Is this the so-called End of the World (as if we would ever have a clue of knowing it)? Boy, who wants to go out on a limb and say so? Who would ever want to, since so many predictors of the End have been wrong before and embarrassed themselves since the death of Jesus, the birth of the Scriptures, when the Chicken Littles of the world somehow got let out of their cages.

Having said that, these would indeed seem to be apocalyptic (revealing, disclosing, unveiling) times, in my view -- one, because . . . how much more corrupt can national or world governments become, for crying out loud? . . . and two, because of whose finger is on the button, and three, because World War III seems subsequently inevitable in the aftermath of the very tragic, very suspicious events called 9/11, and because I agree with Albert Einstein, who said that World War IV would be �fought with sticks and stones,� meaning III would finish the work that Nagasaki and Hiroshima only began.

If you put any stock in the great volume of websites and books which collectively are calling for serious �fireworks� this coming fall, next year (2008) and beyond, well, Elizabeth . . . this just might be the big one. And if you�re a baby boomer like I am, it sadly may be dawning on you that the ducking and the covering that we were taught back in the early 60�s at the height of the Cold War was just a big waste of time. (I once cynically thought that ducking and covering under my little desk, after seeing the house-crushing footage of a real atomic blast [which was brilliant curriculum planning for small children] , was really just a way to get people into tight little balls so that their charred carcasses would be easier to sweep up.)

To read some of this stuff, we�re going to have asteroids, nukes and even planets (which might be living organisms . . . please!) coming at us from all directions. A critter the size of a planet would be formidable, but not in relation to the scope of the whole universe, obviously, which our loving Father controls precisely, I strongly believe. It is the view of some, who are presumably a lot smarter (and apparently a lot weirder) than me, that the changes in the solar system and the earth and its seas we�re experiencing are being caused by disruptions triggered by the returning comet-like �Rahab� or �Planet X.� And not God. Even NASA says there is a new tenth planet -- Sedna, is it? I�m not qualified to say either way. But there are very mysterious references to �Rahab� in the Scriptures, notably in Isaiah 30. And I put stock in Isaiah, in part because the Dead Sea Scrolls� copy exactly matches what we read when we read Isaiah. I really love this book, which is so often very beautifully poetic and poignant.

If these folks are really onto something, needless to say, it will be just my luck. The only thing that practicing ducking and covering, after all, will have been good for is remaining limber enough in my late middle age so that I�ll be able to bend at the waist, along with the rest of you, and kiss my butt goodbye. But, of course, who knew we were ever going to make it this far . . . only to have to go through all of this again . . . and then some? (There are some who believe the Cuban Missile Crisis was all a ruse to freak out and embarrass JFK, whom the military-industrial complexers [American fascists] needed to get rid of. Of course, JFK came through with flying colors . . . until they shot him.)

But not to worry. Our best of all friends, the King (not Elvis) told us this in advance:

� �For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.� Then the righteous will answer him, saying, �Great King, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?� And the King will answer them, �Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.� �

And this:

�Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.�

And this:

�Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.�

Even.

So, there is going to be an �end of the age,� if you�re so inclined to believe these passages. And, I guess we have to assume we�re nearing it, with the clones of Nixon (the prototype given to us, by the way, by one Prescott Bush) being so determined as they are to make peace with war (which is like ensuring your lawn is nice and green by daily pissing all over it). But the jury is still out for me on all of this �End of the� talk until the last second, because who wants to make themselves and God look bad? Not me. I get in trouble at my house if I say it�s going to rain . . . and it doesn�t.

But here is the valid point, I think, in all of this: It has been and still is my conclusion that while some people may see God as a wrathful, harsh, judgmental God of war and destruction, our friend would not have told us in advance what was required of us, nor would he have told us in advance what was going to befall us, albeit in very general terms, if he and his Father were going to be the source of all of the destruction. Agreed? Here�s a couple of verses that are meaningful to me on that score, from Psalm 30: �Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.� (What that says to me, above all, and I believe God has inspired the Psalmist to write it accurately, is that God is not a God of raging destruction. He couldn�t be. But he is a God of free will, which begets love, but also evil, which deeply grieves him, I believe. Still life hurts, but it is illogical to think that life hurts forever. Prayer keeps us safe or safer, I do believe. Maybe it�s not God�s wrath so much that leads to murderous behavior, but rather free will and our unwillingness to use our free will to love him and pray to him.)

So, I figure the good guys, the little guys, who have been raising Cain to get this president (and others, for decades) to grow a brain and a heart, are going to be covered, as we have always been covered, because love is running the show.

If it were evil running the show, nothing of beauty would be around anymore anyway. We�d all have been sucked into a black hole a long time ago. And, of course, creation would never have happened at all, if the evil destroyers of life had ever called the shots, in the beginning, which they didn�t and which they won�t be doing now.

As was true in the case of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which were invaded respectively by God�s enemies Assyria and Babylon, as the prophets predicted, it will be true in our time that the Father is not the bringer of war, but rather the one, who, being sovereign, will withdraw his protection, somehow, in the final days and allow his enemies to break down the walls of the corrupt and the cruelly oppressive. �His enemies� are the operative words in that sentence. I truly believe these things. You should read about the �days of the Lord� for yourself, if you haven�t, and you�ll see what I mean.

Because, after all, how can a Creator of beautiful works of art (us and this planet, the solar system and the universe) also be a destroyer of his own beautiful works of art? It isn�t freaking logical. Who among us destroys our work, especially our artwork and craftsmanship, in whatever we do, when we have painstakingly and lovingly created it?

Not me. I don�t let anyone get near my paintings (for fear that they might vomit on them). But, kidding aside, that�s really how I am; and I believe most of us are wisely protective of that which or of those whom we have taken the time and the love to make, especially our children. Those of us who are innocent and good, I believe, with concern for the little guy, as Jesus asked us to be, are going to be okay, no matter what. Because the Father who made us is running the show. He has to be . . . there�s too much beauty and love in the world, despite the tragedies that the pathologically evil leaders and the like-minded people of our world have been foisting evil upon us . . . but maybe not for much longer.

Duck and Cover? Sounds like a bad vaudeville act to me.