Glenn – No Beauty In The Beast – Israel Without Her Mascara

158TEN GOOD MENTen Good MenThey huddled together, quiet as church mice, afraid to even breathe, lest their presence and location bebetrayed. Behind locked doors they sat, paralyzed with fear after witnessing the manner in which theirleader had been tortured and murdered by members of the establishment whose bloodlust and viciousnessseemed to have no boundaries. Their hearts pounded like drums, and the fear in their souls rose likeflood waters whenever voices or footsteps grew louder with the approach of those who were millingabout outside. They were marked men themselves, and knew that if even one of them were to show hisface in public, he would be hunted down, tried as a revolutionary, and subjected to the same abominableflavor of “justice” that their leader had suffered. They had good reason to be afraid, for they had witnessedfirst hand just how far the establishment was willing to go in putting down their War for Independence,as well as the amount of blood it was willing to shed for the furtherance of its agenda. And so, that night,as the book says, they, the disciples, “were together with the doors locked, for fear of the Jews...”Tonight’s scene is quite a departure from that which took place a few nights before. Those who tonightsit shivering in fear are the same who a few nights ago protested with all the boldness and brashness ofa cocky street scrapper as their leader predicted the manner in which they would all flee like cowards inhis most desperate hour. The three years they had spent in his presence should have been enough toconvince them that his prediction would come to pass, since he had on countless occasions demonstratedwhat was a vastly superior intellect and penchant for keen foresight. Nevertheless, in extremeoverestimation of their own human limits, they challenged his words with an admixture of indignationand dread, perhaps out of pride, perhaps out of ignorance concerning just what it was that lay beforethem that night.Some things never seem to change, and one thing that has remained the same since the time of Jerusalemof 33 AD and now has been mankind’s clumsiness in recognizing the signs of the times for what theyreally are. As such, those who were gathered that night envisioned an event that would be the start of thewar for independence that the prophets of old had predicted. They expected that later that evening, theman who had raised the dead, healed the sick and fed 5,000 would bring Israel’s enemies low with thewave of his magic hand. In their mind’s eye, those who sat eating bread and wine with the carpenterfrom Nazareth would be part of an event which would make them heroes in the years to come. Thereality of the situation is that they were completely right and completely wrong. All these things wouldtake place, but not necessarily as they had envisioned it. The problem for them was that in taking theshort view of things, they had formulated a completely inaccurate picture of what the loomingconfrontation was to be that night, and so, when he allowed his enemies to take him away withoutresisting, they were taken completely by surprise, and that surprise was what led to their being routedoff of the battle field.It is 2,000 years later, and, like the freedom fighters of Jerusalem, 33 AD, the great great great grandchildrenof those who sat shivering and quivering can today themselves be found doing the same thing, togetherwith doors locked, for fear of the Jews...Today’s Apocalyptically minded Christians, visibly prevalent more and more every day can be said tobe afflicted with the same vision problems as were the Apostles of Jerusalem 33 AD. Given the timeswhich mark modern day events, the bulk of what calls itself Christianity is standing with upturned eyes,awaiting the event which will announce the sign of the times and the commencement of the great battle