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Well, we return now to Revelation chapter 20 and we're going to be looking at the Word of God tonight as it presents to us the coming earthly Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is Part 4 in our look at these first ten verses of Revelation chapter 20, tremendous, tremendous portion of Scripture.
The hope of the world is the return of Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His great glorious Kingdom. As we know, God made a paradise originally, He called it Eden, and He will remake a paradise finally called the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Man didn't write the first chapter in history, and he won't write the last chapter. God wrote the first one, and God will write the last one. God Himself will act to end man's day on this planet. And that very act of God in ending man's day and bringing about the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is the theme of the book of Revelation. In fact, we've called this book "Back to the Future," and ancient prophetic book that is not only up to date but takes us clear into the future right to the very end.
Now remember the sequence in Revelation, if you will. Chapter 1 introduces us to the book and gives us a vision of Jesus Christ. And in chapter 1 Jesus Christ is moving in His church. In chapters 2 and 3 He's writing letters to the church. So we could say that chapters 1, 2 and 3 deal with the age of the church, in which age we now are living.
And then we are transported in chapters 4 and 5 into heaven. And when we get to heaven we are among saints and angels. And the scene is one of high interest. The scene is one of praise and adoration and glory. Not just in general but because something is about to happen. And what is about to happen is judgment. Chapter 4 and 5 show us a heaven filled with anticipation where things are being readied for the Lord to act in the world.
And then we come to chapter 6 and from chapter 6 all the way through chapter 18 there is judgment...a time of great judgment. It unfolds in seal judgments and trumpet judgments and bowl judgments and it ends with a holocaust of horror called the day of the Lord in which God's final fury is poured out.
Then you come to chapter 19 and the return of Jesus Christ as He comes back to earth, destroys the armies of the world and all the unbelievers. And then chapter 20, He sets up His Kingdom. His Kingdom is described in chapter 20 down through verse 10. At the end of His Kingdom there is a final judgment called the judgment if the Great White Throne, the end of this chapter. And then in chapters 21 and 22 you have the eternal new heaven and the new earth which is the final state in which the redeemed will live forever.
So this is a sweeping prophetic panorama, taking us from the present time, the age of the church, through the time of great judgment, the coming of Jesus Christ, the establishment of His Kingdom and then on into the eternal state. So in the flow and the chronology of the book of Revelation, we come now to chapter 20 and find ourselves learning about the period of the Kingdom. It's a period of one thousand years that is repeated over and over again in the first part of chapter 20, the term a thousand years, or THE thousand years is used numerous times...six or seven, as I recall. This is a thousand-year period in which Christ will reign over a restored earth and universe.
And as we've been saying, this marvelous Kingdom is not just introduced here. In fact, it is merely further defined here, it was introduced among the prophets of the Old Testament. They spoke about it, as we saw. Jesus Himself spoke about it. New Testament writers spoke about it. But nowhere in the New Testament is there a clearer more unmistakable presentation of the Kingdom than right here in Revelation chapter 20. And here we have a framework, a sort of skeleton on which we can hang all the other prophecies about the Kingdom. This sort of gives us the basic structure.
And so as we looked at these opening verses, we remember that in verses 1 to 3 as we are introduced to the Kingdom, the first thing that happens is the removal of Satan. "An angel coming down from heaven having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old who is the devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years. And threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him that he should not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed. After these things he must be released for a short time."
So the first thing that happens in the Kingdom, and this gives it its character, is the removal of Satan and along with him all of his demons. It wouldn't do any good to remove him and leave all his demons here. They would be able to occupy the world with the same kind of frenzy and the same kind of influence they have currently. And since Satan himself is not omnipresent, the work of demons could be tremendously effective, as it is now when he's not even present. So I believe that when Satan is removed, so are all of his minions, all of his cohorts, all of those fallen angels who are part of his kingdom of darkness. So Satan being removed is going to have an immense impact on the character of life in the Kingdom. No longer will he be the god of this age, the prince of this world, the prince of the power of the air, he will be completely out of the picture. So we saw that in verses 1 to 3. And that has an immense impact on the nature of life during that thousand-year period.
Then in verses 4 through 6 we came to the reign of saints. From the removal of Satan to the reign of saints. "I saw thrones and they sat upon them...those being the saints...and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." So you have all the saints there, Old Testament saints, saints who lived during the time of Christ on earth, New Testament saints, and then even the Tribulation saints. And they're all there, reigning with Christ for a thousand years. "And the rest of the dead didn't come to life until the thousand years were completed." But all the saints are a part of the first resurrection and blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection, over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him again for a thousand years." And we discussed quite in detail what that reign of the saints means.
And then we came to the third point in verse 7, from the removal of Satan, the reign of saints, to the return of Satan, as noted back in verse 3, he would be released for a short time. And here it says, "When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison." And we know what happens. Satan comes out of his prison. And horrible and frightening things occur, as they always have when Satan had his sway in society.
And we answered the question that is a very important question. If you're in the Millennial Kingdom, how is it that Satan's going to be able to come back and have any influence? Isn't everybody a believer? No. The only people who enter the Kingdom will be believers. They will be the sheep in the judgments of Matthew 24 and 25 in the Olivet Discourse. The sheep who enter into the Kingdom, only believers will enter the Kingdom because when Christ returns He'll destroy all the ungodly. Only believers will enter but many of them, of course, will be in...still in their physical bodies and all of them who enter the Kingdom immediately on earth will be physically alive. And so they will reproduce and have children. Their children will have to confess Christ to be saved, like anybody in this current age would have to. And many of them will reject Christ, showing the depth of sinfulness as we saw in our last study.
And even though there is a comprehensive cultural morality, even though Christ rules with a rod of iron, even though there is massive evidence that He is in fact God in human flesh and the ruler of the world, and even though theology will not be disputed, but truth will reign, righteousness will prevail, peace will encircle the globe, even though the truth will be everywhere available to them, men will love their sin so much they will reject Christ even while He's present.
And having rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, they will then be a huge mass of unbelievers for Satan to influence upon his release from the kingdom...released, I should say, to the Kingdom of Christ from the place of darkness where he has been.
And we talked about the fact that man's depravity will not be altered by a perfect environment. Man's depravity will not be altered by a cultural morality. It doesn't change man. And Satan will not have his personality or his character altered by being in the abyss, either. His wickedness is fixed for eternity. He will just come out of a thousand years, or nearly a thousand years of incarceration more irate, more determined than ever to try to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't change in his environment of punishment, and men don't change in a perfect environment of righteousness. And so here comes Satan as bad as ever, and he goes after sinners who are as lost as ever, even though christ is alive on the earth. And so you have then, the return of Satan in verse 7.
It says when the thousand years are completed he is released from prison. It also says back in verse 3 that he is released for a short time. So sometime near the end of the thousand years he will be released. It doesn't mean that the thousand years have to completely be over, some time near the end he will be released. And he will have some time to do what he sets out to do.
Now that takes us to the fourth point in verses 8 through 10, and the culminating point in this skeleton of the Kingdom, the revolt of society. We go from the removal of Satan, the reign of saints, to the return of Satan, and then the revolt of society. This is really an incredible thing that happens. It reminds us, as I've saying, that nothing external can change men. Judgment in the Great Tribulation...think of that. God is pouring out His fury, angels flying through heaven preaching the gospel, a hundred and forty-four thousand witnesses preaching the gospel who are invincible, two witnesses preaching the gospel worldwide who rise from the dead, right in full view of the whole world. Incredible, miraculous judgments falling all around people. They are hearing the gospel like it's never been preached before. It is everywhere. The truth is everywhere. Judgment is everywhere. And people still hate God and hate Christ and will not repent. They will not change in a time of judgment and they will not change in a time of righteousness. They will not change in a time of war. They will not change in a time of peace. They will not change under Antichrist's rule, they will not change under Christ's rule. Men love sin in every age and under every condition. They love sin.
And so, after a thousand year of a perfect environment of the utopia, paradise restored, Satan comes out. Verse 8 then, "And he'll come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore and they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
Now there you have the revolt of society and its end in very rapid-fire staccato presentation. The deception comes in verse 8. The war in verse 9. And halfway through verse 9 the destruction and then into verse 10 where Satan himself is dealt with eternally.
Now I want us to look at this and I think there's some really wonderful things to understand about it as we look about the details of this text. First of all, in verse 8 it says that Satan comes out to deceive the nations. Now we're not surprised by that because that's what he's made a career out of doing. He is a deceiver. In fact, back in chapter 12 verse 9 it calls him Satan who deceives the whole world. I mean, that is his character, that is what he does. He is a deceiver, ever and always. Back in verse 3 of this chapter, he is put into the abyss so he should not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were finished. And now when he comes back, he will deceive people.
In other words, it will not be clear to them why they're doing what they're doing. They will be under a deception. His primary operation has always been to lead people astray from the truth, from reality. You wonder why, don't you, the world is just absolutely filled with deception and lies, false religions everywhere, false views of morality everywhere, false understandings of virtue everywhere. Why? Because the god of this age has blinded the minds of the people of this age who are perishing and they have bought into his deception because they love their sin. And so Satan comes out and he deceives the nations.
So while Satan is released and Satan is the deceiver, it is the plan of God that is being executed. It is no different than when Jesus died on the cross and Peter reminded the people who killed Christ that they had done that, that they had killed the prince of life, they had wanted a murderer rather than the prince of life, but what they had done was by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God. And so God is behind the whole thing. It was God, of course, who gave the angel the authority to incarcerate Satan. It was God, of course, who provided the means of releasing him from the pit. It is God who allows him to pull off his deception. And it is God who gathers by allowing the enterprise of Satan to run its course, all of these hosts against His people and against His land and against His city.
So Satan, you will remember, always functions within the sovereignty of God. He always functions within the stated purpose and goal of God in His redemptive intention.
Now it says also in verse 8 that he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth. Obviously the earth is round, we don't take this as some indication that people in the Bible times thought the earth was square. It simply means east, west, north and south...the points of a compass from all over the globe. And you can remember if you were with us back in chapter 7, four angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the four winds of the earth. And there again is that same reference to east, west, north and south, meaning global, the four points of the compass. So Satan's deception is global.
I don't know how he pulls it off, I don't know how he dispatches his demons because the Bible doesn't tell us. We don't know by what means he will bring about the deception. But the deception is going to basically at its heart be this kind of deception...we can conquer Christ. That's at the heart of it. I mean, they would have to believe that or they wouldn't do this. And that's going to be a very, very interesting deception because after all, they have lived under the rule of Christ for a thousand years and many of them have surely lived for hundreds of years because life will be elongated again, as we discussed some weeks ago. And they've lived a long time under the rule of Christ. They have seen the rod of iron. It is well known to him that He rules with justice and righteousness and swiftness and there is no escaping. They understand His power. They understand His invincibility. So the deception has to involve the idea that they can actually overthrow Christ. And they are so deceived by Satan but that's all within God's plan.
So, back to verse 8. The nations from all over the globe are deceived. And then it says, "Gog and Magog." What is that? Well there's only one way to see that. That has to be the title for these enemies of the King of Kings. He gives them this title, they are called Gog and Magog. The world is going to march against Christ under that name, Gog and Magog.
Now that is not a non-descript or an obscure name. That is not something just pulled out of a hat. That has significance prophetically.
Now Magog we know. Magog was the grandson of Noah. Magog was the second son of Japheth, you remember Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Japheth's second son, grandson of Noah therefore, was Magog. And Magog, this child of Japheth, founded a great kingdom. And the great kingdom that Magog founded was north of the Black and Caspian Sea. In ancient times it was known as Scythia, in modern times it is known as Russia.
Scripture says little about this kingdom at all. All we know about it is just a little bit of the history of the name because he is a grandson of Noah. And we know the location. We don't know much else. So from a historical standpoint we don't know much. And furthermore there is no way to know what Gog is. We have nothing about Gog by way of descriptive in Scripture. Perhaps it is best to refer to Gog as the leader of the Magog power. Magog being this great power, this great nation, this great group of people to the north, and Gog perhaps being the leader of Magog.
But we're not looking at history, we're looking at prophecy. And here is a prophecy that in the future Gog and Magog are going to appear. And so Gog, if he is indeed the leader of the Magog power, here refers not to someone in the past, but to someone in the future. This name is given to the final rebelling army of millions of people.
Now in ancient times Magog, Scythia, and even in modern times Russia is north of Israel. And it may well be that the reason this worldwide power is called Magog, there's a number of reasons perhaps, but one significant reason would be that it like all the other enemies of Israel comes down from the north. All those who have conquered Israel through history always come down from the north because you come down from the Heights, and they have immense vulnerability at that point. And so here is the final great conquering army, coming down into Israel from the north against the land, against the holy city, the beloved city, and against the reigning Christ.
Now the question that Bible students have pondered through the years is what event is this? What event is 38 and 39 of Ezekiel? When does this happen? Some suggest it happens before the Tribulation, some have suggested it happens at the beginning of the Tribulation, some have said it's in the middle of the Tribulation. Some have said it's toward the end of the Tribulation. Some have said it's...it's right after the Tribulation. Some have said it's...it's in the middle of the Kingdom. Some have said it's at the end of the Kingdom. Some have said it's after the Kingdom. And what that tells you is people are having a very difficult time figuring this out.
And when you get down to the irreducible minimum, the one compelling interpretation that you have of Ezekiel 38 and 39 is Revelation 20 because that's the only other place that Gog and Magog is mentioned. And certainly the Lord must have assumed that we would make a connection because in Revelation 20 He doesn't do anything to define Gog and Magog. Well He would assume that anybody who understands the Bible is going to get immediately back into Ezekiel 38 and 39 to find out what this Gog and Magog is all about.
Now there are some who say that, however, the events in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are not the same as the events in the time of the Kingdom, but they're more like the events of the Tribulation. Consequently there is some discussion at that point. But let me just suggest to you that I'm a simple man and if I see Gog and Magog in Revelation 20 and I see Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39, I'm prone in my simplicity to make a connection. I think they're the same, and I think there are some compelling reasons why we can affirm that. And I want to share those with you.
Let's go back to Ezekiel 38 and I want to just help you to see why I think this fits into the time of the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Let me start reading for you.
"And the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of Man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal and prophesy against him, and say, Thus says the Lord God, behold I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal and I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws and I will bring you out and all your army, horses and horsemen, all your splendid attired...all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; Persia and Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Gomer with all its troops, Beth- togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops-- many peoples with you. Be prepared and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you and be a guard for them.
"After many days you will be summoned in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations, to the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. But its people were brought out from the nations and they're living securely, all of them. And you will go up, you will come up like a storm, you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops and many peoples with you. And thus says the Lord God, It will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan and you will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages, I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited against the people who are gathered from the nations who have acquired cattle and goods who live at the center of the world. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say to you, Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?
"Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord god, On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? And you will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army, and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about on the last days that I'll bring you against My land in order that the nations may know Me, when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog."
Just reading that gives me the same sense of what is said in the book of Revelation, doesn't it you? A collection of people from all over the earth coming against Jerusalem, coming down from thebbutz north which is where the conquerors always came from. Let's just pick out some of the key ideas here.
Whatever is going on Ezekiel 38 and 39 will occur when Israel is living in safety. Verse 8, "In the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword..." and so forth, and at the end of the verse, "And time when they are living securely, all of them." Verse 11, "I will go up against the land of unwalled villages," that means they don't need protection. "I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them, living without walls and having no bars or gates." Verse 14, "In the day when My people in Israel are living securely, will you not know it?"
One very clear thing is it's a time when Israel is living in safety. That is not true of the Tribulation, is it? There is anything but safety in the time of Jacob's trouble. The time of Jacob's trouble is what Jesus called the worst time that has ever come on the face of the earth, Matthew 24:21. It is a time when He warns the Jews to flee and to hope and pray that it's not winter or they're not bearing children because that would hinder their escape.
Secondly, whatever this great war is, it occurs not only at a time when Israel is living safely, but when Israel is prosperous and flourishing. Verse 12, "They are going to have spoil, these people are going to come to capture spoil, seize plunder. They're going to come to those who have acquired cattle and goods who live at the center of the world." It's going to be then when the people of God are back in Jerusalem and Jerusalem, believe me, in God's eyes is the center of the world, right? It's the throne of the Messiah. They're going to come at a time when Israel flourishes and when they have spoil. Down in verse 13, "Have you assembled to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold and cattle and goods?" And let me say this, that is not true of Israel during the time of the Tribulation. They will not be wealthy, they will be poor. They will be slaughtered, they will be massacred, as we saw very, very clearly. They'll be leaving anything they possess where it is when they flee for their lives. They'll be hustling off to a place in the wilderness to be protected, taking nothing with them but bare necessities.
Thirdly, whatever this event is in 38 and 39 it will occur when Israel has been brought back from the sword. In other words, when war is over. Verse 8, "It will come in the latter years, in the land that is restored from the sword." That is to say it will...it will come in a time when the land is, literally in the Hebrew, shub, returned...returned from war, from the sword.
Time when peace reigned. That's not the kingdom (Tribulation), according to Zechariah chapter 12, Zechariah chapter 12 lays out for us that Israel is trampled during the time of the Tribulation. Revelation 19, massive war during the Tribulation. This has to be a time when war is over, when the nation is redeemed, brought back from chastening wars, disciplining wars, wars of God's refining. And certainly, if you go back to chapter 36 and follow the chronology of Ezekiel's prophecy, it was in 36 that Israel was brought back, that the dry bones find life and they're redeemed and delivered and gathered to the land. And it's a great and glorious gathering, chapter 36. Then in chapter 37 in the vision of the dry bones as Israel is brought into the reality of the New Covenant, saved, redeemed and given life. So the nation is redeemed and gathered and wars are over.
And next, it has to be at a time when...when Israel is gathered for, I want to use the right word, within the framework of redemptive purpose. Verse 8 again, "Whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations from the mountains of Israel." In other words, it's the time after God redeems Israel, when Israel has been gathered, kibbutzin Hebrew, when they have...it's used frequently for the Lord gathering Israel into the Kingdom. Isaiah talked about it, chapter 11, chapter 43, chapter 54, chapter 56, Jeremiah talked about it in chapter 23 and 29 and 31 and 32, Zephaniah chapter 3, Zechariah 10, Malachi 4. It talks about the gathering of Israel into the Kingdom. Surely can't...surely can't refer to Israel...listen to this...being regathered in unbelief to enjoy the false peace of Antichrist. It has to be Israel being gathered to a true peace and the reign of the Messiah, so it can't be a time in the Tribulation.
Furthermore, it must be a time when Israel is invaded by many nations, when Israel is invaded by many nations. Notice in verse 2, Gog, Magog, Rosh, Meshech, Tubal; verse 5, Persia, Ethiopia, Put; verse 6, Gomer and Togarmah, house of Togarmah; verse 6...verse 13 rather, Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish. This is a massive global kind of thing, this isn't just some nation in the north coming down as is described in Daniel 11 and that must be at a different time for a number of reasons. First of all, it's just one people coming down from the north, secondly, they come down and make war with the Antichrist in Daniel 11, not with Christ. So that power, the king of the north coming down in Daniel 11 cannot be the same as this north power. Furthermore, east, south, west, north are all involved. He mentions here Ethiopia, that's south of Egypt. Put, that's Libya, that's south. Sheba, that's northeast Africa. That's Dedan or Saudi Arabia to the east. Tarshish would be the Mediterranean area. You can't be very specific about that but it could be Tarsus in Cilicia. Gomer, modern Turkey; Togarmah, eastern Anotolia which is a portion of Turkey, probably an ancient city of the Assyrians, far removed from the others mentioned. And some say it was the land bridge between the Black and the Caspian Sea. Meshech, other parts of Turkey; Tubal, other parts of modern Turkey; and Persia which is modern Persia or Iran.
The point is they come from all around, the four corners of the earth. It must also be a time when Israel's calamities have ended. Verse 8 says that they are living securely. They have been brought out from the nations and are living securely, all of them. That could only be true if they were brought out from the nations redemptively and were living under the leadership of Messiah. Certainly can't be the time of the Great Tribulation when Armageddon is about to break out. We find a similar indication over in chapter 39. Furthermore it will be a time, and this is very important, when Israel is unpolluted, when Israel does not profane God's name. Chapter 39 of Ezekiel verse 7, "My holy name I shall make known in the midst of My people Israel and I shall not let My holy name be profaned anymore." It will be a time when Israel is unpolluted, when God's name is not profaned anywhere in the world. It can't be the Tribulation because blasphemy reigns on every front.
It will be a time when Israel is being dealt with as a nation. And that time has to be the Kingdom. Over in verse 25 of 39, "I shall restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel." Verse 27, "I bring them back from the peoples, gather them from the lands of their enemies and I will be sanctified through them in the sight of many nations." It's a time when Israel is lifted up and purified and purged and redeemed nationally and dealt with as a nation, reconstituted as a nation. That happens in the Kingdom. It is a time when Israel is led by holiness as we saw in verses 7 and 8.
The only period of time that I can understand that happening is the Kingdom. And that's why I think if you start with Gog and Magog in Revelation 20, there's only one place to go, that's Ezekiel 38 and 39. There are some features here that trip up some people. Some people wonder about seven years in verses 9 and 10 of chapter 39, seven years to burn the weapons that are going to be used in that war. Well that's not a problem. If Satan is released a few years before the end of the thousand, and the war starts and ends immediately, there can be a period of time in which the weapons can be burned before the Kingdom ends and the eternal state begins. There will be, remember, believing people still alive on earth. There will be a great multitude who will believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. And when all the ungodly are destroyed, they'll still be around to do that if that's what God has purposed to do. That's certainly not a point that would debilitate this argument.
Well, all of that...let's go back to Revelation 20. I want you to know that because I think it's important when we study the Word of God to be as accurate as we can possibly be. And when the Lord gives us something as specific as Gog and Magog, we want to do our best to interpret it. I can't imagine any better parallel to the event of Revelation 20 than Ezekiel 38 and 39. And as you read through Ezekiel 38 and 39, if you took the time to do it in great detail, there might...you might come across a few things that you wonder how they fit. That shouldn't surprise you, because that's the nature of prophetic truth. We can't know all the details, we can't resolve all the issues.
You can imagine how the Old Testament prophet or the Old Testament saint read everything that the Old Testament said about the coming of Messiah and tried to fit it all together. First of all, they would have one massive problem because they would be reading the Old Testament and they would read...King, King, King, King...and then they would come to Isaiah and they would find suffering servant which would pose for them an immense conflict, which conflict exists to this very day among Jews who don't know what to do with that section of Isaiah. That's the nature of prophecy, in that we can't see everything that could be known, only God knows the future in its perfection.
So, back to Revelation 20. Satan then comes back, collects a world of sinners from the corners of the earth. They are given this title Gog and Magog because that represents the ancient enemy that descends on the people of God. Satan gets all these people, gathers them together for the war, the absolutely final battle. That's it, folks, there ain't no more. Now we've seen a lot of battles through Revelation, this is it...this is the last battle. The next battle that occurs in the Bible is the battle you have to find the right thing in the Concordance because after this there aren't any battles left...the absolutely final battle.
And it says amazingly, "The number of them is like the sand of the seashore." Now that's hyperbole. It doesn't mean that if you could count the number of grains of sand on the seashores of the world you'd know exactly how many soldiers there would be in that battle. That's hyperbole, that is simply a way to illustrate this massive number. And that is so tragic that there will be a number, a massive number of people who will join Satan's rebellion. By the way, such hyperbole is used back in Genesis 22:17, God says, "I'll greatly bless you, multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, as the sand which is on the seashore." In other words, a tremendous, great number, not necessarily equal mathematically to the number of grains of sand. It came, it says in Joshua 11:4, they came out, they and all their armies...and this is talking about some kings...and they came, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore. Well we know that army wasn't equal to the number of grains of sand, it's simply a hyperbolic way to express a large number, a massive number. We have the same kind of use in 1 Samuel 13, it says, "The Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance." The Jews just used that as a hyperbolic way of expressing great number, a great horde coming in a warring effort.
Back for just a moment, it came to mind, back in Ezekiel 38 verse 9 it says that they'll come like a storm, like a cloud covering the land. That's the same kind of hyperbole. Down in verse 16, "Like a cloud covering the land." So it's going to be a, there's going to be a population explosion in the Kingdom. People are going to live a long time, conditions are going to be perfect. I told you the earth is going to be restored. Things are going to change. There are not going to be the natural enemies. I don't think the disease factor is going to be there. I think when you saw Jesus coming in His first coming and healing and healing and banishing disease from Palestine, that was a taste of the age to come. It will be an age of healing, of wholeness, of long life, of high reproduction. It will be a time of peace. People won't be dying as they die today in wars and crime and all of that. And so people will live long healthy lives. And they will be highly reproductive. There will be a population explosion exponentially that will create a massive population of millions on the earth by the time that thousand years is complete. The conditions of health and safety and peace are going to make a lot of people available for Satan to gather his hosts.
Then verse 9, "When the army was gathered," and it's an amazing thing to see how he's able to gather them from all over the earth. "They came up from the broad plain of the earth." Now remember, the earth has been reconfigured. We remember that. We remember back, for example, in Revelation chapter 16 and verse 20, "Every island fled away and the mountains were not found." There has been during the time of the Tribulation a rearrangement of topography and geography. The holocaust of judgment has reshaped the earth. Mountains have come down, and islands have fled away. That indicates barriers being removed, access being given, a feature of the Kingdom. And so this tremendous army...it doesn't mean there is no hill anywhere, it just means that the earth is reconfigured. There is still a mount on which Zion exists and which Christ rules and there may still be some hills here and there as the prophets looked toward that time. But in general the earth is flattened out. And so they come up on the broad plain of the earth and they surrounded the camp of the saints. That's...that's what they're after. The saints encampment would be, of course, nothing other than the land of Israel.
You can believe that...that the world of true believers is going to want to get as close to Jerusalem as they can get, right? Because Jesus is there. I'll tell you one thing, if I were alive in that Kingdom, I wouldn't be living in L.A. if He was in Jerusalem.
If you're thinking about future property investment.... Of course, it's got to survive the Tribulation, may not make it. And if we have an earth that is as peaceful as far as weather is concerned as Eden was, we might not even need to protect ourselves like we do in houses today.
But anyway, they go up against the people of God, the camp of the saints. That word "camp" is used in the New Testament to speak of a military encampment. It is used to speak of Roman barracks. It is used in Acts 21, Acts 22, Acts 23 in that same way. So they come up against the camp of the saints and the saints will have encamped around the city and around the throne of Jesus Christ. They want to be where He is. They want to be in His glorious presence.
And the Scripture makes this clear that that's what the saints are going to do. Isaiah, for example, chapter 24, says in verse 23, "Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and His glory will be before His elders." His spiritual leaders, His elders, His saints surely all gathered as close to His presence as they can possibly be. Jeremiah 3:17, "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord and all the nations will be gathered to Jerusalem for the name of the Lord." All those who believe out of the nations are going to go there and they're going to live there because He is there.
Zechariah, the last chapter, chapter 14 verse 9, "And the Lord will be King over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be the only one and His name the only one." Marvelous. "And all the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem." It will all be a flat plain. "But Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site." It will be a mount where He reigns, everything else is flat. Verse 11, "And people will live in it and there will be no more curse for Jerusalem will dwell in security." And so he goes back to what the psalmist said in Psalm 78:68, to Mount Zion which He loves. Psalm 87:2, "The Lord loves the gates of Zion."
So the capital city of the Millennial Kingdom is the point of attack where Christ reigns, where the saints live, the battle is very brief. "Fire came down from heaven and devoured them all." End of battle. Fast, sudden, instantaneous and devastating.
It is a favorite judgment of God to send down fire from heaven and devour people. You read about it in Genesis 19, Leviticus 10, 2 Kings 1. It is a favorite way for God to destroy the ungodly. In Luke 9 in the New Testament in verse 54, "And when His disciples, James and John, saw this they said, `Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?'" Even they knew it was a favorite of God's to do that. And so it says in verse 9, "Fire came down from heaven and devoured them," killed them...killed them.
What do you mean by that? Well they were literally physically killed which meant their body was dead and their soul then went into the realm of punishment, waiting to be resurrected. Because even the ungodly will be resurrected, as we will see in the next section. They were devoured. That means they were physically annihilated.
It's a devastating and horrible judgment and it's the last one.
And then the final feature, verse 10. "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
The devil, Satan who led them, who deceived them was now thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, a sulphur-like chemical fire, symbolizing torment. Satan joins his cronies. You remember back in chapter 19 verse 20, the beast was seized, the false prophet was seized, and they've already been in the lake of fire for a thousand years. They've already been burning with fire and brimstone. And now Satan joins them.
You say, "Is that a literal fire like we understand fire? Is that literal brimstone like we understand it?" No. "Is it literal anguish, literal pain, literal punishment?" Yes. Remember now, these are spiritual beings. The nature of their torment is spiritual. You say, "What about humans? When they get cast into the lake of fire, is theirs a literal burning and a literal fire?" Yes. We're not talking about spiritual beings like demons now, we're talking about physical beings who have resurrected physical bodies. And we'll talk more about that in the future. For human beings hell is a literal place that burns their...their resurrected flesh and never destroys it.
But for now, Satan is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, prepared for him and his angels. He joins his cronies, his head is finally bruised, as John 12:31 says, "Now the ruler of this world shall be cast out," and here is where that is fulfilled. And this is final hell. This is the final place. This is the last place. Every kind of imaginable torment will be there. In every conceivable way in which this creature can suffer, he will suffer, in every conceivable way in which a fallen angel can suffer, he will suffer. And they are, frankly, inconceivable to me because I cannot comprehend how spiritual beings suffer in fire and brimstone. But God knows that and I'm content not only to not know that now, but never to know it. For those who reject Jesus Christ who are among men, those human beings in whatever conceivable way a resurrected human body and a living eternal human soul can suffer, they will suffer.
And so, Satan is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also. And then this horrible statement, "And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." The "day and night" means it's unrelieved, there's never a moment when they're not tormented and they will be tormented without relief forever...forever and ever. Absolutely astounding thought.
In Revelation 14:11 it says, "Those who drink of the wine of the wrath of God, their smoke will go up forever and ever." The smoke of their torment and they have no rest day and night. And here it's talking about human beings, whereas in chapter 20 it's talking about Satan. Hell for Satan and his angels is eternal. But remember, the beast and the false prophet are human and for them it is eternal as well.
You say, "Are you sure hell is eternal?" As sure as I am that heaven is eternal. When it says forever and ever it uses the same phrase in chapter 1 verse 6, and there it says "To God be the glory and the dominion forever and ever." And if hell isn't forever and ever, then God isn't glorious forever and ever. People want to come along and deny that hell is forever, and to do that you have deny that God is forever cause the same expression is used to describe Him. In chapter 1 verse 18 it says, Christ speaking, "I was dead and behold I am alive forever." If hell is not forever, Christ is not forever, and neither is heaven. But if God is forever and Christ is forever, then heaven is forever and so is hell.
There's no way around it. The language of Scripture is clear. Chapter 4 verse 9, "The living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever." Verse 10, "We will worship Him who lives forever and ever." Chapter 5 verse 13, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." Chapter 7 verse 12, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Chapter 10 verse 6, "They swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, earth and the things in it, the sea and the things in it." Chapter 11 verse 15, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever." Whatever "forever and ever" means in connection with God and Christ, it means in connection with hell, eis tous aionos.
So, the demise of Satan, the destruction of Satan was...was assured at the cross and executed at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. So what have we learned? About the removal of Satan, the reign of saints, the return of Satan and the revolt of society. In understanding that you have the picture of the Kingdom. And we've tried to fill in a lot of details over these four messages. This is the future of the world. It never ceases to astound me how that so many people in our society can run from poll to poll trying to figure out the future and here it is. And what a wonderful reality. We're already citizens of that Kingdom, right? Our citizenship is already there. That's our place, that's our home, He's our King. And we will come back with Him in glorified form to reign alongside those who are still living in human form. We will enjoy the Kingdom even more than they and we will rule under Christ, carrying out His wishes on behalf of those who live in the world. We will enjoy the peace and righteousness, the joy, the power, the truth, the wisdom that reigns supreme. And we will rule with Christ. What a glorious future. And it awaits us.
It's a very trivial comparison but I was watching some commercial of some athlete, and after the championship they said, "Now where are you going?" And he said, "I'm going to Disneyland." And I thought to myself, if they ever ask me that, I'm going to tell them I'm going to the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen! Let's pray together.
Father, we thank You for a glimpse into the glories of our future and at the same time our hearts are grieved over the sinfulness of sin. Father, we...we are overwhelmed, overpowered, shocked and startled by Your grace to us, by Your mercy to us that has made us citizens of the Kingdom. We are humbled by that for there's nothing in us to make us worthy. O what joy, O what love, O what fellowship, what hope we have because we are citizens of the Kingdom and subjects of the King. And You are our King now, and You have been since we placed our faith in You. And we are Your humble subjects. We don't have to wait for the future for that, we just have to wait for the future to enter into the eternal inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled that fadeth not away and is reserved in heaven for us. We just have to wait until we can enter into the glories of Your Kingdom and reign with You and rule with You. But until that time, we thank You that we are children of the King, subjects of the King, members of the Kingdom. What a privilege.
Father, our hearts reach out to those who don't know You, who are in the kingdom of darkness. We think of the frightening eternal realities that await them and we plead with You to be gracious and merciful to sinners as You have been to us that You might be glorified. And we ask these things in the name of Christ. Amen.
This article is also available and sold as a booklet.
This sermon series includes the following messages:
Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource.Publisher Information


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Currency wars are alive and well and despite G-20 agreements not to engage in competitive devaluations, there is in fact little appetite among the perpetrators to call it a day. If anything it could get worse with dangerous consequences for the world economy.
So, soon after the G-20 agreement Martin Weale, a policy maker at the Bank of England, was talking about how a weaker GBP would benefit exports. Markets read that as the Bank of England desiring the GBP to go down and it duly responded hitting a seven-month low against the U.S. dollar at one point. Even the relatively conservative European Central Bank has made some connection between growth and exchange rate levels. Should EUR/USD start moving sharply up again, that well anticipated ECB rate cut might well be forthcoming.
Indeed, the main take-away from the G-20 for the currency warriors is to make their objectives less obvious, but even that courtesy might be ignored as shown by Weale. The U.S., U.K., Japan and the Eurozone are desperate to grab a slice of someone's else's growth if they can't generate any of their own.
For countries on the receiving end of this policy, such as Brazil, South Korea and Australia to name a few, there is little they can do other than scale up the rhetoric. But eventually even they might be tempted to take more extreme actions if their economies are damaged by competitive devaluations.
GBP/JPY chart – A race to the bottom
Japan, which so blatantly talked its currency down over recent months, escaped public reprimand at the G-20 as it no doubt has some allies, such as probably the U.S. and U.K. Though there might be some respite on JPY for a bit as it is near the target of USD/JPY 100, which Japanese officials have talked about. The next catalyst for JPY could come in March with the appointment of the new Bank of Japan governor or even until it starts its open ended asset purchasing programme next year.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
2333 Ridge Court
Lawrence, Kansas, 66046
Commute to Downtown Lawrence
Some errands can be accomplished on foot.
Flat as a pancake, excellent bike lanes.
About your score
2333 Ridge Court has a Walk Score of 63 out of 100. This location is Somewhat Walkable so some errands can be accomplished on foot.
This location is in Lawrence. Nearby parks include University of Kansas - Lawrence Campus Jayhawk Soccer Complex, Broken Arrow Park and University of Kansas - Lawrence Campus Marvin Grove.
Explore how far you can travel by car, bus, bike and foot from 2333 Ridge Court.
Bus lines:
5 South Iowa / 23rd / K-10
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11 South Iowa / KU / Downtown
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38 25th & Melrose / KU
0.2 mi
29 27th & Wakarusa / KU
0.4 mi
41 Yellow Campus Circulator
0.4 mi
44 Evening Campus Circulator
0.4 mi
710 710 - K10 Connector
0.4 mi
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Popular apartment searches include pool, fitness and furnished.
This location is in the city of Lawrence, KS. Lawrence has an average Walk Score of 40 and has 87,643 residents.


text:
KANSAS CITY, Kansas – Real Salt Lake (2-0-3, 9 points, West #2) earned a hard-fought point at Sporting Kansas City (2-1-2, 8 points, East #3) on Saturday night, getting a big performance from backup GK Jeff Attinella to tie SKC 0-0 in a MLS Cup 2013 rematch at Sporting Park.
Real Salt Lake was without three of key players on Saturday night due to injury. GK Nick Rimando (knee) and DF Tony Beltran (ankle) didn't travel to Kansas City after picking up knocks while playing with the U.S. Men's National Team in its 2-2 draw against Mexico on Wednesday, while DF Chris Wingert also remained in Salt Lake after sustaining a groin injury in last Saturday's win over Toronto FC. Attinella, DF Rich Balchan and DF Abdoulie Mansally were inserted into the lineup for the injured trio, all making their first starts of the season.
Attinella put on a show in the first half, making three big saves to deny Sporting KC. His first big stop came in the 11th minute, when he made an excellent save on Kansas City FW Dom Dwyer. SKC DF Matt Besler played a long ball to Dwyer over the top, with the English striker running onto it behind the RSL defense for a 1-v-1 with Attinella. The RSL 'keeper quickly came off his line to meet Dwyer in the left side of the area, quickly dropping to his left to make a miraculous stop.
Attinella made another good stop in the 27th. Sporting FW Graham Zusi played a corner short to DF Seth Senovic, who uncorked a 20-yard shot on frame from the left side that Attinella acrobatically parried over.
Attinella came up with a third big stop in the 34th. Besler started the play, launching a long throw into the area from the right side. RSL DF Chris Schuler headed away, but SKC MF Benny Feilhaber collected at the top of the 18, hitting a vicious 18-yard volley toward the left post that Attinella kept out with a diving stop.
SKC continued on the front foot to start the second half, registering a pair of good chances in the 51st and 52nd minutes. Zusi had the first look, wriggling free in the left side of the area before hitting a left-footed shot just wide of the far post from the top-left corner of the six. Zusi created the second look, getting free in the left side along the end line before cutting a ball back to the top of the six to Dwyer, who had his sliding attempt blocked by Schuler.
RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar made his first switch in the 55th minute, bringing MF Luke Mulholland on for MF Luis Gil. The change seemed to settle RSL, which began to hold more of the ball and get a bit of a hold on the match.
Still, it was SKC that had the next chance, coming inches away from going ahead in the 63rd minute. Kansas City DF Chance Myers chipped a ball down the right side, with Dwyer beating RSL's offside trap and running onto it unencumbered. He quickly dribbled into the right side of the box, rounding a well-off-his-line Attinella near the right edge of the area before rolling a shot off the right post from a tight angle. RSL wasn't out of the woods yet though, with the rebound bouncing to KC FW Sal Zizzo in the middle of the box. Zizzo hit a shot toward the empty net with his first-touch, but RSL DF Nat Borchers came up big, blocking the effort from his position inside the six.
Real Salt Lake went up a man in the 83rd minute, when Sporting KC MF Uri Rosell was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on RSL substitute FW Devon Sandoval. RSL couldn't find a winner after getting the man-advantage, with neither side unable to create any clear-cut chances in the game's final minutes.
RSL will return to action next Saturday, taking on Philadelphia Union at 2:00 p.m. MT on ABC 4. Real Salt Lake will return home on Saturday, April 19, when it will host Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets to the Portland match can be purchased at the Rio tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSL 0-0 SKC
- Tonight's scoreless draw at Sporting Park was Real Salt Lake's only meeting with Sporting KC in the regular season this year. Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City last met in MLS Cup on Dec. 7, 2013, with the Claret-and-Cobalt suffering a loss in a penalty kick shootout at Sporting Park.
- RSL and KC have now faced off a total of 10 times in Kansas City, with RSL posting a 1-5-4 road record at Sporting. Real Salt Lake has only won once in Kansas City, a 1-0 over the then-Wizards on Aug. 29, 2009. Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City met once in the 2013 regular season, a heated 2-1 loss at Rio Tinto Stadium. With tonight's draw, RSL has a 5-8-4 MLS regular season record and a 6-8-5 record across all competitions against Kansas City.
- Real Salt Lake had to deal with injuries to three starters this week – RSL DF Chris Wingert suffered a groin injury in last week's home win against Toronto FC, while GK Nick Rimando and DF Tony Beltran suffered injuries in the United States' draw with Mexico in a friendly on Wednesday. Real Salt Lake only had three matches in the 2013 regular season that did not feature all three RSL veterans, Rimando, Wingert and Beltran. The Claret-and-Cobalt went 1-2-0 without the trio in the lineup last year. The last time RSL went without the trio before 2013 was in the Claret-and-Cobalt's U.S. Open Cup loss to D.C. United in June of 2010.
- The last time Real Salt Lake played without both Beltran and Wingert was RSL's 1-0 win at Vancouver Whitecaps on Sept. 28, 2013. RSL posted a 1-2-1 record without Beltran or Wingert in 2013.
- Tonight was backup GK Jeff Attinella's first start and appearance for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2014, and marked his second career clean sheet for RSL. Attinella's last appearance came in RSL's 1-0 win at Vancouver Whitecaps on Sept. 28, 2013. Attinella made a total of five appearances last year, four of which were starts. The Florida native made his first career MLS start in RSL's 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 20, 2013. Attinella posted a 1-2-1 record last year – his first in MLS and for RSL. Real Salt Lake posted a 5-3-2 record without Rimando in net last year.
- RSL DF Rich Balchan recorded his first start for the Claret-and-Cobalt tonight. Balchan made his RSL debut last week against Toronto FC, subbing on for DF Chris Wingert in the second half. Balchan did not appear in any first-team games for RSL in his first season with the club in 2013, missing most of the year due to a shoulder injury.
- RSL DF Abdoulie Mansally made his first start and appearance for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2014 tonight. Mansally made 14 appearances, including nine starts last year. This is the Gambian international's third season with RSL.
- RSL FW Devon Sandoval made his second appearance of 2014 tonight, entering the match in the 72nd minute for FW Olmes Garcia. Sandoval had missed the start of the season recovering from a foot injury suffered in preseason.
- RSL DF Aaron Maund dressed tonight, marking his return to the game day roster after missing several matches due to a hamstring injury. MF Sebastian Velasquez (hamstring) and MF Jordan Allen (ankle) and FW Joao Plata (hamstring) did not travel to Kansas City.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 0 0
Sporting Kansas City 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
Misconduct Summary:
RSL – Chris Schuler (Yellow; Foul) – 40'
SKC – Chance Myers (Yellow; Foul) – 76'
SKC – Oriol Rosell (Red; Foul) – 83'
RSL – Nat Borchers (Yellow; Foul) – 87'
SKC – Claudio Bieler (Yellow; Foul) – 90'+1'
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2): Jeff Attinella; Abdoulie Mansally, Chris Schuler, Nat Borchers, Rich Balchan; Kyle Beckerman (C), Luis Gil (Luke Mulholland, 55'), Ned Grabavoy, Javier Morales; Alvaro Saborio, Olmes Garcia (Devon Sandoval, 72')
Substitutes not used: Lalo Fernandez; Aaron Maund, Carlos Salcedo; Cole Grossman, John Stertzer
Sporting Kansas City (4-3-3): Eric Kronberg; Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, Chance Myers; Paulo Nagamura (Lawrence Olum, 85'), Oriol Rosell, Benny Feilhaber; Graham Zusi, Dominic Dwyer (Claudio Bieler, 76'), Sal Zizzo (Toni, 80')
Substitutes not used: Jacob Peterson; Jon Kempin, Igor Juliao, Alex Martinez
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Craig Lowry
4th Official: Fotis Bazakos
Attendance: 19,838
Weather: Clear and 56 degrees


text:
WiFi On The School Bus
from the the-wifi-on-the-bus-goes...-data-data-data? dept
Wi-Fi access has transformed what was often a boisterous bus ride into a rolling study hall, and behavioral problems have virtually disappeared.What's amusing here is the juxtaposition of this article with recent articles that fret about kids spending too much time online, with worries that they're becoming addicted or wasting time that could be better spent. But, here the article is suggesting exactly the opposite: that not only is more internet access leading to a less rowdy bus ride, but it's helping the students become better students.
"It's made a big difference," said J. J. Johnson, the bus's driver. "Boys aren't hitting each other, girls are busy, and there's not so much jumping around."


text: With Trion's recent Patch 1.9 and announcement of Rift: Storm Legion, it's first actual expansion to their very popular MMORPG, we are starting to see populations on servers become much more active. Plus now there's a chance to try out Rift for free! Raptr is giving out a free digital copy . . . → Read More: Rift: Storm Legion Expands Player Options


text:
By ROSA CICCIO | Hartford Courant ORIGINS: Originally part of Stratford, the town took its current form over a period of years.In 1725, residents in a northern part of town later called Nichols Farm petitioned for and were granted "village privileges" from the General Assembly. The village, or parish, was named Unity. Later, it joined with the neighboring parish of Long Hill and the two were united under the name North Stratford. The area was incorporated as Trumbull, a separate town, in 1797. NAME: After Jonathan Trumbull (2nd), governor of Connecticut from 1797 to 1809 and son of Jonathan Trumbull, governor of Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. DID YOU KNOW: Trumbull was once home to one of the country's first amusement parks. Parlor Rock was a popular destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries , providing such attractions as a carousel, a roller skating rink and toboggan slide in the winter. The Trumbull Little League baseball team won the Little League World Series in 1989. The Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band performed in the 2001 inaugural parade for President George W. Bush and the 2009 inaugural parade for President Barack Obama. FAMOUS RESIDENTS: Benjamin Silliman, Yale's first chemistry and natural history professor, for whom the university's Silliman College is named. SOURCES: Hartford Courant; trumbullhistory.org; yale.edu; 1942 State Register and Manual.
Michael Kodas
Copyright © 2018, Hartford Courant


text:
Keynote: The Value of Values
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Rich Hickey compares value-oriented programming with place-oriented programming concluding that the time of imperative languages has passed and it is the time of functional programming.
Rich Hickey, the author of Clojure, is an independent software designer, consultant and application architect with over 20 years of experience in all facets of software development. Rich has worked on scheduling systems, broadcast automation, audio analysis and fingerprinting, database design, yield management, exit poll systems, and machine listening.
For the second time we are launching the GOTO Copenhagen conference in May 2012 after a successful execution in 2011. GOTO Aarhus has been an annual event in Denmark since 1996 and attracts more than 1200 participants (formerly known as JAOO). The target audience for GOTO conferences are software developers, IT architects and project managers.http://gotocon.com/
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Agreed but bad ROI
Duraid Duraid
Building value based systems is way more difficult than place systems and the return is questionable.
So I disagree with the point that place oriented systems existed only because of storage limitation. I think for the most part they still exist because it's much easier to think about now only if you can afford to.
A non place-oriented database
Tin Pavlinic
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Erik Bakstad
Re: A non place-oriented database
Cédric Pineau
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Michael Ahern
I have been working on a particular project now for 4 years and back at the beginning I could not even conceive of how important the time issue would be.
After being in production for years a common issue from the field is object level backup & restore. Users - not just admins - would periodically delete or mess up data and wish to restore to a previous version. With data structures that did not have versioning carefully baked into the schema this was such a massive undertaking (given the product size) that I doubt it will ever get implemented.
With edge cases of course, had I had a data store like this, I could almost get the feature for free by just finding the transaction id and the corresponding assertion/retractions.
The point this and the point of the not-only-SQL movement is to choose the data store fits your problem space. At least for what I am doing, this data model (if it works as advertised) is a perfect fit.
Event sourcing
mark bryant
Value oriented development really needs a temporal database
peter lin
For anyone that has built bi-temporal databases multiple times, you know how hard it is to do this.
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Alexander Semenov
I'm not sure it is. With all those benefits from values why are you still saying that PLOP is simpler? What about concurrency?
Re: Event sourcing
mark bryant
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Duraid Duraid
why are you still saying that PLOP is simpler? What about concurrency?
In the presentation, Rich himself said that it is very difficult to get the NOW value in a value based system and said "it is very difficult don't do it yourself" (not exact words). Getting the NOW value in a PLOP system is trivial and cheap and we do it all the time since all you have is NOW.
I agree that PLOP is problematic for concurrency. However, it is extreme to say that you need concurrency for every single value in your program. I suggest that in the areas of the program that require concurrency you use a value based system and pay the price of the added complexity. In that case it's a worthwhile compromise.
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Zach Thompson
In the presentation, Rich himself said that it is very difficult to get the NOW value in a value based system and said "it is very difficult don't do it yourself" (not exact words). Getting the NOW value in a PLOP system is trivial and cheap and we do it all the time since all you have is NOW.
I'm pretty sure he was talking about trying to roll your own value-based system in PLOP by using timestamps with an append only model (~42:05). Writing the now query to get the latest value for each entity not being fun.
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
peter lin
There's a reason why temporal logic and temporal databases is still where it is today. Building these types of systems is actually very hard and far beyond what a typical developer can handle. Even with academic researchers, many challenges are still unresolved today.
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Robert Gacki
So I disagree with the point that place oriented systems existed only because of storage limitation. I think for the most part they still exist because it's much easier to think about now only if you can afford to.
Yes, he contradicts himself a bit, if he implies that adding new values would solve the place or implementation (logic) problem. I think, in the end, what he tries to say is, that you should add new values whenever you can (even when the structure changes) and do not update the existing ones, just because memory is cheap. Of course, the new values will take new places. And the retrieval of values has to be somehow magically hidden (queries) from the user/system. What he hides is that as soon values are used, there are constraints to them. And those constraints need to be managed too, like value formats (data structure), concurrency / state issues or the queries which retrieve the values in the first place. And if we keep the immutable values around, the constraints increase each time the structure of values change. So not having old immutable values around reduces complexity when there are transitions in logic (implementation or protocol) that uses or generates those values. In the end, values are worthless when there is no logic that uses them. That's another reason not to keep old values around, to migrate the value structure or backup and remove them completely. By adding new values independently of their structure or meaning, Hickey just pushes complexity out of the value store, but to the implementation / protocol level. And yes, that's hard to maintain.
So if we should add new data just because memory is cheap, that contradicts the reason for information management. Too much data around can be as harmful as missing some. Data still needs to get managed, by logic. And that logic needs to get maintained as well.
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Pierre Lhoste
We're a very small company, and the gist of what we're manipulating is historical data for slow moving organisations which require to be able and consult things that are 15 years old every so often, across a shitload of legacy apps (some of them still in ASP classic, yes you read that correctly), and the only solution we've implemented that satisfied us sofar was logging everything, piping legacy logs to augmented logs, and snapshoting the TB of data (still plain old rsync and hard links for the most part on RAID clusters), and using ONLY databases as a fast readonly snapshot (built and updated from the logs, not the other way around) for 99% of user requests. All that in... perl, because our 1998 legacy scripts still work. Not fun. Horrible scalability problems,... And the "as of now" request Rich talks about is where 50% of the maintenance goes.
No need to add that we jumped on the free version of Datomic to begin testing, and sofar, apart for the change in paradygm for the younger developers in our team (but as of now it's me lagging behind them), Closure has been a treat.
I'm one of those not so old dinosaurs who never really embraced OOP since I read that book on Java in 94, because... well never could tell anyone why exactly. Then I watched this talk, and click : it's not what our company is about. We're a log company, a data company, a record company, a FACT company. We don't frigging care about the coolness of the language, we need to access our historical data in a fast and consistent way. That's it.
So as a conclusion, I guess Rich's talk is more or less relevant depending on what drives your company's activity.
Anyone for a REST?
Conor Moran
It seems to me the whole REST thing is all about Place - a place with an address (URI). We have the standard verbs which allow us to access/update that place.
So is HTTP as the transport mechanism of the WEB simply wrong? Is that your conscious contention here Rich?
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Jonathan Hartley
Re: Anyone for a REST?
Jonathan Hartley
I would guess that a natural extension of rest to accomodate what Rich is saying is that a particular 'resource', exposed at a fixed URL, represents the state of an entity at a particular time. Updates to that resource would not update it in place, but would create a new resource. Hence once could imaging:
GET state at a particular time or version
GET shorthand for 'get the latest version':
To do an 'update', you POST to:
This returns the URL of the new latest state:
I think that this ends up being a superset of traditional REST. If you take away the access to the endpoints ending in <id> (and exposing them is entirely optional, depending on whether you need that), then that's just traditional REST. So REST is already entirely in tune with what Rich is advocating.
Do you think I'm barking up the right tree?</id></version></id></id></id></version></id>
Re: Anyone for a REST?
Jonathan Hartley
Re: Agreed but bad ROI
Duraid Duraid
Also, I disagree with Rich's argument that the only reason for vlop not taking over is historical hardware limitation. I think it is the complexity of vlop that was, and still is, the major factor.
Please make this work on the desktop without Flash
Tim Schafer
the future
Val Waeselynck
Extremelly exaggerated
Evandro Pomatti
A honest approach would consider the cost, impact and problems of what he is proposing.
There is value on what he presents (no pun intended), but the presentation is too single-minded and sensationalist for me to give any credit.
Re: Extremelly exaggerated
Val Waeselynck
Reusability is the biggest lie in OO? That is just dishonest and extremist of him to guide the audience in that direction.
I have known many people who would agree with you that OO is good at reuse - including me several years ago. All these people had in common that they had never tried anything else. In my view, your argument would be much stronger if you showed experience with functional / data-oriented technologies.
Now that I have tried both approaches, when I hear people tell me that OO is great because inheritance lets you reuse code, it's as if they told me that the Sahara is great because oases let you drink :).
the only reason for my former way of thinking was that I didn't know any better, but I'm curious to hear arguments based on experience and an informed comparison if you have them.
Link to transcript
Andy Fingerhut
There is a shorter 30-min version given a couple of months later, with a transcript and video link here: github.com/matthiasn/talk-transcripts/blob/mast...


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Recalled England batsman Kevin Pietersen finally clicked at the Champions League Twenty20 tournament Thursday, but could not prevent Delhi Daredevils making a semi-finals exit.
Pietersen struck 50 runs off 44 balls against the South African Highveld Lions at a cold and windy Kingsmead in this Indian Ocean port after meagre contributions of 14 and nine in previous innings at the rain-hit event.
Lions made 139-5 after being put in to bat and Delhi responded with 117-9 after a seven-runs-an-over chase fell behind the target after just six overs and never caught up.
While Pietersen remained at the crease there was an increasingly slim hope, and that disappeared after 16.1 overs when he top edged a ball to short fine leg and wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile scampered to take the catch.
Pietersen struck three fours and one six and now turns his attention to a tour of India by England, ending a two-month exile after he criticised his teammates in text messages to South African opponents during a Test series.
"Apologies to all the @DelhiDaredevils fans! We should have done better today! On a more positive note- I'll be in India Sunday.. Can't wait!" tweeted Pietersen after the match.
Delhi sprang a selection surprise by omitting Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene and introducing Australian David Warner, who was the second highest scorer with 21 while South African tail-ender Morne Morkel made 18 not out.
Chris Morris (2-7), Aaron Phangiso (2-18) and Australian Dirk Nannes (2-34) were the pick of the bowlers for the Lions, who will have home ground advantage Sunday in the final against the Sydney Sixers or the Centurion-based Titans.
Opener Gulam Bodi (50), man-of-the-match Neil McKenzie (46 not out) and skipper Alviro Petersen (24) did best among the Lions batsmen while Umesh Yadav (2-20) offered most in the Delhi attack.
Daredevils were the only Indian Premier League franchise to qualify for the semi-finals from the 10-team mini-league phase with defending champions Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders flopping.
Pietersen 50 cannot save Daredevils from defeat
Recalled England batsman Kevin Pietersen finally clicked at the Champions League Twenty20 tournament Thursday, but could not prevent Delhi Daredevils making a semi-finals exit.


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The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 is the bloodiest day in American military history. Now, exactly 150 years later, a panel of historians discusses the events of that day.
Leading his Confederate troops into Maryland for their first fight on Union soil, Robert E. Lee was met at Antietam Creek by George McClellan's federals. The battle claimed 23,000 casualties and resulted in a standoff. But after that the Union believed it could win, giving President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue his Emancipation Proclamation.


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Once again, FaceBook rumours are circulating about them wanting to charge their users $50/Month starting on July 8th, 2010. How many times have we seen this over the last few years? Each time the rumour starts, many groups get started … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: April 2010
As you may or may not know, FaceBook gives you the option of hiding your online status. It's located as an option within the footer chat box. Simply open the chat box, hit options then click 'go offline'. This effectively … Continue reading


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- Inside Athletics
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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (November 4, 2008) - After 17 regular season matches the ETSU women's soccer team kicks off its quest for a 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship as the fifth seeded Bucs face off against the fourth seeded Jacksonville Dolphins, with a 4 p.m., match Wednesday in Kennesaw, Ga.
The Bucs (7-9-1, 5-4-1 A-Sun) come into the contest winning two of its last three matches. In their only previous meeting with Jacksonville, ETSU defeated the Dolphins 2-1, in overtime Sept. 26 at the Ashley Sports Complex.
Leading the way for the Bucs is junior forward Jordan Monty (Mesquite, Texas) and sophomore midfielder Kelly Brinkman (Clearwater, Fla.). Both ETSU offensive attackers were recently named to the A-Sun all-conference second-team, Tuesday night. In the Bucs first meeting against the Dolphins, Monty found Brinkman for ETSU's game-winning goal with six minutes off the clock in overtime.
Jacksonville (9-8-1, A-Sun 6-4) enters the tournament posting four shutouts in its last five matches. Individually, senior forward Keri Zwikker leads the Dolphins with nine goals, six assists for 25 points.
The Bucs and Dolphins have met once previously in A-Sun postseason play. JU defeated ETSU 4-3, in penalty kicks knocking the Bucs out of the 2006 tournament.
The winner of the ETSU/Jacksonville match will draw top-seeded Mercer, Thursday. Also all fans can catch live action of all matches of the 2008 A-Sun tournament on A-Sun.TV through the conference website listed below.
For information about women's soccer and the 2008 A-Sun tournament please visit www.ETSUBUCS.com or www.Atlanticsun.org.


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The folks who run Design West, happening this week at the San Jose Convention Center, modestly call it the Center of the Engineering Universe. In truth, they may not be so far off.
The show used to be Embedded Systems, parts of which still survive therein, but now it's really so much more. Design West today includes tracks entitled Android, Black Hat, DesignMED, Designing with LEDs, Multicore, and Sensors in Design – some of which used to be shows in themselves. Now they're all living side-by-side under one Big Top, and seeming to enjoy the synergy.


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OWASP San Diego
Welcome to the San Diego chapter homepage. The chapter leader is Jeromie Jackson
Click here to join the local chapter mailing list.
OWASP Foundation (Overview Slides) is a professional association of global members and is open to anyone interested in learning more about software security. Local chapters are run independently and guided by the Chapter_Leader_Handbook. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association your support and sponsorship of any meeting venue and/or refreshments is tax-deductible. Financial contributions should only be made online using the authorized online chapter donation button. To be a SPEAKER at ANY OWASP Chapter in the world simply review the speaker agreement and then contact the local chapter leader with details of what OWASP PROJECT, independent research or related software security topic you would like to present on.
to this chapter or become a local chapter supporter.
Or consider the value of Individual, Corporate, or Academic Supporter membership. Ready to become a member?
Local News
OWASP San Diego – Things That Go Wrong With Web Application Encryption
The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Chapter in San Diego is convening to discuss the latest developments in the OWASP organization, and new ideas in leading-edge secure web development. While the CRIME, BEAST, and padding oracle attacks have received a lot of recent attention, there are plenty of things that can go wrong with web application cryptography before even getting to those exploits. Gabriel Lawrence will guide us into a look at how documentation fails developers and how their use of cryptography within their applications is commonly broken. Whether you're a seasoned security professional or an executive with high focus on mitigating IT risk, this event will take you beyond the OWASP Top 10 by providing valuable insight into common mistakes that can put your organization at risk. Enjoy refreshments from our friends at HP as you network with some of the best security researchers, auditors, and developers in the San Diego area. Intuit is graciously hosting this event at their San Diego office and we look forward to seeing you there!
Thursday May 9th, 2013
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Intuit (Building 3, Cook Room)
7535 Torrey Santa Fe Rd.
San Diego, CA 92129
Please RSVP
Speaker Bio
Gabriel Lawrence has been a system administrator, application developer, entrepreneur, information security professional. He currently manages the Application Security group in Information Security and Risk Management at Qualcomm where he spends his days breaking web applications for fun and profit.
OWASP San Diego Board
Jeromie Jackson - President
Jeff Sutton - Vice President
Tom Spencer - Program Director
Andy Stovall - Technical Director
Stephan Chenette - Research Director


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Opinion: Science/Tech
Sunny Anand and the Hidden Pain of the Unborn
Annie Murphy Paul's "The First Ache," which appeared in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine, is the perfect companion piece to Austen Ivereigh's "A Question of Empathy." Both articles show how science is changing the terms of the abortion debate by "personifying" the unborn. In Paul's fascinating article, she zeros in… READ MORE >
News: Science/Tech
Tom Wolfe and a cognitive neuroscientist discuss status, free will, and the human condition
Opinion: Politics
David Brooks explains the Republican Party's Catholic problem
In a NY Times column today called "The Social Animal," David Brooks pinpoints exactly why so many Catholics hold their noses every four years as they vote Republican for president merely because of the party's stance against abortion and gay marriage. As any Catholic who's watched a Republican convention knows, the GOP… READ MORE >
Opinion: Science/Tech
Secrets of storytelling
Having just read a collection of masterful short-stories by Tobias Wolff, the issue of what makes storytelling such an intrinsic, necessary part of the human condition has been at the forefront of my mind. An article in the most recent issue of Scientific American approaches this age-old question from a left-brained perspective: "Popular… READ MORE >
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Egyptian Wheat Seed
Egyptian Wheat Seed - Egyptian Wheat is a tall growing (10 ft.) member of the sorghum family that is well adapted to the Southeast. Egyptian Wheat bears loose seed heads containing an abundance of seed used for cover crops, wildlife and soil building. Egyptian Wheat is well suited for game birds, especially quail. Egyptian Wheat provides great cover for quail and other game birds while also dropping seed over 180 - 200 days. Seed will mature approximately 110 days after emergence. Egyptian wheat also makes excellent cover for quail.
Planting Date: April - June
Rate: 30-50 lbs. per acre or 1/4 lb. per 1000 sq.ft.
Depth: 1/2"
Planting Time: Spring - Summer (after last chance of frost)
Best for: Turkey, Duck, Dove, Pheasant and Quail
For DISCOUNTED equotes on orders over 250 lbs. CLICK HERE!
More information on Egyptian Wheat
Egyptian Wheat is a commonly known as shallu or chicken corn. Egyptian Wheat has a misleading name (wheat) but it is actually a member of the Sorghum family. Egyptian Wheat is a tall growing species (10 ft) of sorghum that matures in approximately 110 days. The best time for planting is after the last chance of frost in the spring for summer food plots. Egyptian Wheat is especially preferred in plots for game birds due to it high protein seed production. Egyptian wheat also provides excellent cover for quail and other game birds.
Dove Fields:
Egyptian Wheat should be planted earlier than other millet species (110 - 150 days) to allow for full maturity PRIOR to opening weekend of Dove season.
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Egyptian Wheat Seed - 50 lb. Bag
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6. Who?
There are 30 first-time All-Star selections, a list that includes names you might know. Red Sox fans will remember Justin Masterson, who was traded to the Indians and has earned his first selection. But how about former Maryland pitcher Brett Cecil, Jason Castro, Salvador Perez, Patrick Corbin, Jose Fernandez, Jeff Locke, Travis Wood, Everth Cabrera, Matt Carpenter or Jean Segura? Some good players with impressive numbers in that group, but not exactly a list of household names. And how many will be back for another All-Star Game?
Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images
Copyright © 2018, CT Now


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Some of the leading contenders in Afghanistan's presidential election:
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH: Having gained 31 percent of the vote as runner-up to Hamid Karzai in the disputed 2009 elections, Abdullah has an advantage in name recognition and political organization. He was a close aide to the late Ahmad Shah Masood, the Northern Alliance rebel commander famed for his resistance to Soviet occupation and the Taliban. Abdullah has a strong following among ethnic Tajiks in Afghanistan's north, but his perceived weak support among Pashtuns — Afghanistan's largest ethnic group at 42 percent — could keep him from gaining a majority of votes, even though he is half-Pashtun.
ZALMAI RASSOUL: A former foreign minister, Rassoul has been national security adviser to the government and is seen as close to Karzai. He could end up being a consensus candidate among many political factions. A Pashtun like Karzai, he has a medical degree and is fluent in five languages, including French, English and Italian.
ASHRAF GHANI: Ghani is a former finance minister who ran in the 2009 presidential elections but received just 3 percent of the vote. A well-known academic with a reputation as a somewhat temperamental technocrat, Ghani chairs a commission in charge of transitioning responsibility for security from the U.S.-led coalition to Afghan forces.
ABDUL RAB RASOUL SAYYAF: An influential former lawmaker and religious scholar, Sayyaf is one of the more controversial candidates among Afghanistan's foreign allies because of his past as a warlord during the 1990s civil war and allegations of past links to radical jihadists including Osama bin Laden. As a Pashtun and charismatic speaker, he may appeal to Afghanistan's large numbers of religious conservatives.
ABDUL QAYYUM KARZAI: A businessman and the elder brother of President Karzai, he studied in the United States and previously served in the National Assembly. He is not seen as his brother's favored successor, and the Karzai name could be a double-edged sword, since many Afghans are frustrated with the current government's corruption.


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Due to late medical licensing issues, Nate Marquardt has been pulled from Sunday's UFC Live main event in Pittsburgh. Stepping in to face Rick Story on the main card will be Pennsylvania's own Charlie Brenneman, and the Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry bout has been elevated to the main event slot. UFC Live airs on Versus at 9pm ET / 6pm PT.
UFC President Dana White has issued a statement regarding Marquardt's removal from the card and his future with the UFC. To see it, click HERE.
Marquardt Out, Kongo vs. Barry new UFC Live Main Event
Nate Marquardt has been scratched from the UFC Live Main Event, Charlie Brenneman steps in...
Sunday, October 28
Moncton, New Brunswick


text: Apr 27, 2017 6:30-8:30 EDT Gutsy Learning Series Spring 2017 Crohn's and Colitis Canada, in partnership with McMaster University, offers you the opportunity to learn more about the latest in Crohn's and colitis, including emerging research on the human microbiome and inflammatory bowel disease. This is a FREE education event featuring an interactive Q&A period. Have your questions answered by a panel of leading Crohn's and colitis renowned medical experts. For more information and to register, click here. LocationEmplacement • Join us in-person at McMaster University or live via webcast from anywhere in Canada! CategoryCatégorie • EducationFinancement


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JACKSON - Argonaut coach Rick Davis knew his physical club had an opportunity to win against a speedy Antelope-Center team that stood between his team continuing its undefeated season.
JACKSON - Argonaut coach Rick Davis knew his physical club had an opportunity to win against a speedy Antelope-Center team that stood between his team continuing its undefeated season.
But he could only watch as his No. 2 Mustangs were their own worst enemy Friday night by giving up three critical turnovers to the No. 10 Cougars.
Center scored on two of Argonaut's miscues on offense and then played enough defense in the second half to hold on for a 19-14 victory in their second-round matchup of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs at Dan Barnett Field.
Center plays next Friday at No. 6 Central Catholic, a 40-21 winner over No. 2 Ripon, in one of two semifinals that features none of the top four seeds.
"Let everyone worry about our offense," Center coach Digol J'Beily said. "Our defense is the heart and soul of our team. Our team has always worked to get turnovers and we were able to take advantage of them tonight."
After Center (10-2) took its opening drive 71 yards for a score on senior D'juan Bellaire's 4-yard run, the defense turned the tide.
Both teams failed on fourth-down plays on consecutive possessions, but Argonaut's Colton Merriman fumbled at Center's 40-yard line after getting hit while stretching for a first down.
Cougar senior Cameron Tate pounced on the loose ball, and teammate junior quarterback Tyrel Anderson connected with junior receiver Matt Cooper nine plays later from 15 yards out midway through the second quarter to go up 13-0.
"Matt had single coverage and I just put the ball out there for him," said Anderson, who gave a lot of credit to a defense that gave up 231 rushing yards to the Mustangs (11-1) but never gave in. "Our motto was 'We bend, but don't break.' "
Argonaut answered on its ensuing possession with Merriman slipping through several tackles on a counter to the right for a 41-yard touchdown with 4:48 left in the half. Merriman rushed for 137 yards on 17 carries to lead the ground attack. Emilio Pineda's extra point pulled the Mustangs to within 13-7.
The Mustangs forced a Center punt late in the half, but Argonaut senior Ryan King fumbled the catch at his own 42. The Cougars converted the turnover into Bellaire's 1-yard run over left tackle with a second left to give the Cougars a 19-7 lead at the intermission.
The Mustangs chewed up a lot of the third quarter on a 16-play, 77-yard drive capped by Broc Hayes's 1-yard dive to pull to within 19-14.
Argonaut had one last drive deep into Center territory, but Cooper leaped up and intercepted Hayes' pass with one hand, and Center was able to run out the clock.
"It came down to the turnovers," Davis said. "We did a lot of good things, but when you get into the playoffs against a good team like Center, you can't turn the ball over. We hadn't seen anyone with Center's speed, but I thought we out-hit them at times and were able to run the ball. We just shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers. That's football."


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Boat cruises on the Danube by Night
An evening cruise on the Danube along with sound and ligth effects. The ship leaves from a downtown port at Vigadó square. The cruise includes a guided tour on the sights of Pest and Buda along the luminous river bank. Our passengers can enjoy a film of the Parliament building on the TV screens. The film includes legends of Budapest along with the story of famous Hungarian historical characters, kings, queens, poets, musicians and inventors. The program ends with the music of the Blue Danube. Two drinks are included in the price (champagne, beer, wine and soft drinks).
Duration: 1 hour
Departure: downtown Pest, Vigadó square
30 languages through head phones (Arabian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Israeli, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norvegian, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovanian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish)
- Adult: 4900 HUF/person
- Student: 3700 HUF/person
- Budapest Card holders: 3700 HUF/person
- Children aged between 10-14: 2450 HUF/person


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There are numerous tests to gauge the health of your heart. But no such widely accepted test exists for the many parts of the immune system. How can we tell if the immune system is strong or weak? Or quantify how badly it's malfunctioning when we suffer from asthma, allergies, or arthritis?
A team led by scientists at Stanford University has taken the first steps toward creating such a test—by taking "snapshots" of the immune system.
Before we talk about what they did, let me review how the immune system protects us against disease. The innate immune system is like a standing army that defends us against invading microbes. But the innate system has no memory. It doesn't recognize the invaders more quickly if they return. This is the job of the adaptive immune system—B and T cells. These cells not only remember invaders; they're able to adapt their weapons—antibodies and T-cell receptors—to make them more effective. Think of them as the Special Forces.
When a vaccine enters the body, it introduces a specific but benign preview of the potential invader—say, flu virus—to allow our Special Forces to begin honing their weapons in advance of any attack. If the full-fledged invader later arrives, your body deploys those pre-made antibodies and, most times, defeats it before it makes you sick.
But as we age, we're increasingly at risk for flu. Why? A census of our antibodies might offer clues. And this is where the Stanford-led team comes in.
With support from NIH, these researchers recruited 17 volunteers, aged eight to 100 years, gave each a seasonal influenza vaccine and took blood samples—once before the vaccine, and twice after.
Using high throughput sequencing technology, the team characterized every single antibody, from each volunteer, at each of the three time points—that's 5 million antibodies! They noted the types of antibodies present (there are five possible types) and the specific number of each type. They then compared individual antibodies of the same type with each other. Such information allows you to figure out whether two antibodies share the same lineage—like a family tree.
When the researchers crunched the numbers, they found that the 70–100 year old volunteers had a significantly less diverse collection of antibodies than the younger volunteers. That is, as people aged, their immune system had a more limited repertoire of antibodies to offer.
Does this circumstance affect how the elderly react to the flu vaccine? Does it hinder their ability to fight infection? It's certainly possible. Perhaps this smaller, or less diverse, collection of antibodies could explain why the vaccine is somewhat less effective in elderly individuals. We'll need more research to figure it out. Having snapshots of our immune system will help us find answers.
This kind of antibody snapshot, only made possible in the last couple of years because of advances in genomics, could also be used to diagnose immune disorders—especially if diseases have an antibody "fingerprint." It might also provide a robust tool for measuring whether individuals were benefiting from specific treatments, and even provide a personal risk assessment for flu and other conditions: another element of personalized medicine.
But while all this exciting research is going on, it's still wise for you to get an annual flu shot!
Want to know more?
Image via Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com