Who Cracked the Liberty Bell?

Joseph Herrin (06-30-2012)

The Liberty Bell

As the readers of this blog post are aware, the writings found here frequently focus on parables. A parable is a story, fictional or true, where the details and actions contain a hidden message. Yahweh is quite fond of speaking through parables. From the opening pages of Genesis to the last words of Revelation, the Holy Spirit has communicated great mysteries through the form of parables. Parables were chosen in order that understanding might be imparted selectively. Yahshua the Messiah spoke in parables, and He explained the reason for it in the following words.

Mark 4:10-12
But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand...’”

“To you,” the disciples of Christ, “it has been given to know” mysteries. Others are kept in darkness. Yahweh has seen fit to show forth many things regarding the hour we now live in through the means of parables. Some of the parables appear so obvious that it is hard to imagine that people cannot perceive that there is a divine hand guiding, and a heavenly message being set forth. For example, I have often cited the fact that Miss USA fell on stage in two consecutive years at the Miss Universe Pageant. At this pageant each contestant represented a nation. While all the other national representatives kept their feet, Miss USA took a tumble.

Miss USA 2007/2008

An obvious interpretation of this event is that America is about to fall. The nation has arrived at the evening of her run as a constitutional democracy, with liberty and freedom about to fall to the ground. Even so, both of these young women, Rachel Smith and Crystle Stewart, fell during the Evening Gown portion of the competition. The night is falling on this nation. Her collapse is at hand.

It helps to have a familiarity with Biblical parables when one sets out to understand the veiled meaning of an event. I have often cited the example of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams to understand why Miss USA fell two years in a row. Pharaoh also was given parallel dreams. They occurred in pairs, and Joseph provided the reason for this.

Genesis 41:32
“Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.”

A more recent example of a very evident parable was observed when Christchurch, New Zealand experienced devastating earthquakes.

The details of the shaking of Christchurch were such that a very clear message came forth. Hidden fault lines under Christchurch were exposed. Churches that had appeared very solid crumbled. One detail that was played out over and over again was that the bell towers of the churches crumbled. I devoted one blog to the message contained in this occurrence.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/church-bells-all-were-broken.html

Following is an excerpt from that article:

While meditating upon this event, I was reminded of the song American Pie, which the Father has been speaking much through recently. In this song there is mention of the church bells all being broken.

American Pie
Don McLean (1971)

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

This song had some very poignant prophetic references from its very first release. The record label it was released on contained the words “Yahweh Tunes,” and “Mayday Music.”

Close-up of Record Label

This song was sung at the inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama. It is certainly true that the church bells are all broken in America at this very hour. There is no more a true gospel message being sounded out across the nation. There is no declaration of man’s moral depravity, of his slavery to sin, and the death that results. Christ is no longer set forth as Yahweh’s provision to deliver mankind from sin and death. If the churches are sounding forth any message at all, it is likely to have a false ring to it. A message of prosperity, ease and comfort has replaced the clarion call to take up the cross and follow in the footsteps of the Son of God. Confusion reigns as ministers assure their church members that they will be raptured out of this world before days of great tribulation begin.

I Corinthians 14:7-8
If even inanimate musical instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone listening know or understand what is played? And if the war bugle gives an uncertain (indistinct) call, who will prepare for battle?
[Amplified Bible]

Yahweh’s message in Christchurch was clear and distinct. The church has built upon land that is undermined with great faults. She has not paid attention to the foundational matters. She has been proclaiming a message that is discordant in the ears of heaven. Truth has been replaced with falsehood, and the pure notes calling men and women to righteous and holy lives have been polluted with a message of tolerance and acceptance of even those transgressions God defines as abominations. Yahweh will shake the church and bring what she has built crashing down to the ground. He will expose her faults. What rises in place of the proud structures that once stood will be much more humble. The true flock is a little flock, and Yahweh will make a distinction among those who are His, and those who are not.

In this post I want to examine a parable found in another bell of great renown. The story of this bell contains a profound parable, and its message is relevant to the hour we live in. The Liberty Bell has become a symbol of America as a constitutional nation. The Liberty Bell was hung in Independence Hall where the American Constitution was voted on and adopted. For many years The Liberty Bell was displayed inside Constitution Hall. The Liberty Bell is readily identified by a prominent crack that is quite extensive.

Liberty Bell Crack

To understand the parable contained in this symbol of America one needs to know a little of the history of this bell. Keep in mind that Philadelphia was the Capital of the nascent nation until Washington D.C. was constructed.

In 1751, with a bell tower being built in the Pennsylvania State House, civic authorities sought a bell of better quality, which could be heard at a further distance in the rapidly expanding city. Isaac Norris, speaker of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, gave orders to the colony's London agent, Robert Charles, to obtain a "good Bell of about two thousands pound weight."
                           
We hope and rely on thy care and assistance in this affair and that thou wilt procure and forward it by the first good oppo as our workmen inform us it will be much less trouble to hang the Bell before their Scaffolds are struck from the Building where we intend to place it which will not be done 'till the end of next Summer or beginning of the Fall. Let the bell be cast by the best workmen & examined carefully before it is Shipped with the following words well shaped around it vizt. By Order of the Assembly of the Province  [sic] of Pensylvania [sic] for the State house in the City of Philada 1752 and Underneath Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.-Levit. XXV. 10...


It arrived in Philadelphia in August 1752. Norris wrote to Charles that the bell was in good order, but they had not yet sounded it, as they were building a clock for the State House's tower. The bell was mounted on a stand to test the sound, and at the first strike of the clapper, the bell's rim cracked...


Philadelphia authorities tried to return it by ship, but the master of the vessel which had brought it was unable to take it on board.


Two local founders, John Pass and John Stow, offered to recast the bell. Though they were inexperienced in bell casting, Pass had headed the Mount Holly Iron Foundry in neighboring New Jersey and came from Malta, which had a tradition of bell casting. Stow, on the other hand, was only four years out of his apprenticeship as a brass founder. At Stow's foundry on Second Street, the bell was broken into small pieces, melted down, and cast into a new bell. The two founders decided that the metal was too brittle, and augmented the bell metal by about ten percent, using copper. The bell was ready in March 1753, and Norris reported that the lettering (which included the founders' names and the year) was even clearer on the new bell than on the old.


City officials scheduled a public celebration with free food and drink for the testing of the recast bell. When the bell was struck, it did not break, but the sound produced was described by one hearer as like two coal scuttles being banged together. Mocked by the crowd, Pass and Stow hastily took the bell away and again recast it. When the fruit of the two founders' renewed efforts was brought forth in June 1753, the sound was deemed satisfactory, though Norris indicated that he did not personally like it. The bell was hung in the steeple of the State House the same month...


It is uncertain how the bell came to be cracked; the damage occurred sometime between 1817 and 1846. The bell is mentioned in a number of newspaper articles during that time; no mention of a crack can be found until 1846. In fact, in 1837, the bell was depicted in an anti-slavery publication—uncracked. In February 1846 Public Ledger reported that the bell had been rung on February 23, 1846 in celebration of Washington's Birthday (as February 22 fell on a Sunday, the celebration occurred the next day), and also reported that the bell had long been cracked, but had been "put in order" by having the sides of the crack filed. The paper reported that around noon, it was discovered that the ringing had caused the crack to be greatly extended, and that "the old Independence Bell...now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and forever dumb."
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Liberty_Bell]

The remarkable history of this bell, serving as it does as a great symbol of American liberty, and replete with highly unusual events, causes me to suspect a divine hand in sending forth a message as God is wont to do. The founders of America set forth to create a government where “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were guaranteed (albeit, not to all). The framer’s of the Constitution understood that man was easily corrupted, and they sought to form a government that would resist this tendency toward corruption. One writer has summed up the key points as follows:

The Distinctiveness of the American Experiment as Laid Down by the Founding Fathers:

●    It acknowledged that individual rights are derived from a Creator.
●    It was based on enduring principles compatible with "the laws of nature and of nature's God."
●    It recognized human imperfection and that a tendency to abuse power is ever present in the human heart.
●    It restrained those in power through a written Constitution which carefully divided, balanced, and separated the powers of government and then intricately knitted them back together again through a system of checks and balances.
●    It left all powers with the people, except those which, by their consent, the people delegated to government - and then made provision for their withdrawing that power, if it was abused.
[Source: http://www.nccs.net/articles/ril71.html]

Like The Liberty Bell, the American form of government was flawed from the start. It was assumed that wise men, by discerning “the laws of nature and of nature’s God,” could codify these laws into such a form that an utopian society could be created. Men could then live life, enjoy liberty, and pursue happiness without the interference of tyrannical leaders or the imposition of unjust laws. What the founding father’s did not perceive was the depths to which mankind is corrupt. These were not Christian men who professed themselves as disciples of the Son of God. These men were Deists, Unitarians, and many were Freemasons. Their beliefs were largely drawn from the teachings of those men they considered sages from the Enlightenment. This subject is described more fully in the writing titled The Luciferian Foundation of America.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/luciferian-foundation-of-america.html

The founding fathers of America considered themselves to be enlightened ones. To live a life focused upon the pursuit of self-fulfillment, and personal happiness, was the epitome of what they imagined. Certainly, the founding father’s of America did not share Yahweh’s view of man’s sinful condition.

Romans 3:9-18
Both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

The apostle Paul, speaking of the very days in which the American nation has existed, wrote the following:

II Timothy 3:1-5
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

What type of society did the founding father’s envision evolving in a nation that is given unprecedented liberty to pursue the desires of men’s hearts? Would it be Utopia, a New Atlantis; a land of peace, prosperity, and progress in brotherly love? One need look no further than the city in which the Constitution was drafted. Philadelphia means “City of Brotherly Love.” Philadelphia is the fifth most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

Far from being an utopian city of clean streets, prosperous citizens, virtue, and brotherly love, Philadelphia is corrupt and ready to explode into anarchy. The Neighborhood Scout website lists crime statistics for the city of Philadelphia, population 1,526,006. In one year there were reported to the police 18,544 violent crimes, including 307 murders and 945 rapes. There were an additional 57,794 property crimes which included 10,796 burglaries and 7,070 automobile thefts. On a ranking of 1-100, where 100 represents the safest cities to live in, Philadelphia received a rank of 9.

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/pa/philadelphia/crime/

Such statistics hardly give understanding of the depravity of mankind witnessed in this city. Last year the Tacony Dungeon kidnapping case was revealed to the nation. Three adults were holding numerous men and women with mental and physical disabilities handcuffed and chained in a basement, some of them for years, as they collected their social security and other government benefits. Some of the captives had been horribly abused, causing the mayor and police chief to say that even a Federal prison would be too nice a place to send the offenders.

Lest some suggest this is extreme, and that it is not representative of America as a nation, let them consider that in the past forty years Americans have murdered more than 50 million babies. All of this has been done in the pursuit of personal happiness, a desire to have unrestrained sexual pleasure without responsibility or consequence.

On May 6, 1991 David Wilkerson posted a writing titled Is God Overlooking the Sins of America? Following is a portion of that writing:

I want to tell you about a certain society - one that cast God aside and consequently sunk into a pit of gross darkness. Despising the Light, this society became a magnet for every kind of evil spirit. Law and order collapsed; every man was a law unto himself. The entire society was abandoned to the devil, and no moral force remained to hinder its headlong rush into hell.


There was no honor, decency or self-respect left among them, no reverence for life whatsoever. Justice and kindness faded away, and the people were overcome with lust and licentiousness. They sneered at virtue, their consciences seared and callused. They scoffed at the fear of God and mocked righteousness.


They became totally inhospitable, possessing the heart and indifference of a beast. They had no pity for the poor. All spiritual desire was extinguished, and gross materialism and fleshly lusts became their gods. The people became totally shockproof, so that the vilest, bloodiest crimes were accepted as normal behavior.


I am actually describing two societies here: Sodom and America. We know of Sodom's terrible end - and Scripture shows us that America is fast becoming another Sodom!


Homosexual Sodomites came out of their closet and became activists, casting a demonic spell over a whole generation of men and boys. They grew politically powerful, controlling everything. Sodom became the world's gay capital, a society so vile, wicked and crazed with violence that its sins thundered throughout the heavens, filling God's holy environment with a hellish cry...


But, you say, this can't happen to us - because Sodom was born heathen and lived and died heathen. America was born Christian - and still remains Christian.


Well, let me tell you about another degenerate society - one born of God, of the seed of Abraham, a people once entrusted with the covenants and promises of Jehovah God. This story, found in Judges 19, is about the tribe of Benjamin and a little town called Gibeah.


A Levite came to Gibeah to take home his runaway concubine. The girl's father found the Levite camping on the streets late at night, and he begged him to come to his house because the streets were not safe.


Unsafe streets in a small town? This was a dwelling of Benjamites, children of once-valiant soldiers of the Lord who had marched under Jehovah's banner. This was once a godly place where children frolicked in the streets, and the praises of God were constantly on the lips of its citizens.


But now another spirit had arisen - a spirit from hell that had taken control. Gibeah had become the homosexual capital of the Benjamites, a hotbed of perverted lust. And now a foreboding spirit of violence hung over the town.


The children were no longer safe on the streets. God's name was no longer praised, but cursed. This society, born in the heart of God and carried for so long in His loving arms, was now ruled by murderous Sodomites. And - as it happened in Sodom - a homosexual spirit had risen up to trample what was holy...

David Wilkerson goes on to describe the events I wrote about in the previous blog I posted. The Benjamite’s sins had risen to heaven and God judged them. Nearly the entire tribe was wiped out, with only 600 men surviving and fleeing to the Rock of Rimmon. Surely, the Spirit is testifying through the Rockrimmon fire in Colorado that a similar judgment is at hand for this nation.

http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/rockrimmon-message-from-colorado-fires.html

David Wilkerson continues:

A Dallas father recently traded his four-year-old son for a $40 hit of crack. When the mother rescued her boy the next day, the father became angry and violent. Imagine - a boy's life for a single fix! Yet the father, now facing prison, showed no regrets.


In March, a Brooklyn woman and her teenage daughter kidnapped and murdered 19 year-old Raquel Montano so they could steal her three-year-old baby. The mother-and-daughter team bludgeoned Raquel, suffocated her, put her in a pushcart, left it at a gas station and set her body on fire.


Picture that horrible scene - then witness the mother and daughter as they were indicted: nothing but hardness, coldness, indifference.


America has become sick! I can't believe that God is not angry, that He is overlooking it all! I received a note recently from a well-known evangelist, saying, "Don't speak against America. Her best days are ahead. God is pleased!" Beloved, that is exactly what the Bible says the false prophets will claim in the last days!


Almost daily, we hear of bloody, senseless mutilations across the nation. New York City does not even shed a tear when the Daily News reports:


"Baby found in plastic bag near Fulton Street in garbage can..."


"19-year-old socialite discarded, wrapped in rug - lying on top of garbage pile outside wealthy East Side apartment house..."


"Police discover parts of four-year-old girl stuffed in suitcase, left in hallway of Bronx apartment house, set on fire..."


How can we parade proudly about our victory at war when our public schools are turning into disgraceful sex-abuse centers? The New York Post reported on March 20: "School Sex Shocker! Probe finds shocking sex abuse in schools. Millions victimized nationwide. One in five girls abused before age 16..."


Teachers, custodians, superintendents, security guards - every level is involved in abusing our children. An executive assistant of a Bronx school board lured a thirteen-year-old boy to his apartment to watch porno movies and have sex. The American Association of School Administrators was shocked to find out that one in seven boys have been abused by school personnel.


Today we see the sad, frightened faces of millions of innocent children who have been raped by men, forced into incest by their own parents, and seduced by teachers, preachers and priests. You can't tell me God is smiling on America! You can't say our holy, just Lord will sit by as millions more of our children are plundered, raped and destroyed.


Has America reached the flash point of God's judgment? Are we already like all past societies that permitted the rise of a dominant, defiant homosexual spirit? I wonder if angels are already walking our streets, aghast at the speed at which we're racing toward hell...


Beloved, God's judgment is already in motion. You can read it in the headlines. Consider the following:


On February 14, USA Today reported two big stories on the same page. The first read: "San Francisco Takes Steps Towards Homosexual Matrimony." On Valentine's Day, dozens of gay couples walked arm-in-arm down the steps of City Hall to be legally recognized as a union. One lesbian said, "At last, the world will know how much we love each other."


The other story read: "California Cursed By Drought: Water rationing coming to California... five straight years of drought... reservoirs bone dry..." The drought threatened the state's entire agricultural economy. Governor Pete Wilson stated, "This stubborn drought is a biblical curse." Rain has since come to California - but the drought is not yet over.


A March 26 headline read: "Rain Drought - Twin Threats to Much of USA." Who is sending the rain in some places and drought in others? "And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city" (Amos 4:7). God is behind it all!...


America can read of its own destiny - and doom - by simply blowing off the dust of historical accounts of God's dealings with other nations who continued in their sin. Romans 1 shows clearly why God's wrath is going to be poured out. This passage tells how homosexual lust tramples the truth, debauches society and brings down God's wrath.


AIDS


It is also time we faced the truth about AIDS. I feel I need to say this to you precious workers who minister to AIDS afflicted people: You have no right to preach Christ to them until you see their disease as God sees it - as a penalty for raging lust. "God gave them over to degrading passions... receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error" (Romans 1:26-27, NAS).


There can be no white-washing of AIDS. Like it or not, the Bible calls it the due penalty of sin. No, it isn't the due penalty for innocent babies or those who got AIDS through blood transfusions - but for homosexuals who flaunted their sins. It is a curse straight out of Leviticus 26.


The church has but one message for homosexuals and lesbians. It is the same message we preach to addicts, alcoholics, and all who are enslaved by sin: "You must be set free - and only Christ can do it!"
[Source: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts910506.html]

It is sad that the voice of one of Yahweh’s clarion bells of truth has been silenced. David Wilkerson died a year ago. Where are the churches and ministers who will sound forth the truths of God? Where are those who fear God more than man? Twenty-one years ago David Wilkerson wrote of the judgment of America due to her unrestrained immorality. Now the President of the United States, the highest office in the land, has become the chief promoter of both abortion without limits, and unfettered and openly celebrated homosexuality. The fire at Rockrimmon was truly a message, as is the drought and heat that is searing the nation as I write this.

Yesterday, Washington D.C. had temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. Record heat is being recorded across wide swaths of the nation. On top of this, a massive storm bringing hurricane force winds knocked out power to over 5 million people last night in these same areas that are experiencing record breaking heat. Today the same heat has returned to these areas, and millions must endure it without power to run their air conditioners.

As more than one saint has noted in correspondence to me recently, the NBA championship between the Oklahoma Thunder and the Miami Heat contained another parable for this nation. Any way you look at it, America is in for stormy days. The Heat triumphed, and quickly on the heels of their victory the nation is enduring record breaking heat and tremendous fires.

I believe Yahweh cracked The Liberty Bell from the very first time it was struck. He was testifying that the sound produced by men being given liberty to follow the passions of their souls would produce only a discordant sound in His ears. Even after the bell was repaired, it sounded with such a jarring and unpleasant sound that it was compared to two coal scuttles being banged together.

Coal Scuttle
(A bucket for carrying coal.)

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1970,  commented on what he observed in the nation of America.

"Destructive and irresponsible freedom has been granted boundless space. Society appears to have little defense against the abyss of human decadence, such as, for example, misuse of liberty for moral violence against young people..."

The Liberty Bell is a symbol of America. The sound of her abominations has arisen to the heavens. She is under judgment. Seeing that there is no repentance, no repudiation of the immorality she has chosen, nor sorrow over her transgressions, the judgments of God will fall with even greater severity.

If Sodom had a bell, would not America’s Liberty Bell be a fitting symbol for that wicked city? Did not the leading men of Philadelphia those years ago invite God’s judgment when they inscribed their bell with words from His holy scriptures as if Yahweh were Himself putting His blessing upon the works of their hands?

I am reminded of another time when Yahweh caused the works of man’s hands to crack.

I Kings 13:1-5
Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of Yahweh, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said... "This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken, "Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.'" Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Yahweh.

Who cracked The Liberty Bell? Yahweh did. He was sending forth a message that men granted free reign to choose the course their souls dictated would end up in absolute spiritual poverty and in the depths of moral depravity. Such is the social fabric of America today. It is a filthy garment, detestable to the heavens.

As America’s leaders stand and deliver speeches about celebrating homosexuality, does not the sound of man’s liberty reach the heavens with great dissonance? America has let man’s freedom ring. Now the sounds of her freedom are fleeing away. Soon the liberty and freedom of America will be a thing of distant memory.


Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Rockrimmon - A Message from the Colorado Fires

Joseph Herrin (06-28-2012)

As I was recently reading the news on the fires in Colorado I was struck by the extreme nature of what is occurring there. The fires are uncommon in their explosive growth, and their ability to leap across primary and secondary fire breaks. The weather was itself unprecedented as the fires near Colorado Springs coincided with a record heat wave that was paired with exceptionally low humidity, often in the single digits, and intense winds.

(Graphic from www.weather.com)

The image above was taken from The Weather Channel’s website as I was preparing this post. The graphic strikes me as particularly significant as it provides an outline of the Continental United States with a background collage consisting of a city skyline and smoke clouds reflecting a massive fire. People who have witnessed firsthand the fires in Colorado have made mention of the fiery orange glow that the clouds are exhibiting there. The following paragraph taken from an article on The Weather Channel’s website reveals the extreme nature of what America is experiencing.

100-Degree Heat Spreading East

A late-June heat wave continues to rewrite the record books in the Rockies and Plains.  For the second straight day, all-time record highs were tied in Denver (105) and set in Sidney, Neb. (111) on Tuesday. Record highs for the month of June were also tied or set in 15 cities Tuesday, including Houston and Austin.  At least 10 cities in the Rockies and High Plains were hotter Tuesday than Death Valley (108)!
[End Excerpt]

I do not consider it coincidental that the author of the above words chose to compare the temperatures being experienced across the Rocky Mountains as “hotter than Death Valley.” What America is experiencing is an acceleration of judgment.

Back in March I wrote a blog titled Rapid Transition. In it I spoke of things changing quickly for the people of God.

A few days ago I packed up all my winter clothes and got out my summer clothes to hang in my closet in The Dreamer. The change of season has been very abrupt. I very literally went from running a heater at night, to running the air conditioner just a day or two later. This seems symbolic of those things the Spirit is indicating are coming to God’s people. Abrupt changes are at hand. There will be no gradual transition from one experience to another. Things will happen quite suddenly in days ahead.
[End Excerpt]

Since that time the weather has continued to run far ahead of what is normal for a typical year. Last week it was reported that Tropical Storm Debby was the earliest fourth named storm ever on record. The average date for the fourth named Atlantic storm of the hurricane season is August 23rd. Debby made her appearance a full two months earlier. At the same time that Florida (the Sunshine State) was being soaked with more than two feet of rain, large swaths of the country were roasting under record heat, and massive fires were being reported all across the Western United States. Congress was even prompted to allocate emergency funding to pay more fire fighting aircraft. America is on fire, literally, and this will increase as both leaders and citizens are unrepentant while experiencing Yahweh’s judgments.

An article posted today on The Weather Channel appears to proclaim a prophetic message in its headline.

Pattern Change Needed for Fire Relief

Chris Dolce Updated: Jun 28, 2012, 6:24 AM EDT weather.com

Dry, Windy Weather Contributes to Fire Danger


Large wildfires have been grabbing headlines in the West for weeks.  Poor weather conditions have certainly contributed to this story.


First of all, it's been very dry.  Check out the drought monitor graphic for the West to the left and you can see that portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and California are in moderate, severe or extreme drought.  The March through May period was the fourth and fifth driest on record for Colorado and Utah, respectively.


Recently, extreme heat has been contributing to the tinderbox conditions.  Colorado Springs, where a nearby major fire is ongoing, is one of several locations that set an all-time record high temperature on Tuesday!


Then there are the winds.  Dry cold fronts passing by to the north have been kicking up gusty winds over the Rockies the last several weeks.


What we need for relief is a pattern change.
[Source: http://www.weather.com/news/weather-forecast/pattern-need-fire-relief-20120627]

Amen! What America needs is truly a change of pattern. Her abominations have arisen to the heavens, and the judgments of God are justly appropriate and will become far worse in the days ahead. America’s cities will burn with fires both natural and manmade. A great conflagration will engulf the entire country as civil unrest leads to martial law. The accumulation of decades of material goods will be consumed in a moment.

One aspect of the stories coming forth from the outskirts of Colorado Springs, the second largest city in the state, is the suddenness with which the fires have spread and the residents have had to flee. One website had testimonies of numbers of people who had lost homes in the fires. The residents reported having only ten minutes to leave their homes from the time the police gave the evacuation order. Two people in the same article reported having to drive their cars through their closed garage doors as the electricity was suddenly cut-off and they did not know how to open the doors manually without electricity.

http://www.gazette.com/news/emergency-140920-stories-officer.html

I have had correspondence with a number of people on the significance of the Colorado fires. Some are linking it to the pressure America is steadily putting upon Israel to force Jews to surrender homes and lands that Yahweh gave as an inheritance to Abraham and his seed. At the same time that the Colorado fire was forcing Americans to evacuate homes, the Jewish residents of Ulpana in Israel were being relocated by their government in an effort to quell international outrage over Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

I came across the following article today that has nothing to do with the evacuations in Israel, but you would not know it by the title of the piece.

Fires rage across the state; Colorado Springs Jews evacuate
Thursday, 28 June 2012 09:30 Chris Leppek

Fires rage outside Ft. Collins.


As a very worried Rabbi Moshe Liberow approached his hometown of Colorado Springs on Interstate 25 on Tuesday afternoon, a tornado-like pillar of smoke and an apocalyptic sky that he describes as “miles and miles of orange and darkness,” told him that the situation was dire.


Returning from a Chabad event he had attended last weekend in New York, Rabbi Liberow — the spiritual leader of Chabad-Lubavitch of Southern Colorado — was driving south from DIA. He was fully aware that the Waldo Canyon fire, fanned by strong winds and encouraged by torrid record temperatures, was raging ever nearer to Colorado Springs, where his home, synagogue and mikveh are located.


He had been on the phone with his wife Zelda throughout the weekend as she nervously told her husband that the fire was growing steadily larger and nearer to their northwestern Colorado Springs neighborhood.


Four of the couple’s six children were with her at home — the other two were safely away at summer camp.


He knew by Tuesday afternoon, heading toward the Springs on I-25, that she had received a pre-evacuation order but not whether she had managed to get out. That final bit of crucial information was denied him, due to cellphones that could no longer connect.


“As I was driving home,” Rabbi Liberow told the Intermountain Jewish News on Wednesday morning, “I knew that the situation was very bad.”


That conviction only grew more sure as he approached Colorado Springs. He tried to get off at an exit that would lead to his home — Rockrimmon Drive — but the road was a chaotic mess, clogged with official and private vehicles trying to get in or get out, and everything was cloaked in smoke so thick that Rabbi Liberow — a native Briton — compared it to an English fog.


“It was dramatic,” he said. “It was scary.”


He tried to get information on the fire and evacuations. He called 911 but the over-burdened system put him on hold. He was able to reach a member of his congregation but that person was unable to offer any conclusive information about the situation.


He could still not reach his wife.


Realizing the futility of trying to get back to the area where his home and synagogue are located, the rabbi opted to get back on the interstate and head for Denver, hoping against hope that his family were able to get out of the fire-threatened area.


Not very long after, on the highway heading north, Rabbi Liberow saw something that he describes as miraculous.


Two vehicles ahead of him, also heading north, he spotted the family car, driven by his wife, with their four children inside.


“I was so happy,” Rabbi Liberow literally exhaled while speaking to the IJN this week. “I couldn’t believe it.”


The family drove to Denver in a mini-convoy. Finally, with the help of Denver-area Chabad rabbis, they were able to secure a hard-to-find hotel room in downtown Denver...
[Source: http://www.ijn.com/ijn-news/local/3253-fires-rage-across-the-state-colorado-springs-jews-evacuate-]

America’s sins are many, and I do not question that she is heaping up judgment for herself due to her ungodly pressure upon Israel. At the same time, I want to focus in on one detail of the Colorado fires that I have come across multiple times. Even in the article above you find mention of the name Rockrimmon. A search on the Internet reveals numerous stories on the fire that make mention of the boulevard, and community in Northwest Colorado Springs named Rockrimmon.

Traffic Evacuating Rockrimmon

When I saw the name Rockrimmon I recognized that it is derived from a story found in the Bible. The story involves Yahweh’s judgment upon Israel due to unrestrained sin and abominations committed in the land. The story is found in the book of Judges, evoking a correlation to the judgment of God.

YouTube Video of Rockrimmon Fire
http://youtu.be/YXMarbsLf18



The Biblical story is a large one, giving indication of its importance. It takes up three entire chapters of the book of Judges, beginning in chapter 19. The story relates how a Levite man dwelling in the territory of Ephraim went to bring back his concubine who had departed from him, engaging in harlotry. As the man returned he was passing through the territory of the tribe of Benjamin when wicked men surrounded the house he was in, demanding that he come out so the men could sodomize him. The man’s concubine was given to the men instead, and they raped and ravished her until the first daylight. Then they let her go. The concubine fell at the steps of the home in which her husband was staying and there she died.

When the man found his concubine dead at the hands of the wicked men of Benjamin, he took her home and cut her body into twelve pieces and sent them throughout the twelve tribes of Israel, reporting to the people what the men of Benjamin had done.

Judges 19:30
All who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!"

All eleven tribes of Israel gathered together and demanded of Benjamin that they punish the evildoers in their midst. Benjamin refused, and arrayed themselves for battle. During the first two days Israel was horribly defeated by the Benjamites. Benjamin slew 22,000 Israelites the first day, and 18,000 the second. This caused the other eleven tribes to humble themselves before Yahweh and to confess their own sins, which were many. Yahweh would not permit them to achieve victory when they were acting in a self-righteous manner.

The next day Yahweh gave Israel victory and over 25,000 men of Benjamin were slain. All that was left of Benjamin was 600 men who fled into the wilderness to the Rock of Rimmon.

Judges 20:46-47
So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who draw the sword; all these were valiant warriors. But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months.

On this most terrible day for Benjamin, the men of the other eleven tribes set an ambush for them. They acted like they were being defeated by the Benjamites once more, and began to retreat in order to draw the men away from the city. When the men of Benjamin were drawn out, Israelites hiding in ambush struck the city with the sword and set it on fire.

Judges 20:38
Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.

Do not these words form a parallel to what is being observed in Colorado Springs at this time? A great cloud of smoke is rising from the city.

Colorado Springs Fire

One aspect of this story is that the fire has burned right up to the edge of property belonging to the Air Force Academy, which is located in Colorado Springs. Cadet dormitories have had to be evacuated and the cadets placed in homes of people who live in the area.

Air Force Academy Surrounded By Fire

There are a number of recent news items related to the Air Force Academy that share a resemblance with the story from the book of Judges. It has been much in the news of late that President Obama has ordered all branches of the military to openly accept, and even celebrate, the presence of homosexuals in the military. A news article recently reported on the first graduation of cadets where homosexuality was expressed openly.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/us-air-force-academy-gay-cadets_n_1543278.html

This story of Benjamin’s sin also focuses on the rape of a woman, and an unfettered sexual aggression. This too has been not only a part of America’s culture as a nation, but part of the military’s sordid history. The following link tells of a resurgence of sexual assaults against women at the Air Force Academy. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, estimates that there were as many as 19,000 sexual assaults in the military last year.

http://www.gazette.com/articles/data-132164-denver-explanation.html

The estimate of Mr. Panetta may well be low as it is reported by some institutions that as many as 95% of rapes go unreported.

http://rwu.edu/campus-life/health-counseling/counseling-center/sexual-assault/rape-myths-and-fac

There were 3,200 reported rapes in the military last year. If this is 5% of the rapes, then the actual number was closer to 60,000. America’s behavior is not significantly different than that of the Benjamites whose sins are recorded in the book of Judges. As I mentioned, there is a correlation to the Benjamites and the name Rockrimmon.

Judges 20:47
But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months.

The name Rimmon is the name of a Canaanite god. Right next to Rockrimmon in Colorado Springs is an area called “Garden of the Gods.” This is certainly not a reference to the God (singular) of Israel. It is a reference to pagan gods, and one is led to consider the closeness of the Garden of the Gods to this area named after Rimmon.

When Elijah healed Naaman the leper, who was from Syria, Naaman asked Elijah’s God to please pardon him when he went with his master into the house of Rimmon.

II Kings 5:18
"In this matter may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh pardon your servant in this matter."

America is a land of many idols and false gods. It seems symbolic that the sinful sons of Benjamin did not run to a stronghold of Yahweh when judgment befell them. Instead they ran to a stronghold named after the false god Rimmon. In this hour when judgment is even now at the door of America, the majority will not turn back to the one true God, but will run to false gods for protection and safety. They will look to the arm of man to deliver them.

An article from 2010 reveals that the Air Force Academy has set aside a place for Pagans, Druids and Witches to worship.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/air-force-academy-gives-p_n_444800.html

Is it not right for Yahweh to judge a people who have rejected Him, and have turned aside to vain gods while giving themselves over to an unfettered pursuit of sexual desire and pleasure? America is burning, and there is far worse to come.

A person can adopt the view that the extreme weather, the floods, fires, tornadoes, economic collapse, real estate debacle, record unemployment, unprecedented debt that is increasing by trillions of dollars annually, and other signs of systemic destruction and rot have nothing to do with God, and are unrelated to the transgressions of the nation. Some, however, see that America is on fire and perceive the hand of a righteous and holy God bringing judgment for her defiance and many abominations.

Colorado Springs Evacuees Look at Smoke Over Their City


Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Rescue the Perishing

Joseph Herrin (06-25-2012)

An unusual set of events occurred recently in my life that I have perceived to have the makings of a parable. This story revolves around a puppy that has quite unexpectedly come into my life. I have named him “Champ.”



















Champ - Photo Taken Yesterday

Let me begin by sharing some background about my relationship with dogs. I have liked dogs since I was a child. They make wonderful pets and companions. Growing up as a child, my parents never let us have a dog, but we did have some cats. Cats can be wonderful in their own way, but they have never seemed as personable to me as a dog. As someone has said, “You  can own a dog, but you can only feed a cat.” That pretty well encapsulates my feelings regarding the canine and feline members of creation.

When I became an adult and had a family of my own, we decided it would be nice to have a pet. My wife and I went to the local animal rescue kennel and picked out a young puppy that appeared to be some type of Terrier mix. The pup was only about 8 weeks old, but was very smart. We called her Precious. We kept her as an indoor pet, and from the moment we brought her home she was housebroken. When she needed to relieve herself she would go to the door and whine. Precious made us look like pet experts as she was incredibly easy to train and eager to please.

My children were young when we got Precious, and the dog was truly spoiled by an abundance of attention. Despite all the attention of my daughter Kristin, my son Josiah, and my wife, Precious was definitely my dog. If every person in the house called her at the same time, she would eagerly run to where I was at.

After we had Precious about 5 years we found ourselves away from the house on many days, so we thought it would be good to get another dog for a companion. I found someone local who was advertising a half Basset Hound, half Boston Terrier mix, and I brought a puppy home. She was cute and had a sweet disposition. We named her Blessing.

Little did I realize at the time how very different dog breeds can be. Unlike Precious, Blessing was a very slow learner. You might describe her as stubborn, but she was always sweet in her stubbornness. It took a year to housebreak Blessing, and by that time she had ruined the carpet in our home.

I began studying dog breeds soon after we got Blessing and I found that Basset Hounds are notorious for their stubbornness and difficulty to train. I also learned that Basset Hounds have the heaviest bone structure of all dogs. They are squatty, and massively boned. I used to regale people with this fact when I introduced Blessing to them. I would tell them that Blessing had a tremendous amount of bone, and most of it was in her head. She was a real bone-head, but she was a sweet bone-head.

Kristin at age 14 with Precious and Blessing

Blessing became primarily Kristin’s dog. Blessing slept in the bed with Kristin, while Precious slept with our son Josiah. The dogs made wonderful companions, and added a lot of love to our home.

About two years after the photo above was taken, my wife left me. Tony did not want to keep the dogs herself, so she told me to take them. For about five months the dogs traveled the country with me, camped with me in the woods, and shared a car with me as a primary residence. Then the Father led me to the Macon Rescue Mission and I was no longer able to keep the dogs, so Kristin took them. Kristin was staying with a family from the church she attended and I helped her erect an outdoor pen for the dogs to stay in.

Kristin took care of Precious and Blessing for a couple years. One day Kristin called me crying. She said she had let Precious outside the pen, as she was a very obedient dog and never strayed. The house was probably a couple of football field lengths from the road, but Precious had gotten over into the road and was struck by a car and killed. Precious was about 12 years old at the time. About a year later Blessing dug her way out of the kennel and she too got into the road and was killed.

This was very sad to me, as I had a lot of compassion for both of the dogs. I do believe that some people go overboard in their attention to their pets, but having a love for the animals Yahweh created is not a carnal thing. In the book of Jonah we find this remarkable verse to close it out.

Jonah 4:11
"Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

In these words Yahweh reveals that He has compassion even on the animals He has created. Yahshua echoed this truth when He stated the following.

Matthew 10:29
Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's leave (consent) and notice.
[Amplified Bible]

Solomon spoke of the attitude of the righteous toward the animals that are in his care.

Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal...

Jacob was such a righteous man. When he traveled long distance with many flocks and herds, Jacob showed concern for the animals in his care.

Genesis 33:13-14
But he said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir."

Yahweh gave Moses command even regarding the oxen that were used in the threshing of the grain.

Deuteronomy 25:4
“You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.”

I believe it is consistent with the character of Yahweh for men to show both delight and compassion toward the animals God has formed. It must truly have been a wonderful thing for Yahweh to bring representatives of every kind of animal before Adam so that the man could give a name to each one.

When my dog died, and a year later Kristin’s dog suffered a similar occurrence, I began to ponder the parable contained in these incidences. I considered that dogs, although treated as pets, are beasts. As such they represent the beast nature. Yahweh had me on a journey to subdue the beast nature and to rule over it, and my daughter had also embraced this difficult journey. I took the passing of our dogs as a sign of that work of ruling over the beast nature that Yahweh had called us to. I was called to be a leader in this even as it was my dog that perished first.

Some may find it contradictory for me to say Yahweh loves animals, and then to suggest that He used their deaths to speak such a parable, but death is a natural part of this fallen creation. Everything that is born must die, including mankind. The tragedy is not that God’s creatures die, but rather that many of them never truly live. Many animals lives are made miserable by the mistreatment of sinful men and women. Yet, a day is coming when the entire creation will rejoice as firstfruits sons of God are revealed and life is renewed in the creation.

Romans 8:19-22
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

During most of the past 6-7 years since our dogs passed away I have not been in a situation where having a dog was practical. I spent three years at a rescue mission, then a few more years living out of a small camper van and traveling the nation, often staying in the homes of other saints. Only in the past year since the Father provided a bus for me to live in have I thought it might be possible to have a dog again. A great many people who travel and live in RVs have dogs as pets. At the same time, recognizing that the Father speaks through parables in such things, I did not want to do anything of my own initiative in this matter. I told the Father that I would not mind having a dog, but if it was not His will then I was content.

On Tuesday of this past week an elderly Christian sister from the Midwest section of the U.S. wrote to me and was telling me about what a good companion her little Chihuahua named Daisy was for her. I told her that I had thought of getting a dog, but I did not sense any release from the Father to do so. Later in the day she wrote to me again and sent the following message.

I'll pray about Yahweh's leading re: a "puppy."   Although Daisy's 6 1/2, she'll ALWAYS be a puppy to me...   Might there be a "kill facility" near you?  So MANY, MANY dogs (including LITTLE ones!) are being dumped for whatever reason.  Most are put to sleep.  IF you might seriously consider one someday, I can give you web sites in your area.  I hope you don't think I'm trying to pressure you!  Not at all.

I did not send a reply to this e-mail. The next morning I saw that this sister had sent a further e-mail listing some website for rescue kennels in my area. I briefly looked at the links, but I sensed no leading of the Spirit to pursue this matter further. I spoke to the Father again and told Him I was content to not have a dog, or to have one, according to His will.

I spent most of the day Wednesday working on the website revision. About 6:30 P.M. I thought of taking a bike ride, which I have been trying to do regularly. There is a road not far from the RV Park I am staying at that goes out through farmland where there is very little traffic. There are corn fields and dairy farms along the way, making for a very scenic ride. It was pretty hot Wednesday, and I was debating whether to wait until later, or skip the ride altogether. The thought came to me that I should go, and I should go NOW.

I got on my bike and had just turned onto the country road, being only about a mile and a half from the RV Park, when I noticed that the county workers had recently mowed the shoulders of the road. As I was looking at the mowed grass I spotted a plastic crate off to the side of the road. As I got closer I saw that there were puppies in the crate. I stopped my bike and took a closer look. There were seven puppies altogether. Someone had abandoned them and they were all in terrible shape. I could see myriads of fleas crawling on them, and several of the puppies were already dead. There was one puppy outside of the crate walking around. He was evidently the only one with enough strength to climb out.

As I looked at the pups, I could see that they would not live much longer. The remaining ones in the crate that were still alive were panting hard. They were in the hot sun without water, and the fleas were terrible on them. I debated what I should do. I knew I could not take them all myself, and I doubted whether any but the one outside the crate would live even with the best of care. I got back on my bike and rode a little further as I considered the matter.

I remembered the sister’s e-mail from Tuesday. She had specifically said she would pray that God would send me a puppy. She had also mentioned getting an abandoned dog. It seemed more than coincidence that she had prayed this way and I was suddenly confronted with some abandoned puppies. As I thought of it, I felt that I could not leave the one strong pup to die if there was a chance I could save its life. I turned my bike around and returned to the spot and called the pup to me. He hobbled over to me and I picked him up and put him in one of the baskets on the back of my bike.

I did not like to leave the other dogs, but they were more than I could care for. Fortunately, a woman who lives nearby stopped soon after I had retrieved the one puppy, and she picked up the remaining three that were alive. My daughter heard about her doing so on Facebook, and let me know about it. The woman was not sure whether the pups would survive, but she took them home to care for them.

The puppy I picked up appeared to be between 4-6 weeks old. When I got him home I filled a five gallon bucket part way with water. A man who camps beside me has a purebred Golden Retriever that he takes meticulous care of. He washes his dog outside a couple times a week. I knew he would have some flea shampoo, so I knocked on his door. Not only did he have flea shampoo, but he had some that was recommended for puppies. As small as this dog was, I estimate that he had no less than 200 fleas on him. His gums and tongue were white from anemia as the fleas were draining the blood from his system.

I had to change the water in the bucket four times as I bathed him over about an hour and a half. I used a comb to get all of the fleas off that I could find. The puppy was exhausted when I got through, but I knew he had to feel better. The pup also threw up once, and it was evident that he had a bad case of intestinal worms. I had planned on getting him some worming medicine anyway, as worms are very common in puppies, especially those who have been kept in unclean environments.

The above photo shows the puppy right after I bathed him. He was almost too tired to hold his head up, so I helped him out a bit.

Another photo after his bath. I gave the pup some milk with a little brown sugar in it that night, and the next morning on the advice of my neighbor I went to the store and got some infant formula for him. I also got some soft dog food and worming medicine.

The puppy slept most of the next day. About every three hours the pup would wake up and I would take him outside to do his business, and then I would feed him again. Following is a shot of him the day after I picked him up.

It didn’t take too long for him to start regaining his strength. Later on in the day he was trying to climb out of the basket I was keeping him in.

I have had the puppy for three days now, and he is recovering well. After considering what to name him, I finally settled on the name “Champ.” The name seems to fit him.

Having such a little pup is similar to having a newborn baby in the house. I have been accustomed to laying down at night and sleeping soundly until daybreak. Such has not been my experience the past three nights. About every three hours Champ will wake up and start whining. I get up, take him outside and then bring him back in and feed him. He has taken to both the soft dog food and the infant formula. As you can see in the photo above, his belly is well rounded. He is eating well which is a good sign, although I can tell he is still weak from the anemia. Some color is returning to his gums and tongue.

I am uncertain what breed of dog he is. He may have some American Pit Bull Terrier in him, as well as some Rottweiler, but these are only guesses. I know that these breeds of dogs are popular with some folks around here. He may have some hound in him as he has tried to bay, or howl, on occasion when I walked out of his sight. Some dog breeds have gained a bad reputation as being vicious, but the various kennel clubs of America and other nations, as well as veterinarian associations, are against breed specific legislation when it comes to dogs. They assert that vicious dog behavior is more of an owner issue than a breed issue. The Wikipedia article on Pit Bulls states that they were raised as a hunting breed for wild hogs, and also used as companion dogs. They have on occasion been employed as rescue dogs.

As I have contemplated the parable of this recent dog rescue, I have considered the Scripture that speaks of going out to the highways and along the hedges and bringing people in to attend the wedding feast of the Son of God (Matthew 22 and Luke 14). The invitation was first sent to the nobles, the wealthy, and the upper echelons of society, but these ones were involved in the affairs of the world. They made excuses, pleading to be exempted so they would not have to discontinue their worldly involvement. The king then commanded his servants to go out and compel the poor, and crippled and blind and lame to come in, and to fill his banqueting hall.

This puppy represents those who are perishing. He was rejected, cast out alongside the road. He was in very bad shape physically even as those whom the Father is seeking to save in these last days are in bad shape spiritually. Even as I had compassion on the puppy, Yahweh has compassion on those who are perishing. I felt that if there were any possibility that I could save this one and did not put forth the effort to do so, that I would have fallen short of manifesting the love of God.

This puppy is just like a baby, even to having to drink infant formula. I believe the Father to be indicating that those whom He calls forth in these last days will include many babes. They will whine a lot. They will not be able to eat solid food. They will have to begin with spiritual milk before they grow strong enough to handle solid food which is for the mature. Laboring among such ones can be tiring, but God would call His sons and daughters to manifest patience and perseverance, not driving the flocks too hard lest they perish.

I have begun to view some videos on dog training as I desire to instill in Champ that responsiveness to my authority that I wish him to exhibit. Many whom Yahweh will call forth in these days will begin initially at ground zero. Not only will they be spiritual babes, but they will be ruled by the beast nature. They will have to be taught step by step to rule over this nature, to choose obedience over their natural desires. Those who are called to serve as trainers and instructors must manifest much patience, gentleness, and self-control as they serve in this capacity.

Moses is a shining example of one who was called to such a task. He had already undergone his own forty year period of humbling in the wilderness. Yahweh declared him to be the meekest man on the face of the earth. Moses was then called of God to serve in a leadership capacity to others who were called to endure a wilderness experience designed to humble them. It was a difficult task for Moses. The people murmured and complained even as a bunch of puppies are prone to whine incessantly. I have found that I can either choose to be annoyed at the whining of the puppy, or by exercising my spirit man I can let it pass over me without any adverse effect upon my mood.

Champ’s progress will not only be a testimony to his willingness to change, but of my patience and devotion to effecting that change in him. I anticipate that we will both learn many things along the way.

Me and Champ

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.


Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

The Rat Race of the Religious System

Note: Due to my present work of updating the Heart4God website, I am posting a number of past writings to the Parables Blog that I deem to be worthy of re-posting. These focus on critical truths that the remnant of God's people who aspire to be numbered among the Overcomers in Christ must understand. May you be blessed with peace and understanding as you read.

The Rat Race of the Religious System
Joseph Herrin (07-26-2010)

"Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise." -Sam Pascoe

What I would share with you in this post is extremely important. You will have to be patient for a moment, slow your racing mind down, and focus intently upon the words I am writing. Some concepts are so foreign to the religiously trained mind that they are at first difficult to grasp. If you have spent any significant length of time in the Christian religious system, in denominational, or non-denominational churches, then your mind has been influenced subtly, yet powerfully, in ways you may not have contemplated.

Have you ever considered that the entire system of what passes for Christianity today is a perverse corruption of Yahweh’s plan for His people? I am not speaking merely of the many doctrines of demons that have entered into the church, such as that which is called “prosperity doctrine.” No, I am referring to the overall system of getting people saved so they can join a church, get involved in its programs, and devote their lives to a corporate entity that is proclaimed to be the body of Christ.

Recently, a brother in Christ forwarded to me the speech given by an 18 year old girl in upstate New York. Erica Goldson was the valedictorian of Coxsackie-Athens High School, and was given the opportunity to address all those gathered at her 2010 class graduation ceremony. What she shared is remarkable in its insight for one so young.

Erica chose to talk about the education system in America. Following is the major portion of her speech. As you read it, please consider how these words spoken of the American education system relate to the Christian Religious System, for they are very similar in purpose and practice.

Here I Stand
Erica Goldson

(Valedictorian Speech 2010 - Delivered Wednesday, July 7, 2010 to the students, parents and faculty gathered at Coxsackie-Athens High School.)

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, "If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years..."  The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast - How long then?" Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years." "But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?" asked the student. "Thirty years," replied the Master. "But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?"  Replied the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."


This is the dilemma I've faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.


Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn't you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.


I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer - not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition - a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.


John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, “We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness – curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don't do that.” Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.


H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States. (Gatto)


To illustrate this idea, doesn't it perturb you to learn about the idea of “critical thinking.” Is there really such a thing as “uncritical thinking?” To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?


This was happening to me, and if it wasn't for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.


And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism, or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.


We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren't we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.


The saddest part is that the majority of students don't have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can't run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation...


I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a “see you later” when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let's go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we're smart enough to do so!
[Source: http://americaviaerica.blogspot.com/2010/07/coxsackie-athens-valedictorian-speech.html]

I (Joseph Herrin) attended the public education system for 12 years, graduating from High School, and later going on to earn a college degree. It was what I was conditioned to do. The thought never occurred to me while I was in attendance that the system itself could be an evil thing. I never questioned whether it was preparing me to be a godly person, or considered if the goals of my education were those God would choose. The American education system was training me to be a good corporate citizen. I was a member of the greatest consumer nation on earth, and I was being groomed for a life devoted to consumption.

While in school, the merits of excelling in the system were made known to me. With better grades came the promise of higher pay, and more money being available to spend on my pursuit of “The American Dream.” Little did I realize that I was being indoctrinated in the art of consumption. I was fed dreams of materialism, and my pursuit of materialism served the ends of the global corporations. My money would end up in their pockets. My life’s labor would further their empire.

II Peter 2:3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you...

American society promotes covetousness. Advertisements are inescapable. If you watch television, or even go to the movies, you will have to abide a barrage of commercials that are aimed at creating a desire for some company’s product. If you drive down the road you will be met with billboards intended to produce a desire for some service or product. You cannot read a magazine, or listen to the radio, without the constant drone of corporate consumerism invading your mind through sounds and images.

How many Americans ever question whether the endless drive to attain material possessions, and to enjoy one pleasure after another, is actually righteous? How many have considered what type of life God would lead them to if there were not the constant and pervasive influence of society telling them what they should be pursuing? The American education and cultural system has made slaves of an entire population. The citizens of the nation live to acquire material possessions, and then spend the balance of their lives trying to hold onto what they have gained. Is this the will of God?

Luke 12:15
And He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."

This article is not about the American system of materialism, however. It is about the Christian Religious System. The same blindness that affects the citizens of America, also holds sway in the church.

Isaiah 42:19
“Who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of Yahweh?”

I want to entreat you to consider the goals and practices of the Christian Religious System, particularly in Western nations. Going to church is what people are conditioned to do. Participating in the stereotypical programs of the various denominations is considered both right and proper. A focus on church attendance, supporting the church financially, and living a church-centric life is accepted without any critical thinking.

How many Christians have stopped to question whether the goals and practices of the church are in synch with the desires of God? Christians are conditioned to not ask such questions. They are herded along with everyone else, directed through endlessly repeated sermons that proclaim the virtues of attendance, program participation, and tithing. Being a good corporate citizen of the church is equated with spirituality.

What is Yahweh’s desire for His sons and daughters? As I have been sharing everywhere I go, He desires sons (male and female). He wants sons in His image. He is seeking sons who are conformed to the image of Christ so they can rule and reign with Him in the ages to come.

Are the churches producing sons in the image of Christ? Absolutely not! Rather, they are aborting every son that begins to show marks of maturity.

To be conformed to Christ’s image, one must be led of the Spirit, not conformed to the pattern of this fallen world system.

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Christ did not lead a life centered on the synagogue. He did not live to fulfill the programs and plans of the synagogue’s leaders. Christ never equated participation in the life of the local synagogue with spiritual life. He lived to do the will of His Father. The Father’s will was not made known to Him by men, but by the Spirit who was given to indwell Him. Those who have been born of the Spirit of Christ have received the same Spirit to serve as their guide.

I Corinthians 2:10-13
For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit...

The Christian Religious System is antithetical to the purposes of God. The system has indoctrinated Christians to believe that they must come to the church building weekly to hear the word of God spoken to them by an appointed minister. The minister will perhaps give them a 15-30 minute message, often including admonitions on attendance, participation in programs, and tithing. Before and after the message of the minister there will be announcements that serve as commercials for all the events, programs and services of the corporation called the church.

The saint is trained to be a good corporate citizen, and his continuance as a good corporate citizen is assumed to last as long as life is in him. Do the programs of the church lead to conformity to Christ? The instrument Yahweh uses to conform sons to the image of Christ is the cross. There is an afflicted path to be walked. There are difficult experiences to be endured. There are trials to be passed through, all the while the saint is to be crucifying the flesh that the Spirit of Christ within him might arise.

The church does not offer this path to conformity to Christ. They are more likely to offer baseball, softball, golf, and excursions to the mall than they are to lead the saints to take up their crosses to follow Christ. The church stands in the way of the believer, for it will not permit any to be led of the Spirit. Being led of the Spirit will interfere with being led by the church leadership. One cannot fulfill the goals of the corporation while being led of the Spirit. If you are led by the Spirit you will not be the model corporate Christian citizen that those building earthly kingdoms desire to populate their congregations. The church leaders are all too willing to usurp the role of the Spirit, telling the saints what the will of God is for their lives. The end is always self-serving, fostering a dependence upon the church leaders, and resulting in a continuance of the church as a corporate entity.

Eighty years ago, a wise Christian minister named T. Austin Sparks wrote the following words:

We realize with intense sorrow of heart that all is not well with that which ostensibly represents the Lord here, and that there is a state of things widely prevailing which does not truly accord with the revealed desire of God.


"We live in a time of more than usual dearth spiritually - the state of things may well remind us of Ezekiel's valley of dry bones - we have not merely to cope with evils which have characterized bygone ages, but also with the matured corruption of a time wherein the varied evils of the Gentile world have become connected with, and covered by the cloak of Christian profession; and when we turn to the state of those whose knowledge of truth and high profession might naturally encourage the expectation of more healthy and vigorous Christian action, we find, alas! in many - yes, in the majority of cases - that the knowledge is but cold and uninfluential theory, and the profession but superficial."


Christianity has become so largely a matter of doctrine and creed. The test of Christian life is very much a matter of subscribing thereto. Christian experience has become largely limited to a matter of being saved, without the great Eternal and universal relative factors and issues. Christian service is resolved far too much into a matter of enthusiasm in a great enterprise apart from an adequate apprehension of what the Lord is really after and the indispensable energy and equipment of the Holy Ghost. The Christian "church" is very largely reduced to earthly institutions, societies, denominations, buildings, activities and orders, and the spiritual revelation and apprehension of "the One Body" and "One Spirit" is for by far the most part lacking. Christian teaching has very largely become - at best - a matter of giving addresses and preaching sermons with a presentation of "the letter of the Word," a giving forth of truth as truth, but lacking in "revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph. 1:17); that true inwardness of meaning which reaches the heart and meets the deepest spiritual need of the hungry.


The result of all this is that the impact of that which stands for God upon the world, and particularly upon "the world rulers of this darkness" is almost nil, or a minus quantity...


As we get nearer the close of this age the contact with and impact of the forces of Satan is going to be such that only those who know the full testimony of Jesus and stand experimentally in it will be able to go through without being paralyzed. The aspect of things is fast changing. The past twenty years has seen a movement into a realm where the old methods and means no longer prove effectual. We shall soon find a tremendous pressing down of the powers of darkness upon this earth, using the world-powers to such a degree and in such ways as to eclipse anything which has hitherto been. This is in full accord with the Word of God. There will be one, and only one hope for God's people, and that is their knowledge of Him in Christ and the power of His resurrection as a present spiritual reality. Not their activities, enthusiasms, organizations, enterprises, creeds, "churches," orthodoxy, and so on, but HIMSELF. That time, which is now coming upon us - though imperceptible to so many who are preoccupied with plans and programs - will make manifest the principle of the "One Body..."
[Source: "A Witness and A Testimony" magazine, Sep-Oct 1930 Vol. 8-5]

It is no wonder that so many are hearing the Spirit calling to “come out of her, My people, lest you participate in her sins and partake of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). The church has become a place of confusion (Babylon). Not only are her doctrines leavened, but the very system stands in the way of the saints attaining to “the fulness of the stature which belongs to Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

It is time for all saints to examine the system itself. Does the system of religion promote a Spirit directed life? Have you been brought to a complete abandonment to go wherever Christ would lead you, and to do whatever He would instruct you to do? Are you comfortable in the church because it assures you that Yahweh is well pleased with those who participate in its programs, while not requiring you to give up everything?

Luke 14:33
“So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all he possesses.”

There is a reason that the Christian Religious System is not under attack by the masses of Christians. There is a reason there is no wide call for reform. The church as a man-made institution is comfortable for those who do not wish to be disturbed. To be led of the Spirit will cost a man or woman everything. Nothing can be held back. Yet the corporate religious system will permit a man or woman to hold onto a significant portion of their property and their life.

People of God, the hour is late. It is time for all believers to question the Christian Religious System in the same way that a young Jewish woman named Erica Goldson has questioned the American educational system. The religious system permits men and women to continue to walk after the desires of the flesh. The Spirit of Christ will not. Do not allow yourself to follow blind guides. There is One who is appointed to lead you. That is the Spirit of Christ who indwells all the saints.

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.


Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063