First Things First
On this page you'll find my latest Blog entry (and maybe a favorite or two), and in the links to the right you'll find archives of my blogs as well as some essays I've written, and other (hopefully) interesting things.
I've now been on Planet Earth for over 70 years(!) and I've been fortunate to pursue many of my interests, worked in some rewarding positions, traveled all over the United States, and met many interesting people. I hope you find some things on this site of interest, and possibly of use.
First, before reading my blog or any of my essays, you might want to see where I'm coming from. So, here's a link to my "First Things First" perspective: www.bullock.org/pages/perspectives.
Second, check out my books - for sale now!
| My Name Is Ben The First Book in the Open Portal series |
A Time And A Place The Prequel! |
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And, now for today's Featured Articles...
Questions from Quora.com:
"When people go to Heaven, what will they do when they get there?"
and
"Will We Work In Heaven?"
"When people go to Heaven, what will they do when they get there?"
and
"Will We Work In Heaven?"
January 6, 2026
First, let's define some paramaters.
"Heaven" is a spiritual place - the abode of God1, and the place where the souls of departed believers go upon death. Indeed, we are told that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord", Who is now seated on His throne beside the Father.
After the 7 years tribulation, the departed believers, united with their new physical bodies, return to earth with Christ, Who then sets up His kingdom here that will last a thousand years2. Following that, the "old" earth is destroyed and a new, physical earth is created where we, bodily, live for eternity with Christ3.
Non-believers, at death, are in torment until their judgment sentences them to everlasting darkness and banishment into the "lake of fire".
So then what?
While here on earth, many, if not most of us, see work as a necessary task, and usually something we would not do unless it was necessary. It has often been said "Do something you like and you'll never work a day in your life". That's just not an option for most of us. Oh, there may be times when something you did out of necessity was also pleasant for a season, but those times are generally few and far between. But, what if there was something you were especially designed for, and something you actually loved to do, and your desire to do this task day in and day out was what you actually wanted to do with your time? Would you see that as work, or priviledge? Many have viewed the hereafter as sitting around on a cloud playing a harp, or some version of that. I'm not sure I want to be a harp player, but there may be some who see that as fun. But, just sitting around for eternity? I don't think so! Besides, we won't be 'sitting on clouds'.
When Adam was created, God gave him something to do. One of his tasks was to give a name to every creature He had created, but he was to also look after the Garden of Eden and "dress it and keep it". I'm guessing Adam didn't see this as drudgery, but as an honor, and let's be honest, coming up with names for all the creatures might have been fun! God had created Adam, so He knew what Adam would enjoy doing, and He eventually created a human companion for Adam, and called her Eve (you know the story). However, it's important to see that only after they had sinned (Genesis 3:13, "What have you done???") did work become, well, work4. As a result, work became a negative more than a positive.
However, God wishes to return us to the perfect environment He originally created for us before we corrupted it - and this time, it will remain perfect! So, imagine this: What if you lived in an environment with no pain, no aches, no "work", but in a place where every day was the best day of your life, and you were given tasks that not only were you perfectly suited and gifted for, but something you absolutely loved to do?
I was always fascinated by Mike Rowe's TV series "Dirty Jobs". Each episode would show some of the most bizarre and seemingly foul occupations that someone had to do. What fascinated me was that there was always someone who just loved their job. I remember an episode that chronicled the job of cleaning out the sewer systems in a large city. One particular individual just loved what he did. I still can't imagine that! But, he took pride in disposing the worst refuse that those living in the world above him had created, and he smiled the whole time he was doing it.
Now, I'm not saying we'll all be garbage disposals - on the contrary. I'm saying that God has created each of us5 with unique talents, inherent abilities, and personal proclivities that fit precisely into some task that we would do just for fun, even if there was no pay involved6. The concept is that, when we arrive on the new - physical, by the way - earth, He has something waiting for each of us that will light up our eyes and excite our senses, and all these different tasks will work in perfect harmony with others in the perfect existent life, with Christ at the center of it all.
Personally, I can't wait to see what He has chosen for me!
Oh, and that cloud and the harps - my daughter might actually find that one exciting!
Notes:
1I Kings 8:27: "But will God dwell on earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built?
2Read Revelation Chapter 20!
3Read Revelation Chapter 22!
4Genesis 3:17, "...cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shale eat the herb of the field; in the sewat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
5Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for good works, which God had prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
6Philippians 2:13: "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."
December 9, 2025
This is a map of the Middle East. The area in Red is the nation of Israel. EVERY nation surrounding Israel is complaining that the Jewish People should not be there and are occupying land that belongs to Palestine - a non-nation entity.
Look at the land each of these nations have. If all the nations surrounding Israel are so concerned with a place for the Palestinians, why don't they carve out some of their land instead of trying to make the Jewish people leave?
Because it is NOT about the Palestinians! It is about eradicating the Jews - nothing more, nothing less!
Recently, many have complained that the Israelis are guilty of crimes against humanity because of deaths caused in the Gaza Strip by Israel's struggle against Hamas. But, nobody seems to put this in perspective.
This is a picture of the Northeastern United States and Canada:
Imagine that New York, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Eastern Canada were lobbing thousands of rockets annually into Vermont, and bands of organized thugs, financed by these same states/provinces, were infiltrating Vermont and attacking their citizens with no mercy. Should Vermonters just leave and go somewhere else, or stay and fight - getting no help from their neighbors, but maybe from England or France, or even the Chinese? Ridiculous, right? It's the same thing - except the countries in the Middle East don't want the Jews to leave - they want them all dead. They want genocide. Shoot, Germany even tried it during World War II, which is why there is an Israel in the first place! The Jewish people wanted a place where they could live and defend themselves.
If you're one of those with preconceptions about the guilt of Israel, consider this: If the Arab world, indeed the rest of the world, would cease attacking Israel and lay down their weapons, there would be immediate peace. If Israel, on the other hand, lays down their weapons, they would be exterminated.
If you had those preconceptions, maybe it's time you re-think your position! Still think Israel is guilty of crimes? Consider this:
This is a picture of Dresden, Germany immediately after World War II:
In February 1945, the U.S. and Great Britain droped nearly 3,900 tons of high explosive bombs and incendiary devices, and up to 25,000 people were killed. We were justified in this bombing because Dresden was a major rail transport, communications center, manufacturing, and personnel center in support of the German army. We were not prosecuted for war crimes - the Germans were!
This is a picture of Tokyo immediately after World War II:
In February 1945, the U.S. dropped nearly 455 tons of incendiary and fragmentation bombs on Tokyo. Again, in March 1945, the U.S. dropped 1,655 tons of bombs, consisting of cluster bombs, and incendiary bombs which included 38 napalm-carrying incendiary bombs. Nearly 16 square miles of the city were destroyed, and over 100,000 people were killed.
This is a picture of Hiroshima, Japan immediately after World War II:
This is a picture of Nagasaki, Japan immediately after World War II:
Unless you're ignorant of history, you know about these two bombings (actually, you should be aware of all these, but history is not really being taught in today's government-run indoctrination centers - "schools" for those of you who don't recognize that term), but who was prosecuted in the aftermath of the war? The Japanese.
So what's my point? Well, first, war is hell. But, more importantly, prosecution is for the aggressors, not the victims. If you break into my house and I blow you away with my shotgun or pistol (which would definitely be the case, and I'd sleep like a baby that night), then (assuming you're still breathing), who gets prosecuted? You do - not me!
Israel is only protecting itself, just like we were in all the above photographs. Were innocents killed? Of course they were, and that's a tragedy. But remember, Hamas and other enemies of Israel store their munitions, personnel, and weapons purposely near hospitals and residential areas just so they can claim victim status when Israel takes these out and collateral damage occurs.
So, how about a self-check. Do you sympathize with Israel because they are the victims here, or do you sympathize with the aggressors? If the latter, you might as well consider yourself Antisemitic, because there's no other way to consider these actions based on what's actually happening in that tiny red dot in the first photograph.
I support Israel for primarily this reason: Down through history, multiple entities have attempted to eradicate Jews from the earth, yet they have been preserved, even after 6 million of them were poisoned and baked to death in German ovens in their concentration camps. The world finally grew a brain, and set aside a spot in the world where they could live and protect themselves. It's a shame it took 6 million deaths to make this happen.
Finally, there is a reason this is all happening to Israel. The story is in the Bible, so I suggest you read that after you read this, and decide who's side you're on. I choose Israel, if for no other reason than the Bible tells me to!
You have the freedom to believe whatever you want. Get it right, though!
Are We The Apostate Church?
November 2023
Update: Saturday, September 13, 2025:
The assassination of Charlie Kirk earlier this week again just underscores the backslide of our culture. Will the Church wake up?
Update: Thursday, May 30, 2024
Based on the events today with the wrongful conviction of former President Donald Trump, this essay is even more relevant!
The Bible, in several places, speaks of men who will penetrate, and eventually in many cases, permeate the Church. In some cases it affects a wide area of Christendom (multiple Church congregations), and in some cases it may be more localized. Christ's letters to the Churches in Revelation specifically mention two Churches through the ages where this occurs: The Church at Sardis, and the Laodicean Church. While many (and I'm one) subscribe to the belief each of these letters to specific churches in Asia also reference time periods down through history, or "Church Ages", Laodicea being the final church, is likely the church on earth at the Rapture.
If this is the case, doesn't that put us directly in the Laodicean Age? I think it does. Now, this does not mean that every congregation of every denomination is apostate, but it does speak, I think, to churches in our time in general. What do I mean by that?
In the 20th Century, the Church has, on many fronts, surrendered to the Spirit Of The Age (see Ephesians 2:2). It was a gradual surrender, but on many fronts the Church has become ineffective, especially here in the United States.
When Alexis De Tocqueville visited the United States in the 19th Century to discover what made this country so special, one of the things he observed and realized was the effect of religion on the morality found in most areas of the burgeoning Republic. He also realized that if we lost that moral compass, we would begin to decline. We have done exactly that.
"How", you ask? It began in the early twentieth century when factions led by men like John Dewey believed that the "State" - the government - should be in charge of education and worked to wrestle control from the Church, the local community, and finally the states, and set up public schools administered by the federal government. Over the remainder of the 20th Century, this is exactly what happened. Before 1900, most primary education was local in nature, primarily administered by the family or the local body of believers. Government run institutions were the exception rather than the rule. Then the 16th Amendment, and taxation slowly began to bleed resources from individuals and businesses, and in 1979, President Jimmy Carter (a Baptist!) signed into law the Department of Education Organization Act, which established the federal Department of Education. In the intervening years, the DoEd has assumed control of almost all educational policies and curriculum in the United States. Now public schools are the rule, and private schools of any type are the exception, and tuition must be paid out of individuals pockets, even though the government collects taxes to finance education. Some areas are attempting to at least take those confiscated funds and let the parents decide, through vouchers or similar devices, which school they fund - but as we all know, anything that goes through the government's hands has strings attached!
But, that's just one area. In 1954, Lyndon Johnson, then a Senator from Texas, introduced an amendment to the Tax Code that prohibited non-profit organizations (and he was specifically targeting Churches, some of whom had opposed his election) from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Some thought this was a good idea, and while how and when Churches should be involved in the political discussion may be debated, this amendment was the opening shot that eventually caused the Church to back away from anything political in nature. In other words, the one institution with scriptural instructions to be "salt and light" in a sinful world gave up a big piece of that mandate.
The next piece was the elimination of any religious influence in the public arena. This actually goes all the way back to 1890 when the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of Catholics who objected to the use of Protestant Bibles in public schools. Beginning in 1955, many areas attempted to proscribe a standard "school prayer". But in 1962, primarily through the efforts of atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the government banned all prayer from the public schools. While there was lots of noise and outcry at the time, the Church buckled and the atheists won. Once that was accomplished, that prohibition was much easier to incorporate into other areas. When was the last time you saw a prayer before a sports event?
So, in the space of 100 years, the Church conceded education and political influence to the State, which then all but forbade Bible reading and public prayer to anyone but those inside the Church. Why are we surprised, then, that we face so many evils, perversions, and outright hatred of all things Godly in our society. We can blame many for all this deterioration and collapse, but the fault lies directly at the doorstep of the Church.
Now as one whose first trips as an infant outside my home were to Church, from a family that went (and, by the way, still does go) to Church every time the doors are open, this is no small statement. Indeed, it is also the Church that presents the Gospel to the world - still. But, when it comes to affecting the world around us - being the "salt and light" we were commanded to be - we have increasingly abandoned that mission, and the entire World suffers. Our nation is in constant crisis because of that abandonment, and I see no letting up. In fact, I have witnessed more and more Churches focusing more on the inside of the Church rather than where Jesus focused - those on the outside who most need the Gospel.
If you disagree with this, think about the last time your Church discussed the increasingly troubling political issues facing our nation. Where do your children attend school - a public institution, or a Christian-based educational school? Who decides your children's curriculum - the State or the Church - or the families of the children attending the school? Do you sit down and dissect your child's curriculum and make sure they understand the difference between what's being portrayed as fact, and the actual facts? If you send your children to Caesar, don't be surprised when they come back Roman!
Does your Church ever present possible legislative agendas to your elected representatives to reverse the years of bad legislation? As a matter of fact, do you feel your Church members don't really want to "rock the boat" when it comes to addressing societal problems? I know I do! If I were being honest, I'm part of the problem. All my activities in these areas are done in venues other than my local Church for exactly that reason! I hate that secular organizations would rather discuss these issues than the very institution commanded to do so!
Don't get me wrong, the Church has a valid primary mission in reaching the lost, and teaching Biblical truths, and many are doing a decent job - but we are fighting a losing battle if we don't export those truths to the world around us. In fact, I've witnessed Churches in "competition" with each other to the point where most Churches are only concerned with activities they themselves sponsor. All the societal changes in the last 100 years I specified at the beginning of this chapter have occurred because, while the Church objected at the initial introduction of each of these issues, we gave up the fight. Why is it Satan always plays the long game, and we simply want to be left alone? Imagine if Jesus came in and disrupted today's religions institutions like He did when He was here 2000 years ago. We might find ourselves actually exercising Biblical instructions for those who would cause trouble in the Church, and remove fellowship from such a person! It's one thing to think of what would happen if such a person were to walk into one of our present-day services, but remember, it was the religious institution of the day that crucified Christ - and they used their 'friends' in the Roman government to perform the actual crucifixion!
What I'm saying here is that, while the Church has many times done a good job distributing the Scripture, or establishing new Churches, or conducting worshipful services, or preaching the Gospel, or shepherding the flock, the world around us is crumbling because we abandoned those things the government told us to shut up about, and concentrated on the inside rather than affecting the outside.
It has been so long since the Church was involved in these areas that I'm not sure how we would begin to re-engage in those areas of salt and light.
We are, at a minimum, the birth of the Apostate Church; and at worse, we are the Apostate Church!
QUESTION FROM QUORA.COM:
"Do you go to Heaven immediately,
or do you wait in the grave before
Jesus Christ returns to be in the millennial reign?
I'm confused."
June 17, 2025
Many people misquote II Corinthinas 5:8 as saying "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". But, what it actually says is:
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord".So, not an exact quote.
However, reading the Bible in context, especially Jesus' account of the rich man and Lazarus (not to be confused with the Lazarus He raised from the dead), we discover there is a definite relocation of the soul at the time of death. The implications are that the lost are immediately carried into a consiousness of torment (the case of the rich man). The saved - those who have accepted Christ's payment for our sins and trusted Him - are carried into a state of perfect rest. This 'rest' is a state of absolute comfort similar, but vastly superior to, the feeling you might have after a very restful night's sleep just before you are fully awake. You are not yet awake, and not really aware of things going on around you, but boy does it feel great!!
Those "saved" souls are under the watch and care of the Lord, simply awaiting the resurrection when the soul is united with our now-perfect bodies. Your next conscious awareness is the presence of the Lord.
SO, in that sense, "to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord!!"
Artificial Intelligence - What Could Go Wrong?
July 9, 2024
Those who know me know I'm a tech geek and that I know a few things about software design. However, knowledge of software design is no prerequisite to having valid opinions on this subject.
Having said all that, the most dangerous thing to come down the pike recently is the increasing advancements in Artificial Intelligence development. It seems everyone these days involved in software developoment is either concentrating on AI, or they have an AI component to their project(s).
Now, AI has lots of positive posssibilities, from performing menial labor tasks, to highly advanced medical applications. One can take practically any industry or vocation and imagine a myriad of possibilities where AI could make a huge difference.
But, as with any advancement in technology, there are dangers that need to be considered. When it comes to Artificial Intelligence, the most prevalent danger is not one of Artificial Intelligence, but of the lack of Human Intelligence - or worse, the presence of Human ignorance or the much more dangerous Human depravity!
I know, I know - everyone points to The Terminator movie as the fear attached to AI, but the idea behind that movie wasn't wrong (although the time travel aspect is - and this statement comes from someone who's written two fictional books about time travel!). The dangers of what could happen if AI is released, either as a result of ignorance or mischief, in a way that could potentially do major damage to humanity or human systems is of enormous concern.
Add to that the simultaneous proliferation of IoT devices (the 'Internet of Things') that are being embedded in practically everything you buy, and the combination of IoT and AI gone wild is one of the most frightening things since we split the atom. While there are some who are trying to sound the alarm, the proliferation of AI is greatly outstripping the level of concern that AI run amuck could do major damage - and the government, as usual, is not only far behind the curve, but the politicians are, again as usual, clueless. Additionally, many of us (me included) are just as wary of government run amuck as we are of AI.
"SO," you say, "Mr. Smarty Pants - what are you proposing"? That's a good question. I guess I'm proposing that we need to question every single use of AI, and demand accountability and disclosure from any process or product where AI is a component. It's why I don't have any IoT-enabled appliances. I don't want anything that could be used to collect information or surviel my private activities, or worse, steal personal data. Make no mistake, every interaction you have with almost any electronic device these days collects information from and about you, usually to try to sell you something. But, many are now becoming aware of the dangers that are possible (maybe even probable) when governments collect massive amounts of information on individuals. The Chinese software productions, such as Tik-Tok and others, are already infamous for doing just such collections. As a matter of fact, if you work for the Federal Government in the United States, it is illegal to have the Tik-Tok app on any of your devices. AI has already been misused!
While these are things I'm concerned about, it may already be too late. I'm not saying an Arnold Swartzenegger-like android is going to show up at some point, but I do think it's interesting that the most popular operating system that drives these devices is called "Android", and was developed by Google - the most intrusive entity on the Internet.
Hmmm...I could be wrong about that Arnold thing....
UPDATE: Article from Newsmax dated June 29, 2025:
"The world's most advanced AI models are exhibiting troubling new behaviors - lying, scheming, and even threatning their creators to achieve their goals. In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic's latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair. Meanwhile, ChatGPT-creator OpenAI's o1 tried to download itself onto external servers and denied it when caught red-handed."
I'm thinking I'm definitely wrong about that Arnold thing....
73, K5YPV
November 27, 2021
Everyone has friends, some that might be referred to as 'close' friends. If you're fortunate, though, you'll have at least one friend you might think of as indispensable. Wayne Ridge was that indispensable friend in my life.
We met when I was 15 years old. I was looking for someone who would help me get in to Amateur Radio, and Wayne was who was recommended to me. The story of my first meeting with him is humorous, but he instantly took me under his wing (he was 8 years older than me) and taught me what I was looking for, as well as a number of other things down through the years. He helped me get my Ham Radio license, and forever K5YPV and WA5TMC were linked. I spent countless hours at his business; we traveled together; we enjoyed our hobby together; and I worked for him for a number of years. For over 53 years, I counted Wayne as one of the closest of my friends.
Over his last three years, we both had health problems, then the Covid pandemic kept us apart, but I always saw a smile from him when I'd show up, and we'd still talk every so often. As his health declined, and the pandemic dangers loomed, it became harder to meet in person, particularly when he was essentially homebound.
Wayne passed away Thanksgiving Day, 2021, and one of my oldest friends has joined all the others we both had said "so long" to over the years. Am I sad? Yes, of course! But from what I know of Wayne, we will see each other again. I'm sad because I can no longer just pick up the phone and call him, and his signal is permanently "off the air", but I wouldn't call him back into this mess from the paradise I'm sure he's now in.
So, 73, K5YPV. I will certainly miss you from this place. But, we'll meet again in a better place where the signals are always strong, the DX is coming in from all over, and it's permanent Field Day. Keep the antennas tuned - we'll all be along shortly.
Karl, WA5TMC