The Scorpions: "Wind of Change"

August of 1991 was a pivotal time for the former Soviet Union. Communists tried to take back the reigns of government but the people rose up as one person to oppose them.

This hard rock band from Switzerland memorialized the scene in Moscow in this song. Check it out here.

For ancient Israel, the wind of change blew through Egypt. The Lord liberated them in one eventful day. In preparation for that, God said in Exodus 11:1 and 2 (Bible in Basic English), "And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will send one more punishment on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go; and when he does let you go, he will not keep one of you back, but will send you out by force. So go now and give orders to the people that every man and every woman is to get from his or her neighbour ornaments of silver and of gold.'"

Another wind of change happened when the Israelites demanded a king. We read God's encouragement to his heartbroken prophet in 1 Samuel 8:7 (BBE). "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.'"

Likewise, the Israelites realized that the seventy-year exile in Babylon was about to end. As we read in Daniel 9:1 and 2 (BBE), "In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldaeans; In the first year of his rule, I, Daniel, saw clearly from the books the number of years given by the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, in which the making waste of Jerusalem was to be complete, that is, seventy years."

By the first century A.D., the Jews expected the Messiah to arrive. When John the Baptist was born, we read Zacharias' prophecy in Luke 1:76-79 (BBE), "And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways; To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins, Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us, To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace."

When Christ arrives, everything will change. If that hasn't happened by Thursday, I hope to post about how children often grow up to be like their parents.

Negativeland: "Time Zones"

This sound collage deals with the Soviet Union which spanned eleven time zones. It occupied a sixth of the earth's land surface. A broadcast from Radio Moscow was used by the group leader to begin this piece. I had to laugh when I heard the announcer refer to "the Commy people." Hear it for yourself here.

History shows that empires rise and fall. And no scripture passage shows this better than Daniel 2:37-42. The Bible in Basic English renders it this way.

"You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory, Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom, lower than you, will come to power; and a third kingdom, of brass, ruling over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing and smashing down all the earth. And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's work and part of iron, there will be a division in the kingdom; but there will be some of the strength of iron in it, because you saw the iron mixed with the potter's earth. And as the toes of the feet were in part of iron and in part of earth, so part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will readily be broken."

Babylon fell, just as Daniel prophesied, to the Medes and Persians. That empire was conquered by Greece. It in turn was conquered by Rome. Rome split in half and both parts later fell.

Theologians differ about the feet of iron and clay in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Some say it represents a world government made of ten, or many, countries. Others say the feet represent the Catholic church. I believe the feet are the governments around the world which all hold the same blasphemous and idolatrous doctrines from the four previous empires.

I'm glad that an empire is coming which will blow all the rest away and never collapse. Daniel 2:43 and 44 (BBE) tells us this encouraging prophecy. "And as you saw the iron mixed with earth, they will give their daughters to one another as wives: but they will not be united one with another, even as iron is not mixed with earth. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will put up a kingdom which will never come to destruction, and its power will never be given into the hands of another people, and all these kingdoms will be broken and overcome by it, but it will keep its place for ever."

If King Jesus hasn't come to usher in this everlasting dominion by Monday, I hope I can publish about one of Neil Diamond's introspective songs.

THE COLD WIND OF FREEDOM.

Remember back in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed? People in satellite countries and former USSR republics immediately found themselves without masters. For the first time in their lives, these folks had to make their own decisions rather than relying upon the government.

Like the former citizens of the Soviet Union, I had to learn quickly how to make my own personal decisions. In many cases, people assumed that I ought to know how to do this without being told. From Deliverance from Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School), here's an excerpt that demonstrates how unprepared I was in 1970 for freedom.

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Because of being cloistered at Jericho, I lacked the social graces and mobility skills which children learn as a matter of course. The culture shock of returning to the public school system proved difficult for me to cope with. The tumult from hundreds of children alone disoriented me. I forgot how loud the hallways became when classes ended. Since we now went to different rooms for every subject, I needed to learn quickly where each was.

As I habitually walked to school when I attended grade one in Fort Saskatchewan, I assumed that I was supposed to travel the same way to my new school. I came in late the first few days since I kept underestimating the time it would take to walk there.

My teacher sent me to the principal's office on the third morning. "You are expected to be in class on time. Why were you late again today?" he demanded as he glared at me through his black horn-rimmed glasses..

"I live fifteen blocks away and it takes a long time to walk that distance."

"Why don't you take the bus then?"

"I don't know how," I admitted as I stared at the floor.

"You'd better learn to take the bus or find a ride with someone. You can't keep coming late to school."

My mobility skills were so deficient that I had no clue regarding how to catch a bus. The first time I tried, I did not know where to deposit the fare. "Stop fooling around," the bus driver demanded as I searched for the box. In desperation, I placed the coins on his hat which he left on the dash board.

Nobody told me that I qualified for a special bus pass which would allow me to ride for free. "Why don't you have a CNIB pass?" one driver asked. "If you can't see well, you should be allowed to have one."

Mom set up an eye exam appointment and, once the proper forms were filled out, I was the proud owner of my own pass. The freedom of not having to pay fifteen cents per ride as well as being able to travel wherever I wanted delighted me.

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Deliverance from Jericho contains many more vignettes of what life was like in that government-run institution. These range from poignant experiences of homesickness to hilarious incidents of mischief. Click here to read more about this compelling story. You may also e-mail me directly if the comment form doesn't work.