Issued: 6/14/23

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh of hosts [later Jesus] and Yahweh the Most High God, lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the One and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from God the Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

      Santayana’s “those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it,” and Shakespeare’s “what is past is prologue,” are essentially distillations of Ecclesiastes 1:9-11:  “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.   Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look, this is something new?’  It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them”?

   Ecclesiastes is a commentary on the foibles of men and their moral shortcomings; when Solomon said succeeding generations would not remember previous ones, he was not talking about historical records/accomplishments/cultural innovations but that men of every generation would commit past immoralities time and again.  In computer programming, ‘loops’ are instructions that keep repeating themselves until a certain condition is reached; if we apply that concept to human nature, men’s immoral ‘loop’ stops when men ‘re-program’ themselves to follow Judeo-Christian norms.  Those who do not will keep ‘looping’ the sins of their predecessors.

   This comparison is not quite correct, however:  The loop is programmed into the computer and it does not have the ability—unless instructed—to countermand the loop.  Not so with humans.  Sinfulness, the root cause of immorality, was not programmed into men, not even a homicidal one like Cain:  Sin desires to control you, but you can and must prevail over it (Genesis 4:7↔1Corinthians 10:13).  Men, therefore, are not predestined to sin:  They sin by choice because they want to.

   Hence Solomon’s conclusion that God made human beings upright, but they pursued many perversions (Ecclesiastes 7:29).  In terms of sex, God conceived it for procreation or as an escape valve to defuse Satan’s prodding (1Corinthians 7:1-6)—both exclusively in the context of marriage.  The ‘perverted’ variants men have used sex for—homosexuality, lesbianism, sadism, masochism, bestiality, promiscuity, sex slave trade, child sexual abuse, or what-have-you—are their individual preferences.

   It is not happenstance that Paul’s criticisms of homosexuality and lesbianism occur in Romans 1:26-27.  Paul, who travelled extensively through Greek lands where some of those practices existed in society and religious cults, must have felt that his message would resonate with Roman citizens, a population that had assimilated a great deal of Greek thinking.  His aim was to end the ‘loop’ of immorality by introducing Christian ‘patches’.  Jesus himself had established the basic guideline:  “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41); to which Paul added: “The flesh craves what is contrary to the [Holy] Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17). Thus Christian ‘re-programming’ became a life-long struggle between bodily cravings and spiritual needs; wherein the Holy Spirit informed the Most High God what spiritual input each individual convert needed (Romans 8:26-27); and the onus to struggle against temptations was placed on men (Genesis 4:7; Proverbs 16:32; Romans 7:24-25, 8:1; 1Corinthians 9:27).

   History has shown that men are recidivist creatures and fiercely so; we gather this from Yahweh’s assessment of Israelites given moral statutes before entering Canaan:  They will do like pagan nations and invalidate My covenant, so that evil will come upon them in the latter days (Deuteronomy 31:16-21,29).  Ditto when it came to choosing kings over Yahweh:  We want to be ruled by men like other nations no matter the consequences (1Samuel 8:3-20).  Still later, “because of the magnitude of your iniquity and countless sins, I have attacked you like an enemy (Isaiah 63:10) and your punishment has been harsh”; and it will continue to be so until your Messiah returns, his kingdom established, and you truly become My people (Revelation 21:3).  “In the latter days you will understand it” (Jeremiah 30:14-24).

   This insistence on “latter days” tells us that it will be then, and not earlier, that we will ‘get it,’ just like Jesus told us that the generations during the Flood and the populations of Sodom and Gomorrah did not ‘get it’ until destruction was upon them (Luke 17:26-29).  The same notion is implicit in Proverbs 5:11-13:  “Then you will groan when your end comes, when your body and flesh are consumed.  You will say, ‘How I hated instruction, and my heart rejected correction!  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.’  Now I am at the point of utter disaster in the assembly and in the congregation.”  When will this realization take place?  During the bonfire which is Armageddon (Revelation 20:7-10↔Isaiah 13:8).

   What is the upshot of all this?  That people will continue ‘looping’ until the Great Tribulation takes place (Revelation 9:20-21), those catastrophic events in Revelation that will make mincemeat out of humanity.  We find listed in Revelation 9:21 the sin of “fornication,” which must be the sexual kind, for verse 9:20 takes care of idolatry, its ‘spiritual’ counterpart.  Said ‘fornication’ is also found within Christian ranks:  “Lovers of pleasure holding to a form of godliness [pretending righteousness] who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires (2Timothy 3:4-6).”  Peter talked about their presence amongst the faithful in 2Peter 2:13-14, false teachers reveling in “deceitful pleasures while they eat with you [true Christians]…eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin, [enticing] unsteady souls [with] hearts trained in greed.”  Given ‘Christian’ sexual scandals in the media, Paul and Peter prove Solomon right:  There is nothing new under the sun.

   Let us return to Luke 17:26-29.  In terms of Noah’s generation, it was business as usual besides the promiscuity reviled by God in Genesis 6:2.  In terms of Lot’s generation, it was also business as usual besides rampant homosexuality/bisexuality.  Were it not for the fact that all Scripture is inspired by the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13; 2Peter 1:20-21), one finds it hard to believe that “the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded [Lot’s] house” wishing to rape the angels (Genesis 19:4).  At least in the Judges 19 account “perverse” men of Gibeah wanted to rape the Levite priest, but this a far cry from the entire male population.

   If there is something we have learned, it is not to mess around with God’s word to suit our theories, or to be His apologists, for by doing that Satan has us in his bag.  Nothing can be added or taken away from what God has done in order that we fear Him (Ecclesiastes 3:14), remembering that fear of God is the cornerstone of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).  None of us can account for minor inconsistencies in Scripture; for example, were there one or two angels at Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 28:2; Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4; John 20:12)?  One could argue that Matthew reported there was one angel outside the tomb, whereas Mark, Luke and John reported one or two angels inside the tomb; but what to these trivialities have to do with points of doctrine?  All four Gospel writers agree that Jesus had resurrected, and that is the vital issue.  Haggling over petty details may boost human vanity and garner peer acclaim, but it is offensive to the God Who wants to be taken at His word and redeems souls convinced of things which cannot be definitively proven (Hebrews 11:11,6).  Besides, such ‘inconsistencies’ may be God’s way of tripping up “the wise in their own craftiness” (Job 5:13↔Isaiah 28:13; 1Corinthians 3:19).

   It may very well be that Genesis 19:4 is commenting on the fact that a majority of men¹ had become so shameless about their sexual proclivities that it had become commonplace to flaunt them—akin to contemporary ‘gay-pride’ parades, same-sex marriages and transsexual surgeries.  Decades ago public displays of homosexual behavior were unthinkable; homosexual and bisexual notables from all walks of life kept their preferences hidden to avoid disgrace and ostracism; but nowadays, it has become both ‘courageous’ and ‘authentic’ to literally broadcast them.  In contrast, the Gibeah sample group was not as widespread (Judges 9:22).  Why the distinction?  Because Sodom and Gomorrah—not Gibeah—exemplified the punishment that would befall “people who might in future be living godless lives” (2Peter 2:6)—i.e., obliteration at Armageddon.

   Genesis 6:2, the companion ‘human-condition-prior to-world-destruction’ account, forecasts male promiscuous/multiple sex partners/out-of-wedlock behaviors to become widespread at end-times.  Although the preceding Genesis 5 is all about male family trees, we must not believe that only males are implicated in Genesis 6:2; but it does suggest that the behavior would predominate amongst men.  If we extrapolate from present-day conditions, it is powerful, wealthy males who are the worst perpetrators—be them royals, athletes, actors, politicians, religious leaders, law enforcers, academics, serial killers, role models, and so on.  While not on a par with men, women are significantly represented in all groups. When it comes to sex, there are no ethnic, racial, class or gender differences amongst people:  It sucks us all down like the gravitational pull of black holes.

   Having said this, Genesis 6:2 is not only about male promiscuity but also female beauty.  It stands to reason there must have been ugly, undesirable women at the time; but again the point is to characterize end-times trends.  It used to be that men were berated for ‘objectifying’ women sexually; but ‘liberated’ women have enthusiastically taken over that task by enhancing their ‘erogenous wares’ through plastic surgery/Photoshop; then flaunting final results through ‘selfies’ posted in social media or wearing revealing/see-through attires at public functions.  You have got to hand it to Satan:  Social media with its ‘anything-goes’ licentiousness has hauled for him what trawling nets get for deep-sea fishermen.

   But reprehensible sexual practices were not then only reason why Yahweh [of hosts] sent the Flood:²  People then were focused on day-to-day priorities, oftentimes contracting marriage (Luke 17-26-27) though not necessarily remaining faithful to partners.  Genesis 6:5 tells us that mankind’s wickedness and evil had become global, the reason why the Flood’s objective was the extermination of all terrestrial soul-bearing/nostril air-breathing life forms (Genesis 6:17, 7:22).³   So that if we again extrapolate using Solomon’s ‘loop’ of repetitive human immorality (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10), we can surmise that conditions now are very much like they were back then: 1) men bedding multiple women who set male hormones a-raging by flaunting their beauty; and 2) neglecting spirituality to purse temporal delights—the perennially unforgivable sin (Isaiah 22:12-14↔Hebrews 11:25; 1Peter 4:1-4).

   Sodom and Gomorrah expanded the field of illicit sexual practices by singling out male homosexual/bisexual behavior; females are not counted amongst the lustful posse.  Since, as Peter says, the punishment for sexual excesses in these cities was obliteration by heavenly fire, bisexual and homosexual practices must become global—as they now are—immediately prior to world’s-end.  Which means that Christianity, while achieving victories on spiritual planes, failed to correct the ‘loop’ of carnal immorality; given the Holy Spirit’s ‘intel’  in 1Timothy 4:1-2, 2Timothy 3:1-4 and 2Thessalonians 2:3, the former assertion should scandalize no one.  But Jesus told us about Christianity’s failure at the human level, did he not?  “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)?

   We can answer that:  No, Lord, except amongst the 144,000 living then who “have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins…and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless” (Revelation 14:4:6).  Virgins how?  In that they are celibate?  In that they chose not to marry, therefore foreswearing sex, so that marital priorities would not undermine their commitment to Jesus (1Corinthians 7:32-34; 2Timothy 2:4)?  Not necessarily:  a married person of either sex can prioritize God over loyalty to partners or church affiliations.  Please note that the 144,000 are not categorized as males but as descendants of a particular tribe, which by common sense must include females (Revelation 7:4-8, 14:1).⁴

   Virgins in that they never ‘adulterated’ with whorish churches (Jeremiah 5:7) channeling doctrines of demons (1Timothy 4:1↔Hosea 4:12); or severing ties with leaders—both religious and political—preaching self-serving ‘fables’ rather than sound Christian doctrine (2Timothy 4:3-4↔Acts 20:29-30)?  And when we are told no lie was found in the mouths of these “first-fruits”, does this mean that the Gospel they preach is not the corrupted variants issuing from today’s pulpits?⁵

Short  Survey of Forbidden Sexual Practices

   1Timothy 5:24 states a societal truism:  “The sins of some men are plain to see; but the sins of others do not surface until later.”  Simply put, the adulteries and sexual excesses of some become a matter of public record in their lifetimes; while the transgressions of others are exposed after death.   An example of the former:  An island enclave where powerful males—married or not—from all walks of life had their sexual ‘kicks’ at the expense of powerless females.  Two examples of the latter:  1) a British personality who used his charitable work amongst male teens and children to become one of England’s most prolific homosexual abusers; and 2) innumerable cases of predatory behavior by male Catholic priests against vulnerable male youngsters under their pastoral care—which is not to say that Protestant counterparts are off the hook.  Since Jesus named no names when criticizing the priests of his time (Matthew 23:1-35), it is best to follow his example and refrain from naming names.  Personal identification is unnecessary when making Christian points.  You do your own research.

   One thing is obvious:  Power, money and promiscuity go hand in hand:   Wealth is the human equivalent of pheromones amongst animals signaling alpha-desirability; so the wealthier and more powerful the male target, the more numerous and receptive his female postulants—ditto rock stars and their groupies; actors and their admirers; sadists and their masochistic partners; business mavericks and their ‘trophy’ conquests; even imprisoned murderers and their lustful—of either sex—pen pals. 

   You get the point:  For each kind of forbidden sex, Satan has relied on free market principles of demand and supply.

Possible Near-Future Consequences

   Let us skip over the many historical instances where homosexuals were viciously dealt with for their ‘perversion.’  Let us focus on AIDS, once so-called the ‘gay disease’ by society at large and ‘divine retribution’ by religious sadists.  In the Bible, human diseases are linked to satanic influences, not God.  Job is a prime example:  Satan hit Job with a painful skin disease; Yahweh [of hosts] allowed but not specified the kind of torment Satan was to inflict (Job 2:6-7).  In Luke 13:11-16, Jesus blamed Satan for the woman’s crippleness.  And in Acts 5:16 we read that disease and possession were caused by unclean spirits.  Since “every matter is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Matthew 18:16), what are we being told?  Diseases are the work of Satan, or rather, expressions of his sadistic nature.

    OK, epidemiologists look down microscopes and see specific pathogens for specific diseases; but rather than fall into the trap of engaging in scientific arguments—which we are advised never to do (1Timothy 6:20-21),⁶ let us focus on Scriptures which suggest that what we see or fail to see is either not necessarily real or may exist beyond human perception.  As an example of perceiving things that may not be as we see them, we have Isaiah 34:4, Matthew 24:35 and Revelation 6:13-14:  The cosmos is not what science posits but some sort of ‘something’ to be removed prior to Jesus’ second coming and to be created from scratch in a new order of things (Isaiah 30:6, 65:17; Matthew 24: 29-30; John 1:51; Revelation 6:12-14, 21:1).⁷

   Not only that but human eyes can be “prevented” from seeing (2Kings 6:15-17) or made to register something else (Luke 24:16,31; John 20:14, 21:4).  The most graphic example took place during Stephen’s stoning:  The heavens “opened” for him to see Father and Son (Acts 7:55-56); but those within earshot who heard him and may have looked up saw nothing—including still un-converted Paul, who was present (Acts 7:58, 8:1).  So who is to say that what is seen through microscopes or interpreted through astronomical spectroscopy is ‘real,’ especially when there is a Deceiver given powers to deploy all manner of signs and false wonders in order to ensnare unbelievers (2Thessalonians 2:9-12)? 

   Going back to AIDS, why did God allow Satan to unleash it?  Because libertines of all sexual persuasions were in violation of God’s laws; and on the testimony of Jeremiah 46:28:  I may not destroy you altogether, but I will punish your transgressions; “I will by no means leave you unpunished,” transgressions were grounds to be handed over to Satan.  Homosexuality was a big part ofthe rampant promiscuity of the 1980’s when AIDS mushroomed within its ranks.  Though it is theorized that the virus had entered the U.S. earlier, what made transmission epidemic and pandemic was unbridled sex.  Nothing new in history:  Europeans having their sport with New World natives are alleged to have brought syphilis back to Europe.⁸  Sex is a ‘fringe benefit’ of territorial expansionism, where it either becomes an act of domination [rape] or fun with local prostitutes.  [A recent news item on the war in Ukraine reported a Russian soldier contacting his wife at home asking for permission to have sex.  She was understanding but not sympathetic to her Ukrainian neighbor:  She told her husband to wear protection so as not to bring anything back to her].

  Today venereal diseases once contained are reaching epidemic proportions, and what is worse, they are increasingly becoming drug-resistant.  Climatological and ecological changes influence the emergence and spread of infectious diseases; tourism and even human migration are vectors for venereal diseases, since people of either group incur in sex-for-money exchanges.  Let us not mention the female sex trade and the sexual exploitation of children in many parts of the world, especially in third-world countries.  Where are we going with this?  In a nutshell:  “Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).

   Which night?  The time when God will let Satan loose over mankind and Jesus called ‘the Great Tribulation’:  A series of world events unprecedented in world history never to take place again; a time of such overwhelming evil that were days not shortened, even the elect would be lost (Matthew 24:21-22).  Again, how do we know that it is God Who allows Satan and his minions to act?  Because agents of destruction are always empowered, loosened/reined in by divine controllers (Exodus 12:23; Leviticus 26:25; 1Chronicles 21:15; Jeremiah 15:3; Ezekiel 14:21, 21:11-13; 2Thessalonians 2:7; Revelation 6:2,4,8, 9:1,4,14-15).  In all of these, human beings have been the main target, not any other form of terrestrial life (Revelation 7:1, 9:4,15,18), which is the reason why scavenging animals will feed on human corpses littering the world post Judgment Day (Jeremiah 25:33; Ezekiel 29:5).  Their rotting bodies will produce the maggots which will crawl over Satan during his 1,000-year imprisonment (Isaiah 14:10; Revelation 20:2-3).

   Now, let us consider those historical events when the most egregious acts of man’s inhumanity to man were committed, and then try to conceive what unprecedented, future ones may be.  It is a matter of record that when social upheavals take place, the powers that be tighten the screws on populations by abolishing civil liberties, endorsing religious extremism, incarceration, extermination camps, or what-have-you.  Removing perceived or contrived threats to national security are de rigueur:  Jeremiah was a victim of the first (Jeremiah 38:3-4) and Jesus of the second (John 11:50-52), their unpopularity being that their preaching threatened the status quo—an unfortunate consequence of serving God.

   But let us concentrate on religion.  No sooner will things go from worse to untenable that claims of ‘God’s anger’ will surface:  There is no better ploy than to whitewash leadership failure with religious zeal.  Enter the scapegoats:  Things are dire because some—never those in power—spoil things for the rest:  God has a beef with them.  Jews have always been a preeminent target:  They killed Jesus; they should be dealt with in kind.  God abominates homosexuals and so should God-fearing people.  Women have gotten too big for their britches; they should be reined in.  Bisexuals want their cake and eat it too; their gender confusion needs to be forcibly corrected.  All forms of perversion should be subject to brutal subversion.

   If past deeds will resurface in future, as Solomon contends, we may expect reprisals against scapegoat groups in times of social collapse.  Jesus and Paul said that disaster will strike when we least expect it (Luke 21:34; 1Thessalonians 5:3).  Thus:

   1) In terms of Jews, Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and fall for the very last time (Luke 21:20); all their wealth, military might, and influence will avail them naught; and globally, Jews may expect to be engulfed by virulent anti-Semitism.

   2) Homosexuals may be rounded up in concentrations camps as in the past; and their persecutors will not differentiate between repentant homosexuals and practicing ones:  The righteous will be bulldozed right in with transgressors.  Those higher-ups who are open about their orientation but are protected by privileged connections may find relative security; still with Satan dishing it out, there are no blessings to be counted or guarantees to rely on.

   3) Transgender and transvestite people, along with homosexuals, are currently being targeted in American politics to garner votes amongst their haters.  Anti-LGBTQ policies are being enacted, as well as accusations of ‘grooming’ children in their depravities through social media.  The ‘red flag’ here is that proponents of those views camouflage themselves under Christian wraps, much like Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2Corinthians 11:14). Jesus taught us who to unmask them:  By their actions and their words (Matthew 7:16; Luke 6:45).  Problem here is that in these times of raging apostasy, their followers have been given over to the ‘hardening of hearts’ that prevents them from regaining spiritual sanity (Isaiah 6:10↔Matthew 13:15; Jeremiah 16:12↔Romans 2:15; Lamentations 3:35).  As current news demonstrate, no matter how false and morally bankrupt any charismatic leader may be proven to be, his minions will follow him to collective extinction.⁹

   4)  And so we come to women, who do seem to be particularly singled out in Scripture.  We have Isaiah 3:16-23, where the accusations range from shameless behaviors to beauty-enhancing paraphernalia. Not for these the chaste alternatives counseled by Peter in 1Peter 3:1-5; or his advice that conjugal sex, like Paul’s, should be tempered with spirituality (v.7).  Today’s women, ‘in charge of their sexuality’ and free from male subjugation, flaunt their bodies proudly and shamelessly, especially celebrities for whom physical desirability seems to define the extent of what they have to offer or the sum of who they are.

   Who is to say that in the chaos to come, men whose lusts those celebrities inflamed may have their ways with them if given the chance?  What will protect them?  Wealth and privileged status?  Money will mean nothing then:  “They will throw their gold and silver away in the streets like garbage, because [if gold and silver led them into sin], neither silver nor gold can save them when Yahweh pours out His fury. They cannot use it to satisfy their desires or fill their stomachs” (Ezekiel 7:9).  Their male bodyguards?  If salary is no longer a consideration, who is to say that they will not behave like hot-blooded men are wont to do?

   What Isaiah 3:24-26 forecasts has been endured by women throughout history:  They too caved in to vanity and to Satan’s prodding that external desirability was the way to entrap men [see 2Kings 9:30]; so when comeuppance came, women were shorn of hair or physically mutilated.  Consequently, Genesis 6:2 is not off the mark; it is only not comprehensible enough.  Isaiah continues:  “In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, ‘We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothes.  Just let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!’” (Isaiah 4:1).  What this means specifically, we cannot say; but it is obvious that re-integration with the male symbol is a pre-condition to atonement.  Is not being one flesh with man and being called by his name what God originally intended (Genesis 2:23↔Ephesians 5:30-32; Genesis 5:2↔Christ’s Church)?  So that foreswearing gender self-pride to become spiritually genderless is what being Christian is all about (Galatians 3:28)?

   It may very well be that Isaiah 4:1 and 32:9-15 deal with the spiritual shortcomings now found in Christian denominations.  Why specifically “seven women” in Isaiah 4:1 as there are seven churches in Revelation 1:20, Chapters 2 and 3, all in need of some spiritual ‘patch’?  The women in Isaiah 32 were citizens of earthly Jerusalem, who according to Paul remains with her children enslaved by sin (Galatians 4:25).  Is not the vanity of these women similar to Babylon the Great’s (Revelation 18:7), which we know to be the Church in Rome (1Peter 5:13) down to its specific location (Revelation 17:9)?  So that if earthly Jerusalem is shadow to the substance of the Heavenly City, mother of us all (Galatians 4:26), can we then conclude that Isaiah’s message meant for Jewish synagogues was intended for Christian churches as well?

   Yes, because Isaiah 32:15 contains the vital clue:  “Until the Spirit is poured on us from on high,” meaning the Holy Spirit Who Jesus sends his true followers.  Or as Joel 2:28-32 puts it:  In the latter days “I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams; your young men will see visions.  Even on the male and female servants, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.  I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth; blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood [prior to the coming of Jesus].  And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of [Jesus↔Romans 10:9-13] will be delivered (Romans 10:9-13).  For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem [the heavenly sites] there will be those who escape [the Great Tribulation to join the remnant He has called].”

   We have gone on long enough and it is time to wrap up things up.  The end result of our discussion may be that it will either fall on deaf ears or hopefully help some consider the spirituality of sex which pleases God.  As with other ignored Christian doctrines—e.g., Sabbath observance (Exodus 20:8-11, 31:13; Isaiah 66:22-23) and rejection of worldly priorities (Isaiah 22:12-14; Luke 14:26; John 12:25; James 4:4), chances are slim to nil that given the present human condition, carnal sex will evolve into something other than what it currently is:  An animal urge gratifying instinctual needs.  God give us the understanding and strength to persevere in His ways, not only to be a credit to Him, but to strive towards the sexless holiness He wants us to share with Him (Hebrews 12:10).

   Since we started with Ecclesiastes, it is only fitting that we should end with Solomon’s sobering conclusions [Ecclesiastes 12:1-8]:

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them’; before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop (Ezekiel 7:25-27)…and those who look through windows grow dim (Luke 21:25-26); and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird [in fear], and all the daughters of song will sing softly. Men are afraid of high places [heavenly signs?] and of terrors on the road (Ezekiel 7:10-15)…for man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street.  Remember Him before the silver chain is broken and the golden bowl is crushed; the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed. Then the dust [body] will return to the earth as it was, and the soul will return to God who gave it.

‘Vanity of vanities,’ said the Preacher, “all is vanity!’”

¹ Including women.  We must never forget that in the Old Testament, everything is taught from the perspective of males as entities indivisible from females, so what whatever issues are being addressed apply to both genders.

² It is always essential that we differentiate between the two Yahwehs.  Yahweh Father has gone on record saying that vengeance is His (Deuteronomy 32:35); and that He will exact that vengeance on His enemies, past and then living, at end-times:  first through Revelation’s events (Chapters 8, 9, 16, 18)↔Jesus’ Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:20), and ultimately through incinerating fire at Armageddon (Revelation 9:20).  His method of universal destruction:  Fire.

   Yahweh Son contemplated doing away with the entire human race; but changed his mind when Noah found grace in his eyes (Genesis 6:7-8).  First point of note:  He changed his mind, unlike the Father who never changes His (Numbers 23:19; James 1:7↔the attribute Paul argued constrained the Most High to keep His promise to Abraham (Hebrews 6:13-18).

   Yahweh Son used water as his method of universal destruction.  He then made a pact with Noah—who became the intermediate progenitor of mankind (Genesis 10:5,32), as opposed to Adam, the original one—not to send another Flood and ‘signed’ that pact with a rainbow (Genesis 9:11-16), a sign that is specific to him (Matthew 24:30; Revelation 10:1-2↔Revelation 5:5).

³ Two very important restrictions which tell us what breathing forms of life WERE NOT destroyed:  Plants and sea life, both of which need air to live.  Cetaceans, for example, surface to breathe fresh air; but as they are sea dwellers, they were not included in the Ark; as were no other species of aquatic life.  Plants ‘breath’ after their own fashion, but they were not taken into the Ark.  Why?  Because no matter how high the waters rose or water pressure became, God kept them alive; and when the Flood subsided, they went on as usual.  It is not without meaning that Noah understood the waters had receded when the dove returned with an olive leaf in its beak, meaning that tree tops were starting to become exposed; and that the dove did not return seven days after because she had found a perching place.

   Another point of interest which the Flood narrative answers is the existence of souls in animals; hence Genesis 6:17, 7:21-23:  Birds, livestock, beasts, all creeping creatures that swarm on the earth shared with mankind not only the distinction of being air-breathers, but that all shared the ‘breath of life’: a soul animating their bodies (Genesis 2:7).  Solomon corroborated the existence of souls in animals (Ecclesiastes 3:21).

⁴ And by no means strictly ethnic Jews.  Christian ‘Jewishness’ is about sharing the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:16); “a Jew is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter” (Romans 2:29); so that in Christ gender labels no longer apply (Galatians 3:28↔Acts 10:34-35).  In what physiological way the 144,000 are related to the tribal Patriarchs, no one can say.

⁵ The 144,000 are not the only humans to be saved during the Great Tribulation:  They are the ones who will be physically spared its ordeals, though not exempt from the emotional toll of witnessing the suffering of others (Revelation 9:4↔Ezekiel 9:6).  Revelation 7:9,13-14 tell us that an innumerable multitude came “out of the Great Tribulation [by having ‘whitened’] their robes in the blood of the Lamb”—i.e., finding God in their hour of need (Deuteronomy 4:29-31↔emphasis on verse 30;Jeremiah 29:13; Romans 10:13).  While the latter constitute the remainder of Jesus’ harvest, the 144,000 are the first-fruits:  The choicest of the entire crop.

⁶ Creationists, beware!

⁷ See the notion of ‘opened skies’ in Ezekiel 1:1; Matthew 3:16; Luke 3:21; Acts 7:56, 10:11; Revelation 19:11.  It may very well be that the “veil” alluded to in Isaiah 25:7 may be the ‘sky’ overhead that prevents us from seeing the divine realm.  Naturally, the mount Isaiah is referring to is Mount Zion, upon which the Heavenly Jerusalem will rest (Isaiah 56:7; Revelation 21:10).

⁸ The jury is still out on this one, as European skeletal remains pre-dating 1492 have been bound bearing syphilitic lesions.  One YouTube video on the disease posits that a milder form of syphilis was endemic to New World native populations.  Syphilis became the scourge it is when contracted by Europeans lacking natural immunity.

  It is suggestive that syphilis, like Aids, involves skin problems like Job’s ailment, which argues the possibility that ‘marring’ God’s image in men is one of Satan’s insults against Him.

⁹ H.L. Mencken had his compatriots pegged spot on:  “The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest more violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”