The Great Disappointment

Out of the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival which took place in the New England states (1790-1844). One Baptist group was convinced that Christ would return to earth on October 22nd, 1844. Many were prepared to leave, and when nothing happened, there was a falling away in that Baptist movement, headed by William Miller.

Since then, there have been others who have predicted a time of Christ's return. At present time, a large following on family-radio located in Oakland California, believe that Christ will return on May 21st, 2011. Under the preaching of a long-time radio preacher, Harold Campen, who has followers around the world in the millions, no secret is made of the impended rapture. I recently had my assistant print out the complete 39-page statement giving all the historical details. We are certainly told that no man knows the day or hour, and we certainly know that it can happen at anytime. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32) Like death, we believers should be prepared.

There are many uncertainties in life, increasing as we speak. One couple, both with advanced academic degrees, high salaries, having climbed the corporate ladder, were living in a penthouse in a Hong Kong hotel. Like any thinking person, they knew it was just a matter of time before a nuclear strike or some other event, creates a disaster. Life is too short, and children too precious, to stay in such a place. Most people do not realize that in any American town, there is only enough food in stores to last for four days, there are not that many warehouses, most food comes in on trucks, and in the case of a disaster, there will be no trucks transporting anything. I have encouraged people over and over to store food supplies. Even the South American Indians went to the mountain tops with their roots, fruits, meats, and freeze-dried them for any pending disaster. Those who prepared, survived.

When the disaster happens, act of man or act of God, the most important thing you can have is food and water. People in India started harvesting water many years ago, because they know there will be a shortage. The greatest problem facing the poverty-stricken country of Yemen is water, they have a 40% rate of unemployment, the country is destitute, but their greatest problem will be water.

The Hong Kong couple moved back to America, he continued with his job, she active in controlling production and survival on a farm which they had purchased. They felt it necessary to become self-sufficient, perhaps taking it to the extreme, but are able to grow all their food needs.

Professor of Anatomy, UNC Medical School, Dr. W.C. George said to me, “tell me about the farm on which you were reared.” He, like Dr. J.T. Dobbins, Professor of Chemistry, came from farms and wanted to hear all about farm-life when I was a boy. Our farm had been in the family for many generations, since the family moved down from Morristown, NJ. Each branch of the family had their own land, their own lifestyle and boundaries. All came together at the school and church, but I know that each branch of the family tree, cousins, all, had the same ideas, same methods, same practices.

On our farm, we had many apple trees, peach trees, pear trees, pecan trees, one great arbor for black grapes, one for white grapes, there were fig bushes, blueberry bushes, a large barn and pastures for cows, several pastures for hogs, a large pen for laying hens, a large pen for growing chickens. On the four hundred acres, crops were grown, mostly for sales, there were large gardens for the growing of vegetables, much was canned, dried or preserved.

This family farm, like most family farms of that time, was self-sufficient. There were wells for water all over the farm, there was a smokehouse always full of meat, a wash-house for laundry, this was before the time of appliances: electric stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. There was even a cider-mill, for the making of your own vinegar. Probably from the first landing of Americans on the east coast, such as my ancestors, they were self-reliant, not depending on anyone else for anything, certainly not government.

Wood was cut from the woodlands for cooking, and for heating the house in winter. You made your own medicines, such as blackberry wine, you cared for your animals yourself. My father's mules all knew that they went to the pasture on Sunday, on the family's day of rest. Every girl knew how to cook, sew and quilt; every boy knew the essentials of farming, carpentry, shooting a weapon in order to protect the family and property. Finally, battery-operated radios, and the farm family knew about the rest of the world, that world dependent on the food-stuffs, fiber (cotton), other cash crops which they grew (tobacco, soy beans, corn, wheat, etc.) which they grew, and which they sold in town in exchange for factory-produced equipment and commodities.

Until power lines came into the country-side, our family farm, like those of my cousins, had a Delco Light system (gasoline generator with large batteries connected in series, producing enough electricity for lighting in the house and in the barns). My grandparents was one of the first farms to have a tractor, a large noisy machine, large spikes on the metal wheels (early tractors did not have tires). Most of the farming was done with mule-pulled cultivators and machinery of every type. The innovation and self-sufficiency that has made America great, on farms, factories, in commerce, is still needed. I encourage every family to stock up.

How wonderful it seems, now, in spite of the ease with which we have learned to live; just flipping a switch for everything, to have the reliance of a hand-pump for fresh water, good soil for the growing of seed, laying hens, and even family work-dogs for protection. The true test of our Christian faith will come when it will be necessary to defend, our homes, our supplies of food and water, against our fellow human beings, who have not prepared...thirsty and hungry, who will try to take such from us. “The Great Disappointment” is in having accomplished so much, to have a lifestyle of luxury; the great disappointment and useless of it all.

Who Do You Trust?

I was in a remote village in Thailand, there were three older people with me in a car, and a guide. We were there to see a famous Buddhist temple, as in most of the impoverished villages of the world, children everywhere...all begging, all in need. The three other tourists were much older than me, our guide being the youngest in our group. You are always told in these situations not to give “baksheesh” to anyone. These children's parents probably make a dollar or two a week, the children will never go to school, never work, if they find that by begging they can make enough money to live, as much as a working parent. The old man with us, a former concert pianist from San Francisco, with a complete lapse in his senses, took some candy from his pocket and gave it to two of the “cute” children. When he did, they launched on him, taking him down to the ground, going through all his pockets and almost killing him. He was so wounded that he had to be taken back to the car. You can describe these things forever, but few, unless they were there, will believe you. I gave this illustration recently in describing to someone why survival classes are should be taught in our schools and colleges. Don't we have enough sense to know that at any minute, any day, America can be thrown into a state of anarchy? People will be frantic to survive.

You have seen this in times of disaster: hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. Store shelves will be empty, no large delivery trucks on the highways, gas stations closed, as are all restaurants and healthcare facilities. The police, the fire fighters, doctors, nurses, all will be at their homes trying to protect their own families. I asked an elderly patient recently, “do you have your meds in a bag, so if you are forced to leave on short notice, you can have them with you? Do you have good walking shoes? There will be no gas for your car and no public transportation. Do you have some survival foods, and containers of drinking water that you can take with you?” Those who depend on the government to take care of them in good times, will surely depend on the government to take care of them in horrible times. But, those of us who have accepted responsibility for our lives, should act responsibly in preparing for a time of disaster. It will just take one nuclear explosion in America and the entire world will come to a standstill, no public transportation, planes, buses, trains, etc. No water coming out of any faucets.

The true test of Christianity will come when you have to protect your home and your meager supplies from hungry, desperate people. I lived through the great depression, there were desperate people then. 7 million Americans starved to death, that was a time when 90% of people lived on farm lands where some sparse food was available. Today, 90% of the population lives in cities, spoiled to fast food places.

One hundred years ago, 1910, life expectancy for my parents, born in that year, was 47. Most of my uncles and aunts died around the age of 50. There was no running water in the White House until 1900, in 1910 only 14% of American homes had running water, and much fewer had electric power. I have a kerosene lamp here in this room which gave me light when I studied as a child. I well remember our first electric lights, we were so happy to have that one light hanging down from the ceiling. In the United States of America there were only 144 miles of paved road, in 1910 there were only 8,000 automobiles. The average wage was 22 cents per hour, I remember working all day, as a child, to make one dollar. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 the entire year, an accountant could expect to earn $2000, a dentist $2500, an engineer could make around $5000. At least 95% of all births took place at home, and most healthcare practitioners, like lawyers, had no college education, just studied with an older practitioner. Now this was just 100 years ago and I still remember some of those doctors and lawyers, who made a good living, great contributions to their community, learning by doing, not depending on contacts at an ivy league school, nor the rewards of the good ol' boy network.

Technology has changed the world, but human nature has never changed. One race, one nation, the Jewish, are a history concerning God's providence, promises, punishment, for those who he had predestined. This nation was delivered from the unbearable slavery of Egypt, delivered toward the promised land, but, like today's church members, Gentiles, who have been redeemed, delivered, it takes just a short while, in the desert to long for the “flesh pots”, cucumbers, melons, of sinful Egypt. The promised land lies ahead but we simply do not believe God has the power to get us there.

The greatest power in all the world, is the power of God, made available to us (Ephesians 1:17-19). There is a condition with this power, we do not pray to a God unaware of our worship, fasting, giving...unaware of our devotion to him. If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (John 14:12) Those of us who are just playing church, who do we think we are fooling? This is the reason that Christians and the church are powerless.

When you get my age, you need people who you can trust. Think about it, no immediate family, who can you trust, whether going on a trip or going to the nursing home? Do you have a friend, family member, or even a lawyer, that you trust with your credit card, your check book? Someone has said that a friend is someone you can go to and ask for $100 and they go in their wallets and give it you without making a statement, asking a question. How many of us have such a friend? Someone has said that a Christian is someone who acts in a large, far away city at midnight, where no one knows him, the same way he acts at his home town at midday, where everyone knows him. Do we know many Christians? Your greatest expenses are additional costs added on to everything you buy because of thievery in the store from employees. Very few people will accumulate an estate any more because of high taxation. Local, state, and federal politicians who enjoy spending your money, not theirs. Do you know a politician, a pastor, a neighbor whom you can really trust? The midverse of the entire Bible states, trust in God and put no confidence in men (Psalm 118)

Bread Lines

There were many things about Communism/Marxism, which I will never forget. I will never forget the prisoners, in chains, lined up next to the Trans-Siberian railroad on the way to a lifetime of prison slavery in Siberia. Just as remarkable: the lines of human beings around many Russian stores. My guide said, “When you see a line of people like that, you know that the store has gotten in some bread, maybe some shoes, even some onions.” He said, “In Russia you can go for months without seeing an onion.”

I know that when I was there—and later when I crossed Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad—if it had not been for black bread and potato soup, I would have starved to death. You see, the liberal Marxists, the academics, the atheist-religionists, and those who just don't care about anything, such as the many in our country living off welfare, have never seen people lined up waiting for food. In this country of filled store shelves, we have a promiscuous, spoiled society who thinks Communism is good because they have never experienced want...have never seen the trauma of Marxism.

In my lifetime, we now have developed methods to totally destroy mankind (nuclear, chemical, biological). The poet Robert Frost, said that the world would be destroyed by ice. Frost, not a Christian, would have known that the world was once destroyed by water, and that it will next be destroyed by fire. The movie 2012, released in 2009, relates cataclysmic events which will happen in the near future. (Perhaps, they have already begun with the earthquake in Haiti, a second earthquake 36 miles form Port-Au-Prince, yesterday, the long-expected earthquake around Yellowstone Park, and even some quaking on the California coast!) This movie predicts a mega-tsunami from the Pacific.

The long time radio preacher, Harold Campen, radio speaker for 58 years, predicts an end to the world on March 21^st, 2011. Of course, he has made this prediction several times, the last time in 1994. The truth is, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven (Matthew 24:36). We should be concerned about our problems until then, and our readiness when that time comes. For instance, the most blessed country in the world, now we have a Marxist president, who in a matter of one year's time, today, (he was inaugurated exactly one year ago), has totally destroyed the economy of this nation (financial, corporate, foreign policy). This president has incurred more debt than the previous 43 presidents combined, George Washington to George W. Bush. It takes the entire GNP just to pay the interest on the national debt. The last honorable, private, secure system left is that of health care. Today, only 30% of health care practitioners participate in Medicare. Small pharmacies have been taken over by huge, mega-pharmacy houses. Small insurance companies have been taken over by large, mega-insurance companies. The public is in a state of confusion about FDA approvals, which usually result in FDA recalls. Only 1% of the recalls are actually taken back to the store.

In this unraveling of the constitution one would think that the inmates are running the asylum. Our most important treasure, our children, those who survive the abortion holocaust, must face pedophiles in the pulpit and the classroom. This year, in an adjoining county, four public school teachers have been arrested for sexual molestation. Educators speak of our pedophile teachers as “trash”, but are willing to pass them on to other counties (with letters of recommendation in hand). Even more pitiful, at a time in a child's life when good health and eating habits should be instilled, education officials—so anxious to bring in a few more shekels—allow soft drink machines to be placed in the schools. There is nothing any worse for anyone's health, youth or adult, than soft drinks (chemicals with sweetened water). Obesity among children is an epidemic. The only children in school without weight problems are on athletic teams! Exercise at the school is as important as the “three R's” and it seems obvious that education today is a matter of entertainment.

In the investment and financial trauma, government must find ways, through SCC or otherwise, to oversee financial market and wealth management bankers. Madoff is in prison but many others should have cells near his (Paulson, Geithner, Rangel, etc.) Everyone (except the SCC and their cohorts) seems to have known about the $85 billion Madoff Ponzi scheme...referred to in New York as “the North Pole”, so much “white powder” was being used in the office. It is the small investor, saving a few dollars from the family farm, family business, a lifetime of hard work, who is caught in the line of financial instability. The uncertainty of the stock market does not bother the average broker, he makes money whether the market goes up or down.

When 1 out of 6 workers out of a job, when 1 out of 4 homes are in foreclosure, when private retirement programs, as well as large retirement funds, such as of state workers, are seen as big piles of cash by the federal government, all should see themselves in a bread or employment line. I heard Reverend Jesse Jackson speak years ago about extracting funds from retirement portfolios into the Federal treasury. He said, “we would be just borrowing the money leaving an IOU”. All of you should realize that all you have from your years of FICA deductions is an IOU. When social security becomes totally bankrupt, as it already is, and the checks will no longer come, from the IOUs which the government put there (instead of the money they extracted from your paycheck) you will have a vision, not an illusion, of bread lines. Detroit, once the 5^th largest city in America, is a victim of the Bush-Obama annihilation, American citizens are already lined up outside stores.

Satan has confiscated all reasoning, a pollution of all absolutes. There is no longer an absolute right or wrong...just shades of gray. A news commentator said recently, “there is no longer any absolute accuracy about science, money or biblical history”. Facts and figures, which at one time were a matter of absolutes are now just relative to the situation. All learning has been corrupted, all knowledge suspect, men ever studying, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth.