SYNOPSIS The text reflects on the recent deaths of two well-known men—Christian opera singer Jubilant Sykes and actor-director Rob Reiner—both allegedly killed by their adult sons in similar stabbing incidents in California. The author contrasts the two men’s lives and legacies: Sykes is portrayed as a devoted Christian who used his musical talent to glorify God, while Reiner is described primarily through his political activism, Democratic influence, and secular beliefs. The piece emphasizes core Christian doctrines about sin, repentance, salvation through Jesus Christ, and the belief in only two eternal destinies—heaven or hell. It argues that merely admiring Jesus’ teachings is insufficient without true faith and repentance. While expressing some hope that Reiner may have converted before death, the author concludes by urging readers to reflect on mortality, eternal judgment, and the necessity of confessing Jesus as Lord, citing Romans 10:9. The text ends by noting similar reflections shared by Pastor Don Green.
The post reflects on the recent loss of notable Christian leaders, prompting questions about God’s purpose. While experiencing grief, the author emphasizes the importance of home ministry and discipleship beyond even public ministry. Encouragement in reminding readers of God’s sovereignty and the significance of every believer’s role in spreading light in the world.
In 2013, Aerobatic Wing Walker Jane Wicker and her pilot Charlie Schwenker were killed when the plane crashed at a Dayton, OH airshow.
The second before the plane crashed, the Dayton Ohio air show announcer said as wing walker Jane Wicker positioned herself on the upside down wing: “Jane Wicker, on top of the world!” One second later, she was dead.
I often speak of the soon return of Jesus. Today is one day closer to His return than yesterday was. Paul used to speak of Jesus’ soon return often. As a matter of fact, every New Testament book except Philemon speaks of Christ’s coming. You need to be ready.
However, we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. Yes, Jesus could come, but death could come also.
James 4:14 says “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
I often wondered what Ms Wicker was thinking as she sat on the upside down wing. Nothing indicated that one second later she would be dead. Did she think she had loads of time left to ponder the deep mysteries of faith and salvation? Had she put it off until tomorrow, but tomorrow never came?
I hope she was saved by grace of Jesus.
So many people are abruptly taken out of this world to meet their eternity. Yet so many people put off for tomorrow what they should be reconciling today. I remember during a sermon one of my elders had said that as a teen they were evangelizing in a grocery store. One of the team gave the gospel to a man who was exiting. He said he did not need Jesus. He walked out of the sliding door to the sidewalk and fell down dead right then.
If you are not saved, then do not put off to tomorrow what should be done today. God has appointed you to a limited number of days in this lifetime. You do not know what that number is.
“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” (Psalm 39:4-5).
Taking care of business means coming to grips with a few things. First, this life is not all there is. We are given a limited number of days to dwell upon the earth, but this body and this life is only phase 1. After death, there is a phase 2. If you have repented of your sins and believed on the resurrected Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will go to heaven and be with Him. You will be given a glorified body that is impervious to death or sickness, has no sin nature, and can withstand the full blast of His glory and Holiness. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50; Philippians 3:21).
If you rejected Jesus in this life- and you don’t have to actively reject Him but passively fail to accept him (doing nothing is the same as rejecting) then you will go to hell after you die. This is a place of eternal separation from God and you will be given a body that can withstand the full blasts of the punishment that will be inflicted on you as eternal payment for your sins and crimes against Him. (Revelation 14:11, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9)
It is a lie that you will be annihilated, that there is nothing else after death. It is a lie that hell is only temporary. It is surely eternal, as your sins are eternal and as Jesus is eternal. (Matthew 25:46). That is why Christians can dwell with Him forever, (Matthew 28:20; John 14:3) because He is eternal and He paid the price for our sins eternally when He took God’s punishment on the cross. (Romans 3:23-24).
You say, “God is loving, He would never send people to hell for punishment.” Really? It pleased Him to crush His Son! (Isaiah 53:10). Jesus absorbed all of God’s punishment while He was on the cross. Is God loving who would do that? Yes, He was making a way for YOU, whom He also loves. Jesus did that voluntarily, because He loves His people. If you reject Jesus though, you reject the way to heaven. (John 14:6).
Eternity is real and it is permanent. You do not know what today will bring. Ms Wicker didn’t. I hope these few words from my heart makes you think of the afterlife. For the Christian, it is a joy to ponder the time we will be with Jesus. For the unsaved, there is dread and fear of the unknown. But you can know, your eternity could be secure- if you repent. (Mark 1:15).
In this reflective piece, I contemplate the profound and often staggering reality of death, drawing parallels between historical battles and contemporary mortality rates. Citing biblical accounts, particularly from 2 Chronicles and Isaiah, the narrative explores the weight of human loss throughout history, emphasizing the eternal significance of souls lost to death.
A relative of mine died. My great-uncle’s son who would be my cousin once removed. He was 85. He was married for 62 years, ran our family business for 60 years, led an active, and by all accounts, a happy life.
I remember him as a jokester, lots of bonhomie, personable. In our large Italian family, the relatives all bought houses close to each other, and all us cousins played while the grownup men smoked cigars and played cards and the women sat around the table drinking coffee and talking. We were all around each other, all the time.
I hadn’t seen him in 50 years and I was not close. But still, as I age and my older relatives age even more, it is a time when I do think about eternity.
He was given a “Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial at the Catholic Sacred Heart Church” which performs a Rite: Roman-Latin rite.
The life he is now living, the one living after death, is likely not as happy.
To the saved, death is something we may be concerned about, but we know our life after death will be filled to the brim with joy and love. Death is a mysterious and foreboding thing to the unsaved, woefully ignored until one’s number of days is up. But as to the other demographic of humans who will face Jesus, the unsaved who THOUGHT they were saved, departing this life into the next will come as a huge shock.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.‘
If a person is a lifelong atheist, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Wiccan, Druid or any of the other religions, and does not repent before death, they will go to eternal hell. That is what the Bible teaches. Jesus said,
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me”. (John 14:6).
If you do not go through Jesus who died to cleanse us, then the person will remain in their filthy sin and be punished forever for it.
Matthew 5:22, But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matthew 10:28, And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 13:42, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
He is the ONLY way. He is the way, the door, the narrow path. All other religions are false, including Catholicism.
What is hard to see, too, are misguided comments on the Obituary page. I see these all the time. People say things like,
You’re in the loving arms of Jesus now
Rest in peace
See you on the other side
You are now in the residence of the Lord. You will find peace and comfort in his arms.
Until we meet again
No, none of these comments are true if the person spoken of did not repent of the neglect of their soul, address their sin, and seek the One True God. But the unsaved do not really want to contemplate fiery hell, eternal torment, and gnashing of teeth. And the ones who falsely believe they’re saved think they are all set for heaven.
I don’t know the final state of the souls of my relatives who have passed, of course, but it doesn’t look good. One hopes for the best but prepares for the worst upon the Day of Judgment. Time will reveal.
The Rich Man in torment in Hades begged Abraham on the other side to send a message to the Rich Man’s brothers so they would not have to come to this place.
But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'” (Luke 16:29-31).
And Who rose from the dead? Jesus. He lived the perfectly holy life that we cannot, pleasing God the Father. Jesus died on the cross as the sacrificial lamb that God requires, shedding His blood for us. God raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus ascended to glory to be seated at the right hand of the Father. If we repent of our sins, Jesus will apply His blood to our lives and we are covered, forgiven, and may join Him in glory when we pass.
Some say that a discussion like this at a time of someone’s mourning is inappropriate. But when, WHEN is the time? It is a perfect time to speak the truth in love. It’s evident that those giving misguided consolation need to hear this, even if it is too late for the departed.
Satan deceives many. But there is only one way to heaven. No matter how many platitudes one may write on an obituary page, there is a reality that is more real than even the real earth, and that is eternity.
for He says, “AT A FAVORABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON A DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “A FAVORABLE TIME,” behold, now is “A DAY OF SALVATION” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7-8).
Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.“
I woke this morning to horrifying news. I’ll relate the news then below I’ll discuss a personal connection to the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
A container ship flying under flag of Singapore, the “Dali,” apparently lost power twice briefly just before passing under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bouncing it off course for safe navigation under the bridge and causing a collision with a pier. This occurred at about 1:30 AM. The bridge immediately collapsed within seconds, taking whatever traffic was upon it into the Patapsco River, along with the iron trusses, concrete, and a construction crew working on the bridge.
Reportedly, the an officer on board the Dali called a mayday prior to the collision, alerting bridge workers to the danger. Thank the Lord he did, because workers were able to halt traffic from that moment on.
“Police radio traffic recorded at 1:27 a.m. captured responders rushing to evacuate and hold traffic on the bridge after an officer announced that a ship had lost control of its steering, according to records from Broadcastify, an open-source audio streaming service“, reports Washington Post. Sadly, not ALL traffic was cleared because reportedly 7 vehicles went into the water and also the construction crew who were on a meal break.
Reuters aerial view of Francis Scott Key Bridge. It is outermost bridge going up the Patapsco River headed to busy Port of Baltimore. The entire port is now cut off.
Road map showing position of bridge. The entire river to this busy port will be clogged for months as workers rescue, then clear it. Road traffic that used Rt 695 is affected also. The bridge is part of the beltway road system around the city.
“The bridge is more than 8,500 feet, or 1.2 miles, long in total. Its main section spans 1,200 feet and was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world upon its completion, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance.”
“About 31,000 vehicles a day use the bridge, which equals 11.3 million vehicles per year, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.”
“The river and the Port of Baltimore are both key to the shipping industry on the East Coast, generating more than $3.3 billion a year and directly employing more than 15,000 people.”
The 1,200 feet (366 m) span bridge was the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland which crosses the Patapsco River has reportedly Collapsed within the last few minutes after being Struck by a Large Container Ship; a Mass Casualty Incident has been Declared with over a Dozen Cars and many Individuals said to… pic.twitter.com/SsPMU8Mjph
These were reactions on Twitter that I thought were of interest,
Justin Z, @JayZMD Going to be a nightmare for a while. Daily Commutes, interstate Travel to and From NY/ Philly, Shipping to and From the Port of Baltimore, and Amazon has a huge facility right there.
David Hobby @strobist The port of Baltimore has also just been severed. Huge downstream economic impacts for the city.
0:21
Bridge is destroyed utterly.
I’ve sailed under that bridge and I’ve driven over it. The Patapsco River is an important river on the eastern seaboard leading to one of the busiest ports. It receives and sends a lot of container ships but what Port of Baltimore is known for is one of the largest if not THE largest roll-on roll-off ports. That’s items shipped that can roll on and off, like cars, farm machinery, anything that can roll. After the search and rescue turns to recovery and cleanup, which will take months, the port will be closed to all marine traffic. This will cause a disruption in many of our supply chains. Forbes wrote that the port closure will be:
“[P]otentially causing major economic interruption, as the bridge crossed over one of the largest ports in the U.S.—and the single largest port for cars. Besides the impact on car imports, 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo moved through the Port of Baltimore in 2023, worth more than $80 billion, the state said.“
“Outside of the maritime problems, the lack of the bridge will also affect the movement of goods and leave delivery drivers on the East Coast with fewer routes. A number of major companies also have distribution warehouses in an industrial park on the north end of the bridge, including Amazon, BMW, Home Depot, FedEx and Under Armour, Bloomberg reported.”
When I lived on our sailboat cruising up and down the Eastern Seaboard, we passed under the Key Bridge. It is named for Francis Scott Key, who witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814. He was inspired upon seeing the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn and wrote the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” which when put to music became the Star Spangled Banner we know today. The Coast Guard sets a red, white, and blue striped buoy at the spot where Key had witnessed the British attack, in commemoration.
We sailed under the bridge, and up to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. We anchored there for a few days and saw the sights. Then we upped anchor and sailed back down the Patapsco. When we traveled across country in our VW camper, we drove across the bridge. It’s a nice looking bridge, and serves a highly important function- We used it to avoid the traffic around the city of Baltimore. It’s part of Rt 695, a beltway around the congested city.
As much as I like bridges and admire their architecture, I am not a fan of driving on bridges. I’ve always been scared of traveling over them. The Jamestown Bridge in RI was built in 1939 and opened in 1940. Our family used to go for “Sunday Drives” and we’d head over to Newport to enjoy looking at the Mansions from the Gilded Age. To get there you had to drive across the Jamestown bridge. There were metal grates on top that clacked loudly as you went over them. I used to worry about falling through and plunging to Narragansett Bay many feet below.
I’ve walked over the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Tower Bridge and London Bridge in London the Forth of Forth in Scotland, Chesapeake Bay bridge, 7-mile bridge in Florida, Sunshine Skyway, Golden Gate, sailed under AND traveled over the Brooklyn Bridge (as well as the other NY bridges). Some were white-knuckle traversals, others like Ponte Vecchio and 7-mile which are barely above the water were less anxiety inducing. I have a horrible fear of drowning in a car, unable to get out from some body of water the car plunged into.
I wonder if the people traveling over the Key Bridge had a fear of bridges or if they commuted that way and had become used to it. Either way, the Lord speaks truth. We all have a number of days to live. I cannot imagine the horror of driving over the bridge and suddenly the bottom drops out from under you. The drivers surely didn’t know what was happening exactly, except that death was coming for them.
We all must be ready to meet Jesus at any moment. Death is a specter we all face, the end of our fleshly existence can come at any moment. For 6 of the construction workers eating a meal in the shadow of the night lights from the port, suddenly they were tumbling down 185 feet to the 47 degree water below, to arrive at their final destination moments later. Which destination will it be for you when the end comes? You might not know it’s coming, as the poor unfortunate folks at 1:30 am last night didn’t. Our bodies die but life continues in heaven or in hell.
Repent of your sins to Jesus, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross absorbing the wrath for your sins, was buried, rose again, and ascended to heaven. If you repent He will forgive you and you will escape your due and just punishment because Jesus already took it. Be cleansed, be prayerful and repentant. If you are already saved, be grateful for salvation and His assurance as one of His children that on the day of your death you will be safe forevermore in heaven, alive and joyful.
Our boat, upon which we searched for, and found, the mythical Margaritaville.
He holds a special place in my life. I loved his music. One of the earliest lyrics I wrote in little girl script on the blank side of an index card and tacked on my cork board above my desk was from 1977’s album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, “If we couldn’t laugh we’d all go insane”.
As a thirtysomething I’d sought a different way of living after I became burned out as a teacher and melancholy over an unwanted divorce. Buffett’s ‘drop out and enjoy the beach’ brand of hedonism now spoke to me, as Maine winters with frigid temps, gray skies, and asphalt encrusted frozen snowbanks dimmed the spirit. Here, I’d clung to the lyric “I gotta go where it’s warm!”
I found it when my new husband and I boarded his yacht and sailed into the sunset. We anchored in Georgetown, The Bahamas and the lyric “One Particular Harbor” now resonated with us. We met lots of fellow ‘Parrotheads’ who had the same dream to drop out, live a life of pleasure, and enjoy the simple things like “Boat Drinks” while searching for the “Green Flash at Sunset” (which we finally saw!) I was living the dream.
But was I?
I was still melancholy, still felt I was searching for something that would salve the sadness and constant friction in my soul. I was not saved. I could listen to Buffett all day long, and agree with him on so many counts as I parroted the lyrics, but I still cried real tears in the wee night. I didn’t know why.
A few years later we “swallowed our anchor” and became employed landlubbers again. The Lord’s timing was such that He saw fit to NOW show me the truth. We don’t live for ourselves but we live to give God the glory He deserves and enjoy Him forever. As my sanctification increased I found myself leaving the Buffett songs, as I found them tinged with an underlying anger and rebellion.
Buffett’s Catholic upbringing left a deep mark on his soul. You can hear it in many of his songs, where he acknowledges sin but never seeks the remedy. Because of the lies of the Catholic Church in his 14 formative years, he ran as fast as he could from God and never looked back, except to entwine the God of truth with the false god of Catholicism and disparage Him in song.
This 2018 article from a Catholic perspective recounts Buffett’s angst and anger over it all. I think it is well-written.
“I broke out of the grip of Catholicism…” Buffett wrote in his autobiography “A Pirate Looks at Fifty”.
The harm that false religion does to a soul is incalculable. He wrote “Vampires, Mummies, and the Holy Ghost” in 1994, and here are two stanzas,
So many dragons lurking out in the fog So many crazy people mumblin’ monologues It’s not the tales of Stephen King that I’ve read I need protection from the things in my head
Vampires, mummies and the holy ghost These are the things that terrify me the most No aliens, psychopaths or MTV hosts Scares me like vampires, mummies and the holy ghost
We can see that the true Holy Ghost never made an appearance to Buffett’s troubled soul and distressed mind through God’s word rightly interpreted. Only the Catholic version.
As for me, I enjoyed his music, I liked his lyrics, I tried living the Buffett philosophy of life for a while. Then the Lord above dropped the scales from my eyes and graciously gave me the faith to repent and clearly see Jesus in His glory through His word. I’m grateful for that.
Today I’ll still probably play a few Buffett songs in acknowledgement of his talent and enjoy listening to “One Particular Harbor”- but this time my harbor is Christ, not Georgetown.
Jimmy Buffett died from as yet undeclared causes, but his soul lives on. Buffett wrote in “He Went to Paris, “some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, but I had a good life all the way.” He did. He was admired for his music, he was an author of children’s books and adult books, he had 3 kids whom he loved, he was a millionaire, he sailed boats and flew planes to his heart’s content. He accepted the applause of millions right up until recently in his sell-out live concerts.
“Along with hit songs, Buffett wrote best-selling novels. In 2008 he was ranked by Vanity Fair as No. 97 on a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and his fan base was broad and loyal. Even when he was in his 60s, his concert tickets fetched more than $100.” Source
His earthly life has finished. He inspired many, he charmed many, and he had a good life all the way.
This is a staggeringly incomprehensible verse, but it is true:
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.” (Luke 12:37)
I believe the Bible totally and completely. I believe every word is true. I have faith that the Lord will bring all things to completion just the way He said. I rejoice in the future of eternity and glad He gives us that hope of the future.
But to think of us being served by Him just leaves me no words! What a picture this verse creates. It reminds me of the time Jesus girded Himself and washed the feet of the disciples. He is always giving us a picture of humble service.
In this dark time of confusion and hate, chaos and uncertainty, let’s dwell on this future reality for a bit. We will see His face. We will be finally delivered from the presence of sin, ours and the world’s. We will reunite with loved ones. We will meet new brethren. We will see His glory! But this is true too: we will sit at His table and sup with Him!
Let’s examine what present and past theologians have had to say about this verse.
Missionary to Vanuatu in the late 1800s, John G. Paton, writing about the death of one of his first native converts in his book Thirty Years Among the South Sea Cannibals, said:
“While staying at Aneityum, I learned with as deep emotion as man ever felt for man, that noble old Abraham, the sharer of my Tannese trials, had during the interval peacefully fallen asleep in Jesus. He left for me his silver watch one which I had myself sent to the dear soul from Sydney, and which he greatly prized. In his dying hour he said, “Give it to Missi, my own Missi Paton; and tell him that I go to Jesus, where Time is dead.”
That converted cannibal had a real and profound grasp of his position in Christ. I have read many times that in heaven sin will be dead, tears will be dead, sorrow will be dead, but I never read anything put quite like that. In heaven, time is dead.
Eternity. Everlasting. Forever and ever. Forevermore. Who is and was and is to come. Always.
Did you ever think about eternity? The weight of the fact that God has always existed and always will? That He just is? That heaven will be eternal for His vessels of grace and will also be eternal for His vessels of wrath?
the-end-time.org 