Bert Hielema–Columns and Writings

There is that famous Angel Song, performed, high in the sky, in the outskirts of Bethlehem at the moment when Jesus was born.

Their words were simple: “”Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Yes, the words are simple, but their meaning is profound: In one sentence the entire future message of the Christ child, just born, is outlined: He is to give glory to God in his life, and bring peace on earth to God’s children there.

Yes, you read it correctly: The angel-message, straight from heaven, dictated by God to relay to us, haughty humans, is that Jesus, God’s Son, has been born, came to earth, lived some 33 years there, and died a cruel death. His task? “To bring Peace on Earth.

How and why?

The Answer: John 3: 16 unambiguously says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Observation:  If Christ lived and died to bring ‘Peace on Earth’, should our aim in life not be the same? Shouldn’t our primary task also be to ‘love the cosmos’ as Jesus did? Live in peace with the earth? Curiously, the angels did not mention that Christ died to atone for our sins. Curiously, there is no mention of heaven, but the only emphasis is “Peace on Earth”.

Peace of Earth?

Look at our world! Now. Today. Look, how wars in many variations rage: Shooting Wars in Europe, in the Middle East, Africa and Asia; Environmental War world wide; Human Mind War through AI; Religious Wars in the Church. If there ever was a need for comprehensive Peace, it is today.

So, what does the Bible say? What does Jesus tell us?

Here is what Jesus says.

Jesus saw as his core message, as recorded in John 10:10: “I have come to bring you LIFE and that to the full.” Life means total life: body, soul, spirit. On earth. “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to mankind” Psalm 115: 16 tells us.

“The highest Heaven” phrase, reminds me of Paul, the apostle summoned on the Road to Damascus. In order to bring him up-to-date, Paul, as related in 2 Corinthians 12, was ‘caught up in the third heaven’. People then saw heaven as pictured in three phases – the air below the ozone layer is ‘one’; the air where the heaven bodies dwell is ‘two’, and where God dwells as ‘three’, beyond the observable. The, highest heaven belongs to God: nobody else.

Where do we go, when we die?

Writes Daniel 12: 13: “”As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” Jesus always calls death ‘sleep’.

Another biblical given is John 3:13, where Jesus tells Nicodemus: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man” (NIV).  

Another example: “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” John 13:33.

 So why this heaven heresy?

The heaven heresy has become a ‘meme’, a piece of media, that has spread rapidly, without any direct biblical proof.

The generally accepted notion that, upon death, we go to heaven, is wrong. It is based on Greek – Platonic – thinking. Socrates, as recorded by Plato, drank the poison, because he believed that death is the fulfillment of life. We now too have adopted the Heaven Heresy, the widespread notion that we can never know the absolute meaning of life while we live, only finding fulfillment in heaven.

The “‘heaven’ heresy” usually refers to the widely held modern misconception that the ultimate, eternal destination for Christians is a disembodied existence in a faraway place called heaven, a pure Gnostic notion, where matter is seen as evil and spirit as divine. Socrates believed that. Many Christians do, too.

Why do we prefer Gnosticism? It gives us both the cake – an easy, fossil-fuel fed life – and the prospect of God’s heavenly nearness forever, be it somewhat uniform and unexciting – “robed in white apparel “– as a well-known song has it.

Peace on earth.

The angels sang the song of songs: “Peace on Earth”, a prelude to Jesus’ mission, a message deeply rooted in the biblical narrative, and utterly relevant to the state of the world 2026.

The bible relates how God created and, upon completion, called it good seven times. That ‘good’ creation is now in danger. Man-made danger, I should add. But God, in his goodness, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice, will renew the universe, as the last Bible book relates.

Rejoice. Christ will totally correct our mistreatment of his world:  He will bring PEACE ON EARTH.

INTELLIGENCE: FINITE AND INFINITE.

Intelligence: what is it?

Intelligence is, as many words in the European languages, derived from two Latin sources: Inter and Lego: ‘inter’ meaning ‘between’, and ‘Lego’ meaning ‘I read’. Basically, it means: ‘Reading between the lines’.

“Reading between the lines”, suggests a psychological approach. And ‘psychology’ calls for knowledge of the human character, and also general insight into the persons’ background and circumstances. In other words: the concept of intelligence is quite a complicated matter.

The general meaning of intelligence tends to indicate ‘being brain-smart’. Most countries, however, explain ‘intelligence’ differently. Special government departments have the name ‘Intelligence’ in them, such as the CIA in the USA, CSIS in Canada, MI5 and MI6 in Great Britain. These agencies specialize in obtaining ‘intelligence’ from and about foreign nations and persons seen as hostile to the country’s goals.

I, however, distinguish between Infinite Intelligence, and Finite Intelligence.

There is no doubt that these two exist. One example of Infinite Intelligence is creation, is God’s direct act of calling matter into existence. How he did that remains a mystery. Psalm 33: 9 gives us a hint: “God spoke and it came into being”, that explains verse 5: “The earth is full of his unfailing love”, which is confirmed in John 3: 16, “God so loved the world, a love exceeding his love for his Son. Believing in God’s love for creation (and us loving it in turn) makes us eligible for eternal life.” Infinite Intelligence does that. Please note: God’s love is not primarily for the church, or for the Bible, or for us, but for his Creation.

That same Intelligence is evident in the person of Daniel, and by virtue of Daniel, in God’s children today and in the past.

Here’s why: (Daniel 5: 11): There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father, he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods.

That text gives us also a clue to true intelligence: it is of divine, infinite origin, also confirmed in the well-known text: “The fear of the Lord is the onset of wisdom.” That ‘fear’ is not a negative ‘anxiety’, but a positive ‘awe’.

And then there is Finite Intelligence, Intelligence that leads to death.

Today the word ‘Intelligence’ is most prominently featured in AI, meaning Artificial Intelligence. The pursuers of perfecting the expansion of the Google search machine, are aiming for the same goal as the builders of The Tower of Babel: dominance of Creation, God’s handiwork, an attempt bound to fail.

I do question the word ‘artificial’. I live in an area where ‘flowers’ are a main industry, genuine flowers, started from seed, and grown with care. Artificial flowers are immediately detected, because they feel different and lack aroma. So it is with AI: not original, not a product of God’s ‘wisdom’, but with an immense need for polluting energy, a never-satisfied thirst for electric power, already in short supply, and may cause world-wide blackouts.

Here’s what I read this week:

“The world could be pulled into recession by the force of energy inflation, even if (the Iran) conflict subsides soon”. These events might pop the A.I. bubble that is keeping the American economy afloat. A food crisis to dwarf the one that followed the invasion of Ukraine could follow, as the Iran war disrupts not just the price of food but also the global flow of fertilizer — another product of fossil fuels — on the brink of planting season.”

That’s what “Finite Intelligence” could do to us.

There also is another distinction: Where Infinite Intelligence – a gift of God – leads to greater wisdom, Finite Intelligence may lead to more stupidity.

My use of calculators has certainly stymied my math skills, while my use of mapping services has allowed my (already poor) sense of direction to diminish further. AI may simplify writing, but it cannot replace the messy, difficult work of being human, of trying to write a blog that tries to reflect a Christ-centred approach to today’s events.

I have no idea what God’s foolishness is – perhaps saving people like me – but I think that human wisdom is culminating in AI, the accumulation of all human knowledge, obtained by skimming off the cream of human know-how and calling it ‘intelligence’. The designation of ‘artificial’ is added, which is an admission that it is not the real thing.

The concept of ‘intelligence’ should be further examined. Can it also apply to non-humans? Does a tree have intelligence? Does an animal have it? Is the cosmos the source of intelligence? There is increasing insight into the make-up of elephants and whales, how these large animals display thought patterns, and can figure out solutions to complicated issues.

In my book, Day without End, I describe a soccer game between tigers and lions, assuming strategy and intense cooperation. Was that warranted?

I believe AI dulls our minds, as calculators robbed us of mental arithmetic, and Google maps resulted in us missing out on seeing landmarks and natural phenomena?

Our lives are training grounds for the New Creation. Harness that Holy Intelligence now.

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. Proverbs 28:15.

OF COURSE, THE BIBLE IS A PROPHETIC BOOK.

I don’t know about you, but I believe that the Bible book, Proverbs, contains a lot of wisdom, true for all ages, including the era we live in, where Trump is a perfect example of a wicked ruler over a helpless nation.

Helpless?

Yes. Humanity, especially the USA and Canada, has become totally dependent on fossil fuel, the same substance that cemented the stones of the now infamous Tower of Babel, which caused a world-wide upheaval. That very substance has thrown not only the earth out of balance, but also has distorted us, humans. Let’s face it: We have painted ourselves into a corner, to put it mildly. We, in our arrogance, have built our total life on a substance that not only is finite but also highly poisonous. Now also…..

The Earth’ economy is out-of-wack.

 The earth is out of balance.

That’s the message from a United Nations report released last Sunday that looked at how much energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth or reflected back into space.

Researchers found the gap between the two is the biggest since measurements began in 1960, meaning more of the sun’s heat energy is now staying on Earth. And that energy imbalance is heating up the oceans, atmosphere, and frozen regions of the world.

The amount of heat we are putting into the oceans, is equivalent to about 5 (five) Hiroshima atom bombs of energy every second. How long can this continue, until fire destroys all?

And the economy?

We are now in a global fossil fuel crisis. Oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf are unable to reach international markets due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Now hydrocarbon prices have been soaring around the world and widespread shortages are emerging.   This current war reminds me of World War I. It too was waged, mainly for commercial reasons: Germany – the foolish Kaiser (Trump today)– and Imperial Great Britain, who ruled the seas. That war started in August 1914, and was supposed to be over quickly ? possibly by Christmas. It ended up lasting until November, 1918.   War. “War has its own logic”, Margaret McMillan, Canada’s famous historian, wrote last week:” Once you start it, you don’t know where it’s going to go.” And Trump? Mentally Troubled Trump? His impulsive problems are clearly evident as he remains deeply committed to killing renewable energy, especially wind power, while increasing America’s reliance on fossil fuels. The man is so full of himself, that there is no place for anything else, except his outdated views. He has no clue that:

Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

Revelation 18:10.

Here is what one astute commentator wrote.

We’re going to crash. No other outcome is conceivable. We’re going to suffer a very long-lasting, perhaps even permanent, loss of 25% or more of our energy consumption, and it’s going to happen over the next few months. We’re going to see a good portion of our industries collapse, never to recover. We’re going to see unemployment skyrocket. And in the advanced stages of this debacle, we’re going to see shortages of fuel and even food.

That is a likely scenario.

Right now, we’re losing around 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day, which is about 20% of global consumption and, more importantly for us, represents 40% of the oil available for export. There’s also a shortage of about 20% of liquefied natural gas, 30% of nitrogen fertilizers, 30% of helium, 30% of aluminum, and 30% of sulfur (which is needed to make sulfuric acid for industrial processes, including copper extraction). This is not going to be just another crisis. This is going to be an economic catastrophe. Combined with the bursting of the enormous financial bubbles that have inflated over the last few years, it’s difficult to grasp the magnitude of what’s about to happen.

And that is happening when the world’s weather is weird. 

Combine this with runaway climate change and a multitude of other environmental problems, don’t think that there will be an orderly and controlled decline. That’s why the Bible is a prophetic document.

Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

Revelation 18:10.

And Trump? Mentally Troubled Trump?

In his desperation, he could quite well resort to the ultimate means at his disposal: use the Hydrogen Bomb, and eradicate the Iran nation. Don’t be surprised that he will use this ultimate human weapon, and set not only the Middle East ablaze, but literally the entire world.

J. H. Bavinck, in his book on Revelation, And On and On the Ages Roll, pictures a similar ending. In it he describes a foolish ruler using the ultimate weapon, and I quote: “There is only on solution, one radical and total cure: a nuclear bomb.”

If you have a Bible, look up 2 Peter 2: 10.

IS THE BIBLE A PROPHETIC BOOK? OF COURSE.

OPEN MY EYES, LORD.

A prayer.

Many decades ago, my wife bought a book, called NEW PRAYERS, written by a French Roman Catholic priest, Michel Quoist. These prayers are unequaled in beauty and tenderness. I have attempted, falteringly I should add, to compose such a prayer, reflecting on the present perilous period. My gut feelings tell me that today’s conditions resemble what Jesus describes in Matthew 24.

My Prayer.

Open my eyes, Lord, to see beyond the waving trees, beyond the racing clouds, the world as it is developing before you return.

Now, when I scan the world’s newspapers, all I read is of war and turmoil, schools bombed and young women killed, leaders assassinated, with hardly a mention of the innocent bystanders, the ruptured families, the homes destroyed, the trees eradicated, the soil utterly soiled.

Open my eyes, Lord, to see, beyond what the pictures show, the good being done by the struggling few, the meals given out, the hesitant hoes in tiny garden plots, trying to wedge out the weeds, attempting to provide sound food for stomachs eager to forestall the long-distance trek from countries far away.

Open my eyes, Lord, to fathom the curse of today’s table, stacked with ultra-processed products, advertised in the name of nutrition, but benefitting the large corporations, and the world of advertising, while filling the corridors of the houses of healing.

Lord, it is not easy to be a Christian today, our efforts to live the Life of wholeness, the way of Truth and equity, as the bombs fall, and the drones dazzle, and the precision-guided weapons reach their targets, directed from darkened corners, faraway, impersonally manoeuvred, powered by Artificial Intelligence. It’s all so unreal, so inhuman, so mechanical.

Lord, it’s easy to be a Christian if we expect to go to heaven, eager to leave this wicked earth behind, sporting these white, dazzling robes, on the shores of the Sea of Chrystal, after having depleted the earth of its essentials, filling it with our toys and killing machines.

Lord, it’s hard to be a human today. It’s hard to be a loving person. It’s hard not to pollute, it’s hard to love the world, for whose total redemption, whose complete restoration you gave your bruised body, after suffering your entire life.

Lord, when will you come back? You promised that, for the sake of the saints, the time of suffering will be shortened. Is my daily prayer of Maranatha, uttered in vain?

Lord, you have granted me many, many years of life, and a wonderful quintet of offspring, all happily married, as I was, all having beautiful children and children’s children, all well-formed and prosperous. How do I tell them that, according to the Bible, all life will suddenly, abruptly, without warning, end?

Lord, we now live in these ending times, where, rather than carefully cherish the creatures you allowed to develop, today war and revolution, strife and disarray, dominate the world and destruction and elimination rule, and with it what we euphemistically call, collateral damage: families torn apart, historic sites vanished, soil forever poisoned, cattle crushed, and the list goes on.

Lord, we now live in these ending times, where having children becomes a rarity, where villages vanish, where culture collapses, where insecurity increases, where a magnified fool on a golf-course, rules the roost and, literally calls the shots, setting off a cascade of crimes.

Lord, we now live in these ending times, in times where the weather feels the uncertainty and magnifies its erratic outcome, where the air loses its purity, where the oceans heat up and angrily accelerate the formation of ever more deadly disasters.

Lord, will we ever learn? Will the roaring winds, the multiplication of increasingly stronger hurricanes and tornadoes, give us pause to reflect and wonder why?

Lord, is it possible to imagine the real future, when faith will be sight, when you return to ban the maladies we have created: the inequality, the few billionaires, the many paupers, the privileged us – me included – and the many others, often destitute and without vision?

Lord, have we, as church, brought the wrong message? Have we, as collective Christians, failed to prepare us for an eternity where the lamb and the lion loiter together, glorifying in Your presence? Have we, as Christian Community, succumbed to Religion, the pious do’s and don’ts, and, perhaps, forgotten, or perhaps shunned your command to love Creation? Have we avoided your message to embrace LIFE and that to full, LIFE in Capital Letters, engaging mind, body and soul in a continuous collage of experiences, seeing and feeling, observing and embracing your Holy created World in her entirety?

That’s what our future is. For that you promised eternal life. Do we really desire that, as we wallow in wealth already?

Open my eyes, Lord, to expect and embrace your future: New Heavens and a New Earth where ‘righteousness’ rules.

ALL IS WELL, THAT ENDS WELL.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

                                                      Matthew 5: 48.

The Greek word for ‘perfect’ is very poorly translated: “teleios’ has at its root “telos” which means “end” or “goal”, so the proper translation of Jesus’ words, should be: “Always keep the END in mind, as Jesus did”.

That brings me to the very end of the Scriptures, the book of Revelation, where the Telos, the End, is described.

“Revelation”, that last Bible book, tells a fascinating story, engaging, but also, mysterious. And, as the title suggests, revealing, revealing the complete final destruction of the world, the world we live in, the world today, the world of AI, the world of nuclear bombs, the world capable of self-destruction, the world where ‘religion’ kills, as is the case in Iran today.

The word is an Old English word: apocalipsin, via Old French and ecclesiastical Latin from Greek apokalupsis, meaning ‘uncover, reveal’.

Some years ago, I translated a book, written by a Dutch Professor of Missions at the Amsterdam-based Free University, Dr. J. H. Bavinck, dealing with this last Bible book. In it, this theologian, writing more than 50 years ago, examined the status of the church and the world in the times of the end, but before the “final finish”.

I believe that ‘the final finish’ is now at hand, which suggests a new approach, an approach reflecting ‘the end of the church, and the world’, as we have distorted it. Frankly, of course, my interpretation.

Jesus, and The End.

Even from a casual look at what Jesus said – he did not leave anything written – it is plain that Jesus was obsessed with “The End”: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4: 17).

Jesus was right, of course, because with death human development and memory stop, and the next conscious experience is, indeed, ‘The Kingdom’. Well, if Jesus was so engaged with “The Telos”, the End, shouldn’t we do the same? After all, the Kingdom is, after death, our immediate experience.

This reality – the Kingdom being always near – calls for a new approach for the church and life, because that Kingdom, although ‘from’ heaven, is not ‘in’ heaven: it brings ‘Peace on Earth’.

That’s why this peace, the reality of perfection, must pervade our earthly enterprise, from exploring art, to new ways of music, to scientific studies, to genuine fun and entertainment, in a word: originality and ingenuity, from examining the human psyche, to composing the perfect paragraph.

No wonder, Dietrich Bonhoeffer called himself an Anthropos Teleios, a human being who keeps ‘the end’ always in mind. That, too, I try to be my mindset, following Jesus’ example.

The ’end’ is the New Creation.

There the best will be bettered; there all possibilities will be achieved, there the end will never come again, as the human brain will exceed AI, a human device, which will fade away as smoke dissolves in the purifying air.

I list these categories for a reason. The church today, in general, is monopolized by the Bible, and considers it as the exclusive “Word of God.” Which is not true. Karl Barth, the 20^th Century most famous theologian, distinguished the Three-fold word: the word written, the word preached, the word incarnate. So, only Jesus, the word ‘made flesh’, and Creation, can be regarded as the Word of God. Bonhoeffer echoed this concept, broadening this definition when Dr. Sabine Dramm summarized his teaching with: “What Bonhoeffer presents as specific to the Christian faith is the perception of God and the world as one.”

Life cannot go on as it is now.

I sincerely believe that our current way of life is unsustainable. Just as our bodies are only a heart-beat away from eternity, so, our planet is only one degree Celsius away from burning to a crisp. The danger of Methane erupting in the Arctic, is real and imminent. The danger of a planet destroying nuclear war, is real and imminent. The danger of the world economy facing a collapse of finances, with unsustainable debts, is real and imminent.

All this indicates that, somehow, as Jesus told us, we must live LIFE and that to the full – John 10: 10 – in preparation of eternity. Not a life ruled by sport events, or glorifying in family life, or indulging in the pursuit of such fleeting objects as money or recognition. No. Our life and our intentions must be focused on the coming of the Kingdom that glorious perfection for whose redemption Christ gave his life, as beautifully expressed in John 3. There Jesus gave a private lesson to a leader of the church. Yes, Jesus loves the church: that’s why this episode is in the Bible.

The end, the Telos, is like the beginning, the Garden of Eden, only more so. And we? We will be wiser and wised, affirming that “All is well, that Ends well”.

TODAY’S RISE AND FALL OF THE TOWER OF BABEL.

(Published with a degree of trepidation)

I used to be a heavy smoker, so addicted that, at times, buying cigarettes had priority over food. I quit, fortunately, 65 years ago, when I saw a friend dying of lung cancer, no more appetite, but inhaling that nicotine drug till the last breath. I decided that this was no Christian way to die, and took up running, even training for a Marathon, which I never ran. There was a time when smoking was an accepted habit. There was also a time when abusing creation was seen as normal.

 I stopped smoking, and my wife and I and our 2 young kids went on a three-week camping trip, to help me fight that addiction, and, thank God, I prevailed. Can I also kick the ‘creation-abuse’ addiction?

I wonder, ‘Were the executives of the tobacco industry guilty of murder?’ They did know the consequences of tobacco use. Are our industry and political leaders also guilty of creational abuse? Pursuing ‘growth’ at all costs?

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

That is a passage from Corinthians 1: 15-20, one of the most poetic and revealing portions of Scripture, placing Christ at the centre of the entire universe. All Things! The Greek says: Ta Panta, everything, all items created by God through Jesus, the Son, who was and is and is to come.

If I interpret the signs of the times correctly, then this reconciliation is about to happen, as the Middle East, where, supposedly, life, that is Biblical Life, began, today has  definite ‘end’-time’ features. Just look, how this entire region is in the clutches of death, in the throes of evil, in the embrace of the Enemy of old, aiming for destruction, gearing up for elimination.

Why?

The world has chosen Greed over Creed. It has adopted the opposite of Integer Vitae: instead, it has accepted enmity against God’s Holy Creation, has endorsed anarchy because of an erroneous interpretation of religion, seeing matter as evil, spirit as good, heaven as the goal, the earth as disposable. The Tower of Babel syndrome never disappeared: it lay dormant for centuries, to resurrect itself some 200 years ago.

Today a lack of basic equality, a fundamental failure of understanding the rights of all that lives, all created matter, has caused the continuation of ‘The Tower of Babel’ syndrome. It now basically guarantees the end of history, and heralds the dawn of the New Beginning.

Our quest to dominate creation, as evident in The Tower of Babel, has never stopped. Rather than observing the rhythm of the universe, and live by the natural development of nature, rather than obey the laws of creation, we have discarded caution and ridiculed efforts to be environmentalists. All this is evident in the Middle East that still contains the physical presence of that infamous structure: The Tower of Babel.

Today this symbol re-appears in the fossil fuel that dominates our present machine of life, and is the leading factor in its imminent death. The original quest to ‘be like God’, never ceased: it merely took a detour, and is now visible in its death throws, playing out in the original region of The Tower of Babel.

Guess who will win?

It seems to me that Revelation 18 correctly predicts “The Fall of Babylon”, Babylon the empire synonymous with Babel. The aim of Babel, as found in Genesis 11, is to be like God. This goal has never disappeared. We now too have the dominating language. We now too reach for universality, embodied in AI, in essence the human claim to be like God.

Today, anno 2026, Babylon is personified in our economy. Our economy, despite growing increase in renewables, still runs on Mediterranean Oil, now becoming the object of military possession. It is human nature to destroy what it desires most – look at the way we treat creation. The current crisis in the Middle East will lead to “The Fall of Babylon”, the demise of the world economy.

Here is the glaring description of that situation: In one hour she has been brought to ruin (Rev. 18:19).

Our economy anno 2026, is an intricate entity: the failure of one part guarantees the failure of all parts. Revelation 18 is a prelude to Revelation 19, which has, in my Bible, as heading: HALLELUJAH! It clearly signals the glorious TELOS, the destination of God’s people.

So, be upbeat. The news is glorious. What we are witnessing has been foretold in minute detail. Time is rushing on. Those who build their lives on continuing growth, and increasing prosperity, will see their prospects shattered. Therefore: Pray without ceasing. Maranatha, Parousia, the ultimate destruction of the Tower of Babel is at hand, replaced by God’s New Creation.