Point of no return

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bomb, drought, earthquakes, famine, fires, floods, global events, Iran, Israel, Middle East, nuclear weapons, Point of no return, Tapister

The Atlantic magazine online has an article by Jeffrey Goldberg with this title. (See http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/09/the-point-of-no-return/8186/.) It’s about when or if Israel will bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities; well worth reading.

Even before I found that essay, I was thinking about the title… in a considerably more grim scenario.

What is the point of no return for human life to survive on earth? What are the parameters for human life to exist on this planet, in the first place?

So much of this element, so much of that… this range of temperatures, this percentage of drinking water, this percentage of food. How much is too much fire? Smoke? Water? How little is too little food? How hot is too hot? How cold is too cold? How much rain is enough, how much sunlight?

How much order is enough, so panic-stricken, starving populations don’t kill each other? Who provides it?

Who stops the earthquakes? The volcanoes? The rains? The heat waves? The droughts and famines? Who dries the floods? Politicians can’t. Scientists can’t. Philosophers can’t.

If you can’t agree on what’s happening, you sure can’t agree on what to do about it.

The parameters for existence and for survival are very narrow. They are certainly known in the scientific community, but not publicized widely. Too boring? Too frightening?

Reasons to Believe is a good website with tons of scientific data on this and other topics, presented by authorities who are both scientists and Christians: http://www.reasons.org/.

The fact is, there is no other habitable planet to escape to, even if there was some way to do it. No space-going ark, no time to build one.

Human beings have squandered the only planet in this galaxy fit for human life, and laughed at those of us who believe the Bible. We have been instructed, and warned, and given many chances to get things right here, then told plainly what will happen if we don’t.

And we haven’t gotten it right. Fires, floods, droughts, famine, starvation, warfare, strange signs in the sky are happening everywhere, and we have nowhere to go to start over. It’s long past time to pray.

If you’d like to follow along as I observe global events, read the news articles and links on my Tapister blog: www.tapister.wordpress.com.

Black and blue

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earthquakes, fires, floods, Iran, Matthew 24, mudslides, nuclear weapons, Prophecy, typhoons

Colors define eras in some artists’ work. For instance, Picasso’s Blue Period (1900-1904) when he painted mostly in shades of blue and blue-green. He went from painting in mood-reflecting shades of blue, to rose, to black, depending on events in his life, so art historians claim.

Jazz musician Miles Davis had a blue period, too – he even recorded an album titled “Blue Period.” His own musical mood was reflective of happenings in his own life, broken relationships, drug addiction, emotional depression.

The last couple of months I’ve felt blue-green myself. I’m even wearing more black and blue clothing than usual, for me. I’ve felt unsettled. A bit quiet, but not a restful quiet. As if I’m listening for the other shoe to fall…

I find myself reading more of a particular fiction genre, more of a particular kind of non-fiction and more of a specific kind of news. And I’m praying a more determined type of prayer. More directed. More intentional. More specific.

As I read assorted scripture passages these days, I seek out those that describe today. Happenings. Relationships between nations, between national personalities. Cause and effect events, some political, some social, some natural, and some supernatural.

As I read and think about Jesus’ description of disasters in Matthew 24, some political, some social, some natural and some supernatural, I listen to the internal voice of the Author. Sort of a running commentary.

I personally believe every one of those predictions have already come true. Yes, I know some Bible scholars say “this gospel of the kingdom” has not yet been preached to all the world. We still have some ethnic groups left to find, still have some preaching to do, right?

Maybe. But the witness to all nations has certainly been accomplished. When the book of Matthew was written, how many nations were there? How many have risen and fallen since then? How many more are being created as we speak? How many ethnic groups have splintered and split, how many become extinct?

It’s true that Jesus said it would be after all that, that the end (of the age) would come. He didn’t say it would be immediately afterward, though, so maybe we have a few years yet to go…

I don’t count on it. Why? Because of what I am NOT reading in the major secular media headlines. Jesus has become less dependent on mankind to preach “this gospel of the kingdom” in some places. Visions and dreams of Jesus are driving people by the dozens, even hundreds, to find someone to talk to them about Jesus. This is happening with increasing frequency in the African – Middle Eastern regions of the world, and probably other places too.

As I read and pray and listen and read, I’ve started keeping a running blog (www.tapister.wordpress.com) with news articles that fit one or more of the descriptions in Matthew 24 and elsewhere. Some days there are so many that I just settle for one.

Disastrous fires have become almost commonplace in California. Unseasonable snow storms are occurring in western states, and it’s just early October. Multiple typhoons just days apart have washed away whole communities. Six major earthquakes in ten days, so far, have killed or buried thousands of people. Maniacal dictators threaten the civilized world.

And people keep on buying and selling, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. It’s only logical to be in the midst of a blue period, seems to me.