Drummers, Flutes, And Bells - Seniors Play for All Ages

The post-60s people take delight in playing their favorite instruments for all ages, but especially for military veterans and their fans. As the young band director (grammar school) observes, there is a great deal of effort and satisfaction for those people.

They began with military music and the patriotic songs we know best. My skin raised bumps all over, which began and ended the extensive program. 

Goose bumps favor Persing's Own.

The band had many offers songs, but the top was the band of veterans listening to everyone. The veteran I know best has just passed his 99th birthday and remains active, still using his walker alone. 

Our public school system was insistent on singing and instruments. Yes, I was pushed into playing the flute in band and orchestra, drums in the everlasting marching down streets, across football fields and more. 

My wife Christina and I went to one rock concert a block away from the field. That was our last rock concert and almost our last hearing tubes. We wondered how bad the cacophony could be - in the future - and we saw that in the worst way possible.

The beauty of Creation, the fragrances, and so much more is lost today. That is explained in great detail in the Psalms and the Interpreter of St. John's final work.

 

Alas, Alas That Great City Babylon, That Mighty City! For in One Hour Is Thy Judgment Come

 

The smoke of her burning...

Revelation 18:10 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 thyine 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.

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    I have read and often repeated the sections of Babylon falling, which is also a common statement about the city. The more I read, the more I think of New York City, the opulence, lethal drugs, corruption, gigantic wealth and tall spires crumbling.

    Many have said or suggested that America - even more than the rest of the world - is the mirror of this passage. St. John's Revelation is the summary of the entire Bible, leading to the 

final ending, the ultimate.

    The Son of God is central to the Bible (except among the apostates), starting with Genesis 1:1. Revelation is the Gospel poured into Revelation throughout the entire Old and New Testaments. People would like to emphasize the grotesque in the final book, but they are more likely to avoid the Gospel, which is primary and the final expression of the Scriptures.

    If one is puzzled or bewildered in Revelation, filter out the Gospel passages and their harmony with the rest of the Scriptures.

Familiar Words of Faith from This Book of the Bible - KJV Revelation

 

Note = These KJV quotations from Revelation are a means to find these universally known passages and make them even more familiar. 

John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

1:6 - The prince of the kings of the earth.

1:8 - I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending...

3.8 - I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

3.9 Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan...

3.20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock...

4.11 Thou art worth, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

5.12 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand.

7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them into living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

10.1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet, and his feet as pillars of fire:

10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

11.15 The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the Ark of his Testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

12.5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

13.17 and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works to follow them.

15. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of god, and the son of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are their works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

16.16 And they gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

17.14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

18.18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! [Babylon]

18.24 And in her was found the blood of the prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

19.7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

19.16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS , AND LORD OF LORDS.

21.1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and there was no more sea.

21.2 And I john saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.

21.4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

22.5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. 

22.16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning start.

22.20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of God be with you all. Amen.

The Disasters at the Polls

 

The galaxies are mere specks compared to their larger collections, where even a tiny one can overwhelm the numbers.

This morning the writers are talking about one political comparison or the other. 

But the best comparison is the Revelation of St. John. The most beautiful and terrifying visions are contained in 22 chapters.

The slender Revelation is strangely overwhelming, gathering so much in the Old and New Testaments.

"How can we keep up with it?"

My answer is, "We are already in Revelation."

Midnight Surprise - Computers Started Blank And Woke Up

 

Monday through Wednesday was a series of "fixing the computers" to "this one better work. I can recall at least five (5) repairs from OzarksGo, which deals with the Internet and Wi-Fi. They were actually going to come to my house! if it happened again!

Early this morning I gave it a try for both computers. I only got the black and white version. I tried again and the normal computer personality came to life. They are friends once more.

Here are some audio tapes from Audio Gutenberg.

Today we will be now on Revelation Chapter 20. The last two chapters will be next week, Tuesday and Thursday. If someone wants to follow the content, try Revelation chapters 12 and 20-21-22.

The Neglected Ending of St. John's Revelation

 

Readers emphasize Chapter 12 of Revelation, as I wrote earlier. That is the central section, about the Mother and the Son, Mary and the Newborn. That scenario marks the center of all history, before the Incarnation - after the birth of Christ. 

So much is involved in Revelation 1-12 that readers can feel the tossing of the sea on a dark, death-threatening night.

Anyone can feel lost in Revelation's narrative, not from so many chapters but from the overwhelming descriptions of all the events, which are grotesque, beautiful, and inspiring.

Ending Chapters of Revelation 19-22

The final section is triumphant in the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Reading the Revelation of St. John

 

Revelation can be one of the most perplexing of the New Testament books. The following can help to see how Revelation itself is gathering of the entire Bible - not to be avoided. 

1. John was the "Apostle Jesus Loved," so his work, through the Holy Spirit has special value for all of us. He wrote the Fourth Gospel, 1 John and 2 John and 3 John, with Revelation as final work of the New Testament.

2. I have had two very interesting sets of Lenski's New Testament commentaries. The first one had Revelation with partially burned covers torn, held together with tape. The recipient of that set, when I sent it to him, found the Book of Revelation to be quite interesting and appropriate.

3. My current Lenski set is worn but in good shape. However, the Revelation volume is so shiny new in every way that I wonder if that reader ever touched it. Those two must be the extremes. 

4. It would be a great shame for anyone to bypass the last volume because of its sweeping passages and phrases from the Bible.

5. I would start Revelation with Chapter 12, which is the center of Human Destiny. That is when Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and the Christian Faith began to grow with astonishing speed, starting from Judaism and spreading to the world through the written New Testament, preaching, and teaching.

6. The first eleven chapters of Revelation include a critique of cities of that era.

7. The end of each chapter has a very good transition into the next chapter, such as Chapter 11's last statement.

11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Beginning of Chapter 12

12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

We should remember the ending of each chapter and the beginning of each.