Hi Friend,

Do you want an example of how fast the world is changing? Rummaging through the books on my parent’s bookshelf I found a history textbook my mother used in school when she was about 10 years old. Mom was born in 1915. The textbook “The Beginners American History” was copyrighted in 1902.

One paragraph that caught my eye explains how much the world of communication has changed. One of the chapter headings is “How they sent the news of the completion of the Erie Canal to New York City” The author writes, “The Erie Canal, in the state of New York, connects the Hudson River at Albany with Lake Erie at Buffalo. It is the greatest work of the kind in America, and was completed many years ago. When the water was let into the canal from the lake, the news was flashed from Buffalo to New York City by a row of cannon, about five miles apart, which were fired as rapidly as possible, one after the other. The first canon was fired at Buffalo at ten o’clock in the morning; the last was fired at New York at half-past eleven. In an hour and a half the sound had traveled over five hundred miles. Everybody said that was wonderfully quick work; but today we could send the news in less than a minute. The man who found out how to do this was Samuel F. B. Morse.” To the people who lived in 1902 that was amazing news.

The Erie Canal opened in about 1825 and the telegraph was invented about ten years later. The world of communication changed in one fell swoop. We are less than 200 years from the completion of the Erie Canal, a feat which opened America to move past the Appalachian Mountains into the west. By comparison, Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt lived less than 2,000 years before the founding of America. But Pharoah Menes, who is credited for building the first pyramid of Egypt, lived 3,000 years before Cleopatra. You are closer to the last Pharaoh of Egypt than she was to the first Pharoah. The Pharaoh’s existed for over 3,000 years and America is barely 200 years old. We live in a world that is changing so rapidly it would not be recognizable for the ancients, and probably not to my grandparents.

That thought came to mind as Donna and I were talking over a morning cup of coffee as we made plans for the Winter Family Weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. “You better call the Marriott to make reservations,” she quipped, “or we will have to buy a winter tent to set up in the parking lot.” Within a couple minutes her cell phone sounded the familiar “ding” announcing a new message. It was an advertisement for winter tents.

This was the first time in my life I have ever seen an ad for a winter tent. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until Donna mentioned it. Technology has come a long way since the days of Samuel F. B. Morse. Call me paranoid but I suspect someone may be listening to our conversations.

Where will all this lead? There are a few relevant prophecies that are becoming clear to 21st century man that could not have been understood by previous generations. The Apostle John writes about a time when two men will speak to the entire world. Jesus could speak to about 15,000 people without a microphone or a radio. There were no cell phones then. Internet did not exist so it took months before the message could expand to other geographic areas. How many people saw Jesus in the flesh? But John says these two men will be seen by the whole world. He writes, “Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies for thee-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.” (Rev. 11:9) How can people from diverse areas of the earth all see the same event at the same time? Past generations of mankind could not have foreseen the power of modern technological advances.

If current events and ancient prophecies are related, the significance may only be understood by those who study the Bible. It says that there is a God who knows the future. After all, only God could have told the Prophet Daniel what world ruling empires would exist for the next 2,500 years. It may be surprising to know that Daniel could not understand his own prophecies as well as we do because the fulfillment did not happen until centuries after Daniel lived. Yet they are history to us.

One of the great proofs of the existence of God is prophecy. Mankind may be on the verge of seeing proof that there is no other God than the God of the Bible. His words are coming to life before our eyes.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien