Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Are we in the End Times?

The coming of the New Millenium brought with it a renewal of End Times fever. This is a phenomenon that was not new but is a repeat of what happened at the turn of the previous millenium. Having lived through the commotion and hype I can now look back at the unnecessary fear that was generated by people who are in fact ignorant when it comes to the interpretation of the Scripture. First of all, I believe that it is true that we are in an End Times at this present time. It is an end to the times as we know them but not of the end of the world, which is the interpretation of most people who read and talk about the End Times. Second, I believe that history has a habit of repeating itself and we are now going through a period of time which is in fact a repeat of a much earlier period in history. Take for example the following from the book of Isaiah: "A sinful nation, a people weighed down with guilt, a breed of wrong-doers, perverted sons. They have abandoned Yahweh, despised the Holy One of Israel; they have turned away from Him." (Is 1:4) "Take your wrong doing out of my sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow." (Is 1:16-17) "What a harlot she has become, the faithful city, Zion, that was all justice! Once integrity lived there, but now assassins. Your silver has turned into dross, your wine is watered. Your princes are rebels, accomplices of thieves. All are greedy for profit, and chase after bribes. They show no justice to the orphan, the cause of the widow is never heard." (Is 1:21-23) This is a very small sampling of the words of God that should be coming back to haunt each and everyone of us who are intent upon doing evil, despite having known the Lord. One only has to look to the level of injustice in the world to recognize that we are in an End Times period. What is wrong with our world today? The answer may seem to be complex but the reality is that there has been a massive loss of faith that has wounded God's people. We are beginning to reap the whirlwind of some of the shocking deeds that are being committed in our day. The Culture of Death seems to be in the ascendancy, yet we must remember that the Two hearts - that is the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus will prevail. It will not happen in my own lifetime, but it will happen. At the present time my thoughts on these matters are being guided by my concern for a disabled woman in Florida, whose husband has been attempting to ensure that she is given a state approved death sentence. This woman, Theresa Schindler, collapsed suddenly on a Februray night in 1990. One possible explanation for her collapse was that of a heart attack brought on by a potassium imbalance. However, further testing at the hospital disproved that theory. Despite the lack of evidence that pointed to bulimia or potassium imbalance, Michael Schiavo was successful in suing Theresa's doctor over the alleged failure to diagnose that she was bulimic. He claimed that he loved his wife and needed the money to care for and rehabilitate her. However, as soon as the money was set aside in the trust fund, Michael Schiavo has been relentless in his pursuit of killing his wife. In order to carry out his plan, Michael Schiavo enlisted the help of George Felos, the lawyer who is known for his pro-euthanasia views. George and Michael have been plotting together to bring about the death of Theresa Schindler. Michael has made every possible effort to ensure that a proper investigation into the mysterious circumstances of Theresa's collapse are stymied. He has also stymied every effort to ensure that Theresa receives rehabilitation therapy or has the proper tests that are required to determine the level of her brain function. Enter onto the stage Dr. Crandon, a neurologist who is also a member of the Hemlock Society, and an active promoter of euthanasia. If you want an expert witness willing to diagnose that a patient is PVS then Dr. Crandon is the man who will, for a fee carry out your wish. He was selected by George Felos to be an expert witness on Theresa's condition. When Theresa was injured in 1990 a CT scan was performed in the emergency room. Since that time there has not been any further testing or scans. However, despite this lack of testing Dr. Crandon was able to diagnose that Theresa is in a Permanent Vegetative State, and that there was no chance of recovery. He then added such information as the cortex of her brain had liquified and that she had no sense of feeling, and could not interact with people around her. The video evidence of the testing by the Doctors representing the Schindlers has produced a very different result. This is the evidence that Michael Schiavo had been determined that no one else should witness. However, the Schindlers managed to publish the video to the web and millions of people have been able to see that Terri is not in a permanent vegetative state and that she is very much a viable living human being. This is a status that Michael Schiavo is denying for her. To add insult to injury, George Greer coached Michael Schiavo in what he needed to say in court as evidence that he remembered that Theresa had said that she would not want to live in a vegetative state, and that all he wanted to do is carry out his wife's wishes. However, he neglected to inform the court that he already had the funeral home prepared in advance for the day that he has eagerly waited when "that bitch" would be dead. The nurses at the nursing home where Theresa had resided before Michael had her illegally taken to Woodside hospice, have given an affadavit to the effect that Michael Schiavo had attempted to ensure that his wife died of natural causes, due to his neglect for her care. However, Theresa survived the early attempts of Michael to kill her off. In the end he had to go to the probate court to get permission to remove Theresa's feeding tube so that he could carry out a very cruel death sentence - starvation and dehydration. People get thrown into prison for treating animals in that fashion. As I have investigated this case I have discovered that the issues that I am describing are really only the surface issues. There are issues that have very wide ranging implications for the manner in which guardianships are conducted, especially in Pinellas County. There is a scandal brewing in Pinellas county that is going to lift the lid off of the abuses that are being perpetrated against the disabled, as well as he elderly. Michael Schiavo, as the guardian of Theresa has abused his powers by preventing her family from visiting and by ordering that she is not to receive any form of rehabilitative treatment. His actions are not the actions of a loving husband. What has this outline of the Schiavo case got to do with my quotes form Isaiah? One of the strong themes in the Book of Isaiah is the recognition that the wealthy class of Israel and Judea had been exploiting the more vulnerable within the society. There is nothing new in that statement because what happened in Isaiah's time is also happening in our own time. The people who are least able to care for themselves are being exploited by those who have rich and privileged positions. The Lord warned against the injustices of that time, but Israel did not listen to what the prophets were saying and eventually they were not able to overcome the arrival of Sennacharib, who defeated the king of Israel and carried the people into exile. Today, we face dangerous times. It is dangerous because we do not know when the terrorists might strike again. This is the point about the end of the times as we know them. There is no reason to believe that there will be a rapture as described by Scofield. That does not mean that we are not in an end times period. The behaviour that I have described above, is something that is repeated in the USA, as well as in other countries. Thousands of people are in danger from those who want to bring in state euthanasia.

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