Honestly, I don’t go looking for this stuff. It would be far easier to make up some kinder, gentler, more conventional story… to talk about politics and the stock market and the weather and look forward to grandchildren someday.
A few may recall that on Monday, I described how…
…for reasons unbeknownst to me at the time, I had cause to read [Genesis 3:8] the other day after being led by the Holy Spirit to focus on another license plate (A38 83A) just ahead of me 0n my way back from Bible study — the letter ‘A’ evoking the first book of the Bible. (Funny thing with me and cars.)
That serendipitous interlude ended up speaking, with startling specificity, to the post I’d been working on.
So last night, I’m out walking the dog just before twilight, the last few days’ worth of apocalyptic, Jesus-coming-back-any-minute-now posts bouncing around in my head like a posse of meth-addled ferrets on a hot cast iron skillet — though more in an excited, its really true! kind of way than the metaphor might suggest. 
In an attempt to bring some sense to it all (and check my reasoning) I called up a faithful reader here with whom I chat from time to time about this stuff. The conversation revolved around, a) the Ark of the Covenant discovery and, b) the judgment / massive terrorist strike which I and others far more seasoned in this kind of thing sense is coming on the U.S. very soon.
Just as we were about to wrap up, I walked by a parked car. To a city dweller that would sound unremarkable, but here in the green-leafy, big-lawn, multi-car-garage, roll-up-the-sidewalks at 7PM suburbs, it’s unusual. If I had to hazard a guess, it was one of less than half a dozen cars I’d passed on a one-hour walk a good portion of which was spent on park trails with no cars at all.
What had grabbed my subconscious attention was another palindromic license plate: K89 89K. I walked a few paces past it and something told me to go back and look again to be sure I’d gotten it right.
This morning, I looked it up, using the same rules that had proven so spine-tingingly applicable on Monday. The letter ‘K’ being the 11th in the alphabet, I went to 1st Kings (the 11th book in the Bible). Interpreting it as if in a mirror (i.e., both sides, in both directions), I was startled out of my socks:
1st Kings 8:9 reads:
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Gulp.
And 1st Kings 9:8 reads (God speaking):
“And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’“
Double gulp…
Continuing, in verse 9, we read (answering the people’s question as to why ‘this house’ is brought low):
“Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”
Small moan, close eyes, clasp hands… Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, Lord, Lord… It is true, isn’t it? May Your Kingdom come. May Your Will be done. On earth as it is in heaven…
[...] that they could not explain of the utter credibility of what they were seeing and hearing. The small signs the world mocks; the still, small voice that comes through in unexpected ways and says, quiet [...]
By: Ark of the Covenant Being Unveiled? « New Wineskins on June 26, 2009
at 9:17 am
They did invade true… but didnt colonize them. Italy abandoned Ethopia in 1941 due to lack of resources. The church did maintain their cohesiveness and Haile Selassie maintained the royal line in exile. It would be tough to say that Italy ever subjugated Etheopia.
But you are right… they were technically conquered by Italy… I was sortof ignoring that minor chapter of their history… ha ha…
You do great work brother… love you and your blog as always…
In Christ,
Bill Henry
By: Bill Henry on June 25, 2009
at 9:17 am
Interesting little article I just read–Obama is going to meet the Pope on July 10 on his way to Ghana. He’ll be in Italy from July 8-10 for the G8 summit: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0902866.htm
I wonder if there’s any significance.
[Yeah, that one is wild. Since you brought it up, consider:
The man whom some of us are pretty sure is the antichrist decides to leave the country that seems due for judgment (not his native country, btw, but one which he conquered by lies) the day I've conjectured (and I may be wrong) that something big may go down.
The reason for the trip: the G8 summit -- the perfect vantage from which to both assert and celebrate his burgeoning de facto if not yet de jure global authority.
He arrogantly insists on having the meeting with PBXVI -- the Vicar of Christ on earth and the embodiment of virtually all that he opposes -- on his (i.e., OBH's) terms in the late afternoon, finishing near twilight(!), the day before I and many others have conjectured that something else big may go down... or perhaps up.
Then, before 7-11 dawns, he moves even further away from big, Western cities, for Africa, the continent from which he began and (many have conjectured) the seat of satan in the world at the moment (just look at the mass slaughters that have gone on there and tell me it is has not been his favorite playground the last several decades). -ed.]
By: Gretchen on June 24, 2009
at 10:27 pm
Also,
One of the more interesting characteristics of Ethiopia is the fact that it is one of the oldest countries still in existence. It is the oldest continuously free country in Africa.
It is the only country in the region that has never been conquered nor colonized.
[Actually, Italy invaded and colonized them, under Mussolini, in 1935 (after Ethiopia successfully repelled a similar attempt in the First World War.) -ed.]
Interesting I think if you look at the region. Seems almost providential.. ha ha..
[One thing I think we have to remember in these times (now and coming soon) is that God's Providence is often evident not in the prevention of hardship (e.g., invasion, war, death) but through all those things. They can kill us. We still win. -ed.]
In Christ,
Bill Henry
By: Bill Henry on June 24, 2009
at 10:02 pm
Ultraguy,
Interesting posts,
A comment about the Ethiopian Eunuch…
Not sure if it is even relevant or not. But in ancient religious cultures and royal ministries not all eunuchs were castrated.
Encyclopedia.com says the following…”As the traditional sense of the word seems to imply, not every person referred to as a eunuch was necessarily castrated. In ancient and oriental history not every favourite minister of the king who was given the name eunuch had necessarily ‘suffered the cut’. It was rather the humility and loyalty of these chamberlains, along with other behaviourial characteristics traditionally associated with eunuchs, which gave them their name. ”
I just thought it was interesting.
In Christ,
Bill Henry
By: Bill Henry on June 24, 2009
at 2:04 pm
Hi!! been following for few months…awesome…
to add to your license palindrome…
If i went with K89 98K i naturally would go to Kings..and if i went to A38 83A i would go to Acts..
soooo
Acts 3:8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them to the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. (that’s encouraging)
Acts 8:3 But Saul began to destroy the church. going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison!!!!!!
(woah!)
[Cool! Interesting that Kings is both 'K' and 11th letter/book. Links added. -ed.]
By: lisa on June 24, 2009
at 10:46 am