Are we witnessing the beginning of another “Great Awakening” in 2023? All over the world we are seeing evidence of a moving of the Holy Spirit in the lives of individuals. This appears to be a manifestation of God’s grace to a world desperately in need of repentance!
The very thought of a wide-spread revival brings tears to my eyes; I love the thought of the Holy Spirit turning people to the Lord Jesus Christ on a massive scale! It is surely possible if the Lord has decided to provide an opportunity to let the Holy Spirit call lost souls to repentance.
A Prayer for Revival
Holy Father, as your children, we rejoice in you and your faithfulness to all who love you and call you Father. We acknowledge your unfailing faithfulness to us in spite of our failures and sinful behavior.
As individuals and as a nation, we have sinned against you and your holy righteousness; nationally we have turned our backs on you, denied you, and deliberately violated your holy commands.
We are worthy of your judgment by our sinful actions but humbly seek your forgiveness and restoration. We are truly thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit that we see around the world, and ask for more grace that many may turn from wickedness and seek restoration by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior!
We know you loved the world and sent the Lord Jesus Christ to pay for the sins of the world by dying on the cross and rising from the grave. Please further extend your love by sending your Holy Spirit to awaken the dead spirits of those turning from their sinful ways and seeking the deliverance to be found in Jesus Christ.
There has been a lot of angry dialog between China and the United States about the purpose of the balloon that recently drifted over the United States. Those charged with the safety of the people of the United States had absolutely no idea what the payload that balloon was carrying might actually be!
Numerous articles have appeared expressing concern this may have been a trial run for a future EMP attack on the USA, I have listed two below;
Dry run: Balloons called top ‘delivery platform’ for nuclear EMP attack
I have found it rather fascinating to note this possibility has not been referenced by our government representatives; it would appear this should be considered a significant possibility and worthy of a proper response from our government!
If this thought occurred to me and others, it certainly should have occurred to those charged with our national defense!
At 60,000 feet, the balloon was much lower than the typical altitude referenced in most articles on the dangers of an EMP. The balloon had an altitude of around 11 miles while the optimal altitude for an EMP would be between 20 and 200 miles (1,056,000 feet) above the surface of the earth.
I’m confident the Chinese have the necessary technology to use the payload as a launch pad for one or more small rockets capable of lifting hydrogen bombs to the 200 mile altitude.
“Starfish Prime”
NPR published an article on July 1, 2010 on the detonation in space of a hydrogen bomb.
“The Americans launched their first atomic nuclear tests above the Earth’s atmosphere in 1958. Atom bombs had little effect on the magnetosphere, but the hydrogen bomb of July 9, 1962, did. Code-named “Starfish Prime” by the military, it literally created an artificial extension of the Van Allen belts that could be seen across the Pacific Ocean, from Hawaii to New Zealand.”
All of the light seen in the photos above are from the explosion of the 1.4 megaton H-bomb. The test was at an altitude of 250 miles, around 20 miles southwest of Hawaii, at around 2 AM.
Johnston Island, the launch site, is a small atoll owned by the United States, and is located around 825 miles southwest of Honolulu. The EMP damaged electrical systems in Hawaii.
By August Neverman, August 23, 2022, “Common Sense Home”
It certainly appears to have been a dereliction of duty to have failed to shoot down the balloon as soon as it entered the air space of the United States. In light of the potential dangers involved, let us hope our government exercises greater caution next time.
An EMP over the United States, at an optimal altitude, would devastate this country and return it to 19th century living conditions for an extended period of time! Small wonder the United States doesn’t appear in Bible prophecy!
First, you would surrender our prior energy independence.
Reduce new gas and oil leases on federal lands to the lowest levels of any president in history. Cut back production at precisely the time the world is emerging from a two-year lockdown with pent-up consumer demand.
Make war on coal and nuclear power. Drain the strategic petroleum reserve to make the pain for consumers more bearable for midterm election advantage.
Cancel the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas field. Block pipelines like the Keystone oil pipeline and the Constitution natural gas line.
Overregulate and demonize frackers and horizontal drillers. Ensure there is less investment for their exploration and production.
Make use of internal combustion engines or fossil fuel power generation prohibitively expensive. Achieve a green oil-dependency along the lines of contemporary Europe.
Second, print trillions of dollars in new currency as the lockdowns end, demand rises, and consumers are already saturated with COVID-19 subsidies. Keep interest rates low, well below the rate of inflation, as you print more money. Ensure that passbook holders earn no interest at the very time prices skyrocket to the highest per annum level in 40 years.
“Spread the wealth” by sending money to those who already have enough, while making it less valuable for those deemed to have too much. Ensure runaway high prices to wean the middle class off its consumerism and supposedly to inspire them to buy less junk they don’t need. Damn the rich in the open and in the abstract, court them in the concrete and secret of darkness.
Third, end America’s physical boundaries. Render it an amorphous people and anywhere space. End any vestigial difference between a citizen and resident. Up the current nearly 50 million who were not born in the United States—27 percent of California’s population—to 100 million and more by allowing 3 million illegal aliens to enter per year.
Fourth, destroy the public trust in its elections. Render Election Day irrelevant. Make proper auditing of 110 million mail-in/early ballots impossible. Normalize ballot harvesting and curing.
Urge leftist billionaires to infuse their riches to “absorb” the work of state registrars in key precincts to ensure the correct “turn-out.”
Blast as “election denialists,” “insurrectionists,” and “democracy destroyers” anyone who objects to these radical ballot changes, neither passed by the U.S. Congress nor by state legislators. Weaponize the FBI, CIA, and Department of Justice.
Fifth, redefine crime as one rich man’s crime, another poor man’s necessity.
Let those who need “things” exercise their entitlement to them. Rewrite or ignore laws to exempt the oppressed who take, or do, what they want as atonement for past systemic racism and oppression.
Six, junk the ossified idea of a melting pot and multiracial society united by common American values and ideals. Instead, identify individuals by their superficial appearance. Seek to be a victim and monetize your claims against perceived victimizers. Call anyone a “racist” who resists.
Encourage each tribe, defined by common race, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation affinities, to band together to oppose the monolithic “white privilege” majority. Encourage social and tribal tensions. Racially discriminate to end discrimination.
Greenlight statue toppling, name changing, boycotting, cancel culturing, ostracizing, and Trotskyizing. Erase the past, control the present, and create a new American person for the future.
Seven, render the United States just one of many nations abroad. Abandon Afghanistan in shame. Leave behind thousands of loyal Afghan allies, billions of dollars in equipment, a billion-dollar embassy, and the largest air base in central Asia. Appease the theocracy to reenter the Iran nuclear deal.
Beg enemies like Venezuela, Russia, and Iran to pump more oil when it is politically expedient for us to have abundant supplies—oil that we have in abundance but won’t produce. Discourage friends like Guinea from producing more energy and cancel allies’ energy projects like the EastMed pipeline.
Trash but then beg Saudi Arabia to pump more oil right before the midterms for domestic political advantage.
Eight, neuter the First Amendment. Enlist Silicon Valley monopolies to silence unwanted free speech while using Big Tech’s mega profits to warp elections. Declare free expression “hate speech.” Criminalize contrarian social media.
Nine, demonize half the country as semi-fascists, un-Americans, insurrectionists, and even potential domestic terrorists. Try to change inconvenient ancient rules: seek to pack the court, end the filibuster, junk the Electoral College, and bring in two more states.
Twice impeach a president who tried to stand in your way. Try him when he is an emeritus president and private citizen. Raid his home. Seek to indict a future rival to the current president.
Ten, never mention the origins of the COVID virus. Never blame China for the release of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Exempt investigations of U.S. health officials who subsidized Chinese gain-of-function research. Ignore the Bill of Rights to mandate vaccinations, mask wearing, and quarantines.
We have done all of the above. It would be hard to imagine any planned agenda to destroy America that would have been as injurious as what we already suffered the last two years.”
The Battle for the Souls of the Fallen Race of Adam
There is no neutral ground, you cannot think of yourself as a non-combatant; you are fully committed to this war by reason of your birth! You are either a soldier in God’s army or Satan’s army; those are the only two options! The only way to switch armies is to receive Jesus Christ as Savior; then you are born-again into the family of God and enrolled in God’s army for the duration of the war!
As Christians, we have joined a battle that has been in progress for thousands of years, but only after a profoundly significant change had taken place. On May 25, 33 AD, God created an entirely new form of human, a human eternally indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit. All who received Jesus Christ as Savior, were restored to spiritual life, born-again into the family of God and eternally indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit.
From that point on to this very day, the earth is populated by two distinctly different types of human beings; those born again with living spirits and eternally indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, and those born of Adam, spiritually dead and under the control of a fallen sin nature.
Race is Irrelevant!
The only point of division is reception of Jesus Christ as Savior, there is no other; racism is nothing more than a Satanic deception! Those promoting racism are serving Satanic objectives in this ancient spiritual battle! I have written more on this in “Racism, Satanic Deception in Action.”
Directly because of the First Advent and the saving work of Jesus Christ, those born of Adam can receive Jesus Christ as Savior by faith alone, be born again into the family of God, given a living spirit and eternally indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit.
This is a battle for the souls of mankind and God’s army has been given it’s marching orders; in Matthew 28:18-20 it is written:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Our marching orders are very clear, we have a specific objective, make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey everything God has commanded us. We must remember flesh and blood is not the enemy!
Spiritual Carnage
The death and destruction produced by this spiritual war does not resemble the results of a typical human war; there are no bombed out villages, no mass destruction of large areas, no burned out tanks along the side of the road, nothing like that at all! Instead we have a more subtle carnage which affects the souls and spirits of mankind.
The Bible describes this kind of destruction in Galatians 5:19-21
“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Any casual examination of the media will reveal an abundance of this sort of thing; this is the carnage being produced by the spiritual war. The greatest danger is the long-range impact of the consequences of this war. While cities can be rebuilt, souls, lost to Satan, will join Satan in the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
The Combatants
The major combatants in the spiritual war are not visible to humans; I suspect things are happening in the spiritual realm that would be overwhelming to humans if they were visible. The angelic creation is divided into two factions, the angels of God and the fallen angels who follow Satan. This information alone, moves the discussion infinitely beyond my comprehension.
Angels and Demons
While the Bible reveals very little about this conflict, we are given brief references to what has taken place before the creation of mankind. I have written more on this in “To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War” The angels of Satan are referred to as demons; one group of demons has been confined to the Abyss but will be released during the Tribulation. The balance of the demons are active in the world today, although limited by the power of God, the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
During this Age of Grace, the Holy Spirit is restraining the forces of Satan, as bad as things are today, at some point in the future they will get dramatically worse! In 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 we read of the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit:
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
The restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will stop when the church is removed at the Rapture, which brings the Age of Grace to a close. From that point on to the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, things will get really deadly! The Book of Revelation reveals some of what will take place during the Tribulation, the last seven years given to Israel.
While we live in the Age of Grace, the forces of Satan are kept in check to some degree. Demonic activity is contained by the power of the Holy Spirit but still being manifested even if not visible. By far, the greatest challenge is the sin nature that occupies every human being. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, the sin nature can dominate the children of Adam; we are seeing the results of the sin nature’s activities in the news today.
Christian Soldiers
Christians today are fighting in the front lines of this war; we are engaged in the hand-to-hand combat “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
I find it interesting to note the Greek word for sword used in Ephesians 6:17; μάχαιρα, transliterated machaira which was the famous Roman short sword used in New Testament times by the Roman army. This sword was designed for close combat and was very effective in the hands of a trained soldier!
You may recall that Jesus, when tempted by Satan, used the Bible to defeat Satan in the wilderness. The word of God is powerful; in Hebrews 4:12 it is described:
“12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The word used here for sword is from the same Greek word, transliterated machaira! The Bible is our machaira!
We are warned of the importance of putting on the whole armor of God; no other armor will serve us in this kind of combat! The Bible is our only offensive weapon!
The signs of the times would suggest the Age of Grace is coming to a close. Should that be the case, earth-shattering change is coming soon. Only God knows the exact timing but when God initiates the change, things will happen quickly; the world will never again be the same.
This is the time to make sure you’re on the right side of the cross! Receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Join the Army of God!
First of all, this is very serious business and you are fully involved, whether you realize it or not! We, that means you and me and all of us, will live out our entire lives on an ancient spiritual battlefield; we are surrounded, each day, by spiritual carnage that has claimed millions of victims. The media is filled with casualty reports which are disguised to appear as something entirely different!
Every living human being is involved in this warfare; there are no exceptions. The two sides of this conflict are God and Satan; the Bible reveals the ultimate outcome of this war, God wins and Satan loses!
While the final battle is yet future, the outcome is certain, Satan, and all his forces will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire! One important fact is the importance of identifying the enemy; the Bible makes that very clear in Ephesians 6:10-12 where it is written:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Our struggle is against that which we cannot even see; not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces that are vastly more powerful than we are! There is no armor of this world that will be effective against these powerful foes; only the full armor of God can prevail and enable us to stand and fight! In Ephesians 6:13-17 it is written:
“13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
This is the reality of the life we face as Christians, there is no escaping it, we are soldiers in the army of God, fighting for the souls of mankind! As soldiers, in a battlefield environment, it is our responsibility to be obedient to the orders we are given by Almighty God! Our Godly armor is ready, let us carefully put it all on and be obedient to the commands of God! I have written more on the Spiritual War in a multi-part series that starts with: “To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War”.
The Background
I have a daily prayer with which I start each day; I pray that I might be obedient to God, be found a good and faithful servant, and always view life from a divine perspective! In the Holy Bible, God has revealed to his children, a great deal about living life in a Godly manner while immersed in a Satanic world system and fighting a spiritual war!
As one examines the Old Testament, it is easy to discover the major source of mankind’s problems has been the failure to be obedient to God’s commands; time after time, disobedience has resulted in calamity, disaster, and death! By way of example, try and imagine life on this earth if Adam had only been obedient to God’s command.
Adam’s disobedience to the one command he had been given, resulted in his death and the death of everyone who would descend from him. I have written more on this in the essay “Is There One Unforgivable Sin?” All of us have been profoundly impacted by Adam’s disobedience; if you are the child of a human father, then you were born spiritually dead.
Also one might try and imagine life in Israel if only Solomon had prayed for the gift of obedience, rather than wisdom; it was Solomon’s disobedience that resulted in Israel being divided into two nations and the idolatrous decline and fall of the northern nation!
The contrast is clear, from the human perspective, the reign’s of King David and King Solomon were glorious high points in the history of Israel; from a spiritual perspective, they were times of crushing defeat; both kings were seriously disobedient to God’s commands in ways that adversely impacted Israel’s future!
On the other hand, it was the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ that resulted in salvation for all who would receive him as Savior! In Luke 22:42 it is written:
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Jesus deliberately choose obedience in spite of the terrible pain and suffering he would have to endure as he paid the penalty for the sins of the world! The work Jesus did at his First Advent changed the world forever; since that time, the world and it’s population have been changed at a very basic level.
It is by God’s grace that we cannot see the spiritual struggle that is taking place all around us; I suspect the frightful terror of the angelic conflict would be more than we could hope to cope with successfully.
This particular phase of the spiritual war will close with the removal of the true church from the field of battle; this event will call all born again Christians home to heaven and will be followed by the final phase which will conclude with the victorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of his Second Advent.
Next time, The Battle.
Image, Sparrow Publishing House, CH Spurgeon Sermon Excerpts Spurgeon’s complete sermon on the Sword of the Spirit preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on April 19, 1891, is available here.
Sunday, I received an email from Hal Lindsey on the subject of the end times. Hal is a pioneer in generating a popular interest in the subject of Biblical prophecy and introduced many to the subject with his book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” published by Zondervan in 1970 and was the first Christian prophecy book to be published by a secular publisher (Bantam, 1973) which sold very well. Since then, Hal has written many other books with total book sales in the millions!
In his article, Hal, a dear brother in Christ, states the Biblical realities of our times with great conviction; I found it very helpful and wanted to share it with my readers.
Do Not Fear the Times.
By Hal Lindsey
Waves of evil come ever more quickly to our world — each wave bigger than the one before. There seems to be no stopping it. The more adamantly people reject God and His ways, the more pain they bring into their lives. With more pain comes a greater desire to self-medicate. Children die of overdoses while drug cartels grow more powerful. Such are the times we live in.
Even those followers of Jesus who live the most insulated of lives now regularly face fallout from a deteriorating society. The rising tides of evil seem to be overtaking and overwhelming us. Governments often work against the best interests of their own citizens. Businesses squeeze more money from customers while giving less value in return. They seem more interested in political correctness than in serving their customers or their employees.
Jesus compared end time events to “birth pangs.” What do we know about the labor pains of a woman giving birth? We know that as the birth approaches, the waves of contractions come closer together and become more intense. They lead to something wonderful, but while they are happening, they hurt!
Right now, we stand smack in the middle of a hurting world. We should be full of compassion and empathy, but we should not be surprised. God told us in advance — in some cases, thousands of years in advance — that such times would come. The truth is, we are a privileged generation. We see with our own eyes the fulfillment of prophesies from ages past. We live in a time when God is on the move in special and unique ways.
Yet even our privileged generation directly feels the pain of this hurting world. The Bible predicts hyperinflation for the last days. That’s a sign of glorious things to come, but it’s no fun. If you’re living on a fixed income, it can be a nightmare. Bible prophecy talks about super-plagues, super-wars, deception everywhere, the loss of human rights, churches falling away from the truth, and hundreds of other sad and frightening trends.
But the Bible also says, “Fear not!” We live in terrifying times, but we are not to be terrified. The times are not greater than the God who holds us in His hand.
In John 14, Jesus tells His disciples how the Father would soon send the Holy Spirit as their Helper. The same Holy Spirit lives in us. Then, in verse 27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” [NASB]
The Prince of Peace Himself gives you access to His peace. To the world, peace can simply be the cessation of hostilities. But God’s peace goes deeper. The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom.” It means “total wellbeing.” It has to do with every part of life.
Sometimes we lose peace because we choose not to access the peace He offers. Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” That means to give His peace command over your thoughts and feelings.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 pronounces this blessing, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.” Jesus longs to give you His peace in every circumstance. Those circumstances include the times in which we live.
Today is January 1, 2023 and a New Year stretches out before us!
We have now arrived in the future, 2023 is the distant future when spaceships will travel between distant planets and all sorts of technological wonders will be commonplace; at least that was the theme when I was a boy and enjoyed reading science fiction.
I discovered Science Fiction when I was a young boy during World War ll, collecting waste paper for the war effort. Our scout troop would collect waste paper door-to-door and occasionally I would come across a discarded Science Fiction pulp magazine whose lurid covers of spaceships and monsters triggered my imagination so I started collecting them. (My wife reminds me that when we got married all of my worldly possessions consisted of a paper bag of clothes and a stack of Science Fiction pulp magazines.)
They were all about the strange world we would experience in the distant future, say 2023 for example; remember this was in the 1942 era and 2023 was an unbelievably long time away; there was no telling what might happen by that time. Think, for example, about the world in 2100; what kind of world will there be in that distant future time? The fact is some of the people you know, should the Lord tarry, may still be living in 2100 and that is kind of sobering, don’t you agree?
Promotional Poster for 1984, 20th Century Fox
1984
That is the situation we faced in 1949, when I was 16; on June 8th, George Orwell published a Science Fiction book, named, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” which was later made into a movie. In this book, the author describes a future dystopian world where no one is free of intense supervision and control. The book created quite a stir when it came out and was the focus of much discussion by Science Fiction fans.
Fortunately, 1984 came and passed into history without the terrible things described in the book becoming the norm for most people. The book is frequently referenced as contemporary events mirror, to some degree, the events described in the book.
The word, “Orwellian” has passed into the English language as a word to describe totalitarianism; a typical dictionary definition might be as follows:
Or·well·i·an (ôr-wĕlē-ən)
adj.Of, relating to, or evocative of the works of George Orwell, especially the satirical novel 1984, which depicts a futuristic totalitarian state.
ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Orwellian
By God’s grace, we have not experienced the Orwellian world of 1984 but many observers believe we are slowly moving in that direction. I suspect the world of the Antichrist will have many of the characteristics of that world. The technology is already in place to accomplish all that has been predicted in the Bible!
The Age of Grace is Extended Once Again
We have lived our entire lives in the Church Age, the Age of Grace, during which the free gift of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is available to all who will simply receive Christ as Savior and experience the new birth; this age began on Pentecost, May 25, AD 33.
Only God knows when this age will end, but end it will in an extraordinarily dramatic way, the Rapture of the Church. Whether it will end in 2023 or many years later is in the hands of Almighty God.
As Christians we are blessed with the opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to help those who have been born again to grow in their faith and knowledge of the Lord. There is only one message that is truly suitable and appropriate for this age of grace and that is:
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!
There is only one sin that will keep the unbeliever out of heaven and that is rejection of Christ as Savior; I have written more on that in “Is There One Unforgivable Sin?”
I encourage you to avail yourselves of the opportunity we have been given to rejoice in the Lord and serve as a witness to his glory, majesty, and honor. The doorway to the Church is still wide open but it will suddenly close forever at a time known only to God; just as God shut the door to the ark, God will shut the door to the Church.
May your New Year be filled with joy in the Lord and the peace which passes understanding!
First published in December 18, 2018, revised and updated.
A powerful and compelling article appeared today in SWAPA describing the deterioration in Southwest Airlines that resulted in the disaster that has recently engulfed that airline.
The article rang true to my experience in business which covers over fifty years. I have seen, first hand, the problems generated when lawyers and accountants try to take over the operations of a company. My heart goes out to those employees who had worked so hard to make Southwest Airlines the success it had become!
I have published this today because I see it as a reflection of the way the government of the United States is operating this country. The inevitable results of operational dysfunction is disaster! The biggest threat to the United States is coming from within!
I’ve been a pilot for Southwest Airlines for over 35 years. I’ve given my heart and soul to Southwest Airlines during those years. And quite honestly Southwest Airlines has given its heart and soul to me and my family.
Many of you have asked what caused this epic meltdown. Unfortunately, the frontline employees have been watching this meltdown coming like a slow motion train wreck for sometime. And we’ve been begging our leadership to make much needed changes in order to avoid it. What happened yesterday started two decades ago.
Herb Kelleher was the brilliant CEO of SWA until 2004. He was a very operationally oriented leader. Herb spent lots of time on the front line. He always had his pulse on the day to day operation and the people who ran it. That philosophy flowed down through the ranks of leadership to the front line managers. We were a tight operation from top to bottom. We had tools, leadership and employee buy in. Everything that was needed to run a first class operation. When Herb retired in 2004 Gary Kelly became the new CEO.
Gary was an accountant by education and his style leading Southwest Airlines became more focused on finances and less on operations. He did not spend much time on the front lines. He didn’t engage front line employees much. When the CEO doesn’t get out in the trenches the neither do the lower levels of leadership.
Gary named another accountant to be Chief Operating Officer (the person responsible for day to day operations). The new COO had little or no operational background. This trickled down through the lower levels of leadership, as well.
They all disengaged the operation, disengaged the employees and focused more on Return on Investment, stock buybacks and Wall Street. This approach worked for Gary’s first 8 years because we were still riding the strong wave that Herb had built.
But as time went on the operation began to deteriorate. There was little investment in upgrading technology (after all, how do you measure the return on investing in infrastructure?) or the tools we needed to operate efficiently and consistently. As the frontline employees began to see the deterioration in our operation we began to warn our leadership. We educated them, we informed them and we made suggestions to them. But to no avail. The focus was on finances not operations. As we saw more and more deterioration in our operation our asks turned to pleas. Our pleas turned to dire warnings. But they went unheeded. After all, the stock price was up so what could be wrong?
We were a motivated, willing and proud employee group wanting to serve our customers and uphold the tradition of our beloved airline, the airline we built and the airline that the traveling public grew to cheer for and luv. But we were watching in frustration and disbelief as our once amazing airline was becoming a house of cards.
A half dozen small scale meltdowns occurred during the mid to late 2010’s. With each mini meltdown Leadership continued to ignore the pleas and warnings of the employees in the trenches. We were still operating with 1990’s technology. We didn’t have the tools we needed on the line to operate the sophisticated and large airline we had become. We could see that the wheels were about ready to fall off the bus. But no one in leadership would heed our pleas.
When COVID happened SWA scaled back considerably (as did all of the airlines) for about two years. This helped conceal the serious problems in technology, infrastructure and staffing that were occurring and being ignored. But as we ramped back up the lack of attention to the operation was waiting to show its ugly head.
Gary Kelly retired as CEO in early 2022. Bob Jordan was named CEO. He was a more operationally oriented leader. He replaced our Chief Operating Officer with a very smart man and they announced their priority would be to upgrade our airline’s technology and provide the frontline employees the operational tools we needed to care for our customers and employees. Finally, someone acknowledged the elephant in the room.
But two decades of neglect takes several years to overcome. And, unfortunately to our horror, our house of cards came tumbling down this week as a routine winter storm broke our 1990’s operating system.
The frontline employees were ready and on station. We were properly staffed. We were at the airports. Hell, we were ON the airplanes. But our antiquated software systems failed coupled with a decades old system of having to manage 20,000 frontline employees by phone calls. No automation had been developed to run this sophisticated machine.
We had a routine winter storm across the Midwest last Thursday. A larger than normal number flights were cancelled as a result. But what should have been one minor inconvenient day of travel turned into this nightmare. After all, American, United, Delta and the other airlines operated with only minor flight disruptions.
The two decades of neglect by SWA leadership caused the airline to lose track of all its crews. ALL of us. We were there. With our customers. At the jet. Ready to go. But there was no way to assign us. To confirm us. To release us to fly the flight. And we watched as our customers got stranded without their luggage missing their Christmas holiday.
I believe that our new CEO Bob Jordan inherited a MESS. This meltdown was not his failure but the failure of those before him. I believe he has the right priorities. But it will take time to right this ship. A few years at a minimum. Old leaders need to be replaced. Operationally oriented managers need to be brought in. I hope and pray Bob can execute on his promises to fix our once proud airline. Time will tell.
It’s been a punch in the gut for us frontline employees. We care for the traveling public. We have spent our entire careers serving you. Safely. Efficiently. With luv and pride. We are horrified. We are sorry. We are sorry for the chaos, inconvenience and frustration our airline caused you. We are angry. We are embarrassed. We are sad. Like you, the traveling public, we have been let down by our own leaders.
Herb once said the the biggest threat to Southwest Airlines will come from within. Not from other airlines. What a visionary he was. I miss Herb now more than ever.
A Momentous Change was Being Put in Place at the Time of the First Advent!
The exact date of the First Advent is unknown; Biblical scholars believe it took place in the winter of 5-4 BC. The birth of a baby in a stable in Bethlehem would hardly have any impact in the centers of world power; no historians or governmental authorities would carefully note such an event in the historic records of the nation!
Regardless of the humble nature of the birth of Jesus Christ, God was putting into place a plan that would change humanity forever. God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, would take on human form and be born of a virgin girl by the power of God, the Holy Spirit.
A totally unique person was brought into existence, undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever; a unique person for a totally unique assignment! The nature of this assignment is revealed in Romans 5:6-11 where it is written:
“6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
The First Advent happened at “just the right time” every detail of the First Advent was scheduled in eternity past and many details had been revealed to the Old Testament prophets; nothing was left to chance! Christ took on human form that he might die for the ungodly!
As the Last Adam from heaven, Jesus Christ had to pay the penalty incurred for all mankind when the First Adam disobeyed a direct command from God. In 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 it is written:
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”
This Age of God’s Grace
The First Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ initiated events which resulted in this Age of Grace in which we now live. God’s offer of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior is still in full effect. This age will close when the True Church is called home. I encourage you to accept God’s offer while the doors of the True Church are still open to all who will receive Jesus Christ as Savior!
BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND YOU WILL BE SAVED!
The Seven Basic Biblical Premises that Separate the Successful from the Failures!
In the preceding essay, I wrote on the first four Basic Biblical Premises; reality, as it exists around us, is far different from what our eyes and experience would suggest.
There is only one fundamental question in life that each of us must answer; “DO YOU RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR? A yes answer means your life is a success, a no answer means you have failed in life!
Our environment is very deceptive and under the control of our arch-enemy, Satan. When the Bible tells us, “7 For we live by believing and not by seeing.” in 2 Corinthians 5:7, living that principle out in practice is totally dependent on the intersession of God, the Holy Spirit!
The Fifth Basic Biblical Premise
During the age of the multi-national church, immediate judgment for transgressions has been deferred; this is the age of grace, not judgment. In John 3:16-17 it is written:
“16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
Salvation, not judgment, is God’s focus during this age of grace! As with all things, this age of grace has come to pass; there is coming a time of severe judgment on this earth and each day that passes brings that time ever closer.
During this age of grace, there is only one sin that has not been paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ; that one sin is rejection of God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord! I have written more on this in, “Is There One Unforgivable Sin?”
This age of grace is marked by a major change in God’s relationship with mankind; those who accept God’s offer of salvation have their dead spirits returned to life and are indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit. This union between God and man is eternal and unalterable.
While Adam was created in the image of God, the Christian is eternally indwelt by God!
This age will be brought to a close by the removal of all born-again Christians.
The Sixth Basic Biblical Premise
While Israel has been set aside during the Church Age, the age of grace, Israel’s restoration will take place according to God’s timetable!
In the Old Testament, God made many promises to Israel; while the fulfillment of some of those promises has been delayed by the mystery of the church age, God will faithfully fulfill those promises at the appointed time. With the removal of the church, God will be ready to place Israel at center stage in world affairs, Jerusalem will become the focus of world attention at a level unparalleled in history.
There is a period of seven years, God promised to Israel, that has yet to be fulfilled; Israel’s rejection of their Messiah, has resulted in a delay of over 1989 years and counting. This period of seven years, called the Tribulation, will be followed by the kingdom age which has been promised to Israel and will last 1,000 years. I have written more on the seven year period in, “The Seventy Weeks of Daniel.” , a three-part series.
At the end of the 1,000 years, God will judge those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior at the Great White Throne Judgment, and they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
(A Purification Parenthetical
The following involves some speculation on my part as the Bible is not specific on certain details. My speculation, however, is based on a careful study of scripture.
The Bible reveals two episodes which I have come to see as processes of purification. Sin had left serious scars on both the church, and creation; scars which needed removal. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 it is written:
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”
In 2 Peter 3:11-13 it is written:
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”
I’m of the opinion these two fiery episodes are intended to purify and not destroy. As a sinner, saved by grace, I have memories of sinful episodes which can, on occasion, resurface in my memory much to my distress. I think it possible the “wall of flames” may be intended to purge my memory of those painful episodes; at the very least, I can hope that is the case. There are certain things best forgotten!
Regarding the heavens on fire and the elements melting away, I refer you to Romans 8:21 in the following section; I’m of the opinion this is part of a process of purification, not destruction.)
The Seventh Basic Biblical Premise
Living one’s entire life on a spiritual battlefield imposes severe restrictions on one’s ability to imagine a time of perfection. From birth to death, mankind is surrounded by sin, suffering and death. While there may be fleeting moments of peace and joy, the overall environment for life is distorted by the Satanic world system in which we live.
One of those fleeting moments came for me, one year, as I entered Wilderness Lodge at Christmas. This was our destination of choice when we visited Disney World for our family Christmas celebration. Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as I saw the scene pictured below: feelings of peace, joy and contentment filled my mind!
Wilderness Lodge at Christmas with only one thing missing, crowds of happy people!
A time of eternal perfection is coming which will surpass anything we can even imagine; everything to this point has been preparatory for the eternity God has planned for his creation! I love the verses in Romans 8:18-25 where it is written:
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
While there has been a terrible amount of suffering and pain for thousands of years, this era is only a brief preface to the vast volume of life and living that is coming! There is coming a time when all creation will join with God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay, a time when there will be no sin and suffering, a time when God’s children will be given their full rights as his adopted children along with their heavenly bodies!
Let us join together as we wait patiently and confidently!
The Bible closes with the following verses:
“20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.” Revelation 22:20-21
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