The Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

And the Band Played On!!
By John Mitchell

It is an old expression that describes the attitude of a person or group of people that in the face of overwhelming evidence, maintain a blatant, obstinate refusal to accept certain facts that disagree with THEIR concept of reality. One of the most famous illustrations could be that of the Roman Emperor, Nero. In his ambition to build new buildings in the city, all of which were to be a testament to his glory, he had fires started in the old section of Rome. The fires got out of control and engulfed a large part of Rome, and of course Nero could not take responsibility. He therefore looked for a scapegoat, and found it in the newly formed Christian community. Laying the blame on these “Christians,” he instituted the horrible persecution and deaths of many people. The story has it that while witnessing the walls of flame engulfing Rome, he played his violin to distract his mind from what he had done. Thus the expression “He fiddled while Rome burned.”

During the Nazi Holocaust of WWII, as the Jewish and other people, such as the lame, mentally retarded, political prisoners, and other ethnic races were marched to their deaths in the infamous “showers” of Hitler’s death camps, the condemned would pass a bandstand on which a quartet of musicians (usually Jewish) would be playing chamber music. Thus some six million Jews, and untold others, marched to their deaths, and the band played on!

As the great “unsinkable” Titanic filled her compartments with the icy waters of the North Atlantic that fateful night, the ship’s string musicians gathered on the deck and played, “Nearer My God To Thee.” Amid the screams of the drowning and dying passengers and crew, the great ship disappeared beneath the water, and the band played on!

In our nation today, the United States of America, our once mighty and prosperous nation, we too are dancing to a different tune. The high and mighty of finance, the CEOs, the CFOs of industry and commerce, and those who tread the halls of our government and sit in the highest positions of power have struck up a NEW BAND, the sounds of which are becoming each day more discordant. Our lifestyles of greed, envy, the pursuit of hedonistic pleasure, and most severe of all -- the abandonment of the laws of God, which were the foundational values and principles of our founding fathers, have led us to the brink of the abyss of destruction. The description of our day is fully laid out in the Word of God -- that’s right, the Bible. And it is found in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 [see below]. Read it for yourself! What an apt description of our society! Instead of turning to God in national repentance and seeking His solutions and will for our nation, we plunge headlong, full speed ahead, in the blatant, obstinate refusal to accept certain facts that disagree with OUR concept of reality! Our nation reels like a drunkard with his head void of direction and common sense as the leaders of our government pass bills saddling our grandchildren with debt that cannot be repaid. Our leaders pass bills that mock the very God of heaven with “same sex marriage” and “Gay Rights,” all in the name of diversity. See the punishment on those so involved in Romans 1:24-32 [see below]! In the halls of government it is almost impossible to find a congressman or congresswoman that has not gotten a “sweetheart deal” on everything from mortgages to “pay to play,” all the while calling for investigations to divert attention from themselves. We truly are “sick from the top of our head to the sole of our feet.” And the band played on, and we do not know the answers!

General Douglas MacArthur, in his address to the joint session of congress many years ago, stated that it would take a “strong hand from somewhere” to save this nation. Well, that “strong hand” is about to come from “somewhere” as Jesus Christ will soon descend from the heavens to this earth, and establish the Kingdom of God on this earth, and force mankind to live in peace and harmony. Mankind will obey the Word of God and there will be only one reality in that day, and mankind will rejoice to see it!