Booth Brothers: Declaration

Wow, two blog posts in two days!  I suppose the adage "when it rains, it pours" is true in this case.  I would've covered the Booth Brothers' latest album in my post yesterday, but it was already long enough, and this project has pretty well blown me away.  From the first track, they mean business, both in song choice and the wonderful producing by Lari Goss.  To go through track by track would be a tad extensive, and somewhat biased on my part.  I thoroughly enjoy any Booth Brothers project, and I truly appreciate their friendship to me, especially Michael's.  I am sure I barely know him, but from what I do know of the "real Michael", this album displays his character very well.

Michael's recital on the bonus track, Statement of Faith, showcases his conviction for the Gospel very well, if not solely in the emotion in his voice.  In addition, the choices of several songs set this album apart in my eyes, with such tracks as I See Grace, which I wrote about last month, and my personal favorite, We Believe.  The latter is such an amazing song both in the arrangement and the lyric.  Musically, Michael showcases his very wide range by handling the first solo, which is in the lowest key.  In fact, just mapping out Michael's lowest and highest notes on the track, he uses nearly two octaves, going from a Bb2 in the first verse up to an A4 at four minutes fifty-three seconds.  In fact, when the Booth Brothers first started singing, Michael did not sing tenor.  The brothers' father, Ron Booth Sr. handled the tenor duties, while Ronnie sang lead and Michael sang none other than baritone.  What a wonderful gift.



Two other favorites from the album are The Gospel Song/Before the Cross, and Absolute Peace.  The first few lines of the latter truly captivated me:  "When I listen to the news, with its gloom and doom reviews; talk of war and nations in distress.  I'm reminded of God's Word, how my every prayer is heard, all my fears are calmly laid to rest.  I shall hold fast my faith in the Lord, for He promised to be faithful to His Word.  With tomorrow in His hand and His perfect master plan, I will trust Him and have absolute peace." Such simple, yet sweet and true words.

After several bloggers posted a joint review of the album, I knew what to expect out of Then I Met The Master, but even with that foreshadowing, I was pleasantly surprised, not only by the arrangement, but by the soundtrack.  The transition from the a capella choral track into piano and eventually full orchestra is quite lovely.  One can liken it to a well written movie...the introduction, increasing action, climax, and resolution fit together and are timed very well.

All in all, this album is one of my top listened pieces.  I am thrilled to see such continuing quality from this trio time and time again.  Who they give the praise to, though is key, and I believe a large part of their success.  They could let their gains go to their head, but instead they turn them and use them to further their ministry, as it should be.


Timothy

Phones, Gold, and the Dying Dollar

It has been a coon's age since I have posted! Lots has been happening...both in my life, the technological world, and the geopolitical world. Exciting stuff! First of all...why I've been gone so long. I was recently promoted at my workplace, one of the two Sam's Clubs in Springfield, specifically 4985 on the south side of Springfield. The Club's opening was July 23, 2009, and I started out as a cart attendant. In October, I moved inside to cashiering. That...didn't work so well.

It didn't work so well in that I am good at it, but it didn't challenge me physically or mentally...it didn't even satisfy me, just bored me. By February, I was doing two or three days a week in carts, then usually weekends on register. As of April 20th, I moved back into carts. Two and a half weeks ago, though, I was asked if I would be interested in working at the Connection Center, which is where I have been now for just over a week.

Having never worked with cell phones much, let alone plans (my Club deals with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile plans), I had no idea what I was getting into. I love technology, and keep updated on computers, but phones had never been my forté. However, I am adapting to the role quite well, especially since the current generation of Android-powered smartphones have the same characteristics of a laptop of just a few years ago. Connection Center is challenging, but I am enjoying it immensely.

For the first time...thanks to my new position...I am VERY excited about the release of a new cell phone. The Galaxy S series by Samsung is releasing on all four carriers. At my Club, T-Mobile released it first, as the Samsung Vibrant, on July 15. July 18, AT&T released the Samsung Captivate, and Sprint is taking preorders for the Samsung Epic 4G, which differs from the other three carriers in that it is about one and a half times as thick (14.6mm as opposed to the Captivates 9.9mm), and features a slider-type design with a full keyboard. I am not sure at the present time what Verizon's version will be called, but regardless, the phone is VERY nice. Especially for AT&T in that it is just as powerful as the iPhone 4 (I'd say a bit more powerful), is powered by Android (mostly free apps as opposed to the Apple App Store's 80% non-free applications), and it is available. Out of eight that we received on the 16th, three were sold on the release date ALONE. Since I have been off work the past two days, I imagine that it's possible that we could have all of them sold by now. Exciting stuff! The Galaxy S series features a 4-inch AMOLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode), a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 16 gigabytes of internal flash memory plus the ability to hold up to a 32 gigabyte MicroSD card. 720p HD recording, a 6-axis accelerometer...all-in-all a VERY powerful device for such a tiny package.



Okay. I'll step off my soap box. Gauging by the way I get fired up about just THIS phone, I think I'll do pretty well in my new position.

I mentioned the geopolitical world earlier. Well, you surely know my stance on Biblical eschatology, and just viewing the world through that "third-lens", there are all sorts of things happening. Out of fourteen meetings between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, only ONE has gone well. That was the last one, in which the subject of a strike on Iran was notably avoided. Also, the US Dollar's demise as the once world standard currency is becoming more evident even within our own borders. For instance, this story just eight days ago details how competing currencies are being accepted in mid-Michigan, pointing out that the Coinage Act of 1965 says "private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash, unless there is a state law which says otherwise." There is plenty of evidence out there of the dollar's demise, as gold continues to rise. I see many commercials for gold buyers on television and there is a wide misconception among folks I talk to on the subject that the value of gold is rising, when in fact the value of gold is staying stable, but the strength of the dollar is weakening dramatically.

Well, I am all typed out for now.  I'll have to post again soon and not be silent so long.

Keep strong in the Faith!

Timothy

Remembering The Cathedrals

So...I had a VERY blessed night last night at a wonderful concert in Springfield, MO.  A local quartet, The Ascension hosted a concert featuring none other than Legacy Five, Mark Trammell Quartet, Greater Vision, and Danny Funderburk, "Remember the Music".  The first half featured each artist individually, then the second half featured a "makeshift" (so to speak) quartet of Danny, Gerald, Scott, Mark, and Glenn.  Naturally, Fowler sat back on several songs so he could watch his heroes perform.  It was a very Spirit-filled time as the four former Cathedrals' members reminisced on times past, a couple bus stories, and different songs that hadn't been sung in years.  Glenn did a phenomenal job "filling in" for George, as Gerald Wolfe put it.  Personally, the most timeless moment of the night was when Danny started out on Somebody Touched Me.  He didn't even get the first phrase out before the audience erupted in applause, and it just got better.  Unfortunately, with my mother in vacation in Washington, I had no camera to record video with, but as many folks were there, I'm sure there'll be videos on YouTube in no time, and I'll have those up.

Upon scouring YouTube for several minutes, I've found one video from last night's concert of Greater Vision singing Hallelujah Square.  Slightly blurry, but the audio quality is grand, and Chris Allman's qualities shine on the video.  I will make more blog posts as more videos from the concert "pop up".  

I REALLY look forward to videos of the Mark Trammell Quartet from last night.  They really shined, and I was very impressed by the new sound, and how well Pat Barker has already gelled with the group.  The new tenor, Joel Wood, is also a class act, and through the performance, I could hear distinct similarities between his and Eric Phillips' voices...perhaps it was just me.  I look forward to what is in store for the Mark Trammell Quartet, though!

Legacy Five also did a wonderful job.  It was only the second time I've had the opportunity to see them live, and still not on a concert by themselves, as the first time I saw them was the first concert of the Jubilee Tour they did with Greater Vision and the Booth Brothers.  I would still like to see them on a full set soon, but Gus Gaches gave a stellar performance last night.

Greater Vision, too, did wonderful, performing hits such as He'd Still Been God, and My Name Is Lazarus.  Rodney wrapped up their set with one of my favorites of his songs, Faces.  What powerful lyrics, and a wonderful audible image of how the way one lives their life for Christ can do more than what they say.

"I dreamed my life was done, and I stood before God's Son.  It was time to see what my reward would be.  With love He reviewed my life to count was done for Christ.  For that was what would last eternally.  See, I'd done my best to share that Jesus really cares, and He would save if they would just believe.  Oh, but seldom did harvest come.  So few did I see won until the Lord said, "Turn around, and see."  Then He showed me faces of the ones who'd come because of me.  So many faces that my life had led to Calvary.  All those years I thought nobody saw, as I labored in lowly places.  That's when Jesus smiled and showed me all the faces."

What powerful and true words.

Until next time,

Timothy

I'm Still Here!

Well...it's been a while since I've posted.  Might as well address some Southern Gospel news.  Steve Ladd's new album has come out, featuring some wonderful tracks from my favorite Gold City tenor.  On the self-titled album, Steve covers several new songs, but also covers two of his Gold City songs, I'll Walk On, and When Jesus Saves.
I must say, though, my favorite song on the album is My Petition, a lovely track about a boy going door-to-door with a petition to the President, "with a list numbered one to ten, it said:  Make a law where daddies don't work late, keep Uncle Joe and those soldiers safe, give those kids on TV all they want to eat.  Put a stop to bullies on the bus.  No crime, no AIDS, no hate, no drugs.  Give a jacket and a job to people on the street.  I said, 'Son, that sounds like a world I'd like to live in,' and I signed his petition."  I encourage you to check the album out.  I don't think you will be disappointed!  Steve has such wonderful vocal ability and a way to communicate lyrics that I just love, and this album displays that very well.

That album was actually the reason I recently downloaded iTunes, but I have also made a couple recent purchases of a talented quartet in Oregon.  Rescue is an a capella gospel quartet, and between 2001 and 2004, Tim Storms sang bass with them.  If you don't recognize the name, Tim Storms currently holds two world records, one for the lowest recorded vocal note (8Hz, or the C two octaves below the lowest C on a grand piano), and for widest male vocal range, six and a half octaves, if I remember correctly. I believe that is just chest voice, too...NOT falsetto.  Comparatively I have a five octave range with falsetto, roughly three and a half octaves in chest voice.  Anyway...  Tim currently sings bass with Pierce Arrow in Branson, along with former lowest-bass-record holder Dan Britton, who sang down to a still-staggering 16Hz, or the C one octave below the lowest C on the grand piano.

Anyway.  Back to Rescue.  In 2003, the group released The Difference, a wonderful ten-track album that I love listening to.  In 2008, Before The Throne was released.  I purchased those two yesterday and have been listening to them nearly exclusively since then.  Even though Tim Storms left in 2004, the bass vocalist on Before The Throne still posseses stellar depth and range.  Both albums feature great vocal percussion by Brandon Bell.  It took me a few listens on many tracks to realize that the drums were NOT a drumset, but a human voice.  Outstanding!  For a nice demo of Tim Storms vocals, though, take a minute to watch this video of him singing That Lonesome Road from their reunion DVD.





Until next time,

Timothy

Late Night Ponderings

I haven't posted in a couple days, so I might as well go ahead and do that now.  I'm quite happy at the moment...my stomach is full of steak and coffee, two of the greatest substances on earth...at least in my opinion.  Eh...I have to renege on that.  Cheesecake.  And banana pudding.  I'd better stop listing things while I'm ahead!

At the moment I'm listening to the soundtrack from O Brother, Where Art Thou?...quite good stuff. I especially enjoy the a capella arrangement of Down To The River To Pray that's included, along with the multiple versions of Man Of Constant Sorrows.

Between that and upgrading my laptop to the newest version of Linux Ubuntu, 10.04 "Lucid Lynx", which came out a few hours ago, my evening is going quite well.  I am working on a first installment of a blog series on Daniel's Seventy Sevens, but alas, forgot my copy of J. Dwight Pentecost's Things To Come at home, which has some research that I feel is essential for pointing out the sheer accuracy of the prophecy.  Yes, I could just hop on Google Books and probably find the excerpt from the book I need, but another "rambling time" seems more appealing than switching from tab to tab in Chrome to write on Daniel 9:24-27.  Besides, it is already 11:00pm, and I'm sure you've already seen how I can stray from topic at this time of night.  So, thus, a fun, random rambling post.

But "ponderings" sounds more professional.  Maybe not professional, but intelligent.  That's the word I'm looking for.  Somehow that reminds me of Booth Brother's concerts...even though I hear the same jokes at the concerts over and over again, they always are entertaining.  Such is the case whenever Michael will bring up a song, but "not remember the name".  Jim or Ronnie will inquire what the song is, or what it is about, and Michael will reply, "That...that song...the song about God."  "Well, that narrows it down!"

See how I strayed from topic there?  The topic didn't even stay consistent through a single paragraph.  I might as well keep on typing...my update won't be done for another hour and forty minutes, but I am quite excited about it.

Anyway, I mentioned the Booth Brothers in that previous paragraph...I have already fallen in love with one of the songs from their upcoming album, Declaration.  The song, I See Grace, features a very powerful lyric with music that somewhat strays from the typical chord patterns.  It is in the key of G, thus will definitely contain G, C, and D, but the song also includes A minor, B minor, E minor, and some suspended form of F.  It boggles my mind, but it is such a beautiful score to back up the lyrics.

Here in these walls, here in these rows, there are those who regret the roads they once chose.  But more than the sorrow, more than the pain, there is joy for the way, and through Christ they've been changed.

There are  lives free from bondage, of since once concealed.  There are bodies and minds, and spirits now healed.  But those who found freedom, and shook off the chains from the long years of guilt, anger, and shame:

I see grace, I see grace!  In every life, on every face.  Of the faithful who gather each week in this place, I see grace.

There are those in this life who've been dealt a poor hand.  They've overcome and by God's strength they stand.  Those who have come through unbearable loss, not defined by the past, but defined by the Cross!

I see grace, I see grace! In every life, on every face.  Of the faithful who gather each week in this place, I see grace.

Story after story, one common theme:  God's power and glory in those He's redeemed.  Such tender mercy, time after time.  In so many ways in this story that's mine,

I see grace!  Grace, I see grace!  In every life, on every face.  Of the faithful who gather each week in this place, I see -- Of the faithful who gather each week in this place, I see grace!  I see grace!




With that I will end this post.  I hope you enjoyed it through all the randomness.

Until next time,

Timothy

The Perrys - If You Knew Him

I'm sure you will discover as time goes on how emotional I can get about songs.  Not "crying my eyes out" emotional, but a well written, anointed Gospel song can touch me as deep in four minutes as a full sermon can.  A couple weeks ago, it was Greater Vision's You're Not Forsaken.  Yesterday my best friend let me borrow her new Perrys album, Almost Morning.  I was so excited to get to listen to it.  I love their arrangement of This Old Sinner Testifies, and Tracy Stuffle really shows how much of a powerhouse bass singer he is on that track. However, the song that touches my heart very deeply at the moment is If You Knew Him, penned by Rodney Griffin and the Perrys' own Joseph Habedank.

I walked by the tomb of Buddha
Looked inside, and saw his bones.
Traveled on to see Mohammed,
Still wrapped up in his grave clothes.
Then I journeyed to a garden
Where old Joseph left Him lay.
The precious Lamb, God's own begotten,
Was no longer in that grave.

If you knew Him like I know Him
You would know that He's alive.
If you felt Him like I feel Him
Resurrection, deep inside!
You'd know He's living,
And death has died.

If you're wandering in the darkness
Come and step into the light.
Nail scarred hands reach out to help you,
To pull you safe from death to life.
Friend, I, too, have stood where you stand.
Couldn't trust in things unseen,
Just one step in His direction,
Then in Love, He ran to me!

If you knew Him like I know Him

You would know that He's alive.

If you felt Him like I feel Him

Resurrection, deep inside!

You'd know He's living,

And death has died.

You ask me how I know He lives,

He lives within my heart!

If you felt Him like I feel Him

Resurrection, deep inside!

You'd know He's living,

And death has died.

Death has died!

Enjoy the message in this powerful song.

Until next time,

Timothy

Ray Dean Reese - Getting Better With Age!

Well, I am currently listening to the Kingsmen's newest album, Missing People.  Aside from the lyrical content, I am finding Ray Dean Reese's bass vocals more and more fascinating.  To me, Ray is known not necessarily for being a 'deep' bass singer, but having a very rich and smooth voice.  I just love that country accent in addition to those other qualities, but on the latest two albums, Ray has exhibited some Gold City-style bass singing.  For instance, on the old favorite Beautiful Home, Ray would touch the G1 after the second run through the chorus, but only "touch" it.  It was a solid note, but nothing sustained.  On When God Ran, Ray ends tracks one and five with solid, sustained A1s, features an Ab1 on track ten, and finishes off track eight, Sound From The Other Side with a full, sustained G1 for nearly six seconds.  When I heard that note, I had to take a second, third, and even fourth listen.  When I heard that the first time, I thought, "Wow...that's deep for Ray!  Must be around A or so..."  When I played the song out on the keyboard, and realized it was a G1, I was shocked.

I am shocked again by the power and depth of Ray's vocals on Missing People.  I haven't gone through the songs on this album and "mapped out" Ray's ending notes, but he surpasses the G1 from the last album.  On track number two, Someday, Ray cuts loose on a full, powerful Gb1 lasting a full nine seconds.  WOW.  I look forward to what Ray has in store in the future.





After a fun bit of scanning the source code on Amazon's page for the song Missing People (ALL of the tracks for the Missing People album are messed up...the track listing for the song Missing People is actually the forty-seven second reprise of Someday), I have gotten this preview embedded for Someday featuring the Gb1 on the end.  Enjoy!

Timothy

EDIT:  Seems the clip through Amazon is no longer present.  Oh well...  I'll have to learn a new way to post audio clips.

Rambling Time

Well, after a few posts on specific topics, I figured it might as well be time to let my mind wander a little bit.  Yesterday I was working on a post, but strayed so far the post could only be considered a "senseless ramble", and I finally just closed the tab around ten at night.  I had started at around two or so that afternoon.  From about six o'clock on, I worked on a few creations for Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006.

Now mind you, since I have upgraded to Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, I haven't been able to get Trainz to run at all.  Perhaps once after each time I install it.  My copy was one of the earlier copies, and I purchased it way back when it was first released, and the Trainz Forums still were using a TRS2004 scheme.  Since riding the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in the summer of '06, and finding a DEM (digital elevation model) based map of the C&TS for Trainz, I started working on a prototypical model of the route, even creating my own Google Sites website for it, Missouri Trainz Works.  Do feel free to visit...I have quite a few screenshots of my content for the route.  I was even building a full set of coaches, to exact specifications of the ones built by the C&TS in the 1970's, thanks to a friend who's father actually aided in the building of those coaches.

Then Windows 7 happened.  Now mind you, I love Windows 7.  It has the stability of XP, and a fresh, clean design that innovates some wonderful new features, such as self updates, automatic driver download, and other features.  However, Trainz 2006 doesn't love Windows 7.  From what I have read, some of the later versions of TRS2006 work perfectly fine, but remember how I got one of the earlier versions?  Yeah.  No more Trainzing for me, at least until I can afford TRS2010.

Add to that the fact that in Windows 7, gMax, the free cousin of 3DStudio Max, has some nasty visual artifacts with Windows 7, my modelling days were pretty well finished.  I even downloaded a trial of the $3,500 3DS Max 10...same exact problem.  After trying that, I turned to the Linux-based 3D modelling program, Blender.  It has a much steeper learning curve, especially since I was used to gMax and very proficient with it, but quite a few beautiful models for Trainz had come straight from Blender, so I decided to give it a whirl, even downloading about fifty Flash tutorial videos for it.

WOW.

I had been building things like this 9600-class gondola with gMax.  After a while in Blender, I'm now working on things such as this section of 3 foot gauge track based on track on the C&TS.  I have to say, I've come a long way with Blender, and after using it for a while, I don't think I'll ever go back to gMax.

So hopefully, as time goes on, I'll be able to afford a copy of TRS2010 and begin work on my rendition of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad again.  Perhaps someday soon I'll even be able to visit the railroad once again, and appreciate the beauty of the line in a whole new manner.

Feel free to check out some of my photos from that 2006 trip on the Cumbres & Toltec.




Until next time,

Timothy

Ezekiel 38-39 Part III

Well! It has been a good while since I made another post. I haven't forgotten, but haven't had the time, either, and it has been bugging me that this has taken even this long. Last time I was only able to cover the condition of Israel at the time of the attack, and I showed that the requirements have been fulfilled. In fact, nearly EVERY requirement for the prophecy to be fulfilled has fallen into place, the latest being Turkey's new pro-Islamic stance and its increased rhetoric against Israel, when in modern times, Turkey has been Israel's closest Islamic friend.

The purpose of this prophecy is made clear several times in chapters 38 and 39. At least eight separate times, the text states that God will make Himself "known to many nations", and that He "shall be glorified". (38:16, :23, 39:6, :7, :13, :21, :22, :28) This leads me to believe that this event will precede the rapture, or the "Blessed Hope" as it is called in Scripture. (Titus 2:13) It would just seem characteristic of a loving God to use one final event to show that He is sill in complete control, and that His Word is true.

I am getting a bit ahead of myself, aren't I? It would help to examine the attack and the results to better understand what I meant in the past paragraph. Ezekiel 39 details the attack. Today I'm using my beloved old King James Bible.

1) Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Me-shech, and Tu-bal:

2) And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

3) And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

4) Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give the unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

5) Thou shalt fall upon the open field, for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

6) And I will send a fire on Ma-gog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

7) So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel

8) Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

Well, THAT says a lot! The latter part of Ezekiel 38 makes it clear that no one will come to Israel's aid. That means literally no nation...not the EU, the UN...not even the United States. Not to stray of subject, but I believe this is why the US is not mentioned anywhere in prophecy. In Genesis 12:3, God states that He will "bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee". In spite of the evil that America has had in the last hundred years or so, this nation has still been blessed, and I believe it is because of our stance on Israel. However, even in the recent Obama-Netanyahu meeting, our relationship with Israel has severely soured, and I believe this prophecy will bring about the end of blessing for the United States.

Another major point is that this event will bring upon the end of radical Islam as we know it. Not completely, but as we know it currently, because God says He will send a firestorm on Magog (39:6) and "great hailstones, fire, and brimstone" (38:22) on Magog and her allies. A great earthquake will also occur in Israel (38:20) so that "all the men that are upon the face of the earth shall shake at My presence."

It seems clear that this event will spark a massive revival worldwide. Christians will become more convicted, and even among Israel, many will turn to Christ. Even more will turn back to the Old Testament ways, and Muslims will turn to Christ as they see the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fulfill His Word and protect His people.

This leads to a very small part of 39:2 that is only translated in the King James Version: "And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee". It seems insignificant enough that all other English translations have left that part out, even the New King James Version, but I believe it is very important. It basically states that about 16.7% of the attackers will be left either at home or unharmed. I think the reasoning is fairly simple...one cannot have a revival in a nation if all the people are dead.

With that said, the bloodshed by this coalition will be great. 38:21 states that God will "call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother." In 39:9-16, details are given to the extent of the carnage. Even with the beasts of the fields and the birds scavenging, Israel's workers will take a full seven months just to bury the bodies. (39:12)

The end of the prophecy appears to bring about the New Covenant, as it says, "(39:28) Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and left none of them any more there. (:29) Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD." But...that is a discussion for another day.

If you have any questions that I haven't addressed, please comment, and I will try to answer.

Until next time,

Timothy

Ezekiel 38-39 Part II

So, where did I get last time? The list of attackers. Well, there are some other neat points here. For instance, there are two specific nations missing that have been enemies of Israel throughout her modern and Biblical history: Egypt and Iraq (Babylon). Why would these be missing? Did Ezekiel perhaps miss them in his vision? Through the ages, many have assumed this to be the case, but this compromises a core belief that the Bible is without err. As Joel Rosenberg states in Epicenter, we must treat this prophecy as an intercept direct from the mind of God, that we may not initially understand, but is true nonetheless. So, then, instead of trying to figure out if Egypt and Iraq will be involved or not, let's assume that they are not, and try to decode why. You may recall the 1979 Camp David Accords, in which Israel and Egypt struck on a peace treaty. It was begrudging, of course, but it has held nonetheless. It is definitely plausible that Egypt could sit out the next war on Israel. That still leaves Iraq still on the prowl. Someone had to disarm Iraq so that the nation couldn't be a threat. Ah...the United States did just that in 2003. Though I believe that Operation Iraqi Freedom is a very unjust war, and very dishonorable to what our nation is supposed to stand for, I believe it was prophetic.

In Ezekiel 38:11-13, several points are made on the condition of Israel at the time of this attack.

11) “You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'--

12) “to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.

13) “Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, 'Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'”'

Yes, here are yet a few more names...Sheba and Dedan refer to what is today Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states. Tarshish refers to a merchant area of southwestern Spain, and in many eyes, represents the West as a whole in modern times. These nations are obviously not attackers, and point out the true reason for the coalition's aggression, but on the same token do nothing to stop it.

Now to look at the condition of Israel at the time of the attack. These verses are clear that Israel will be at peace, and very wealthy. You may think, "Peace?", but in fact, Israel is at its safest, most peaceful state since 1948. And wealth. In the Middle East, only one thing means wealth: black gold. Former Israeli PM once quipped, "Moses dragged us for forty years through the desert to bring us to the one place in the Middle East where there was no oil. However, several verses in Genesis, Deuteronomy, and elsewhere seemed to suggest otherwise, even giving rough locations of "blessings of the deep that lie beneath," and "oil from the flinty rock." In fact, several companies have sprouted up in the past few years such as Zion Oil & Gas and Givot Olam Oil, Ltd and have had incredible success, striking extremely large reserves of both oil and natural gas. Even without considering potential oil, look at this graph of some of the region's comparative GDPs.

Needless to say, these requirements for Israel's security and economic condition are complete. Israel is by far the wealthiest country in its region.

Well, I'd say that is all for tonight. I am worn out completely, and my bed is calling. Next time I will address the attack on Israel.

Until next time,

Timothy

Greater Vision - You're Not Forsaken

Two posts in one day? Wow. Well, I have "discovered" a newer Greater Vision song that has some of the most powerful lyrical content I've heard. Of course, there's about a half dozen other Southern Gospel songs that I would say that about, such as Gold City's Hide Me Behind The Cross, Michael Booth's The Secret Place, and Jim Brady's Don't Ever Miss The Chance. Each of those songs have brought me to tears on different occasions, and still do, but You're Not Forsaken, from Greater Vision's "You're Not Alone" album hit me hard today. Not surprisingly, it's penned by Rodney Griffin...it seems three songwriters always get to me the most: Rodney, Jim Brady, and the late Doug Riley. This song in particular includes such deep Biblical truths and concepts in four minutes thirty-eight seconds.

Verse 1:

Paul was writing to a people hurting

Who felt forsaken by God.

He said, "My children, the only One forsaken

Was the Savior on the cross."

Chorus

So child, rejoice, you're not forsaken!

You're resting safe in His arms.

Lift up your voice and sing His praises,

Then bring your burdens to the cross,

Where Jesus hung there,

For us forsaken, our separation

Now is gone.

Oh weary pilgrim

Your dawn is breaking,

You're gonna make it,

You're not alone! Alone.

Verse 2

So if you feel like God's not watching

And He's stopped caring

And you're on your own.

Remember Jesus

Was by the Father, rejected.

Friend, that's a feeling

You'll never know!

Chorus

So child, rejoice, you're not forsaken!

You're resting safe in His arms.

Lift up your voice and sing His praises,

Then bring your burdens to the cross,

Where Jesus hung there,

For us forsaken, our separation

Now is gone.

Oh weary pilgrim

Your dawn is breaking,

You're gonna make it,

You're not alone!

Lift up your voice and sing His praises,

You're gonna make it, you're not alone!

You're gonna make it, you're not alone!

You're not alone!

The part that really struck me when the words of the song sank in was in verse two. "Remember Jesus was by the Father rejected. Friend, that's a feeling you'll never know!" It reminded me once again that the crucifixion wasn't what really hurt Jesus. He did that by choice. It was the Father placing all His fury against sin on His only Son...His very own pride and joy...that hurt Jesus...but because He was so willing, we were granted salvation. Oh, what a Savior.

Ezekiel 38-39 Part I

Okay, so I've delayed a day...my apologies. I worked 1-9:30 (close) last night, and we only FINALLY got finished closing the Cafe` at 10:10...well, that's when I got to home. Another cashier and a cafe` associate got to finish up... Well, by the time I got home, I only had enough "awake" left in me to unlock the door, stumble through the house, and crawl into bed.

Okay. Maybe not that bad. At any rate, I only turned on the computer long enough to check my Facebook, email, etc., before hitting the sack. So, now I'm sitting here, and I figured it's as good a time as any to start a short (hopefully) study on Ezekiel 38-39, what is known to Biblical Scholars as the "War Of Gog and Magog".

Now, Ezekiel's War (yet ANOTHER name) is quite the cryptic passage. In the first few verses of 38, several names are listed that will boggle the mind if reading it for the first time...even the second time. In this post, I will simply cover these names, and who these nations are in modern times.

Ezekiel 38:1-6

1) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2) "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3) "and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
4) "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.
5) "Persia, Ethiopia (Hebrew "Cush"), and Libya (Heb. "Put"), all of them with shield and helmet;
6) "Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops--many people are with you."

That section summarizes the list of attackers that will form a coalition in the end of days and attack Israel. No one will come to Israel's aide, but God will supernaturally intervene. More on that later. First, who are all these nations?

"Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal"

Believe it or not, this refers to a single country. "Gog" is not a nation, but a title, such as "Pharaoh", or "Czar". He rules over a territory called "Magog", and is also the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Magog first appears in Genesis 10:2. "The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras." Ahhh...so, there are several names that we've already read, and they're all sons of Japheth, and that seems to link them into one big, rowdy bunch. According to Flavius Josephus, "Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians." The Scythians were a barbaric tribe of Iranian stock people, who eventually settled north of the Black and Caspian seas in what is today Russia, and the southern Ukraine. In fact, during Joel Rosenberg's 2004 research trip for his "Last Jihad" series political thrillers based on the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy, he and his father visited the Russian State Historical Museum. In his nonfiction book, Epicenter, he says, "Sure enough, as we spent several hours walking the floors of the enormous redbrick building facing Red Square, we found in glass case after glass case numerous Scythian artifacts, dug up by Russian archeologists and anthropologists and all on display in the Russian equivalent of our Smithsonian. Not only was Russia's Scythian heritage real, we learned, but the Russian government was proud to let the whole world know." (page 85, Epicenter)

So, now, who is Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, who "Gog" is prince over? A bit of research points to Russia, Moscow, and Tobolsk. "Rosh" in Hebrew can mean "chief", or "head", as in "chief prince", as the original 1611 King James Version translates it. However, the Septuagint and Masoretic Texts both use "Rosh" as a noun, not an adjective. Rosh is one of the multiple ancient names for Russia, which was also known as "Rus", and "Rhos".

Next, the Meshech/Moscow connection. According to Russian legend, Moscow (Russian Moskva), was named for King Mosokh (Meshech), son of Japheth, and his wife, Kva. Tubal refers to the Siberian city of Tobolsk, which lies on the Tobol river, and is the largest industrial city in Siberia.

Persia

The next name is an easy one. In 1935, Persia became Iran, and in 1979, the Islamic Republic Of Iran. It is interesting to note that the first two allies listed are Russia and Iran. Ezekiel's vision was penned over 2,500 years ago, long before Russia was a major power, and even longer before Russia and Iran truly established a military alliance in 2005 with the agreement to build the Bushehr reactor and upgrade Iranian fighter aircraft and air-defense systems.

Ethiopia and Libya (Cush and Put)

Here's one of those times that the maps in the back of your Bible will come in handy. In both cases, the nations not only include the modern-day countries, but the Biblical regions of the area south of Egypt (Ethiopia), and the area west of Egypt (Libya). I made a rough map to illustrate.

Gomer and Beth-Togarmah

Finally, Gomer and Beth-Togarmah, or the "house of Togarmah". Let's delay on Gomer a second, as it is possibly the most difficult to identify. Beth-Togarmah likely refers to the area in Turkey known as Cappadocia, but may go on to include parts of Central Asia, though this cannot be positively determined.

And now to tackle Gomer. Right up front, I think Gomer refers primarily to western Turkey, but many believe that it refers to Germany. The French writer Voltaire, though a self-proclaimed enemy of Christ, was fascinated by the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy, He wrote, "It is incontestable that the inhabitants of Gaul and Spain are descended from Gomer." He wasn't far off, as one of Gomer's sons, Ashkenaz, did settle in the region, but didn't stop there. Ashkenaz moved farther up the Rhine valley and eventually settled in what is today Austria and southern Germany. In fact, in Israel, European Jews, especially those from Austria and Germany, are distinguished from Russian Jews as "Ashkenazis". However, Josephus traces the majority of the descendants of Gomer as being "those whom the Greeks now call Galatians", who settled on the western shores of Turkey. Thus, I do believe that Turkey is an aggressor. While I doubt that Germany will be a direct attacker, I wouldn't be surprised if the nation receives judgement for what happened during World War II and the Holocaust.

Next time, I'll look into the attack on Israel, and God's intervention.

Blessings until then,

Timothy

Second Attempt

Well, at this rate, I'll probably average a post a day, right? Maybe. We'll see. I was blessed to get to speak with my friend Phil for the first time via Skype. About an hour later, he interviewed me to post about my blog on his. Well...about thirty minutes ago, he sent me an IM with the link to his blog post, and to say the least, I'm very humbled an honored at what he said. Thank you again for the kind words, Phil.

After what he said, I see I now have quite a bit to live up to! As he said, I am very interested in eschatology, or the study of Biblical end-times prophecy. It is a very fascinating subject, and there are a remarkable number of prophecies that haven't been fulfilled, such as Ezekiel 38-39 and Daniel 9:24-27 just to name a couple. I am sure I will eventually get around to covering the subjects in full soon enough, most likely Ezekiel 38-39, as in the current geopolitical situation, I wouldn't be surprised if it is fulfilled by August. More on my reasoning of that later. At any rate, it is fascinating to see the Bible coming to life, more accurate than ever, and see how much more timely songs such as Gold City's Midnight Cry are becoming.

While it is still current, I had the privilege of seeing the new Gold City lineup for the first time this past Friday. I hadn't seen them since November 2009, and I was looking forward to hearing Joshua Cobb. I had a nice little startle before the concert even started...I was sitting second row far left, just visiting with some friends, when someone came up behind me and started tugging my ear. I turned around with the whole, "What the..." attitude, when I find Bruce Taliaferro standing over me. "Hey, Tim...haven't seen you in a while. Been missin' ya!" What a nice surprise!

They opened up with I Cast My Bread Upon The Water, quickly followed with After Awhile. Tim Riley pretty well tore down the house. Joshua did a magnificent job on Preach The Word, and I would definitely say that Gold City is back on top with this lineup. Naturally, Roy Webb does extremely well, and of course, he has his microphone stand over by the piano. Nothing new under the sun...

The guys performed performed the ever-more popular 1942 song Rainbow Of Love. LOTS of humor there, and after Roy dropped it down from C to Bb, Tim nailed that powerful G1. A young lady in the row in front of me and about five people to the right shot a nice video of the song. Pay close attention to the last ten to fifteen seconds...as Tim slides down to the Bb1, Bruce just loses it!

The concert was a wonderful blessing, and I am quite sure that this lineup of Gold City will be a lasting one. Another exciting part...I noticed two studio condenser mics on each side of the stage...turns out, Gold City is working on a new live album, and some of the audio from Springfield will be on it! Looking forward to it!

Thanks again for reading!

Until next time.

Timothy

First Try

So...I am just starting on this whole blogging thing. I've followed up on a few blogs, such as Joel Rosenberg's Flash Traffic blog, and a Southern Gospel blog that my friend, Phil Boles from Ireland writes. Other than that...not much blogging. But I am sure as with Facebook and Twitter, and possibly Google's new "Buzz", I am likely soon to be addicted. Even though on the subject of Buzz...I'm not too impressed. I've wound up using it out of pure bewilderment of why anyone would want to use something that duplicates Twitter's functions. Until, then I entered Digg's iPad-a-week contest on both my Twitter AND my Buzz. No iPad, though. Go figure. But on the subject of Buzz, unless Google opens up and makes it possible for someone without a Google account to access Buzz, as with Twitter , I don't see it going much of anywhere. Besides, there are SO many applications that support Twitter, and so far the only application I've seen for Buzz is the one for Google Chrome, but it doesn't let me post...I still have to go to my Gmail homepage to do that. Speaking of Google Chrome, I have wound up using it quite a bit lately. I'm a huge Opera fan, partially for the security, but it also runs very smoothly. I'm not sure how Chrome is security-wise, but the extensions that have been developed for it have really caught my attention. Of course, thanks to the Blogger extension, I now have a blog. Such is life.

Well, I suppose that's enough for now. Between my evening's distractions, this post has taken about two hours to make...it will likely take less than two minutes to read.

Timothy