June 01 '02
Volume 310
Roaring At Six RRN Completes Another Year
Today, Ridge Rider
News is
I've sought to explain how this newsletter came to be and the purpose behind it in prior writings and will attempt to do so here. In simplest terms, I have hoped to accomplish two things. One being to awaken an interest in persons to correspond with one another through letter writing, and the other stems from a desire to provide a window through which my descendants may catch a glimpse of the life and times of an ancestor and thereby "gain a better understanding into who they are and from whence they came." I probably won't live to see the latter hope realized, and as to the former, I would note only limited success. However, I do receive more written correspondence than I did prior to beginning this newsletter. With this issue, Ridge Rider News begins its seventh year. I doubt anyone is more surprised than this writer that the newsletter has survived this long. Whether it has survived as a result of reader interest and encouragement or sheer determination on the part of the editor is debatable. The words of my sister, spoken within the first few months of the existence of this newsletter, continue to haunt me, "What are you going to do when you run out of stories?" She was referring to oft told family tales and experiences remembered from our childhood days. As I recall, I explained that stories would continue as long as I traveled and kept finding people and places of interest. I suppose it's the "of interest" part that seems to become harder to find with each passing year. On a weekly basis, it's often difficult to produce a newsletter that appeals to the average reader. Therefore, I must occasionally remind myself that the focus is not directed so much toward the present reader as it is toward those who might possibly read the newsletter fifty years hence. That is not to say it's unimportant to regard the interest of today's readers, for it is by the present (and recent past) that I am able to gauge future interest. If the past is any indication of the future, readership of this newsletter will continue to grow. Indeed it has grown from a distribution to three households in 1996 to more than eighty-five households today. By RRN's first anniversary, the newsletter was read by thirty households. The second anniversary issue did not reveal how many households received RRN, but in a historical note dated October of 1998, the note indicated forty-three households, and by June of 1999, readership tallied fifty-three households. The anniversary issue in June of 2000, indicated RRN was read by approximately sixty-three households. A grand total was not projected in June of 2001, but the records indicate no less than the year before. Subscriptions fall into one of three broad classifications, U.S. Mail, E-mail, and Internet with the first two being the most quantitatively identifiable. Each week, sixty-seven copies (an increase of eight over last year) of the Ridge Rider are printed of which sixty-five are stuffed into an envelope, with one given to Barbara's mother, and one filed in a binder for posterity. The bulk of the newsletters stuffed in envelopes are stamped and mailed, but six are hand delivered to family members and friends seen on a regular basis. With computers becoming more and more common in households, more and more persons are finding that being connected to the Internet for personal communications is preferable to other forms of mail service. To illustrate the growth of readers using email to receive this newsletter, consider that as of June 2001, only four persons were receiving RRN through E-mail. Now, in the span of one year the increase is almost five fold for a total of nineteen. Geographically speaking, the readership RRN has also grown during the past year with readers in Oregon and Germany added to the known locations of a year ago. A breakdown of locations follows with more than one household indicated by the number in parentheses: Foreign Countries: Germany Out of State: Georgia (6), Louisiana (2), Tennessee (2), Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon - A total of eighteen households across eleven states. In State: Pontotoc (40), Greenville (2), Thaxton (2), Tupelo (2), Vicksburg (2), Belmont, Brandon, Caledonia, Carrollton, Clinton, Florence, Forest, Greenwood, Gulfport, Indianola, Jackson, New Albany, Okolona, Ripley, Southaven, Starkville, Utica, and West Point - A total of sixty-six Mississippi households. Ridge Rider News is also available to anyone having Internet access. The web-based version of RRN is named Ridge Rider News Online and can be found at the URL www.rrnews.org. Each week, ten to twenty persons visit the website, and of these, perhaps, a handful are regular readers that are not counted in the totals above. Costs associated with producing the newsletter (paper, envelopes, toner, ink for postage meter, meter rental charges, etc.) when added to the postage itself, pushes the cost per newsletter to roughly fifty cents. RRN remains a free publication and will continue to be provided at no cost to the reader until such a time the expenses pose an undue hardship on the publisher. Meanwhile, contributions are accepted and appreciated from individuals who wish to help offset the expense of postage, but no records are kept in this regard. In celebrating the beginning of a new year of publication, this editor, his family, and the staff of RRN invite the families of all readers to join us for a backyard fish fry on July 27, 2002, at the home of the publisher.
Land Of Israel More About The Mideast The following is a continuation of an article from last week, regarding the Middle East, written by Dr. David R. Reagan and shared with us by Powell Prewett. "The True Arab Goal - Then why do the Arabs demand the creation of a Palestinian state within the boundaries of current day Israel? The answer is simple. The real Arab goal is not the establishment of another Palestinian State. The true goal is the destruction of Israel. In fact, Arafat spelled out his current strategy several years ago to the Arab world, and the strategy was adopted officially by the PLO in 1974. It is called "the phased plan." Realizing that he could not defeat Israel with war or terrorism, he decided that the road to victory was deceptive diplomacy. He would talk about peace in return for land, while rallying the anti-Israeli Western powers to put pressure on the Israeli government to capitulate. Once he got a toehold in the land, he would then use that as a base for renewed attacks on Israel. In short, he would take Israel in phases. It is a clever strategy that he has spelled out in detail in many public speeches, just as Hitler outlined his strategy in detail in Mein Kampf. The World's Demand - The world insists that the Jews must trade land for peace. But trading land for peace only whets the appetite of the aggressor. Israel has returned the Sinai to Egypt twice, and the Egyptians are still bristling with hostility toward Israel. Furthermore, Israel doesn't have any territory to give away. It is one of the world's smallest nations. Turning the West Bank over to hostile Arabs would put the enemy of Israel within 11 miles of Tel Aviv. No government in its right mind would agree to such insanity. Why then, did the government of Yitzhak Rabin (the Prime Minister) and Shimon Peres (the Foreign Minister) agree to the initiation of the current peace process? The answer is deception. They were deceived by the PLO and the western nations. Worst of all, they deceived themselves. Their self-deception was rooted in their humanistic view of the world. Keep in mind that there was not a single believer in God among the top circle of Israeli leaders in the Rabin government. They were all either atheists or agnostics. Politically, they were either socialists or liberal humanists. This means that they believed in the basic goodness of Man. Translated into foreign policy, it means that they believed that if they treated their enemies with fairness and trust, their enemies would reciprocate. They simply could not bring themselves to believe that their enemies are determined to destroy them. Imbecilic Policy - Ignoring all the harsh lessons of history, Rabin and Peres embarked on a policy of appeasement, hoping that they could satisfy the appetite of their enemies by giving them land for peace. History proves conclusively that appeasement always has the opposite effect -- namely, it encourages the aggressor to want more. Chamberlain found that out when he tried to satisfy Hitler by trading him the Sudetenland for peace. Chamberlain turned out to be a fool. But Rabin and Peres made Chamberlain look good. After all, he at least was not foolish enough to trade some of the territory of Britain for peace! No, he gave away another nation's land. Rabin and Peres sought to trade their own land, land that puts their sworn enemy in the very heart of their nation. Implacable Enemies - What makes all this particularly ludicrous is the fact that Yasser Arafat does not even attempt to hide his true intentions. He promised that in return for receiving autonomy over Gaza and Jericho he would have the PLO rescind the clauses in its covenant that call for the destruction of Israel. That was five years ago, and he still has not even attempted to get the PLO to amend its charter. Even worse, Arafat continues to speak openly about his intention to take Jerusalem. The ink was hardly dry on the "peace" accord when he gave a speech in South Africa advocating a jihad to "liberate" Jerusalem. A jihad is a holy war! Again, Rabin and Peres made excuses for him, as did the U.S. State Department. They explained that Arafat was just saying what he had to say to placate his Arab enemies, and that he really didn't mean what he was saying. That's exactly what the Western European leaders kept saying about Hitler -- "He doesn't really mean it." Well, he meant it, and so does Arafat. Insolent Allies - The Israeli leaders have also been deceived by the West. The United States and its Western allies have talked the government of Israel into doing something that every Israeli leader in the past said the nation would never do, and that is to place the survival of the country in the hands of foreigners. The Western nations keep whispering soothing assurances that they will "guarantee" the peace. But when the "peace" evaporates into all out war, Israel will discover that the Western world will back off and leave the nation to fend for itself. The bottom line is that Israel is no Kuwait. Israel has no oil, and Israel is full of Jews whom the world hates. The current "peace" process is a prescription for war, and it will be the bloodiest war in the history of the Middle East. I believe it will be a war that will lead up to the climax of the current age, ushering in the Tribulation. The Jews' Resolve - The Jews must stand firm in their determination to maintain the territorial integrity of the land God gave them. In doing so, they will bring the wrath of the nations upon themselves. The prophet Zechariah says that all the nations of the world will come together against Israel in the end time (Zechariah 12:3). But God will sustain the Jewish people, for they are the "apple of His eye" (Zechariah 2:8). The Word of God says Philistia is finished -- "melted away" (Isaiah 14:29-32). And the Word says that once the Jews are reestablished in their land, "they will never be rooted up again" (Amos 9:14-15). Let all the world come together against God's Chosen. The Lord sits in the heavens and laughs (Psalm 2:4), for He has the wisdom and power to orchestrate all the evil of Man to the fulfillment of His purposes (Psalm 76:10). Imminent Scenario - What is likely to happen next? Here is the most likely scenario that I can foresee at the moment. Arafat will die (he is in bad health) or will be assassinated, and Hamas, the fundamentalist Arab terrorist organization funded by Iran, will take over control of the Palestinian autonomous areas. Hamas will then unleash a renewed reign of terror on Israel, lobbing rockets from Gaza and Jericho to back up their demand for control of Jerusalem. If Arafat manages to remain alive, he will go after the same objective, using more subtle means. He will orchestrate world pressure on Israel through the United Nations and the Vatican. On May 4 of next year he will proclaim a Palestinian state and then demand that Jerusalem be "liberated" or internationalized. Since even the most liberal Israelis take the position that Jerusalem is nonnegotiable, the pressure will mount toward an inevitable conflict. If Hamas does not unleash the rockets first, then Arafat will ultimately return to the method he knows best -- terror. This will prompt an Israeli counter attack, which, in turn, will motivate the Arab states to come to the defense of the Palestinians. Syria will launch an all out missile attack on Tel Aviv, using the Scuds it has been purchasing from North Korea. When that ominous event occurs, the Israelis will be forced to use their ultimate weapon to survive. They will strike Damascus with nuclear weapons. This will fulfill the prophecies that state that Damascus will cease to exist in the end times (Isaiah 17:1-3 and Jeremiah 49:23-27). In panic, the Arab states will then turn to their natural ally for help -- the Russians. And the likelihood is that by that time Russia will be firmly in the hands of either a military dictatorship or a despot like Vladimir Zhirinovsky who would be only too happy to send an army into the Middle East to destroy Israel (and grab the Arab oil fields in the process). That is when the Lord will step in personally to destroy the Russian hordes on the mountains of Israel in a supernatural way so that even the Israelis will realize that their deliverance came from the Lord and not from their own military might (Ezekiel 38 and 39). As the whole world panics on the brink of World War III, a dynamic, charismatic political leader from Europe will step into the vacuum and propose an ingenious solution that will result in peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors -- a peace that will enable the Jews to rebuild their Temple. We live in exciting times when we can watch prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes. The events are ominous and overwhelming, but we can stand firm with great hope because we know that God is on His throne and that He is in control. The events we are currently witnessing point to the imminent return of Yeshua, and when He returns, the world will be flooded with peace and righteousness, and Israel will enjoy the blessings of territorial integrity and peace forevermore (Zechariah 8:1-8)."
Bodock Beau Eternal Truths I can't say that all of the following are true, but one may find them reasonably entertaining. ETERNAL TRUTHS
Contributed by Bing Crausby Copyright © 2000 - 2002 RRN Online.
|
six years old. Today's volume number is 310 and represents
the total number of issues to date. In the early months of this publication
no attempt was made to produce a newsletter every week, yet by the end of
the second year, issues were weekly and for several years have been posted
with a Saturday publication date.