"THE COMING WAR WITH RUSSIA"

I first met my wife at a Jack Van Impe tent meeting in a field near Erwin Junction, NY. Once the accordion music and life story ended, I went to the back of the tent to play in the proverbial sawdust with some other children. 

I can't recall ever using the line, "Haven't we met before?" with her but I knew we probably had. However the main point is that JVI, later known as the "Walking Bible," recorded a sermon titled "The Coming War With Russia." If he was still alive, I suspect he'd be awfully tempted to do the "Told You So, Told You So" dance. To be honest, even after an embarrassing long time of studying Biblical prophecy, I never did get how it's all supposed to come together but lately I've begun to lose some of my skepticism ...for a moment anyway.

Since that fateful day, I have gone to a couple more Jack Van Impe meetings both in auditoriums with bigger crowds. JVI was quite popular until he criticized Rick Warren and Robert Schuyler for something called Chrislam, which is supposedly a mixture of Muslim and Christian religious practice per Wikipedia. I wouldn't know if this is true or not but I don't ever remember either Rick or Robert being in Muslim garb.

I, as perhaps many others, am dishearten by the cruelty of the baseless and needless invasion that is postulated more on personal gain than anything else. How slow to respond to a murderous, insane idiot does the West need to be in order to deal with such an evil threat? Nothing was done in Crimea, nothing done about Syria, nothing done when Russia first amassed forces on the Ukrainian border except increased sanctions. Apparently, that doesn't work as well as is expected in a world that is learning to live without the West and is relying more and more on Russia and China.

Obviously, the situation is complicated by the centralization of wealth in Russia, the inter-investment of businesses that have been growing, the severely limited power of the Russian people, the threat to use nuclear and chemical weapons along with a possible nuclear reactor melt down, the number of western people living Russia, the extent that those who import Russian oil and gas might be effected, generalized economic loss whether small or large except for arms manufacturers, and by a governmental system that puts most of the power in one person's hands.

So apparently, the complications override the death and displacement of innocents, the lack of supporting a democratic country on its way to be an important part of Europe, what a nuclear accident or event would do to the area and beyond, the hard sacrifices that will come, the affect of severe sanctions on the Russian people, and the renewal of the cold war that seems inevitable regardless of how this war is settled.

The West is trying to bleed Russia into some kind of peace. I have my doubts as to what that might look like. It likely will open the door to even more terrorism. Or as JVI and others might say, "The End Is Near."  

Any peace that lasts depends on whether or not Russia can get rid of those who continue to hold onto a communist mentality. A certain trouble is that so many are caught in between dominate forces. It's not as if as individuals we don't take a side but more often we are just trying to get through life with simple joys and undistinguished accomplishments. It will be very telling when the war ends who had the courage to do the right thing and the roles that were played by those who had no courage. In the meantime, some "REAL" wisdom is needed before the young having to do the evil bidding of old men finally ends.