Take a Look at the Lands Down Under

The Past, Present and Future of Australia and New Zealand

The Past:  In some ways, the histories of Australia and New Zealand mirror the history of America.  They were first colonized primarily by the United Kingdom (including exiled prisoners and indentured workers).  All three countries are currently democracies.  They stood up against the fascist socialism of Germany and the imperial regime of Japan, suffering great losses in WW2.  They had their dark chapters (the past mistreatment of the aboriginal and Māori/Islander populations and slavery in the United States). 

The Present:  Though Americans often lump them together, Australia and New Zealand are actually separated by more than 1,000 miles of ocean.  The climate of Australia is generally similar to California and Mexico while New Zealand resembles the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.  Their combined population is just 25 million people (sheep outnumber humans 6-to-1) and their combined land area is approximately equal to the continental U.S.

Australia and New Zealand feature beautiful scenery, geologic wonders, and exotic wildlife (scenery from the Great Ocean Road in southeast Australia provides a backdrop for this website’s home page).  Their people are heavily concentrated in the urban areas along the coasts.  Prior to the pandemic, these were great places for tourists to visit (friendly to Americans), but I wouldn’t recommend traveling there now as their governments’ response to the pandemic has been overbearing (an Australian friend recently said “the people in charge have gone bonkers”).

All three nations are in the crosshairs of Islamic terrorism and the Communist regime of Red China.

The Future:  They have something else in common- nothing in the Bible suggests any important role or special privileges for Australia, New Zealand or America during the impending End Times events (the final chapters in the war between good and evil).  Instead, the Bible prophecies focus on the Holy Land and adjoining territories in Africa, Asia and Europe.

This suggests that Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. will be removed from prominence before the Tribulation begins or during its early days.  The judgments described in Revelation will apply globally but some areas may be particularly impacted by the upcoming plagues, wars, famine, environmental disasters, geologic disasters, and strikes by astronomical bodies described in Bible prophecy.  For example, Revelation 6:14 talks about a great earthquake (early in the Tribulation) where “every mountain and island will be removed from its place.”  Ten chapters later, the Bible describes an earthquake that’s even greater.  The death and destruction during the Tribulation will be horrific.

The evil government and false religion led by the Antichrist and False Prophet will encompass the whole world- distance won’t protect the Aussies, Kiwis or Yanks from Satan’s minions.  Only God can protect you.

But wait, there is still hope!  In an instant, Jesus Christ will collect all Christians through the Rapture.  He will take them to the safety of Heaven prior to the horrors of the Tribulation. 

Further, during the Tribulation, God will send evangelists and messengers throughout the whole world delivering the Gospel message.  The people left behind into the Tribulation will have the opportunity to accept Jesus as savior, but the window of opportunity will be brief.  (Sadly, many people will reject this final invitation and seal their eternal fate- the Lake of Fire).

Folks in Australia and New Zealand who wish to learn more about these upcoming End Times events should consider reading my novel The Great New Deal.  The Kindle version is available for purchase at Amazon.com.au, but Amazon currently does not ship the paperback version “Down Under.”

Do you want fries or salad with your elephant?

How do you eat an elephant?

(One bite at a time).  That proverb is commonly thought to be of Chinese origin. 

Elephants are amazing creatures created by God and they are already endangered thanks to ivory poachers and other bad actors.  So I recommend you do not patronize any restaurant that has elephant on the menu.

Instead, I encourage you to read a great book by Vicki Croke (2014), “Elephant Company.”  It tells of historical events in Burma during the Second World War, as the British battled the evil Japanese Empire.  But the best parts of the book tell of the interaction between the elephants and their handlers (elephants served as the heavy construction equipment for the British and Burmese) and the interactions between the elephants themselves.  The intelligence and personalities of the elephants are presented and some events may bring a tear to your eye. 

This proverb is a word-picture for how to take on a seemingly-impossible task or project: one bite at a time.  Many people have “read the whole Bible” on their “to do” or “bucket” lists, but they are intimidated by the 1,100 pages of small font and never get around to doing it.  Good news:  various Bible publishers offer ways to read the whole Bible in a year.

Tyndale House Publishers does an especially great job at this.  They offer the “One Year Bible” in various translations and formats so that you can find the one best suited to you.  These take the complete Bible and sort it into 365 daily readings.  Each day you read something from the Old and New Testaments, Psalms and Proverbs.  For example, on March 17th you would read Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52, Psalm 60:1-12 and Proverbs 11:15.  Typically it takes around 20 minutes for the daily reading.  The “One Year Bible” format makes it easy to keep your place in the book and stay on track.  I like this approach so much that I made the “One Year Bible” a story element within my novel The Great New Deal.

If you are interested in reading the Bible, you may want to do it soon.  The Bible is already banned in many countries and unfortunately there are many in this country who would like to do so.  In the future time period depicted by The Great New Deal, the Bible will be banned (or totally re-written by those in power, in furtherance of their evil intentions).

Appropriating the Wisdom of Grandma

My long-departed Grandma got married during the Great Depression and raised two kids during the Second World War and the Korean War. Decades later, she was still living a financially responsible frugal life (e.g., After you use a teabag, wrap it in aluminum foil so you can use it multiple times. Roll your old newspapers tightly, soak them in some secret formula, and use them as fireplace logs). When she’d hear about some contemporary problem, a favorite comment was “nothing wrong with this generation that another Depression wouldn’t fix.”

As I review the news of today, the poor quality of our national, state and local leadership, and the failure of our business and church communities to positively address this situation, I have an update to her comment: “There is nothing wrong with this world that the Day of the Lord won’t fix.” Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

The Groom is Coming Soon

The Groom is Coming Soon, to Carry His Bride Home

I recently attended a traditional American church wedding.  A beautiful event and loaded with symbols familiar to most American adults (rings, vows, candles and processions).  May this young couple be greatly blessed!

It was not at all like the typical Galilean Jewish wedding in the First Century AD.  The New Testament contains several references to weddings, grooms, brides, guests and bridesmaids.  Banquets, wine and lamps.  It would be easy to skim over these as just interesting cultural details, but the Bible isn’t a history/sociology textbook.  It’s a comprehensive communications system containing messages from God and its content has purpose.

When asked by His disciples about the timing of the End of the Age events, Jesus explained (Mark 13:32-33 and Matthew 24:36-44) that only God the Father knows that day and hour and that His followers need to keep watch.

I recently watched an interesting video that helps put these instructions from Jesus and the many New Testament wedding references in context.  It’s titled Before the Wrath (2020, directed by Brent Miller Jr. and featuring Kevin Sorbo).  The video is well-done and understandable.  Pastors and scholars describe the wedding traditions of Galilean Jews during the First Century and explain how the teachings of Jesus regarding weddings, watchmen and the End Times are interconnected.  The groom (Jesus) will come soon (in the event called the Rapture), to sweep His bride (the church) to His Father’s home for a joyous wedding celebration and to shield her from the coming time of great wrath (the Tribulation). Amen!  Come soon, Lord Jesus!

Life Imitates Art

In August 2020, I wrote this review of the (excellent) book “Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite” by Peter Schweitzer: “This book is very timely. It shines a light on the many bad deeds and few scruples of prominent “progressive” political figures. And it is well-researched with lots of documentary citations. If nothing else, read the two first chapters, which deal with Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris. After reading that, I wouldn’t trust either with my wallet or car keys, much less the keys to the U.S. treasury and nuclear codes.”

Unfortunately, the ethically-challenged (and underqualified) duo were elected and we are now suffering the consequences of that election. To make matters worse, many of the other scurrilous characters covered by “Profiles in Corruption” hold powerful positions in the Biden cabinet or Congress. When you plant bad seeds, the tree will produce bad fruit; that’s what we are now finding in the American diet.

Not long after reading “Profiles in Corruption,” I was inspired to write the novella “Brave New Year,” describing life in an America under the unchecked rule of a progressive elite. That novella morphed into my novel “The Great New Deal,” published in early 2021. It has been eerie to see how many of the fictional events and themes in my book are coming true through the actions of those currently in power.

Perhaps Americans will see this and address it through future elections, but the “Big Axis” powers (big government, big tech, big media and big business/finance) will vigorously resist that. All of this seems to be further evidence for another theme of “The Great New Deal,” the Day of the Lord is coming soon (the End Times events recorded in the Bible). Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

7 Lessons We Must Learn from Nazi Germany

I recently read the book “When A Nation Forgets God” by Dr. Erwin Lutzer (pastor emeritus of the Moody Church in Chicago). Its sub-title appears above. Though it was published in 2010, it seems to be even more relevant now. It describes (and documents) how the people of Germany and its institutions were corrupted during the 1930’s to pave the way for Adolf Hitler and his ilk to take over Germany and lead the nation (and the world) down a path of suffering, death and destruction. The book is not just an important history lesson- Dr. Lutzer connects these seven themes to America in the current era.

I highly recommend this book. It features a great foreword by Eric Metaxas (author of the excellent book, “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy”) explaining the relevance of Dr. Lutzer’s book. I echo the words of Eric Metaxas, “Read Erwin Lutzer’s book!“

Tredecim’s Thoughts

Yes, it’s just a blog, but I aim for it to be a “blog of a different color. ” It’s not going to be the “Daily Narcissist News” (I won’t be posting very often and it’s not going to be all about me). I hope to focus primarily on good books that I’ve recently read (and worthwhile videos I’ve seen).

In Mark 13:32-33, Jesus tells us to be alert and on guard. Only God the Father knows the time when He will send Jesus to collect the living (and dead) Christians in the End Times event called the Rapture. But we are expected to be alert for the signs that it’s imminent. Such signs seem to be growing in quantity and strength. As I notice something that seems significant in this context, I hope to report it in this blog. (However, if the Rapture occurs prior to my passing from this mortal life, I expect to stop blogging!)