Autumn Comes

Autumn Comes
Posted by donnadawson at 03:36 PM on September 02, 2009

I sit here staring at both my computer screen and the panoramic view out the window beyond it. I see the green of the trees and verdancy of the grass but I know that autumn is coming. There is a wan texture to each blade, as though it has stretched itself thin in one last effort to grasp onto summer. Within the jade of each leaf is a hint of other hues. Yellow but not yet yellow. Red but burrowed deep within the veins still.



The night air plays out my knowing with a nip that has driven me to the flannel sheet cupboard. A tickle in my throat whispers of the abundance of ragweed and goldenrod pollen that saturates the atmosphere during those dark hours. I waken each morning with a deeper voice and swollen lids and I know. Autumn is on its way. And I feel betrayed.



I am a spring and summer person. I love the extension of day, the soft warmth that raises the hairs on my arms, the breezes that carry sweet apple blossom and lilac. I come to life and cherish each moment knowing that it will soon enough be lost to the angry bite of winter. Knowing that autumn will sap the life from the seasons' glories and turning it into a gaudy performance of clawing winds, brazen colours and a myriad swirling parachutes.



I don't exactly dislike autumn. I dislike the potential for darkness within the heart of autumn. If the sun shines then all is fairytale like and regal and golden. But when the sun drags its feet to the southern hemisphere, I am left with a world of dull, cold, dampness that pushes into the cracks of my bones with aching persistence. And then I struggle to remember spring and summer in all their ethereal beauty.



Lights are turned on. The house is battened down for the fury that I know will stumble upon the heals of autumn. Wood is hoarded and sweaters shaken from their moth balls. Fodder for man and animal alike is stored. We are far enough from town to take the precautions. Batteries are purchased and to me it feels somewhat like an annual Armageddon. A war between all that is warm and beautiful and cold and drab.



Autumn reminds me of death but not in a morbid way. I like to think that the leaves which are stripped from their branches in wreathes of gilt and crimson are given a place in Heaven as newly greened and flowering and fragrant. Just as we fade from our great shining accomplishments and move on to our place in the eternal kingdom. It is a fanciful thought but it helps me get through the darkness until the spring can errupt again.

Awards and Such

This past winter has been filled with blessings. I recently was added to the roster of a local college as their new creative writing instructor. That did much to help me to know I am going where God wants me to go.

Then, I discovered that my book Vengeance has been shortlisted in two categories of The Word Guild Awards. I will find out in June whether it is a winner in Best Canadian Suspense/Mystery Novel and also in Best Canadian Contemporary Novel. It was overwhelming to say the least.

If that wasn't enough, I saw the release of my newest novel Fires of Fury. This e-book is a new adventure for me since I have only ever done paper books. Published through Awe-struck e-books, a subsidiary of Mundania Press, this is a romance mystery that is already receiving excellent reviews. I am looking forward to seeing what is next.

False Prophets

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." Matthew 24:9-11 NIV


The persecution of Christians began with Nero. It was no wonder that the believers at that time thought they were in the end time prophecies. Nero was accused of setting the city of Rome on fire in 64 AD. In order to shift the blame, he said the Christians did it. The following excerpt was taken from the Annals of the historian Tacitus and documented the beginnings of the persecutions.



"Therefore, to stop the rumor [that he had set Rome on fire], he [Emperor Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were [generally] hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius, but the pernicious superstition - repressed for a time, broke out yet again, not only through Judea, - where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they are encouraged. Accordingly first those were arrested who confessed they were Christians; next on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of "hating the human race."


When Jesus stated in verse nine that Christians would be handed over to be persecuted and put to death that was only the beginning. He finished the sentence by saying that all nations would hate Christians because of him. The phrase 'all nations' was key in this portion of his prophecy. It was a disclaimer of sorts. He knew full well that the Roman empire was only a portion of the world's nations and yet he said ALL nations. It is one more verification that Christianity would have to reach a global size before we could begin to assume we were near the end of the age. What is referred to as the 'free world' is quickly losing its love for Christianity and there has never been any love lost from other religions toward Christianity. Much of that is due to the complacency that runs rampant in our churches.


As of 2000, Christianity is now the most persecuted religion world-wide. More than 200 million Christians around the world suffer from beatings, imprisonment and death for their faith. But Jesus saw it all. And he warned every generation to be prepared. The world hated him. Why should it love us?


And then Jesus goes on to make a very sad statement. "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other". Jesus' life on earth was a living, breathing example of what was to come. He gathers us to himself if we are willing. He calls to us as he called to the disciples. We can choose and many did choose to follow him. And yet it was only the most persistent that stayed to the bitter end. The world hated him. It hates us. And many will fall away like many abandoned Christ then. As we look back through recent history we see that a wide-spread apostacy has swept through a number of nations. The most predominant faith in Europe now is the Muslim faith while North America is quickly shifting its weight toward humanism. There are a few silent and persistent Christians who still cling to Christ and his word but the ranks dwindle as the persecution is beginning. It's too easy to settle for the luke-warm variety of compromise Christianity.


In the final verse of our selection Jesus talks about false prophets. The first false prophet showed up on the scene all those centuries back shortly after Jesus died. And now, we see an abundance of false prophecy. We have leaders who stand in front of TV cameras and pulpits and preach their ideas instead of what scripture really says. They teach an idea and twist verses around it until that verse appears to compliment it--in spite of the preceding and following verses. And we have the masses of "Christians" who don't read their Bibles any more because they don't have to do so leaving them open to false teachings and beliefs. There is an abundance of false faith such as history has never seen before. So are we there? Well, let's read on.

Signs of the Times Matthew 24:6-8

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains." Matthew 24:6-8 NIV



This portion of scripture can be vague while at the same time being very pointed. Here, Jesus made it plain that this was the beginning of the end. But what exactly does that mean? There have always been wars and rumors of wars. All through history mankind has vied for world dominance--at least dominance of the world they knew. But there is a dividing line in this scripture reading. Jesus began with the vague prophecy of wars and rumors of wars. He wasn't kidding. From that point on the Roman Empire made a deliberate attempt to conquer all of the known world. They had managed to succeed in many nations and yet those nations rebelled. Jesus said that his disciples shouldn't be alarmed because such things must happen. And then he enters that tiny word. 'But'. A word that changes the tone of any writing. When you see the word 'but' you know that there will be a mood shift. He tells the disciples the end is still off in the future and with that statement he begins the description of the distant future time when his kingdom would come.



During this time period North America was unknown. Britain was only a vague island at the far outskirts of the Roman Empire. Almost every known nation was under the might of the Roman Empire. It was unfathomable that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Jesus knew, as he made that statement, that there would come a time when the kingdoms of the world would rise up against one another--that war would envelope the world. And since North America wasn't on the map until Columbus, the end couldn't come. Because his salvation was meant to cover the earth so was his kingdom. But that couldn't happen until all nations became known.



It was no surprise when WWI started that many theologians began to declare the end of the world. After all, two key elements to Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24 had been fulfilled. All the nations were known--or at least the continents were--and they were all prepared to go to war against each other. But something was missing. Something held back his return. It was the rest of the prophecy that many chose to ignore. The earthquakes and famines. Even when WWII hit, the world hadn't yet experienced world wide famine and earthquakes. And now according to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) in a report released in 2004 natural disasters are on the rise globally. It is blamed on global warming as though man is still in control--as though it is all centered around us. Is there historical precidence for it? Apparently not. History records isolated disasters but no where is there a record of world wide natural trauma such as we have seen over the past five years. Does that mean we're at the end yet? No. We are only beginning to enter into the birth pangs according to Jesus' words. Stay tuned.

Signs of the Times-part 2

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'



Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.' " Matt 24:3-5 NIV



I don't know about you but when I read that Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, I pictured a softly rolling knoll covered with lush grass, but in reality the Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge that runs east of Jerusalem. It has three peaks that run north to south, the highest of which is 2,683 ft high. It is well known for its olive groves and has quite a rocky terrain. Interestingly enough it was a place of burial--a strange choice for a Rabbi to preach his sermons. And it was also the perch from which the Romans camped during the 70 AD seige.



When we read this portion of scripture, it's important to remember all that has come before it. Jesus just delivered the seven woes to the Pharisees. He just finished telling his disciples about the hypocrasy of the religious leaders and how they dressed for the sake of importance while their followers were spiritually dying. He mourned over Jerusalem longing to "gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings". He finished off chapter 23 with a direct quote from the book of Psalms where the prophetic teaching is a direct reference to the coming of the Messiah and his rejection. I'm sure his disciples must have been stunned. In verse 39 of 23 he declared himself as the fulfillment of that prophecy and then he went on to pronounce his own prophecy about the temple. The disciples were primed and ready to listen. And as he sat on the Mount--a graveyard and the outlook for the very army that would fulfill his prophecy, his followers wanted to hear more.



When they asked in verse three for Jesus to tell them about the end of the age, they thought they knew what he was telling them. They were Jews after all. They had been raised to know the Torah and the Psalms by rote. It didn't matter that they couldn't read. Every Jewish boy was taught to memorize since God told Moses to proclaim the Word to Israel's children and to tie that Word on their foreheads. So these men--these fishermen and doctors and lawyers and commoners--they knew exactly what Jesus was telling them. That he was ushering in the Kingdom of God. The problem they had was in thinking in earthly terms while Jesus was thinking in heavenly terms.



The kingdom they wanted was one that would rid them of the Romans and set up a King on the throne of David. Jesus fit the bill on both sides of his family tree. We can see that in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. He was of the line of David through and through. He had just proclaimed himself the Saviour through reference to the Psalmist's prophecies. And they were ready to forge ahead and reclaim the land of Israel. If we could re-write their words, they might lsound something like this: 'Jesus, tell us when you will come in the name of the Lord. How will you publicly announce your kingship? And how will you end the Roman age?'



But Jesus offered a different interpretaion as he spoke. "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many."



What did Jesus mean? They were waiting for a hero but Jesus was preparing them for the ushering in of a kingdom that was immensely more far reaching than just to the Jewish nation. And in his statement, again, he prophecied. He saw clearly into what would happen. Just as the fall of the temple was fulfilled in 70 AD so was the beginning of the deception that would follow. Jesus knew that with the destruction of Jerusalem would come a scattering of its peoples--and its faith. He knew that usurpers would come calling themselves the Messiah. Men like Simon Bar Kokhba who rose up against the Romans to fight and ultimately lose.



So when Jesus began to summarize the signs that would precede his coming, I'm sure the disciples were overwhelmed. The first sign of his coming would be a long line of deceivers who wanted to take his leadership role. This sign carried horizontally through history. It was not a single event. Jesus tried to show his disciples that there would be a large span of time between his pronouncement and his rule and he did so by saying 'many would come'. He reminded them that these 'many' would 'deceive many'. He knew that these 'many' would ultimately point the way to the one--the anti-christ. He wanted his followers to be prepared for the spirit of deception that would plague the Christian church in centuries to come.

Signs of the Times

In view of my last post, I thought it might be interesting to do a bit of a study on Matthew Chapter 24. Why would I pick this one chapter? Well, this just happens to be the chapter where Jesus explains the signs that would come with the end of the church age. I thought it might be beneficial to do short segments and simply dissect them. So without further adeu, let us begin.



Matthew 24:1-2 "Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its building. 'Do you see all these things?' he asked. 'I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.' " (NIV)



We initially look at this portion of scripture and it seems pretty simple but Jesus was beginning the first of a series of prophecies that would lead us through church history. At the time that Jesus was uttering this particular prophecy Jerusalem was a busy hub of activity for the Jewish nation. But it was also under the authority of the Roman Empire and it was this very empire that allowed the extravagance of the temple to remain.



A few mere decades later the Emperor, Nero, also known by then as Imperato Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, decided he needed more money so he ordered his Judean governor, Gessius Florus, to confiscate it from the temple treasury. Gessius Florus proceeded to do as he was told but ended up crucifying some innocent bystanders over a joke made by Jewish citizens who 'passed the hat' to help poor Florus. That began the rebellion which likely wouldn't have started had it not been for the Roman Empire's penchant for starving Jewish citizens. The war began in 66 and carried through to 70.



In 66 a man by the name of Menahem, who, incidently, was referred to as the king of the Jews, raided the fortress of Masada. He was then declared openly as king of the Jews and he and his men, the Sicarians or dagger men, laid seige to Jerusalem. Menahem had Ananias the high priest killed and then very shortly after found himself dangling at the end of a rope. That nicely ended his short-lived reign.



Somebody in Rome got the hint and decided to replace Gessius Florus but the new guy, Gaius Cestius Gallus, decided that force was the best remedy to free Jerusalem. He wasn't prepared for the ambush by Eleaser son of Simon and managed to lose his standard and his pride. Over the next three years the two forces would struggle for dominance.



By 70 Nero had committed suicide, Vespasian ruled the army and his son Titus was doing the political tapdance to get in good with the new emperor Galba. Before he could get there Galba was lynched and the fight for the throne was on. Before long Vespasian slipped into the emperor's clothes and order was restored. This left Titus as the head of the army and on April 14, 70 which happened to coincide with the Passover, he laid seige to Jerusalem. With the city surrounded, the Jews finally united and prepared to defend their city. Starvation became the rule of the day for the Jews and some tried to escape only to find themselves nailed in various poses to crosses--nearly 500 per day were crucified.



Historian Josephus Flavius stated that the fire to the temple was set deliberately by the Roman soldiers however it has been questioned that perhaps he documented it this way to help Titus who was his friend. Cornelius Tacitus who later was appointed to the senate made it very plain that Titus had ordered it done. According to Josephus, the Romans levelled all the walls around Jerusalem right down to the bedrock. While many believe that the existing wall is one of the temple walls, both Josephus Flavius and Emperor Titus declared that the temple was completely destroyed. In Josephus' writings you will find: "It [Jerusalem with its walls] was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited" (War VII.1,1).



So that first portion of scripture we just read was loaded with far more information than first thought. It was a profound collection of words and thoughts. Not only did Jesus say the temple would be destroyed--a blanket statement that time could have fulfilled without a prophet's utterance--but every stone was thrown down with not one left on another--exactly as Jesus had said.

Hot Apple Cider at 100 Huntley

Isn't it exciting! 100 Huntley Street is featuring Hot apple Cider as their book of the month for February! View the video at http://www.crossroads.ca/broadcas/video2.php or go to http://www.hotapplecider.ca