is the dates that television preacher started with and besides that, there is no way to be sure how many years (or days) have passed since that day on Golgotha - " a crowd had gathered on the hill / to watch the valiant struggle / of a man carrying a heavy cross / along a busy highway // Thru tears and jeers it's moved along / upon the back of Simon / to the hill known as the skull / where men before had died / there they nailed Him to the cross / for all the world to see / Jesus who came to redeem our sins / that day was crucified." (From the poem "Jesus - Crucified") Another point is that no one knows when the end of time will come.

Here, on the hill, everything is going fairly well. Beans, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, weeds and grass all beginning to grow. Some more than others but that's life. Speaking of life, tomorrow probably won't be the end of the world and if it is it won't be because some human predicted it. To be ready for that time we should all live our lives as though it was the last day. As for me, I feel as though I am somewhat short of that goal. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned - William

Quotes & More

On Television

Quote - On Television May 11, 2011
"Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are the biggest drivers of our budget deficits" or "Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid take up almost half of our budget." We have never had anything to do with Medicaid (don't know much about it) so we are leaving it out of this discussion.
The Social Security Trust Fund is the means by which the Federal Government accounts for excess money paid in contributions, from workers and employers alike through the FICA (payroll) tax, into the Social Security system which is not needed to fund current benefit payments to retirees, survivors and the disabled or to pay Administrative expenses. These surpluses are invested in "Special United States Government Securities". The Trust Fund is "Off Budget" and treated seperately from other Federal spending. From the United States Code; "Exclusion of Social Security from all budgets, Pub. L, 101-508, Title X111, Sec. 13301(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat: 1388-623, provided that notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipts and disbursement of the Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surpluses for purposes of (1) the budget of the United States as submitted by the President, (2) the congressional budget or (3) The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control act of 1985. (From posting dated February 14, 2011)

The claims, mostly by politicians but repeated by many in the news media, that Social Security and Medicare are driving the budget deficits by taking half or more of the tax money are only smoke and mirrors at best and outright falsehoods at the worst. Although it could be that some just don't know any better. Social Security and Medicare are paid out of the Social Security Trust Fund which in turn is funded by the FICA (payroll) tax which is paid by employee and employer equally. The Social Security Trust Fund has a surplus of over two and a half trillion dollars at this time which has been borrowed by the feds and replaced by "Special Government Securities" (IOUs) which will have to be redeemed to pay future benefits to retirees and the disabled and that will add to the National debt and deficit. Social Security and Medicare can be reformed today so as to shore it up for future generations but nothing short of drastically cutting benefits to current retirees and the disabled will have any effect on out budget and national debt. All other claims are only, the already mentioned, smoke and mirrors by people trying to confuse the issue or by the mis-informed. Again, Social Security and Medicare are self financed through the FICA (payroll) tax and does not come out of the general fund (income taxes, etc.) but it should be reformed today.

Quote on Television
"Report; bin Laden was still the driving force behind planned attacks on America and American interest abroad." This report was based on information leaked by our White House as to how Osama bin Laden kept journals filled with notes outlining attacks upon Americans. Does those notes confirm that he was still the leader of Al Qaida?
We, here on the hill, have written hundreds of letters and e-mails detailing our ideas on how to solve our country's pressing problems. We have also written more than a hundred postings on this blog, many of them being on the same subjects. Would the mere writing of those letters, e-mails and blog postings make us leaders of the United States? We hardly think so due to the fact that we have been mostly ignored. Maybe we are in the wrong business.

Quote on Television
"Osama bin Laden wasn't Moslim, he highjacked the Islamic religion." According to our copy of the book "Outline of History" published in 1929 by Funk and Wagnalls, the Islamic religion was founded in 611 A.D. by Mohammed. Quoting from that book; "In Medina a vision came from God to Mohammed, at a convenient hour, informing him that if his countrymen will not be persuaded by fair words then the sword must be the instrument of their salvation. Then began the era of bloody evangelism ---. Soon after Mohammed's death the Moslims began their holy war against the pagans and more particularly against the infidels, meaning the Hebrews and the Christians." Convert by the sword or die by the sword. Doesn't that sound familiar? (From posting dated May 15, 2010) This war on Christians and Jews started long before America came into being with no end in sight. We don't believe bin Laden highjacked the Moslim religion, he just reverted back to the time of Mohammed.

Meanwhile we are still working some in the yard and garden when it's not raining but those 90 degree days were a little too much. Squash and cucumbers are blooming, the beans are running and the blueberries are looking good. We will probably have enough work to keep us busy, maybe too much so. For now, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William

Mother's Day

To One and All.

Every year there is a day
Set aside in a special way
Dedicated to the memory of another,

She's the one who gave us life
Comforts us in times of strife
When the world has passed us by
There's always Mother.

Dedicate it, celebrate it and remember it.

That's all for today, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned, I may be back later. - William

Osama bin Laden is Dead

But his house didn't burn down.

"His house" is not in reference to that million dollar compound in Pakistan where he was killed last Sunday night but rather to the loosely-knit network of terrorist known as al Qaida which he had been assembling since the Soviet Union gave up their attempt to take over Afghanistan and withdrew in 1989. In 1979 bin Laden was recruited, by our Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to help form a group which would become known as the "Mujahadeen" (freedom fighters). (See posting dated October 3, 2010 and titled "Afghanistan War - Part Two.)
After the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan bin Laden had no war to fight so decided to create his own war of terrorism. For many years bin Laden had not been the field leader of that organization but was only a spiritual or inspirational leader. Maybe something like a high priest.
I'm sure he has inspired many young Muslims to follow in his footsteps and continue his "Mujahadeen" movement. Too many of them are willing to give up their lives in order to murder innocent people. I think it was Yogi Berra who said, "It ain't over till it's over"

Here on the hill it is to be a nice day with better days to follow. We should dry out enough to work some outside. Our beans are up and growing, the squash will soon be blooming and the cucumbers are starting to put out runners. Our tomatoes are still doing okay but not growing much yet - too cool and wet. The grass and weeds seem to like this kind of weather, as they say, growing like weeds. There is much work that needs to be done but some of it will have to wait. We must admit, we're not as young as we used to be and not getting any younger. We just came in from checking out the garder and it looks like it may be dry enough to begin work tomorrow.

I didn't really intend to put out a posting today but then the bin Laden thing came along and I just couldn't pass it up since that is all you hear on television. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned - William

One More Time

Or maybe two.

Last Wednesday night we sent the following e-mail to several, so called, news anchors (Fox News) with very little hope that it would even be acknowledged. So far, we were right.

E-mail;
"For the last several months, aided by the news media, there has been an attempt to perpetrate a giganic hoax on the American voters. All politicians and most of the media blame Social Securitry and Medicare for being, as they say, "the biggest drivers of our massive debt and deficits" which is completely false.
Granted, the borrowing of money to redeem those "Special Government Securities" (IOUs) from the "Social Security Trust Fund" in order to pay future benefits to retirees will cause more deficits and add over two and a half trillion dollars to the National debt but that is not the fault of either Social Security or Medicare. Our government took it upon themselves to manage the Trust Fund but it is their mis-management which is causing the problems. In the next ten to fifteen years all of those IOUs will be needed to pay retiree benefits. Even Representative Paul Ryan's proposed budget (without knowing what cuts would be made) does not go far enough. In my opinion, at the end of ten years the National debt will be over twenty trillion dollars. I have, several times, offered to return up to five percent of my Social Security check to the Trust Fund to be used to shore it up for future generations IF highly paid Federal workers will give back the same percentage of their salaries to pay down the National debt. Anyone would be welcome to join in. Please do some research on this subject or for more information go to - (williamlee100.blogspot.com)."

Thursday afternoon (April 28) We got a phone call from someone in Senator Alexander's office in response to our last e-mail, the one threatening to sit out the next election. After getting the trivia out of the way we had a very productive talk. We believe that we (us and him) agreed more than we disagreed. Basically, we explained our views on the status of Social Security and how it and Medicare were not the biggest drivers of our National debt and budget deficits and he agreed. (See e-mail above) Our main concern with getting the call is that it makes us wonder,why use the telephone when he could have returned our e-mail. Did he not want to leave a paper trail?

After the last two weeks of stormy weather all around us, we here on the hill have had several days of fairly nice weather. It is beginning to dry out enough to think about getting back to work. After seeing on television all the destruction and hearing about all the deaths associated with the tornadoes which swept through at least seven states here in the south then headed north to do more damage there, we wonder why it wasn't that bad here but at the same time we are thankful to have been spared. The weather forcasters say there is more on the way. We'll pray that it won't be as bad the next times. Meanwhile thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William