Mark of the Beast

Who is the Beast and the False Prophet, and what does the bestial number, 666, signify? Everyone wants to know. But before we get carried away and leap to obvious conclusions, pointing our fingers at Barack, Hillary and Soros, consider St. John's numeric source, namely Solomon, who serves as a type, or forerunner, of Antichrist.

Recall Solomon's apostasy after the departure of the Queen of Sheba, in which he breaks the laws of kingship, multiplying horses, women and gold to himself contrary to Dueteronomy 17: 16-18. How much gold did the Astaroth, Moloch worshiping king amass? We're told in I Kings. 10: 14, "The weight of gold that came to King Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold."

There you have it, the infernal number of idolatrous abomination and a blasphemous parody of 888, which is the number of Jesus reckoned by rabbinical Gematria. But if Solomon serves as a type of Antichrist, how was that played out in St. John's time? Here's Farrer; after discussing the sixfold pattern of divine judgement in the Apocalypse, he writes:

"On the sixth day of the week, and the sixth hour, says St. John (Jn. 19: 13-22), the kingdoms of Christ and Antichrist looked one another in the face in Pilate's court, and the adherents of the False Prophet (Caiaphas) firmly wrote on their foreheads the mark of the Beast, when they said, 'We have no King but Caesar.'"

We have no King but Caesar. How does that differ, in effect, from the present spirit of the age? 

Beware the wrath to come,

LSP

Snake Hunt!

What do you need to go on a snake hunt? A knife might come in handy, so take one. Take a hat, too, to keep the scorching April sun off your head. Wear boots, as an extra layer of protection against the sharp fangs of the snakes and vicious Texan thorns. But what about a gun?

A Hat

Yes, you'll need one. I chose a battered Mossberg 12 gauge pump. OK, it's not a fancy-pants, Ivy League, boarding school, Illuminati elite, Country Club double, but so what? It gets the job done.

Spot the Space Junk

Now that you're loaded for snake, set off and check out the serpentzone. I poked around in a pile of space junk that I knew a rattlesnake was fond of. How did I know? Because I saw it there the other day, with GWB. No luck. Next, peer down into a small ravine and gaze at the clear water of its creek. Tranquil, that's for sure, but still no snake.

So Where's the Snake?

Don't give up, like a beaten army, scout along a treeline and observe various animal bones while looking for Indian artifacts, maybe there'll be a snake. No, there wasn't; there were plenty of wild flowers, most attractive, but still no snake. Perhaps the snakes will be at the Beach, I thought, after all, they love water. Especially Water Moccasins. 

The Beach. Watch out for Snakes

Alright, go to the beach and look in wonder at the height of the water, chances are there'll be a snake. They do, in fact, like to congregate in places like the Beach, so if you're thinking of using this snake hunt as a guide, be careful when knocking about the shorelines of snaky tanks, I was. Regardless, the serpents were hiding, unlike the frogs which were in abundance.

Snake Territory

I called it a day after the Beach and counted it a successful armed stroll through the Texan countryside. And there's nothing wrong with that. At all.

As I write this serpentine wisdom, big lightning fills the eastern night sky like an artillery barrage, but it's silent so far.

Your Pal,

LSP

153 Fish And The Mystic Lamb

Did any of you get to Mass yesterday? If you did, you may have noticed that the disciples caught a miraculous catch of 153 fish under the direction of the Risen Lord. Why 153? Apparently the ancients believed there were 153 different species of fish, and so the catch represents all of humanity. The Gospel is of universal application to all men, everywhere; to put it another way, it's catholic. But here's the detail, from Rebirth of Images:

"Sir Edwyn shews that the number of the miraculous catch, 153, is what the ancients called the triangular power of 17... Here Sir Edwyn stops, because 17 considered in itself is a meaningless number. But we do not need to consider it in itself; we may consider it as the diagonal of the square twelve, as the measure of that river which, issuing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, cuts Paradise from top to bottom. It is then obviously good sense to see the fishes as the ‘fullness’ or the ‘complement’ of the River of Life, just as the citizens are the fullness or complement of the square city.

"But why, we may still ask, does St. John take the triangular power of 17 as its ‘fulness’, rather than the square? The answer is that the square (289) is a meaningless number, whereas the triangular (153) receives an appropriate sense from that very treatise of numbers which St. John found in Solomon’s temple-building. The labour of the building was done by the non-Israelites of Solomon’s dominions; 153 thousand and some odd hundreds were set to work (II Chron. II, 17-18: VIII, 7-8). What could be more appropriate to St. John’s purpose? The miraculous catch, as has long been recognized, signifies Gentile converts: it is these, rather than the Jews, who build up the temple of God, the church."

Some people think that the New Testament is two dimensional, or less. That would be an error. Others think that St. John the Divine had too much time on his hands while in exile on Patmos. Perhaps, but I prefer inspired, holy, brilliance.

God bless,

LSP

Go Fishing After Mass

There's all kinds of ways you can relax on Sunday afternoon after Mass and I'll share one option with you. Go to a lake somewhere in central Texas and catch some fish, or at least try. With that in mind, I put a rod in the bed of the rig, Blue Crankbait in the cab and drove off to RV with GWB at a lake.

Hope Springs Eternal

Would I catch any fish, I asked myself hopefully, as Blue Eschaton frisked and gamboled in the lakeside pasture. Remembering past success, I put a sparkly green worm on a Bass hook and cast off. Bass love sparkly green worms, I thought, full of pescatorial wisdom. 

A Bass

Strike! Fish on, the rod bent double and out played the line. Big excitement in LSPland, I can tell you, and after a decent fight I reeled in a Bass. Good result. A little later, GWB tipped up and cast off with a spinner but soon retired to watch a Sand Hill Crane through a spotting scope. There it was, a Sandhill Crane. 

Recon

I kept fishing, however, which is a sport that's all about perseverance, and was rewarded with a fair sized Catfish that struck my plastic worm near the surface. Again, big excitement, top water hi-jinx, but he slipped the hook after thrashing about in the water like an enraged Great White. Readers, all three of you, don't underestimate the fury of the fish. Then, as the sun was beginning to set, another Bass decided to strike, this time hitting a blue worm. Bass love blue plastic worms. Well, at least this one did, and that was that.

A Typical Texas Sunset

Fishing adventure over, we scouted out the land near the lake for potential predator calling and hunting. It's beautiful country and remarkably green and lush, which will change all too soon under the fierce Texan sun; the country even has hills and views, or vistas. Rremarkable, it's like Gloucestershire, except for the bobcats, snakes, coyotes and wild pigs.

Speaking of which, the man who farms there says that pigs are always a problem and I guess they are, except when they're on the grill.

God bless Texas,

LSP

Free State PPSh-41

Hickok 45 reviews a Soviet submachine gun in Texas, one of this country's comparatively free states. Notice how he shoots auto in controlled bursts. Message to market:

You're more likely to hit something if you aim the gun.

Shoot straight,

LSP

White Bread

Gratuitous Handgun Video

OK, I know this doesn't have anything to do with eating ribeye steak or shooting enormous handguns, like LL's Smith & Wesson .460 Magnum revolver which, by the way, is perfectly capable of taking out a Main Battle Tank (MBT). No, this is about bread.

Bread Rising

One of the things I miss about England and Canada is good white bread. It's hard to find here in rural Texas, especially the white farmhouse loaf that goes so well with a Ploughman's Lunch or just about anything else, for that matter.

So, how to get that bread. By waiting for the Government to give it to me, as in the days of ancient Rome? By waiting for the State to take someone else's bread and deliver to the Compound just because I didn't have any and that's not fair? No, I bypassed Leviathan and its Big Bakery cronies, and made that loaf myself. In fact I made several. And it was right tasty, not that I'm an expert. Moral of the story?

Some Fresh Baked Bread

Don't put up with ersatz rubbish, not least food, and make the effort to be self-sufficient. There's a virtue and no little degree of satisfaction in that. And, of course, shoot huge revolvers whenever possible.

That's a given,

LSP

Spot The Snake

Can you see the snake? Tricky, isn't it, because it's well camouflaged. But look closely, with the aid of a helpful red circle, and you'll see a few inches of the serpent slithering into a metal pipe.

You can just pick it out between the box spring and the pipe. Of course other snakes are far easier to spot.

One of them's running for President.

LSP

You're Fired, Finally

Do you remember bishop Stacy Sauls, the Episcopal Church's Chief Operating Officer? Sure you do. Sauls was placed on administrative leave along with Sam McDonald, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Director of Mission, and Alex Baumgarten, Director of Public Engagement and Mission Communications.

Why? No one knew, "possible misconduct," pending an investigation. 

Sauls

Baumgarten and McDonald were fired this week for violating "workplace policies." Stacy was axed too, even though the investigation found him innocent of misconduct.

Popular Anglican news service, VirtueOnline, asked the Episcopal Church's Public Affairs Officer whether the misconduct was sexually related. Neva Ray Fox neither confirmed nor denied the question.

What can I say? Better call Saul.

LSP

Range Warriors

"People don't need to be afraid of a citizen's militia," said LL as he idly swung a razor sharp tomahawk at the head of a passing snake, "No, not unless they're a pajama boy, living in their parent's Upper West Side apartment, wearing a onesie and whining about microaggression."

Deadly Assault Carbine and a Truck

"And most people aren't like that," I replied, in between fusillades of 5.56 at an unsuspecting piece of steel some 100 yards away, "Especially in Texas." LL agreed, "Not in Texas." Small cal semi training over, we moved on to the next evolution. Riot control.

Get That Riot Under Control!

The riot control component of the day's course was simple. Two shooters take a Glock 21 each and suppress a riot from close range, 25-30 yards, the riot being an old metal kettle and accurate speed shooting being the method. 13 rounds, fast, on the riot kettle.

A Typical Wheel Gun

Go! Off went the Glocks and down went the kettle mutiny in a blaze of .45 ACP. OK, the .45 isn't the mighty .460 Magnum, which can take out a grizzly bear, and it's not the awesome .357 Magnum, which has the raw power to shoot through an engine block. But still, it gets the job done and done well.

Python Power

A good day was had by all, and rumors of celebratory ribeye steaks are entirely with foundation.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Wheel Guns at the Range

Grilled hamburgers make you a better shot, especially with magnum wheel guns. At least that's the theory, but is it true? We took LL's Smith & Wesson .460 Magnum and Colt Python .357 Magnum to the range to find out.

It seemed to make sense to start with the mighty .460, that fires a bullet with the kind of kenetic explosive power you'd expect from a freight train roaring out of a tunnel. Mighty ballistics hi-power. After that, the Colt Python seemed a gentle gun, firing a round that was only designed to go through engine blocks. 

LL Considers The Range

But was our marksmanship improved by last night's burgers? Yes, it was. A green silhouette was taking rounds in the X Ring and before long LL suggested we move on to shooting hotel key cards. "As a training exercise," he said.

Key Cards Down

Well, you can't train too much and LL made short work of the key card opposition, proving that deadly accuracy is achievable with the significant .357 Magnum. Then it was my turn and I started shooting just low right of the "Elite" card. "Calm down, breathe," said my maritime ally, and I did. Key card down. They took a beating.

Python

So did a kettle, a steel turkey and a couple of plates, but that's a different story. Still, what's the verdict?

Big wheel guns are powerful medicine and, if you want to improve your magnum skills, be sure to grill up some burgers the night before. Thanks, LL, for the revolver opportunity. 

Gun Rights,

LSP

LL Comes to Texas

Like a lot of Californians, LL's come to Texas, and decided to visit the Compound. So I fired up the grill and made burgers.

Now, I'm not saying that a Colt Python makes for a better hamburger, or that a stainless Smith & Wesson .460 Magnum adds to the flavor, but I'm not saying they don't, either. But do grilled burgers make you a better shot?

We're off to the range with these wheel guns to test the theory and find out.

More on this exciting story as it develops.

LSP

Minimum Wage?

ZeroHedge takes a dim view of raising the minimum wage to $15 and thinks it'll make everyone poorer by causing unemployment and inflation. Socialists think it'll make more people richer by giving the poor a bigger slice of the fiscal pie. What do I think, you ask with bated breath.

That people should be paid a just wage in return for their work, especially the clergy. But why stop with a minimum wage and a progressive income tax. Why not empower the dictatorship of the proletariat Government, which is your Friend, to give everyone the same amount of money? That'd be fair, right? 

Obey Felix Dzerzhinsky

Come to think of it, why not abolish private property and build some reeducation camps for the kulaks, you know, all the ones you haven't shot yet.

And before you come up with the tired old lame excuse that there isn't enough money, remember, the State can print as much of that as it likes.

Cheers,

LSP