Surprise

 

Surprise!

As a child, curiosity prompted me to insert a short stick into the aperture of Mom’s bee hive; Surprise! Miraculously I escaped death but not without a few burning stings to my shirtless body. Vernon Law: “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” Benjamin Franklin wrote in essence, experience is a good teacher but only a fool learns by it. Obviously, I have not forgotten the experienced lesson the bees taught me. Wiser would I have been to observe from a distance and ask those who already knew the secret of bee colonies. It was a foolish thing that I did. I have never repeated that act in all my years. I have watched bee handlers “rob” hives. They wear face protecting veils and button down clothing. Gloves cover their hands. Puffs of smoke into the hive both confuses and quietens the bees. While bees may be called our friend they cannot be considered friendly.

Bees are not the only harbinger of pain and death in the world today; surprise. We should never walk naked among killers of the environment that shed abroad silent sickness and death. Learn by instruction and not by destruction.

With all of the information on the internet, it can be hard to separate truth from fiction. It is best to consult: public data from official sources. Literally or spiritually we need to know. Signs point to Christ’s soon coming. In His sermon on the Mt. of Olives Jesus said that the first phase of the End Times would include pestilences, along with other signs of the times like false messiahs, wars, famines and earthquakes...”

What is the meaning of pestilence in the Bible? Pestilence is a deadly disaster, usually a disease, that affects an entire community. Pestilence is contagious, persistent and devastating. In the Bible, pestilence is usually a sign of God’s judgment on a nation or group [see]. [(Deuteronomy 32:24] "... and there shall be famines, and pestilences...” (Matthew 24:7) “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights...” Luke 21:11

We hear now of earthquakes in divers places, of fires, of tempests, of disasters, tsunami, hurricanes and tornado, of pestilence, and of famine. Are our eyes and ears open?

Mark 13:8 “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
Revelation 11:6 “These [two prophets] have the power to shut up the sky,... and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

Revelation 22:18 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;”

Stern warnings for those who listen. Those who will not heed directions to take precautions, may suffer consequences and spread to others the plagues currently rained upon the earth. God’s people should, by all means, mask and distance themselves. Obey the law of the land and avoid effecting others who are less obedient. God can’t help if we won’t try. Know God, know peace. Amen. 08-10-2020 BLL