The Cross, Or The Hammer? (American Revelation XVI, Two.)

And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devours their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. ~Revelation 11:1-12

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"The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." ~Volodymyr Zelenskyy, allegedly 25 February 2022, Associated Press

I saw this last night at work, and a chill went down my back.

I've been told for most of my life that End Times Prophecy was very important and occasionally complicated, but that getting it right was some level of required.

But ya know, I was also told for my whole life that despite its long and complicated history and vast theological canon, that the essence of Christianity was simple, that it wasn't that hard to just believe in Jesus. So, I'm a use small words.

Hey, all you End Times-mongering Christians, guess what??

It's here.

In Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, all the Catholic, Evangelical and Protestant churches have been destroyed or shut down, by an aspiring World Power at the word of a single man.

That's basically what the Antichrist does, isn't it? That right there? Isn't it?? Oh, right. Not like that?

Well, too bad. It's exactly like that.

This is what all those conspiracy theories, excuses, false equivalencies, all the Republican horse-fuckery and stalling on providing aid to Ukraine and all the sucking up to Vladimir Putin mean. Next, somebody will try and tell me that Putin is a Christian.

Well, the image to your left here is from the Main Cathedral Of The Russian Armed Forces. Do you know what those men are, under the trio of Orthodox Saints at the top?? They're Soviet Soldiers, and they are pictured under arms.

Anybody trying to tell you Russia is some great Christian Empire is full of shit.

I'm an American...and a United States Air Force veteran with a Christian education and a church background...and my current agnostic viewpoint aside; I would no sooner accept the Christianity of anybody who tries to make Saints out of Soviet Soldiers than I'd allow myself to stay inside of a Church that allowed The Devil to preach from the Pulpit.

But I get it, to such people, religion is usually some combination of an expression of Power and rules to live by, and almost entirely to do with this world. It's less important to them that they're breaking bread with the Enemies of America than that said enemies have decided to cosplay as Social Conservatives.

But that's not what I was taught. I mean, among other trite expressions I remember learning that the word "Bible" could be used as an acronym: "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth."

Sorry, but the Putinists and the Trumpists (and, for that matter, the racists) seem to fail at that part, at least judging from how they conduct themselves. They think they're all religious and shit, but they're the ones who Jesus tells to go to Hell at the end of the great Judgment described in Matthew 25.

But the truth is, such people don't even care that they're being fooled, lied to and used. Their goal is to "Own The Libs" in This Life. (Whatever that even means.) They don't give a shit if it lands 'em in the Lake Of Fire.

You can't cheat and lie, kill and steal, or be a Fascist or a racist and then claim you did it all for Jesus. There's that whole Ten Commandments thing, for one. 

For another, Matthew 25 ain't exactly subtle in this regard.

But it's more than that, too. You can believe in a Christ-less Christianity all you want; You're still going to Hell. Vlad may well think himself Saint Vladimir The World Conqueror, Christian Tsar Of All Rus.

He thinks he's all that because he manipulated a bunch of dumbass politicians, including Trump.

Guess What? Jesus Christ, Jewish Carpenter, will not be impressed by that shit.

If you believe in that sort of thing; One is the King Of Kings, and did not aspire to Worldly Power, the other one isn't that and does.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:  ~Matthew 25:31-41

And if you make the wrong choice regarding which is which, that's your fault. It's called Free Will.

We own the consequences of our actions, in the End. Even...especially when the stakes are Eternal.

You cannot claim both the Cross of Jesus Christ and the Hammer And Sickle, it does not work that way. One of these things is simply not like the other one. The Cross represents the Kingdom of Heaven according to Christianity. The Hammer And Sickle represents Earthly labor and politics and an empire of materialistic Atheism and made no bones about it, per volumes of Communist writings. 

Vladimir Putin made his choice like a good little KGB Agent.

Good luck, I guess. I'd watch that first step, if I was him.

So, right there, on the face of it; Do you want to be in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ...or the Kingdom of Vladimir Putin??

I'm not a Born-Again anything anymore, but that's what I was taught. It's simply What I Read.

And whether you're a Christian or some other religion or just a regular old secular person who believes that people should be able to worship God or whatever they believe in (Or Not) as their own conscience and heart dictate...or for that matter, be able to tell others about their beliefs (because if you think Putin is letting anybody other than State-controlled Russian Orthodox Priests/KGB Agents Evangelize in Christian terms...you have another thing coming.)

There is a reason Ukrainian Evangelical, Fundamentalist, and Pentecostal Christians are some of the most dedicated fighters against Putin and his crypto-Communist regime (Which, I think will probably not stay that way; Sooner or later Putin is going to desire that his name be right up there with Lenin and Stalin.)

Either you're willing to fight against this blasphemous anti-Christian (and anti-Freedom) horseshit or you aren't, it's really that fucking simple. And when MAGA's and Republicans don't do it...guess what??

They're telling on themselves.

Submission to Authority...and Authoritarian/Totalitarian worldly rulers...isn't how one goes into The *Next* World on good terms.

Again, literally whatever religion one believes in, or even for an Agnostic theist like me: One of these things is not like the other one. 

This really should be obvious to people; There's the fact of what such people do with their alleged beliefs and political Power, when they have it. There seems to be no limit to the perversion that Republicans will engage in these days...and from where I sit as a former Christian myself, the levels of depravity involved in certain State laws here are pretty much "Biblical."

Perhaps it should be equally obvious...and note I say this as a child of the 1970's and the 1980's who watched Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech from Berlin live in TV and who, a couple years later, watched the Berlin Wall be torn down by ordinary Germans live on CNN...that it's probably a good thing the Soviets didn't figure out sooner that all they had to do to defeat and easily enslave Republicans was pretend to be "Conservatives."

Are you fuckers really just that desperate for somebody's affirmation?? Seems like it'd just be easier to get a Dog.

Disgusted?? How's that for a word. 'Cause you bet I am.

You can either believe in an infinite God and a world and universe of infinite possibility, or you can believe in the White Man and his measuring stick. But it's one or the other, yo. 

If you believe God is the infinite Creator who created Everything...then that includes Black people and conservative Republicans and LGBT people and Ukrainians (and Israelis and Palestinians alike)  and all type of other stuff you may or may not "Like."

But you either believe God's judgment is higher than Yours, or you don't.

Seems like I read somewhere or other that putting your Self above God leads to a bad end.

But what the fuck do I know? I'm just a person who listened when I was taught this stuff and I didn't take it all as some kind of a code for Cultural Imperialism and Patriarchy and Power that tells me I can stick my penis in any person who has the correct biological hole and then insert Myself as a Main Character somewhere.

If you did? Well then, I have a proposition for you:

When we're both dead...and whether it's the End Times or not...how about we meet at the Place of Judgment and see which one of us ends up on which side, and we'll settle up after.

Deal??

Or is this another bit where it's "Not Like That??"

What are you, chicken??

The difference between you and me is there was a moment where I had to choose between the Cross or the Hammer, between spirituality and materialistic force, and guess what?

I did. And I'm not afraid of the consequences.

Now it's your time for choosing.

Choose wisely.

Слава Україна!

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev...Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
~Ronald Reagan

One

When men stop believing in God, it isn't that they then believe in nothing: they believe in everything. ~Umberto Eco