A PAUSE FOR THE KEYSER SOZE MOMENT 


The movie Atomic Blonde is an almost direct steal of the plot twist presented by the movie The Usual Suspects.  That movie revolves around a police interview with the only survivor of a group of criminals who meet in a line-up and decide to form a gang to commit robberies.  In the process of the interview, the survivor, "Verbal", a man with a handicap, reveals the involvement of an almost legendary crime figure who has never been identified who members of the gang have, throughout their careers insulted or stolen from.  Keyser Soze's character   resembles Moriarty, the criminal mastermind of the Sherlock Holmes stories.  By the end of the movie, Verbal has cast the shadow of suspicion on the "smart" member of the gang. The police release Verbal telling him not to leave town and he whines about how he is a dead man like the rest of the gang.  As he is leaving, the detective he has been talking to suddenly realizes that Verbal has been using items in the detective's office for the names of other criminals in the plot and sees that Verbal has been fooling him all along.  We see Verbal walking away from the police station, gradually changing the way he walks to a normal gait and like a chameleon leaving one color area for another changing his "colors". Viewers  suddenly realizes they have been fooled all along, that Verbal IS Keyser Soze.  The entire movie has been a study in misdirection.

In the Nov. 20 issue of  Time magazine Writer Kristin van Ogtrop  talks about her moment of realizing her black Labrador retriever rescue dog was really in control when she thought she was:

"That they're just pretending to obey, while getting exactly what they want?  It's like that moment at the end of The Usual Suspects when you realize the dopey guy who was sitting across the desk for nearly two hours may actually be Keyser Soze, elusive mastermind,  And then the earth shifts on its axis, just a smidge."

And so it was for me in discussing the ideas of an ice age and climate change/warming, that I picked up that  Nov. 20 Time magazine and found the Essay by van Ogtrop and the cover story on French president Emmanuel Macron titled "At Home in the World" and the cover blurb "THE NEXT LEADER OF EUROPE*  footnote *If only he can lead France."  An interview with  the 39-year old President. Who could also pass as the Antichrist.







A former investment banker, Macron was the Economic Minster of France but quit to form his own political movement, En Marche!,  a populist movement, which took control of the government after Macron was elected.  He seeks to be an international leader and thrust France into that role with the EU.  He has organized a meeting in December of 100 countries countries in Paris to discuss climate change.   He has made a point of mentioning  Trump who is NOT invited and won't be there "except if you get this big announcement coming from himself that he has decided to join the club."

"The 'club', of course, comprises every other country on the planet, now that even Syria has pledged to join the Paris Agreement on climate change, which was negotiated in ...2015 to drastically rein in carbon emissions and stave off disastrous global warming.  Since Trump alone has rejected the agreement and vowed to cancel the U.S.'s  climate commitments, much of the responsibility foir leading this club has fallen to the erudite young Frenchman who has only just begun his career as an elected politician...'Today, de facto, we are part of the global leadership on climate change,' he says,..."I want us to be part of the global leadership on the economy and on finance, on ther digital environment.  I think we have a very important leadership to play on multilateralism.'"

Part of my KS moment occurred here.  The climate change issue forms one base from which the
Antichrist can unite his alliance.  It gives him a platform on which to establish his eventual kingdom.  And a USA crippled by a climate event offers the worst case scenario on which to launch a very real invasion of anyone perceived as violating any agreed upon industrial limits.

With the US shrinking its international role, Merkel seeking to rebuild her German government after a shaky victory for her national leader  and Britain in a mess, trying to figure out how to tactfully and successfully withdraw from the EU, France is positioned to be the leader Macron sees it being.

To "save France", Macron has rewritten labor laws and his popularity fell to 48% in a recent Harris Poll,  He has rushed through laws on labor, terrorism and taxes.  These are also laws that reach into international concerns, especially terrorism.  He has criticized Trump backing out of the Iran nuclear deal.

"Macron says Trump appears to have no alternative suggestions to replace those pacts.  "You cannot renegotiate with more than 180 or 190 countries,"  he says about Trump's withdrawal from the climate deal, and then speaks as though he is addressing Trump: 'You disagree with that, but what's your plan B?  I don't know your plan B.'

On Iran:

"He and Trump spoke by phone about Iran in October arguing for Trump to keep supporting U.S. involvement in the deal or else see Iran sprint for a nuclear weapon.  'I just said, "What's your option? What do you want to propose?"  If you want to stop any relation with Iran regarding nuclear activity, you will create a new North Korea," he says.  "What's your other option?  To launch war. to attack Iran?  It would be crazy."

His ideas for Europe from his speech days after his address to the UN the same day Trump spoke  :

http://www.euronews.com/2017/09/26/watch-live-french-president-emmanuel-macron-set-to-outline-his-eu-reform-plans

The French President Emmanuel Macron has set out a wide-ranging vision for European Union reform. His address on the future of Europe called for enhanced cooperation and harmonisation on the economy, immigration and defence, the environment, security and terrorism, tax and international development.

The president called for a major overhaul of the eurozone with – as expected – a separate budget and finance minister for the single currency. Macron said the reform was key to ensure its stability and to weather economic shocks.

“The fundamental issue at stake is not a mechanism which will magically solve all our problems,” Macron told an audience of students at the Sorbonne university in Paris. “What is at stake is to reduce unemployment which affects one in five European youths.”

He added that his idea was not about “mutualising past debts” or about trying to “resolve the public finance problems of one state or another”.

The French leader also said the EU should have a joint defence force able to act autonomously.

At the beginning of the next decade, Europe should thus be equipped with a common intervention force, a common defence budget, and with a common doctrine to act,” he said.

On immigration too, Macron wants the EU to be more robust. It’s only with Europe, he said, that we can efficiently protect our borders and treat asylum seekers fairly.

“I want a real European asylum office to be created, which speeds up and harmonises our procedures: so that finally we have connected files and secure biometric identity documents, for in France today we deal with tens of thousands of asylum requests that our European partners have already rejected; (I want) a European border police force to be set up gradually, which guarantees rigorous control of borders everywhere in Europe and assures the return of those who can’t stay,” Macron said.

Outside the hall, a protest at French labour reforms passed off peacefully. Riot police held back a few dozen students and activists demonstrating against the policies which have prompted protests by unions and far-left groups.

The French president’s address comes just two days after elections in Germany, which saw his key pro-EU ally Angela Merkel emerge weaker. Macron told his audience his speech was deliberately timed just after the vote and before coalition talks begin in Berlin, in order to have more influence.

He set an objective that the two countries completely integrate their markets and corporate rules by 2024.

Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc remained the largest party in the Bundestag, but could have to go into coalition with the eurosceptic Free Democrats (FDP), which could limit the extent of her ambitions for the EU.

The leader of the FDP is fiercely critical of deeper integration of the 19 eurozone countries and hours after the election said he would put the brakes on the French leader’s plans for a eurozone budget. A senior FDP member said the party generally welcomed Macron’s speech, but criticised his proposal to create a joint eurozone budget.

The Greens, another potential coalition partner for Merkel, welcomed Macron’s intervention even while the French president was still speaking.

“Germany should take Macron’s extended hand and push Europe forward,” co-leader Cem Ozdemir said.

But one lawmaker from Merkel’s CSU allies said the French president’s ideas were insuitable. “They do not lead to a deepening (of the EU), but to a deeper split in the EU,” Hans Michelbach said.

Martin Selmayr, chief of staff of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said the proposals to reinforce the eurozone would be discussed alongside Juncker’s own at a special eurozone summit planned for December.

                                                                                                                                                                   


My KS moment goes like this:

1) I could be interviewing this guy in a sumptuous government office, be impressed by his values up til the point of Christ and then watch him leave, thinking: he wants what I want for the world: unity, open borders, safety for us all.  Then I would look at the walls, see the hanging  map of Europe, the names of various men on their portraits on the walls. I would see mention of the UN, of the euro, of 9/11,  a picture of polar bears, and I would realize he has picked all these things off the media wall, all the dangers that can unite us, all the fears that stir us and come up with the solution of tearing down the system because it doesn't work.  That he sees himself as Thor in Ragnarok, as the hero of the script and we all seek that hero to set us free.

2) But politics can't solve the problem even as all the leaders cry out that it can  and that they have the right or left answer.  That a super man must emerge to set it right.

3) And I realize  the illusion reaches into all our sinful hearts.  I could fall for him as easily as the next person.  I want to believe we can save the polar bears by our action and therefore save ourselves, that we can pull all the lost immigrant children up into survival.  Thst borders acan melt and that we can all join hands.

The dream is a true dream.  But the solution that we see as within our grasp  can only be grasped by following the true Lord.  One we don't understand or comprehend without salvation.

And it distills to this moment:  we can't determine if Macron or anyone else is the AntiChrist. Michelle Bachmann betrayed herself as a false prophet by predicting Obama would be revealed as the Antichrist last year.  Another Christian commentator on YouTube has been touting Merkel as the AC because "the Antichrist will come from Germany."  Jenkins and Lahaye suggested he would come from Romania.  I will suggest that Macron looks a lot like him, may be him, but this is the KS moment:  It is so impossible to identify the AC because EVERYBODY ENTERING LEADERSHIP TODAY HAS SOME VERSION THE SAME IDEAS-Country first or multilateralism: all the immigrants in or all of them out: God for everybody, God for our race alone: jobs more important than a career, no career safe because of the economy:  Universal healthcare or "Good luck getting well."  They all suggest one thing: burn up the system and end division in the fullest extent.  And all Europe shares them via media and association.  We have a whole flock of possible ACs and identifying any one person is like picking out the right identical triplet from a lineup. Even my initially thinking Macron the perfect suspect doesn't preclude the other usual suspects.  I merely hold him up as a cut out target and hold my practice rounds in the ammo belt.  Just because someone comes in his guise as so many have for centuries doesn't mean it's him.

But they can sure look like him.

                                                                                                                                                                  

The Antichrist sees  the attack by North Korea.  Those in South Korea point their phone cameras  at the disaster, showing blasts coming from the north and those on  the beaches post the clash in  the Sea of Japan.  The AC has been preparing for this moment, one he has anticipated and designed for.

When the USA became mostly ice locked, he issued an invitation to the US armed forces stationed in the EU, Africa and Middle East  to remain  where they are and helped them contact their relatives and keep in touch with their command.  He had already established a relationship with all the commanders.  He invited the whole U.S. Atlantic and  Mediterranean Fleets to moor in the warm water ports of Europe.   Most of those ships are there refueling or rearming at US bases.   A decision made by the U.S. President to get them ready for protecting the remnant of the U.S.  Only the  Asian Fleet and a third of the other Naval forces remain at sea since only that portion of the southern USA remained ice free.  Since NATO became a shadow of itself with the rise of the EU force, U.S. land forces have established a central command in Iraq.

The US President never revoked the NATO pact.  And the AC prepares to go on the air and invoke the  treaty:  an ally has been attacked.  The EU will honor it's commitments.  The AC will take personal command of the forces to defend Europe and he will negotiate an end to this disastrous mistake. 

After all, he is all about peace.  

                                       THE THINGS WHICH FOLLOW: PART A

"What?  You think this is a community.  It's a bunch of people drawn together by lies."

Citizen on Loch Ness

In the British Acorn TV television show Loch Ness, the presence of the monster myth lingers under the storyline, always in the background of everyone's story.  Three teens gather a collection of animal parts from the local rendering works and put together a mock dead monster to get publicity for themselves and undermine the power of the myth.  One policemen clearing up the mess the next morning discovers what looks like a human heart in the middle of the reeking pile of guts and bone.  It forms a ploit connection with the "cold bloody" monster killer in Series One of the show, but it underlines something else: in the middle of every myth lies a cold dead human heart, the heart of the unsaved, striving to attain life.

We all want to be alive.  And that is one of the deep secrets of all our searching through all the myths and comic book heroes and every idol ever built.  We are all born dead.  Our spirits cry for life.  But we can't see the truth of Christ unless we let the Spirit stir us to real life. Our zombie minds demand a dead god we can worship, one we can invest with our own power.  As another Loch Ness character says: "It's all about power and control."


Meanwhile, in Loch Ness, the local officials try to suppress all the evidence in the murders for their own reasons even as the myth users feed the myths to build their power. The way so many throughout the world have done over the centuries.  Many even treating the reality of Christ as a myth for their own purposes whether they be academic or political.  Treating even the true God as a falsehood.

And then there are the ones who want to assume His mantle: all those antichrists across history.



The seal of warfare opens after the AC is revealed in his treaty.  Warfare that can be worldwide in a heartbeat,


http://submarinewarriors.com/facts/


Trident Submarines

Named for the 24, Trident II Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) they carry, the Ohio-class submarines were designed specifically for extended war-deterrence patrols. Each of these submarines are provided with two complete crews, called the Blue crew and the Gold crew, with each crew serving typically on 70 to 90 day deterrent patrols.

Trident Submarine

Ballistic missile submarines have been of great strategic importance to the United States and other nuclear powers since the start of the Cold War, as they can hide from reconnaissance satellites and fire their nuclear weapons with virtual impunity. This makes them immune to a first strike directed against nuclear forces, allowing each side to maintain the capability to launch a devastating retaliatory strike, even if all land-based missiles have been destroyed.

Trident II Missiles

These missiles launch from underwater in a vertical missile tube inside the submarine.  They rapidly ascend to the surface inside a gas bubble.  Flying out of the ocean, internal gyros let the missile know when it’s beginning to fall back towards the water.  This triggers the rockets to fire sending the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile thousands of miles towards its target.


They typically deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets.


                                                                                                                                                                  

North korea has submarines of its own:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/25/asia/north-korea-submarine-technology/index.html


What if North Korea's missiles come from underwater?

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN
Updated 4:25 AM ET, Mon September 26, 2016

Moment North Korea fired missile over Japan

A military vehicle carries what is believed to be a Taepodong-class missile Intermediary Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM), about 20 meters long, during a military parade to mark the 100 birth of the country's founder Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012. The commemorations came just two days after a satellite launch timed to mark the centenary fizzled out embarrassingly when the rocket apparently exploded within minutes of blastoff and plunged into the sea.    AFP PHOTO / PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)
How far can a North Korean missile reach?
 south korea plans for kim jong un hancocks lklv_00011708.jpg
N. Korea threatens to wipe out Seoul


A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer, assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, prepares to take off from Andersen AFB, Guam, Sept. 23, 2017. This mission was flown as part of the continuing demonstration of the ironclad U.S. commitment to the defense of its homeland and in support of its partners and allies.

Moment North Korea fired missile over Japan
A military vehicle carries what is believed to be a Taepodong-class missile Intermediary Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM), about 20 meters long, during a military parade to mark the 100 birth of the country's founder Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012. The commemorations came just two days after a satellite launch timed to mark the centenary fizzled out embarrassingly when the rocket apparently exploded within minutes of blastoff and plunged into the sea.    AFP PHOTO / PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)
How far can a North Korean missile reach?

North Korea tested submarine-launched missile in late August.
It introduces a "new dynamic into the threat matrix on the Korean peninsula," expert says.
Hong Kong (CNN)The US and South Korean navies took to the seas Monday with a message for North Korea: Think twice before you threaten us.

This so-called "show of force" comes during the same month in which North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test just days after successfully launching three missiles into the Sea of Japan.


The North, for its part, claims it tested a nuclear warhead -- which can be placed on top of a missile -- though there is no way to verify that claim.
And the possibility of pairing a nuclear warhead with a missile is all the more frightening when you consider the country has also been testing how to launch missiles underwater, where they're harder to detect.


"The question that some experts are raising is whether or not the North Koreans can actually mate a miniaturized nuclear warhead onto such a missile," Alexander Neill, a North Korea expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia," told CNN.
"If there's evidence that they can do that -- or they have done that -- than this is major concern for the region."

Those tests come just after North Korea had what many experts believe to be its first successful submarine missile launch in August.
"While this was a substantial improvement in North Korea's demonstrated capabilities, it does not likely represent an operational submarine launched ballistic missile capability at this time," John Schilling, an aerospace engineer and contributor to the North Korea monitoring project 38 North, told CNN in an email after the sub missile launch.
The missile traveled 311 miles (500 kilometers) -- and was the first projectile ever fired by the North Koreans to reach Japan's air defense identification zone, according to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Gorae submarine is largely shrouded in mystery -- it's not clear if the North Koreans are planning to use it as an experimental vehicle or whether it will be replicated and reproduced, Jane's says.
And the test itself was an audacious and risky move, Schilling says.
"Testing from a submarine shows great confidence from the North Koreans, almost recklessly so," he said.


"The solid-fuel KN-11 is basically a new design, and North Korean missiles almost never work right on their first try. They took a big risk of damaging or sinking their only ballistic missile submarine, something we wouldn't have expected this soon, and it paid off for them (this time). "
The rest of North Korea's fleet is mostly older, Soviet-era submarine equipment.
The country has about 70 submarines in its fleet, according to various independent estimates.
And those subs are louder and easier to detect, according to Neill.
Some of them are older, Soviet-era pieces of equipment, while others were transferred from China in the 1970s.

                                                                                                                                                                  


And, deployed with that missile launching sub is an aircraft carrier:

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/five-reasons-us-aircraft-carriers-are-nearly-impossible-sink-17318


The vulnerability issue is harder to address because putting 5,000 sailors and six dozen high-performance aircraft on a $10 billion warship creates what military experts refer to as a very "lucrative" target.  Taking one out would be a big achievement for America's enemies, and a big setback for America's military.  However, the likelihood of any adversary actually achieving that without using nuclear weapons is pretty close to zero.  It isn't going to happen, and here are five big reasons why.

Large-deck carriers are fast and resilient.  Nimitz-class carriers of the type that dominate the current fleet, like the Ford-class carriers that will replace them, are the biggest warships ever built.  They have 25 decks standing 250 feet in height, and displace 100,000 tons of water.  With hundreds of watertight compartments and thousands of tons of armor, no conventional torpedo or mine is likely to cause serious damage.  And because carriers are constantly moving when deployed at up to 35 miles per hour -- fast enough to outrun submarines -- finding and tracking them is difficult.  Within 30 minutes after a sighting by enemies, the area within which a carrier might be operating has grown to 700 square miles; after 90 minutes, it has expanded to 6,000 square miles.

Carrier defenses are formidable.  U.S. aircraft carriers are equipped with extensive active and passive defenses for defeating threats such as low-flying cruise missiles and hostile submarines.  These include an array of high-performance sensors, radar-guided missiles and 20 mm Gatling guns that shoot 50 rounds per second.  The carrier air wing of 60+ aircraft includes a squadron of early-warning radar planes that can detect approaching threats (including radar periscopes) over vast distances and helicopters equipped for anti-submarine, anti-surface and counter-mine warfare.  All of the carrier's defensive sensors and weapons are netted together through an on-board command center for coordinated action against adversaries.

Carriers do not operate alone.  Carriers typically deploy as part of a "carrier strike group" that includes multiple guided-missile warships equipped with the Aegis combat system.  Aegis is the most advanced air and missile defense system in the world, capable of defeating every potential overhead threat including ballistic missiles.  It is linked to other offensive and defensive systems on board U.S. surface combatants that can defeat submarines, surface ships and floating mines, or attack enemy sensors needed to guide attacking missiles.  In combination with the carrier air wing, these warships can quickly degrade enemy systems used to track the strike group.  Carrier strike groups often include one or more stealthy attack subs capable of defeating undersea and surface threats.

Navy tactics maximize survivability.  Although U.S. aircraft carriers are protected by the most potent, multi-layered defensive shield ever conceived, they do not take chances when deployed near potential adversaries.  Their operational tactics have evolved to minimize risk while still delivering the offensive punch that is their main reason for existing.  For instance, a carrier will generally not operate in areas where mines might have been laid until the area has been thoroughly cleared.  It will tend to stay in the open ocean rather than entering confined areas where approaching threats are hard to sort out from other local traffic.  It will keep moving to complicate the targeting challenge for enemies.  It will also use links to other joint assets from the seabed to low-earth orbit to achieve detailed situational awareness.


Note: the US keeps three of these systems operating on the seas at all times.  Literally, there are three cities floating on the ocean designed to wage war with nuclear fueled operating systems that don't need to land for any reason beyond supplies and surrounded by a ring of protection and death dealing power.


                                                                                                                                                                  


Do you begin to see the potential for destruction just by some of the US force in one location?  Do you see the way we have kept it reined in for years?  Do you see from last time the difficulty in using that force specifically in  the North korean situation  without triggering a Chinese involvement?

Now add this factor:

http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-workers-in-russia-2017-10

 President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that around 40,000 North Korean citizens were currently working in Russia.

Such workers are known to regularly send back part of their wages to the North Korean authorities.

Putin, speaking at an energy forum, said Moscow was concerned about rising tensions between Pyongyang and the West over North Korea’s nuclear and missile program because it shared a border with the country.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/world/europe/north-korea-russia-migrants.html


VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — Across Western Europe and the United States, immigrants from poorer countries, whether plumbers from Poland or farmhands from Mexico, have become a lightning rod for economic anxieties over cheap labor.

The Russian city of Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, however, has eagerly embraced a new icon of border-crushing globalization: the North Korean painter.

Unlike migrant workers in much of the West, destitute decorators from North Korea are so welcome that they have helped make Russia at least the equal of China — Pyongyang’s main backer — as the world’s biggest user of labor from the impoverished yet nuclear-armed country.

“They are fast, cheap and very reliable, much better than Russian workers,” Yulia Kravchenko, a 32-year-old Vladivostok homemaker, said of the painters. “They do nothing but work from morning until late at night.”

The work habits that delight Vladivostok homeowners are also generating sorely needed cash for the world’s most isolated regime, a hereditary dictatorship in Pyongyang closing in on a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. Just last week, the North reached a milestone by testing its first intercontinental ballistic missile.







                                                                                                                                                                   


Yes, there is also a Russian border.  And a lot of water that mixes with the Pacific.  And a lot of fresh water rivers that feed into it.





So the capacity of a fleet to attack becomes more important as well as defending against it.


Dave Majumdar
October 25, 2016

Faced with growing challenges to its domination of the world’s oceans, the United States Navy is once again focusing its efforts on gaining and maintaining control of the seas.

Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Navy’s mastery of the seas has been unchallenged by any other power. Without a rival, the U.S. Navy focused the efforts of its surface fleet on power projection and defending its aircraft carriers—with the overwhelming majority of the service’s offensive firepower increasingly concentrated in the air wing. However, with great power competitors such as Russia and China increasingly developing surface warfare capabilities that might one day challenge the U.S. Navy’s dominance of the waves, the service is returning to its core mission of sea control.


“Our Navy controls the sea for the benefit of our nation and for the benefit of our allies,” Vice Adm. Tom Rowden, commander, Naval Surface Forces, told The National Interest during an Oct. 25 interview. “So how do we get after that in the surface warfare community?”

Rowden’s answer is a concept called distributed lethality, which he developed while serving as the Navy’s director of surface warfare (N96) in the Pentagon. “As I reviewed the requirements for our surface ships, we had a tendency to move away from offensive capability—or what I would refer to as sea control capability—to more defensive capability, which is defending those power projection assets. And I think that was a natural evolution that we executed in the wake of the Cold War in the wake of the wars that we were involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.”


To achieve the Navy’s goals, the service will not only have to invest in upgraded hardware, but also on improved training and tactics. Additionally, the Navy will have to ensure that it attracts a bright talent pool that will be fully invested in the surface warfare mission area. One way the Navy is developing the tactics and talent necessary to execute the distributed lethality concept is to set up the surface fleet’s equivalent of naval aviation’s famed Top Gun school—the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center. The new school not only trains experts in surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare, amphibious warfare and integrated and air missile defense, it also develops new tactics and helps prepare carrier strike groups for war. “That organization is off to an absolutely tremendous start,” Rowden said. “The impact they have had across the fleet in the preparation for our strike groups to sail is really phenomenal.”

But while tactics and training will help create sharp surface warfare officers who can exploit the full capabilities of the Navy’s warships, American sailors will need new tools to take on the growing threat of enemy surface forces. While the Navy is working on developing new weapons such as the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM)—which it might adopt for its warships—the service is modifying many existing armaments and ships so that they contribute to the sea control mission.


For example:

On July 21, 2016, the third successful surface-launched LRASM test was conducted from the USN SDTS at Pt. Mugu Sea Range, CA. This test proved the missile’s ability to load mission data using the modified Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS+), and align mission data with the moving ship and launch from the MK 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS). During the test, LRASM exited the VLS launcher, cleanly separated from its Mk-114 booster and transitioned to the cruise phase. The missile successfully flew a pre-planned low-altitude profile collecting aerodynamics agility data while enroute to its pre-determined endpoint.



One of those weapons is the Raytheon Standard SM-6 missile, which was originally developed as an extended range anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon. However, the service discovered during the missile’s development that it could be adapted to be used as a long-range anti-ship weapon. “As we were developing that anti-air weapon, given the fact that type of seeker that we had built into the that, we asked ourselves the question: ‘Could we modify it to make it an anti-ship weapon as well because it had an active seeker it.’ And so we went to work on that.”

The result was a dual-capable weapon that not only far out-ranged any currently installed anti-ship weapon onboard a U.S. Navy surface combatant, but a missile that was far faster and more survivable against some of the most fearsome potential adversaries the American surface fleet might encounter. “That has a range that is well beyond the range of missiles we had in the inventory with respect to the anti-ship cruise missiles,” Rowden said.

However, the SM-6 is just the beginning. The Navy is looking at other opportunities to extend the range of its anti-ship capabilities. One candidate for that role is the Tomahawk cruise missile. While the Navy fielded an anti-ship Tomahawk missile variant decades ago, that weapon was withdrawn from service during the 1990s partly due to its questionable effectiveness. “One of the things we’re looking at is: ‘Is it possible to put a seeker in a Tomahawk?’” Rowden said. “We had Tomahawk anti-ship missiles a long time ago, and we took those out of the inventory. But given our advances in our ability to target at range, we’re looking to see if in fact that’s another weapon that we want to go after.”

The Navy is already starting to field the distributed lethality concept. Rowden noted that there are already several Baseline 9 configuration Aegis destroyers already serving with the fleet. But while Aegis cruisers and destroyers—not to mention the new Zumwalt-class warships—are the Navy’s premier surface combatants, every ship in the service’s inventory has a role in distributed lethality. “I see roles to play across the spectrum of ships that we operate,” Rowden said, noting that in addition to the cruisers and destroyers, the littoral combat ships will also have a prominent role in the sea control fight.

Indeed, the Navy is considering adding Mk-41 vertical launch tubes onboard the service’s amphibious assault ships—especially now that those vessels can carry the Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. Those vessels might be able to contribute significantly not only to sea control, but also to the service’s ability to maneuver from the sea. “Given the Joint Strike Fighter coming to the flight decks of our big-deck amphibs and given the capabilities in those fifth-generation fighters, I think we need to think differently about how we’re going to utilize our amphibious ships in the sea control fight as well,” Rowden said. “So I am able to go to the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center with all of these possibilities.”

At least in the case of the San Antonio-class amphibious assault ships, it would be a relatively easy modification to add missile tubes to those ships. Rowden noted that those vessels were built with the space, weight, power and cooling capacity to accommodate the Mk-41 launchers. “That’s certainly an option to backfit those ships as we go forward,” Rowden said. “I think what we have to do is, as we work through this, is to figure out if that’s the right call to make.”

Ultimately, the Navy has a simple goal for distributed lethality: additional options for the national leadership. The Navy will be able to offer more than just a carrier strike group, expeditionary strike group or a submarine in times of crisis if Rowden’s vision comes to fruition. “At the core of what we’re driving is to give the leadership of our country as many tools in the toolbox to accomplish what the country needs our Navy to do,” Rowden said. “If I can get different tools into that tool box that allows the leadership different options as we look at the variety of threats that we’re facing in the future, I think that’s my responsibility to go do that.”


                                                                                                                                                                   


So the mobilized "prong" of the US defense trident would have the ability to wage a war on its own. even after the US itself is gone.


But if the USA launches missiles, will the  warheads  be  significantly different from the ones launched by N. Korea?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/with-north-korea-crisis-will-the-neutron-bomb-be-of_us_598b8ec8e4b08a4c247f2823

nowing the dark side of Donald Trump, I almost think the nuclear option is weighing heavily on the President. After all, if he dropped a nuclear bomb, talk of Russia would likely evaporate rather quickly, as would untold lives. But, to my knowledge, none of the nuclear arsenal the United States has today would work in the North Korea situation. Pyongyang is only a little over 100 miles to the border of China. A nuclear bomb — even a small one — would have a high likelihood of actually devastating parts of China. In addition, it would probably do damage to South Korea, and the fallout would be significant for US allies throughout the region. Our current options that we are aware of, do not seem viable.

Don’t be surprised if they bring the neutron bomb to a theater (of war) near you.

This made me think about the neutron bomb, which was all the craze in national security debates back in the 1970s. The neutron bomb was considered more humane than other nuclear missiles. It was designed during the Cold War to be a deterrent to the Soviet Union in case it attempted a massive invasion of Western Europe, the missile would have been considered a tactical weapon because it had the ability to greatly limit the area it would target, would focus on the killing of lives rather than the destruction of infrastructure, and would have a a shorter radiation life than other nuclear bombs. In spite of the fact it seemed, full of “sensibilities,” policy specialists and the Carter Administration closed the door on its further development. It was simply too dark to have a nuclear bomb be considered a tactical weapon. It is the type of thing you find in a sci-fi movie. Then again, this current administration seems increasingly like a dystopia that would be common in a science fiction film. Adding a nuclear bomb as a conventional weapon is certainly a logical addition to Trump’s bizarre cast of characters.

We were told the doors were closed on the neutron bomb decades ago, but I doubt seriously they destroyed the information they had on it. The idea of it being “humane” would be far fetched to most, but makes perfect sense in the world of Donald Trump.

                                                                                                                               

Such weaponry may in fact exist already.  And not just in the USA where objections resulted in the Carter Administration not continuing the program.  It says here:




History and deployment to present

The conception of neutron bombs is generally credited to Samuel T. Cohen of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who developed the concept in 1958.[14] Initial development was carried out as part of projects Dove and Starling, and an early device was tested underground in early 1962. Designs of a "weaponized" version were carried out in 1963.[15][16]

Development of two production designs for the army's MGM-52 Lance short-range missile began in July 1964, the W63 at Livermore and the W64 at Los Alamos. Both entered phase three testing in July 1964, and the W64 was cancelled in favor of the W63 in September 1964. The W63 was in turn cancelled in November 1965 in favor of the W70 (Mod 0), a conventional design.[15] By this time, the same concepts were being used to develop warheads for the Sprint missile, an anti-ballistic missile (ABM), with Livermore designing the W65 and Los Alamos the W66. Both entered phase three testing in October 1965, but the W65 was cancelled in favor of the W66 in November 1968. Testing of the W66 was carried out in the late 1960s, and entered production in June 1974,[15] the first neutron bomb to do so. Approximately 120 were built, with about 70 of these being on active duty during 1975 and 1976 as part of the Safeguard Program. When that program was shut down they were placed in storage, and eventually decommissioned in the early 1980s.[15]

Development of ER warheads for Lance continued, but in the early 1970s attention had turned to using modified versions of the W70, the W70 Mod 3.[15] Development was subsequently postponed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 following protests against his administration's plans to deploy neutron warheads to ground forces in Europe.[17] On November 17, 1978, in a test the USSR detonated its first similar-type bomb.[18] President Ronald Reagan restarted production in 1981.[17] The Soviet Union renewed a propaganda campaign against the US's neutron bomb in 1981 following Reagan's announcement. In 1983 Reagan then announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, which surpassed neutron bomb production in ambition and vision and with that, neutron bombs quickly faded from the center of the public's attention.[18]

Attempted warhead replacement programs
Initial Enhanced Gun caliber
W48 W82 155 mm
W33 W79 203mm
Three types of enhanced radiation weapons (ERW) were deployed by the United States.[19] The W66 warhead, for the anti-ICBM Sprint missile system, was deployed in 1975 and retired the next year, along with the missile system. The W70 Mod 3 warhead was developed for the short-range, tactical MGM-52 Lance missile, and the W79 Mod 0 was developed for nuclear artillery shells. The latter two types were retired by President George H. W. Bush in 1992, following the end of the Cold War.[20][21] The last W70 Mod 3 warhead was dismantled in 1996,[22] and the last W79 Mod 0 was dismantled by 2003, when the dismantling of all W79 variants was completed.[23]

According to the Cox Report, as of 1999 the United States had never deployed a neutron weapon. The nature of this statement is not clear; it reads "The stolen information also includes classified design information for an enhanced radiation weapon (commonly known as the "neutron bomb"), which neither the United States, nor any other nation, has ever deployed."[24] However, the fact that neutron bombs had been produced by the US was well known at this time and part of the public record. Cohen suggests the report is playing with the definitions; while the US bombs were never deployed to Europe, they remained stockpiled in the US.[25]

In addition to the two superpowers, France and China are known to have tested neutron or enhanced radiation bombs. France conducted an early test of the technology in 1967[26] and tested an "actual" neutron bomb in 1980.[27] China conducted a successful test of neutron bomb principles in 1984 and a successful test of a neutron bomb in 1988. However, neither of those countries chose to deploy neutron bombs. Chinese nuclear scientists stated before the 1988 test that China had no need for neutron bombs, but it was developed to serve as a "technology reserve", in case the need arose in the future.[28]

In August, 1999, the Indian government disclosed that India was capable of producing a neutron bomb.[29]

Although no country is currently known to deploy them in an offensive manner, all thermonuclear dial-a-yield warheads that have about 10 kiloton and lower as one dial option, with a considerable fraction of that yield derived from fusion reactions, can be considered able to be neutron bombs in use, if not in name. The only country definitely known to deploy dedicated (that is, not dial-a-yield) neutron warheads for any length of time is the Soviet Union/Russia,[30] which inherited the USSR's neutron warhead equipped ABM-3 Gazelle missile program. This ABM system contains at least 68 neutron warheads with a 10 kiloton yield each and it has been in service since 1995, with inert missile testing approximately every other year since then (2014). The system is designed to destroy incoming endoatmospheric level nuclear warheads aimed at Moscow and other targets and is the lower-tier/last umbrella of the A-135 anti-ballistic missile system (NATO reporting name: ABM-3).[7]

{By 1984, according to Mordechai Vanunu, Israel was mass-producing neutron bombs.[31]}



Considerable controversy arose in the US and Western Europe following a June 1977 Washington Post exposé describing US government plans to purchase the bomb. The article focused on the fact that it was the first weapon specifically intended to kill humans with radiation.[32][33] Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory director Harold Brown and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev both described neutron bombs as a "capitalist bomb", because it was designed to destroy people while preserving property.[34][35][need quotation to verify] Science fiction author and commentator Isaac Asimov also stated[relevant? – discuss] that "Such a neutron bomb or N bomb seems desirable to those who worry about property and hold life cheap."[36][37]

Use

The 1979 Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion plan, "Seven Days to the River Rhine" to seize West Germany. Soviet analysts had correctly assumed that the NATO response would be to use regular tactical nuclear weapons to stop such a massive Warsaw Pact invasion.[38] According to proponents, neutron bombs would blunt an invasion by Soviet tanks and armored vehicles without causing as much damage or civilian deaths as the older nuclear weapons would.[39] Neutron bombs would have been used if the REFORGER conventional response of NATO to the invasion was too slow or ineffective.[40][41]

Neutron bombs are purposely designed with explosive yields lower than other nuclear weapons. Since neutrons are scattered and absorbed by air,[2] neutron radiation effects drop off rapidly with distance in air. As such, there is a sharper distinction, relative to thermal effects, between areas of high lethality and areas with minimal radiation doses.[3] All high yield (more than c. 10 kiloton) nuclear bombs, such as the extreme example of a device that derived 97% of its energy from fusion, the 50 megaton Tsar Bomba, are not able to radiate sufficient neutrons beyond their lethal blast range when detonated as a surface burst or low altitude air burst and so are no longer classified as neutron bombs, thus limiting the yield of neutron bombs to a maximum of about 10 kilotons. The intense pulse of high-energy neutrons generated by a neutron bomb is the principal killing mechanism, not the fallout, heat or blast.

The inventor of the neutron bomb, Sam Cohen, criticized the description of the W70 as a neutron bomb since it could be configured to yield 100 kilotons:

the W-70 ... is not even remotely a "neutron bomb." Instead of being the type of weapon that, in the popular mind, "kills people and spares buildings" it is one that both kills and physically destroys on a massive scale. The W-70 is not a discriminate weapon, like the neutron bomb—which, incidentally, should be considered a weapon that "kills enemy personnel while sparing the physical fabric of the attacked populace, and even the populace too."[42]

Although neutron bombs are commonly believed to "leave the infrastructure intact", with current designs that have explosive yields in the low kiloton range,[43] detonation in (or above) a built-up area would still cause a sizable degree of building destruction, through blast and heat effects out to a moderate radius, albeit considerably less destruction, than when compared to a standard nuclear bomb of the exact same total energy release or "yield".[44]


U.S. Army M110 howitzers in a 1984 REFORGER staging area before transport. Variants of this "dual capable"[45] nuclear artillery howitzer would launch the W79 neutron bomb.[46]
The Warsaw Pact tank strength was over twice that of NATO, and Soviet deep battle doctrine was likely to be to use this numerical advantage to rapidly sweep across continental Europe if the Cold War ever turned hot. Any weapon that could break up their intended mass tank formation deployments and force them to deploy their tanks in a thinner, more easily dividable manner,[4] would aid ground forces in the task of hunting down solitary tanks and using anti-tank missiles against them,[47] such as the contemporary M47 Dragon and BGM-71 TOW missiles, of which NATO had hundreds of thousands.[48]

Rather than making extensive preparations for battlefield nuclear combat in Central Europe, "The Soviet military leadership believed that conventional superiority provided the Warsaw Pact with the means to approximate the effects of nuclear weapons and achieve victory in Europe without resort to those weapons."[49]

Neutron bombs, or more precisely, enhanced [neutron] radiation weapons were also to find use as strategic anti-ballistic missile weapons,[44] and in this role they are believed to remain in active service within Russia's Gazelle missile.[30]

Effects

Wood frame house in 1953 nuclear test, 5 pounds per square inch (psi) overpressure, full collapse. Although neutron bombs, such as that fitted on the MGM-52 Lance missile would cause similar levels of destruction as depicted here within the zone were ~1970s tank crews would also be incapacitated by neutron radiation. When compared to the range of destruction that would be caused by the comparatively higher yield conventional nuclear weapons that it supplanted (e.g., MGR-1 Honest John), which had been needed to deliver the same range and intensity of neutron dose to neutralize tank crews, the range of civilian destruction and amount of fission product fallout generated by a neutron bomb is far more constrained.[50] This would spare the destruction of West Germany more than would otherwise be the case.

Upon detonation, a near-ground airburst of a 1 kiloton neutron bomb would produce a large blast wave and a powerful pulse of both thermal radiation and ionizing radiation, and non-ionizing radiation in the form of fast (14.1 MeV) neutrons. The thermal pulse would cause third degree burns to unprotected skin out to approximately 500 meters. The blast would create at least 4.6 psi out to a radius of 600 meters, which would severely damage all non-reinforced concrete structures. At the conventional effective combat range against modern main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers (< 690–900 m), the blast from a 1 kt neutron bomb would destroy or damage to the point of non-usability of almost all un-reinforced civilian buildings.

Using neutron bombs to stop an enemy armored attack by rapidly incapacitating crews with a dose of 8000+ rads of radiation[51] would require exploding large numbers of them to blanket the enemy forces, destroying all normal civilian buildings within c. 600 meters of the immediate area.[51][52] Neutron activation from the explosions could make many building materials in the city radioactive, such as zinc coated steel/galvanized steel (see area denial use below).

Because liquid-filled objects like the human body are resistant to gross overpressure, the 4–5 psi blast overpressure would cause very few direct casualties at a range of c. 600 m. The powerful winds produced by this overpressure, however, could throw bodies into objects or throw debris at high velocity, including window glass, both with potentially lethal results. Casualties would be highly variable depending on surroundings, including potential building collapses.[53]

The pulse of neutron radiation would cause immediate and permanent incapacitation to unprotected outdoor humans in the open out to 900 meters,[9] with death occurring in one or two days. The median lethal dose (LD50) of 600 rads would extend to between 1350 and 1400 meters for those unprotected and outdoors,[51] where approximately half of those exposed would die of radiation sickness after several weeks.

A human residing within, or simply shielded by, at least one concrete building with walls and ceilings 30 cm (12 in) thick, or alternatively of damp soil 24 inches thick, would receive a neutron radiation exposure reduced by a factor of 10.[54][55] Even near ground zero, basement sheltering or buildings with similar radiation shielding characteristics would drastically reduce the radiation dose.[56]

Furthermore, the neutron absorption spectrum of air is disputed by some authorities, and depends in part on absorption by hydrogen from water vapor. Thus, absorption might vary exponentially with humidity, making neutron bombs far more deadly in desert climates than in humid ones.[51]

Effectiveness in modern anti-tank role


The neutron cross section and absorption probability in barns of the two natural boron isotopes found in nature (top curve is for 10 B and bottom curve for 11 B. As neutron energy increases to 14 MeV, the absorption effectiveness, in general, decreases. Thus, for boron-containing armor to be effective, fast neutrons must first be slowed by another element by neutron scattering.

The questionable effectiveness of ER weapons against modern tanks is cited as one of the main reasons that these weapons are no longer fielded or stockpiled. With the increase in average tank armor thickness since the first ER weapons were fielded, tank armor protection approaches the level where tank crews are now almost fully protected from radiation effects. Thus, for an ER weapon to incapacitate a modern tank crew through irradiation, the weapon must now be detonated at such a close proximity to the tank that the nuclear explosion's blast would now be equally effective at incapacitating it and its crew.[57] However this assertion was regarded as dubious in a reply in 1986[58] by a member of the Royal Military College of Science as neutron radiation from a 1 kiloton neutron bomb would incapacitate the crew of a tank with a protection factor of 35 out to a range of 280 meters, but the incapacitating blast range, depending on the exact weight of the tank, is much less, from 70 to 130 meters. However although the author did note that effective neutron absorbers and neutron poisons such as boron carbide can be incorporated into conventional armor and strap-on neutron moderating hydrogenous material (substances containing hydrogen atoms), such as explosive reactive armor, can both increase the protection factor, the author holds that in practice combined with neutron scattering, the actual average total tank area protection factor is rarely higher than 15.5 to 35.[59] According to the Federation of American Scientists, the neutron protection factor of a "tank" can be as low as 2,[2] without qualifying whether the statement implies a light tank, medium tank, or main battle tank.

A composite high density concrete, or alternatively, a laminated graded-Z shield, 24 units thick of which 16 units are iron and 8 units are polyethylene containing boron (BPE), and additional mass behind it to attenuate neutron capture gamma rays, is more effective than just 24 units of pure iron or BPE alone, due to the advantages of both iron and BPE in combination. Iron is effective in slowing down/scattering high-energy neutrons in the 14-MeV energy range and attenuating gamma rays, while the hydrogen in polyethylene is effective in slowing down these now slower fast neutrons in the few MeV range, and boron 10 has a high absorption cross section for thermal neutrons and a low production yield of gamma rays when it absorbs a neutron.[60][61][62][63] The Soviet T72 tank, in response to the neutron bomb threat, is cited as having fitted a boronated[64] polyethylene liner, which has had its neutron shielding properties simulated.[55][65]


The radiation weighting factor for neutrons of various energy has been revised over time and certain agencies have different weighting factors, however despite the variation amongst the agencies, from the graph, for a given energy, A fusion neutron (14.1 MeV) although more energetic, is less biologically harmful as rated in Sieverts, than a fission generated thermal neutron or a fusion neutron slowed to that energy, c. 0.8 MeV.

However, some tank armor material contains depleted uranium (DU), common in the US's M1A1 Abrams tank, which incorporates steel-encased depleted uranium armor,[66] a substance that will fast fission when it captures a fast, fusion-generated neutron, and thus on fissioning will produce fission neutrons and fission products embedded within the armor, products which emit among other things, penetrating gamma rays. Although the neutrons emitted by the neutron bomb may not penetrate to the tank crew in lethal quantities, the fast fission of DU within the armor could still ensure a lethal environment for the crew and maintenance personnel by fission neutron and gamma ray exposure[dubious – discuss],[67] largely depending on the exact thickness and elemental composition of the armor—information usually hard to attain. Despite this, Ducrete—which has an elemental composition similar to, but not identical to the ceramic second generation heavy metal Chobham armor of the Abrams tank—is an effective radiation shield, to both fission neutrons and gamma rays due to it being a graded Z material.[68][69] Uranium, being about twice as dense as lead, is thus nearly twice as effective at shielding gamma ray radiation per unit thickness.[70]

Use against ballistic missiles

As an anti-ballistic missile weapon, the first fielded ER warhead, the W66, was developed for the Sprint missile system as part of the Safeguard Program to protect United States cities and missile silos from incoming Soviet warheads by damaging their electronic components with the intense neutron flux.[44] Ionization greater than 5,000 rads in silicon chips delivered over seconds to minutes will degrade the function of semiconductors for long periods.[71] Due to the rarefied atmosphere encountered high above the earth at the most likely intercept point of an incoming warhead by a neutron bomb/warhead – the terminal phase point (10–30 km) of the incoming warhead's flight—the neutrons generated by a mid- to high-altitude nuclear explosion (HANE) have an even greater range than that encountered after a low altitude air burst. In the high altitude case, there is a lower density of air molecules that produces, an appreciable reduction in the air shielding effect/half-value thickness.

However, although this neutron transparency advantage attained only increases at increased altitudes, neutron effects lose importance in the exoatmospheric environment, being overtaken by the range of another effect of a nuclear detonation, at approximately the same altitude as the end of the incoming missile's boost phase (c. 150 km), ablation producing soft X-rays are the chief nuclear effects threat to the survival of incoming missiles and warheads rather than neutrons.[72] A factor exploited by the other warhead of the Safeguard Program, the enhanced (X-ray) radiation W71 and its USSR/Russian counterpart, the warhead on the A-135 Gorgon missile.

Another method by which neutron radiation can be used to destroy incoming nuclear warheads is by serving as an intense neutron generator and to thus initiate fission in the incoming warhead's fissionable components by fast fission[citation needed], potentially causing the incoming warhead to prematurely detonate in a fizzle if within sufficient proximity, but in most likely interception ranges, requiring only that enough fissionable material in the warhead fissions to interfere with the functioning of the incoming warhead when it is later fuzed to explode (see related physics: Subcritical reactor).

Lithium-6 hydride (Li6H) is cited as being used as a countermeasure to reduce the vulnerability and "harden" nuclear warheads from the effects of externally generated neutrons.[73][74] Radiation hardening of the warhead's electronic components as a countermeasure to high altitude neutron warheads somewhat reduces the range that a neutron warhead could successfully cause an unrecoverable glitch by the transient radiation effects on electronics (TREE) effects.[75][76]

Use as an area denial weapon

In November 2012, during the planning stages of Operation Hammer of God, British Labour peer Lord Gilbert suggested that multiple enhanced radiation reduced blast (ERRB) warheads could be detonated in the mountain region of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to prevent infiltration.[77] He proposed to warn the inhabitants to evacuate, then irradiate the area, making it unusable and impassable.[78] Used in this manner, the neutron bomb(s), regardless of burst height, would release neutron activated casing materials used in the bomb, and depending on burst height, create radioactive soil activation products.

In much the same fashion as the area denial effect resulting from fission product (the substances that make up most fallout) contamination in an area following a conventional surface burst nuclear explosion, as considered in the Korean War by Douglas MacArthur, it would thus be a form of radiological warfare—with the difference that neutron bombs produce half, or less, of the quantity of fission products relative to the same-yield pure fission bomb. Radiological warfare with neutron bombs that rely on fission primaries would thus still produce fission fallout, albeit a comparatively cleaner and shorter lasting version of it in the area if air bursts were used, as little to no fission products would be deposited on the direct immediate area, instead becoming diluted global fallout.

However the most effective use of a neutron bomb with respect to area denial would be to encase it in a thick shell of material that could be neutron activated, and use a surface burst. In this manner the neutron bomb would be turned into a salted bomb; a case of zinc-64, produced as a byproduct of depleted zinc oxide enrichment, would for example probably be the most attractive for military use, as when activated, the zinc-65 so formed is a gamma emitter, with a half life of 244 days.[79]

Maintenance[edit]
Neutron bombs-warheads require considerable maintenance for their abilities, requiring some tritium for fusion boosting[citation needed] and tritium in the secondary stage (yielding more neutrons), in amounts on the order of a few tens of grams[80] (10–30 grams[81] estimated). Because tritium has a relatively short half-life of 12.32 years (after that time, half the tritium has decayed), it is necessary to replenish it periodically to keep the bomb effective. (For instance: to maintain a constant level of 24 grams of tritium in a warhead, about 1.3 grams per bomb per year[82] must be supplied.) Moreover, tritium decays into helium-3, which absorbs neutrons[83] and will thus further reduce the bomb's neutron yield.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Keep in mind that the alliance with Israel will have a significant effect both ways.  The AC now has access to the most effective antitank weapon in very large numbers and the only real advantage Russian has over NATO is it's huge number of tanks stationed  to defend it's Wastern borders.





Missiles from North Korea climb to the top of their trajectory and arch toward the States.

The resident authorized use of nuclear weapons by the fleet in the Sea of Japan.  Specifically against the North Korean capital and against the heavily armed no man's land between the North and South.

The leader of China uses his hotline to call the US President and warn him against use of nuclear weapons in response, to tell him that the Chinese will deal with the problem themselves.

The President refuses to be distracted by foreign callers and does not take the call.  He is certain he has done the only thing possible.  He believes an already depleted US cannot fail to respond or it will look weak and be attacked by everyone.

The Missile sub with the US Fleet in the Sea of japan launches it's first missile.

North Korean armed forces send planes and missiles at the US fleet.

US attack subs sink N. Korean warships.  US destroyers sink N. Korean subs. US planes engage the N. Korean forces over the seas .

The US sub launches it second mIssile.  N. Korean defenses shoots down the first US Missile.  But it has already launched it's "bouncing Betty" land mine  load of warheads.

"Nuclear devices" fall on P'yongyang.

The US ABM compliment has been damaged by the ice and cold.  Most of them work and intercept eight of the missiles from Asia.  Two get through.  San Fransisco and LA are hit by 20 kilotons of blast.

Nearby in California, there is a supervolcano lying somewhat dormant in Long Valley.  Nuclear explosions on the faultline would have an undetermined  effect on .  Experts disagree except for one point: no one thinks the result would be good


Chinese territory suffers fallout immediately.  The warheads were not ERW.


What has begun is now unstoppable.  The war  horseman hits full gallop.


"You fight the good fight and then one morning you wake up and realize all your world is Satan's little helper."

David (Anti human, Anti Christian  movie)  Atomic Blond

                                  ANTICHRIST 2: JUDGES TO RUTH TO SAUL

I watch Rafa Nadal playing tennis at the U.S.Open.  He's about to serve then stops. He walks onto the main court area, picks up a couple little objects laying there, perhaps stones, some sort of litter, carries them back and hands them to the ballboy who looks at them and carries them off to throw away.  Now, I played tennis some when I was younger.  Not very well, but I played. I was concerned about the serve and keeping my eye on  the ball and chasing down the balls place well away from me by much better players. I wasn't the least bit concerned about whatever else was on the court because I was much more concerned about just surviving the game.  What I am getting at is: there are pros, real pros, who are concerned with every aspect of their game, who concentrate on EVERY aspect, light, shadow, height of the net and sag, placement of serve and angles, oh, the angles, dropping their shot on the furthest corner. and the subtleties of grounds keeping. They are the real thing in sports and the rest of us are just hopeful but  hopelessly inept and floundering as we take a stab at that reality, not devoting our real lives to the sport we love the way the professional does, not even beginning to understand the focus and training it takes, note willing to hit ball after ball after ball to achieve accuracy and marksmanship, not willing to go through all the blisters on hands and feet and the aching joints, the strained muscles, the torn tendons, the minutes, hours, days of real work  but still dreaming, thinking we could do that or could have done that if we had just had the chance to take the time and learn it when we were younger, if studies or money or parental concerns had been more to OUR dreams than their own.

But the point is we are NOT pros for whatever reason. We are not the real thing and our fantasies are  not reality.  But the Antichrist (AC) gets to be the dreamer or the fraud if you will who gets to stand in for the real thing, to think of himself as the real thing perhaps even believe it, because of the choice of the people who see him as the real thing, not realizing that an angel, however powerful, even as powerful as Satan, is NOT God in any way, shape or form, but our human imagining of OURSELVES as God can lead to the deception being successful.  "Yes, I am God."  So he claiming to be God with real power is very believable. He becomes that God we WANT, the one we can understand and comprehend without leaving the thoughts of our Fallen Flesh mind behind us.

So I have changed my mind and decided to spend yet another post on him before we go on to his partner.  To understand how we can SEE Jesus clearly in the Scriptures yet still desire that fraud to fulfill OUR fantasies of being the guy at the service line ready to ace the opponent even though we haven't devoted our lives to the game, given up what we need to give up to even come close to Him.

And the best way may be to touch on one of the other guys who precursors the fraud.

We spent time on Judges foreshadowing the Christian era and Ruth foreshadowing the Raptured Christians.  We mentioned other figures of the Bible  representing the AC even spent time on Pharaoh.  But following the Old Testament timeline we established we arrive at Saul as the AC precursor.

And there is agreement with that in other corners as well.  From Arthur Pink's extensive study on the subject The Anitchrist:

https://www.biblebelievers.com/Pink/antichrist15.htm


 Saul. In at least ten respects Saul foreshadowed the Antichrist.

Almost the first thing told us about Saul is that he was "from his shoulders and upward higher than any of the people" (1 Sam. 9:2, which is repeated in 10:23). As such he fitly prefigured the coming Super-man, who in intelligence, governmental power, and satanic might, will so tower above all his contemporaries that men shall exclaim, "Who is like unto the Beast?" (Rev. 13:4).

(Note: it is the AC's head wound and seemingly miraculous recovery which lend him an air of awe.  The comic book movies, particularly X-Men with the idea of mutant powers give him an excuse for his powers and a claim to human perfection by evolution.  And the Gnostic belief in secret knowledge leading to perfection lays the groundwork for any supernatural claims.  All those phony teachings tell us it is possible to be this guy; that we can be this guy. He seems like the "best" to us fallen humans as we are in our unsaved state, even in the saved state that has not pursued regeneration by the Spirit. W.)

Second, Saul was king of Israel (1 Sam. 10:24), so also will the Antichrist be.

(Note;  In both cases the Lord gives the people what they want: a king like everyone else's only better physically.  He lets them have their weay before he instills his chosen king. W.)

Third, Saul was a priest-king, blatantly performing the office of the Levite (see 1 Sam. 13:9, and cf Ezek. 21:25,26 R. V.).

1Sa 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering.
 10 And it came to pass that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash;
 12 therefore said I, Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Jehovah: I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering.
 (ASV)

(We would have a disagreement up to a point.  Most of that falls on the False Prophet who we will discuss further next time. But the AC WILL make a lone illegal offering on the new Temple's altar: that of a pig who will besmirch the altar with unclean blood. So in that they both make one time offerings that are illegitimate, yes. W.)

Fourth, the time of his reign was immediately before that of David, as that of the Antichrist will immediately precede that of David's Son and Lord.

(From Tribulation under the false Christ to Millennium under the true Lord.  W.)

 Fifth, he was a mighty warrior (see 1 Sam. 11:11; 13:1-4; 15:4; 7:8).

(I realize the AC will have victories but I wonder about the warrior part.  He will be the general and political leader sending men to die for him but I wonder if he will ever place his own  life at risk, if the head injury will be from an assassin attacking him when he thinks he is protected, if he will even be at the head of his own army in battle or if he will be letting others do the dying for him, thinking himself safely in a bunker, killing with a launching button, the way ALL our modern leaders "lead". The king or president being of vastly more import than the serfs or working class or their families. W.)  

Sixth, he was a rebel against God (1 Sam. 15:11).

1Sa 15:10 Then the Lord said to Samuel,
 11 It is no longer my pleasure for Saul to be king; for he is turned back from going in my ways, and has not done my orders. And Samuel was very sad, crying to the Lord in prayer all night.
 12 And early in the morning he got up and went to Saul; and word was given to Samuel that Saul had come to Carmel and put up a pillar, and had gone from there down to Gilgal.
 (BBE)

(Sam was no friend of Saul, but he anointed him king by God's order and, like David who spared Saul's life when he could have taken it in the cave (1 Samuel 24;

1Sa 24:1 Now when Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, news was given him that David was in the waste land of En-gedi.
 2 Then Saul took three thousand of the best men out of all Israel, and went in search of David and his men on the rocks of the mountain goats.
 3 And on the way he came to a place where sheep were kept, where there was a hollow in the rock; and Saul went in for a private purpose. Now David and his men were in the deepest part of the hollow.
 4 And David's men said to him, Now is the time when the Lord says to you, I will give up your hater into your hands to do with him whatever seems good to you. Then David, getting up, took the skirt of Saul's robe in his hand, cutting off the end of it without his knowledge.
 5 And later, David was full of regret for cutting off Saul's skirt.
 6 And David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him.
 7 So with these words David kept his servants back, and did not let them make an attack on Saul. And Saul got up and went on his way.
 8 And after that David came out of the hollow rock, and crying after Saul said, My lord the king. And when Saul gave a look back, David went down on his face and gave him honour.
 9 And David said to Saul, Why do you give any attention to those who say that it is my desire to do you wrong?
 10 Look! you have seen today how the Lord gave you up into my hands even now in the hollow of the rocks: and some would have had me put you to death, but I had pity on you: for I said, Never will my hand be lifted up against my lord, who has been marked with the holy oil.
 11 And see, my father, see the skirt of your robe in my hand: for the fact that I took off the skirt of your robe and did not put you to death is witness that I have no evil purpose, and I have done you no wrong, though you are waiting for my life to take it.
 12 May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord give me my rights against you, but my hand will never be lifted up against you.
 13 There is an old saying, From the evil-doer comes evil: but my hand will never be lifted up against you.
 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? for whom are you searching? for a dead dog, an insect.
 15 So let the Lord be judge, and give a decision between me and you, and see and give support to my cause, and keep me from falling into your hands.
 16 Now when David had said these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, David, my son? And Saul was overcome with weeping.
 17 And he said to David, You are right and I am wrong: for you have given me back good, but I have given you evil.
 18 And you have made clear to me how good you have been to me today: because, when the Lord gave me up into your hands, you did not put me to death.
 19 If a man comes across his hater, will he let him get away safe? so may you be rewarded by the Lord for what you have done for me today.
 20 And now I am certain that you will be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be made strong under your authority.
 21 So give me your oath by the Lord, that you will not put an end to my seed after me or let my name be cut off from my father's family.
 22 And David gave Saul his oath. And Saul went back to his house; but David and his men went up to their safe place.

 (BBE)

but knew Saul could not be trusted even then) , he was intent on God's will for the king, on the success of the nation under the king God appointed.  Sam clearly defining the success of the nation as it's will to obey God and follow Him. Men of God, true men and women of God, pray for the ruler and then grieve for the nation and for that ruler when he fails to follow God who put him that position.  Mourn for the nation that must suffer under leadership not of God.  God's true prophets tell the leader honestly when he fails, tell him or her when they are not filling their role in loyalty to God, to Christ, when they are wounding the nation by their actions.  Still praying for them.  W)

Seventh, he hated David (1 Sam. 18:7,8,11; 26:2, etc.)

(Saul's hate for David came from the fact people loved David and the people's praise mattered more the Saul since that was all he had after he left God's will.  W.)

Eighth, he slew the servants of God (1 Sam. 22:17,18).

1Sa 22:17 Then the king said to the runners who were waiting near him, Put the priests of the Lord to death; because they are on David's side, and having knowledge of his flight, did not give me word of it. But the king's servants would not put out their hands to make an attack on the Lord's priests.
 18 Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod.
 (BBE)

Ninth, he had (dealings) with the powers of evil (1 Sam. 28).

1Sa 28:1 Now in those days the Philistines got their forces together to make war on Israel. And Achish said to David, Certainly you and your men are to go out with me to the fight.
 2 And David said to Achish, You will see now what your servant will do. And Achish said to David, Then I will make you keeper of my head for ever.
 3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel, after weeping for him, had put his body in its last resting-place in Ramah, his town. And Saul had put away from the land all those who had control of spirits and who made use of secret arts.
 4 And the Philistines came together and put their forces in position in Shunem; and Saul got all Israel together and they took up their positions in Gilboa.
 5 And when Saul saw the Philistine army he was troubled, and his heart was moved with fear.
 6 And when Saul went for directions to the Lord, the Lord gave him no answer, by a dream or by the Urim or by the prophets.
 7 Then Saul said to his servants, Get me a woman who has control of a spirit so that I may go to her and get directions. And his servants said to him, There is such a woman at En-dor.
 8 So Saul, putting on other clothing, so that he might not be seen to be the king, took two men with him and went to the woman by night; and he said, Now, with the help of the spirit which you have, make the person whose name I will give you come up.
 9 And the woman said to him, But you have knowledge of what Saul has done, how he has put away out of the land those who have control of spirits and the users of secret arts: why would you, by a trick, put me in danger of death?
 10 And Saul made an oath to her by the Lord, saying, By the living Lord, no punishment will come to you for this.
 11 Then the woman said, Who am I to let you see? And he said, Make Samuel come up for me.
 12 And the woman saw that it was Saul, and she gave a loud cry, and said to Saul, Why have you made use of deceit? for you are Saul.
 13 And the king said to her, Have no fear: what do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth.
 14 And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, It is an old man coming up covered with a robe. And Saul saw that it was Samuel, and with his face bent down to the earth he gave him honour.
 15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you made me come up, troubling my rest? And Saul in answer said, I am in great danger; for the Philistines are making war on me, and God has gone away from me and will no longer give me any answer, by the prophets or by dreams: so I have sent for you to make clear to me what I am to do.
 16 And Samuel said, Why do you put your questions to me, seeing that God has gone away from you and is on the side of him who is against you?
 17 And the Lord himself has done what I said: the Lord has taken the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbour David;
 18 Because you did not do what the Lord said, and did not give effect to his burning wrath against Amalek. So the Lord has done this thing to you today.
 19 And more than this, the Lord will give Israel up with you into the hands of the Philistines: and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me: and the Lord will give up the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
 20 Then Saul went down flat on the earth, and was full of fear because of Samuel's words: and there was no strength in him, for he had taken no food all that day or all that night.
 21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was in great trouble, and said to him, See now, your servant has given ear to your words, and I have put my life in danger by doing what you said.
 22 So now, give ear to the voice of your servant, and let me give you a little bread; and take some food to give you strength when you go on your way.
 23 But he would not, saying, I have no desire for food. But his servants, together with the woman, made him take food, and he gave way to them. So he got up from the earth, and took his seat on the bed.
 24 And the woman had in the house a young cow, made fat for food; and she put it to death straight away; and she took meal and got it mixed and made unleavened bread;
 25 And she put it before Saul and his servants, and they had a meal. Then they got up and went away the same night.
 (BBE)

Tenth, he died by the sword (1 Sam. 31:4).

1Sa 31:3 And the fight was going badly for Saul, and the archers came across him, and he was wounded by the archers.
 4 Then Saul said to the servant who had the care of his arms, Take out your sword and put it through me, before these men without circumcision come and make sport of me. But his servant, full of fear, would not do so. Then Saul took out his sword, and falling on it, put an end to himself.
 5 And when his servant saw that Saul was dead, he did the same, and was united with him in death.
 (BBE)

(But it is the sword in the Lord's mouth which slays the AC so that link may be a bit contrived. W.)

                                                                                                                                                              


I could link this to No. 9 above but I would list it as perhaps the most important part and perhaps the beginning of Saul's fall, of the the AC's fall, the False Prophet's fall, the fall of humanity in the Garden:  the AC  will be apostate! He will have loved the Lord or at least loved the rituals of religion and he will have turned away, like Samson, like Saul, unaware that God has left him, perhaps unaware the Spirit could have inhabited him and been the prevention of Satan doing it, pursuing instead, as Saul, the witchcraft of old and new age humanism, man as the savior of himself.

http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1980s/ts880229.html


If Christians would take Saul's experience to heart, they would cry out like David to the Lord, "Give me a clean heart! Don't take Your presence from me!" Saul is a tragic picture of the Christian who has lost God's holy presence. (Of Apostasy. W.)

There are three terrible evidences. The first evidence is a melancholy, depressed spirit. God's Spirit left Saul because he refused to obey the Lord's command. Saul was commanded to do nothing until Samuel came to Gilgal to seek God and make sacrifices, but Saul got impatient and took matters into his own hands. So God left him "...because thou hast not obeyed that which the Lord commanded thee" (1 Samuel 13:14). He was not serious about God's Word.

A spirit of envy and jealousy then fell upon him, and he became insecure. The crowds were singing, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.... And Saul envied David from that day forward. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house...." (1 Samuel 18:7-10). The original Hebrew reads, "The melancholy spirit sent by God came upon Saul, and he feigned to prophesy within the house...." The word is actually "Rave!" Saul stormed about the house breaking things in a violent fit of madness. He raved like a madman! Saul cast his javelin at David, trying to kill him. "And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul" (Samuel 18:12)
Nothing worse can be said of a child of God but that "the presence of the Lord departed." In His place comes a spirit of hopelessness and emptiness, and it causes sudden irritation, temper tantrums, jealousies, envy and fear. This melancholy spirit on Saul made him believe that others were out to get him, that everyone was conspiring against him, that no one loved him and that no one pitied him. "All of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me...." (1 Samuel 22:8). He now distrusted his own son. And on one black day of infamy, Saul ordered the execution of 85 priests. He then had the city of Nob, a priest's city, completely wiped out, including women, mothers and children. Saul became a schemer, a manipulator of people. His home was divided and in turmoil. He was unable to sleep at night, always restless.

There is a depression caused by a lack of certain substances in the brain, and it is a strictly medical problem. But much of the depression among God's people is due to the departure of the Spirit of God because of their disobedience. Like Saul, they refuse to take God seriously. And like Saul, they become irritable, jealous, envious, manipulative and hateful.

A second evidence of the loss of God's presence is frequent confessions and occasional powerful movings of the Spirit with no accompanying change of heart. Saul was always confessing, always saying, "I have sinned! I'm sorry!" He said it at Gilgal when he disobeyed God, spared the best cattle and saved the wicked king Achish. He said it to David, after David refused to kill him in the cave, "You have done me good and I have rewarded you with evil" (1 Samuel 24:17). Saul repented again in the hill of Hachilah after David crept into the camp while Saul's bodyguard slept and stole Saul's spear and water bottle. Saul then called out, "I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm...." (1 Samuel 26:21). But through all this his heart never really changed; it actually grew harder with every confession.

When David escaped to Ramah to be with Samuel and the prophets, Saul came up to kill David. But instead the Spirit came upon Saul, "... And the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also (the upper garment) and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night..." (1 Samuel 19:23-24). When he got near the fire of God, among holy people, God's Spirit hit him like lightning. It was awesome! All day, all night, ecstatic utterances, praising God, prophesying. But when he got up he went right back to his stubborn ways.

How many Christians are like this! God occasionally moves on them; then they weep and promise God that things will change. God gives them seasons of refreshing to draw them to Himself, to reverse sin. But they're never changed. They do not come out to a life of devotion. They do not study their Bibles. They do not pray. The presence of God does not stay with them. Only on occasion do they experience the real moving of God's Spirit upon them.

The third evidence of the lack of God's presence is a life of confusion, containing no guidance, no personal word from God. One of the saddest portions of Scripture recounts how Saul sought counsel from the witch of Endor because God refused to answer him (see 1 Samuel 28:5-20). Hear Saul's somber words, "... God is departed from me, and answereth me no more ... " (verse 15). This is the sad sign of a Christian who has lost God's presence. He walks in confusion and distress, going about begging for a Word from God, even seeing out horoscopes and astrologers, anything or anyone claiming to be prophetic.

---

But my purpose here should exceed telling you about this guy who was apostate and about how it reflects the AC to come who is perhaps a day away from appearing.  The purpose of both of them is the purpose David Wilkinson employed them for in the article, one of the purposes Saul served to David: the example of failure and also the direction out.  Wilkinson goes on to use Saul's errors for that purpose, the enlightenment of those who feel they may suffer the same fate:

Three things happened before the cloudy pillar of God's presence returned: "When the people heard these evil tidings [that God would not go with them], they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. And Moses took the tent, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tent, which was without the camp. And as Moses entered into the tent, the cloudy pillar descended ..." (Exodus 33:4, 7, 9).

First, they mourned, wept, sorrowed and repented at the sad news of God's departure. They learned that God will not dwell with a stubborn people who lightly esteem His Word. They discovered that God means what He says. Although they were chosen, God said He would leave them. Listen to His Word: "Turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. Who knoweth If He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him... " (Joel 2:12-14). That blessing is the presence of the Lord. Where are those Christians who will get serious about His Word, who will weep, fast, seek Him, until there is a promise of His presence?

Secondly, they put aside all their ornaments. The Lord said, "Now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee" (Exodus 33:5). This means they took practical steps to put away every worldly distraction. Their ornaments were gold and silver replicas of the evil Egyptian gods - mice, goats, and calves dangling on chains. Their excuse was, "I don't worship this thing on my neck. It's just a piece of gold. It's meaningless; it's just a sentimental reminder from Egypt!" But God knew it was more than that. The Prophet Zephaniah warned that God would judge those Israelites: "I will cut off... them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham" (Zephaniah 1:4-5). God's people had made little ornaments, images of the Moabite and Amonite god Malcham (Molech), the god of human sacrifice. Up to this time God had patiently endured this flirtation, but now the issue was life and death. Their little charms had caused them to build a golden calf. So God said, "Enough! The least you can do is put away whatever charms you! Whatever you sacrifice your time to!"

Christians say they want God's presence, but they won't even put away those things that obviously distract them from Him. Joshua commanded the people, "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away your gods ..." (Joshua 24:14). "Put away" in Hebrew means "Turn off your gods." God is not joking when He commands, "Thou shalt bring no abomination into your house" (Deuteronomy 7:26); "Touch not the unclean thing;" "Set no wicked thing before your eyes;" "Walk before Me blameless." Therefore, they stripped themselves of everything that offended God.

Thirdly, Moses erected a tent outside the camp. The tabernacle had not yet been built. This was a special tent, a habitation for God's presence, located outside every distraction, far from the camp. Only those who truly sought the Lord went out to the tent. Moses went out daily, and Joshua never left. That tent represents the Christian's secret closet of prayer. The child of God must leave his family and his busy schedule behind. He must go outside of it all to meet the Lord, to seek His face, for God laments that "...there is none to stretch forth My tent any more, and to set up My curtains" (Jeremiah 10:20).

Only then was the issue settled, "When Moses entered into the tent, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tent, and the Lord talked with Moses ...And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Exodus 33:8,14). If you really want God's presence, where is your tent? Why don't you seek Him? Why don't you pray? Why don't you study His Word? Why is church your only contact with Him? Do you not know, or even care, about His presence in you?

                                                                                                                                                          

Going here provides some direction as well:

https://yourtruelifenow.blogspot.com/

And this begins the walk back:

https://www.gotquestions.org/left-first-love.html

 Revelation 2:1-7 contains Jesus’ message to the church in Ephesus, the first of seven exhortations to various churches in the Roman Empire. Ephesus had some unique challenges for a Christ-follower in that it was home to the Emperor’s cult and the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis (Acts 19:23-40). Because of these influences, the Ephesian believers had developed great discernment when it came to false teachers and heresy. Christ commended them for this discernment, but He faulted them for having lost their “first love.”


The first love which characterized the Ephesians was the zeal and ardor with which they embraced their salvation as they realized they loved Christ because He first loved them (1 John 4:19) and that it was, in fact, His love for them that had made them “alive together with Christ.” So overwhelmed were they by the joy that came from understanding their former state—dead in trespasses and sins—and their new life in Christ, that they exhibited the fruit of that joy (Ephesians 2:1-5). Because of God’s great love for the Ephesians, they were “made alive in Christ” and that new life was exhibited in the passion of gratitude. That passion for the Savior spilled over onto one another and out to those in the culture they inhabited, corrupt as it was.

("For the fruit of the Spirit is love..."  and we are commanded "to bear fruit."   That command has always been to walk in love and let the love overflow.  To let that love characterize the life we live. And to realize what human's tell us is the purpose has nothing to do with that love.  That our Fallen Flesh will overwhelm the Spirit or, worse, misdirect our attention to a false  spirit if we fail to keep the True One  fed.   That our Walk is a good deal more delicate and vulnerable to our willfulness than we are ever willing to admit.  W.)  


Jesus commends the Ephesians for their many good works and hard work. They tested teachers to see whether their professions were real; they endured hardship and persevered without growing weary. But they had lost their warmth and zeal for Christ, and when that happened, they began to “go through the motions” of good works, motivated not by the love of and for Christ, but by the works themselves. What was once a love relationship cooled into mere religion. Their passion for Him became little more than cold orthodoxy.

Surrounded by paganism and false teachers, the Ephesian church would have had ample opportunity to correct false doctrine and confront heretical teachers. If they did so for any reason other than love for Christ and a passion for His truth, however, they would have lost their way. Instead of pursuing Christ with the devotion they once showed, much like a bride who follows her groom “through the desert” (Jeremiah 2:2), the Ephesians were in danger of falling away from Christ completely. This is why He warns those who have “ears to hear” to prove the reality of their salvation by returning to Him and rekindling the love that had begun to cool. No doubt there were among the Ephesians those whose profession was false and whose hearing had become dulled. He warns the rest not to follow them, but to repent and return to Him with the passion they once had for Him.

(Preparing our minds for the discussion next time about the False Prophet. W.)

We face the same challenges in the twenty-first century. There are few churches that aren’t subject to, and in danger of, a certain amount of false teaching. But Jesus calls us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), and to not let the frustration of false teaching overpower the love of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:31-32). Our first love is the love Christ gives us for God and each other. We should be zealous for the truth, but that zeal should be tempered so that we are always “speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

Eph 4:13 Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ:
 14 So that we may be no longer children, sent this way and that, turned about by every wind of teaching, by the twisting and tricks of men, by the deceits of error;
 15 But saying true words in love, may come to full growth in him, who is the head, even Christ;
 16 Through whom all the body, being rightly formed and united together, by the full working of every part, is increased to the building up of itself in love.

 (BBE)

Paul's wish for ALL to be of harmony, in knowledge of Christ, growth in Christ to the measure of Christ as the Spiritual heights we are to reach.  

Because we are to seek to be the pro, the real deal, the one concerned with the details, with everything about this life in Christ, so we can recognize the counterfeit and not listen, so we can pick up the litter that may deflect a shot past our defenses.   We just have to put in the hours, the days, the lifetime.  We fully believe the saved will not be here for the REALLY counterfeit, but we must be intent on the today of not being mislead BEFORE the arrival of the Deadly Duo.   Even as we prepare in the next post to discuss  the False Prophet. 

But we leave you with the words of Jude:

Jude 1:20 But you, my loved ones, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, and making prayers in the Holy Spirit,

 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for life eternal through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 22 And have pity on those who are in doubt;

 23 And to some give salvation, pulling them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the clothing which is made unclean by the flesh.

 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to give you a place in his glory, free from all evil, with great joy,

 25 To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, let us give glory and honour and authority and power, before all time and now and for ever. So be it.

 (BBE)