Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each our on July 4....1826....fifty years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We all.....most of us anyway....know this. Neither man was a Christian. The best description of what Thomas Jefferson was came from his own writing.....saying that he...."was a sect by himself"....in other words....he held his beliefs but there was no sect or denomination that he would fit into. Adams was Unitarian. Both men denied the divinity of Christ. Both men also thought that institutional Christianity was the culprit. Only one week ago I had two men separately come over the house to do some work. As I always try to do....I started a conversation on Christianity....and both men....very politely.....in fact they accepted recommendations and a book from me.....but both men said very clearly that the problem they have is with organized religion!
What were Jefferson and Adams thinking as the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence drew near? It seems that in their letters to each other....Adams wanted to talk about the old days.....but Jefferson wasn't that interested. I have something to offer on this although it may hold no importance at all.....and it is this....
Fifty years? How much do we retain after a half century? How much might Jefferson and Adams have retained? I have one possible clue....in my own experience. Fifty years ago....it will be to the day in a few months....was my wife and my wedding day. Now that is pretty important....but probably not as important as Independence Day was to these two men. The war itself was roughly in this time span....and I was in the army and in Vietnam....in roughly the same fifty year time span.
I can remember as if it were today....our wedding....and much of my time in signal intelligence in Vietnam....so I would assume that Jefferson and Adams would have roughly the same recall and feeling of their days at the time of the revolution....and even moreso as the constitution came about....and even more than that....their own terms in the White House!
Somebody today who is only about thirty or forty years old....not to even mention college students....might not be able to see this? Young people probably think that 1976 or the Vietnam War were ages ago....instead of only decades ago. I think of JFK as a real man....who died when I was a real boy....but others today may see only a mythological figure? They might even think that about Reagan....but Reagan to others even near my age was as real as Bill Clinton....who is still walking around.
It is appearing more and more certain that they have finally found the remains of Noah's Ark. There have only been sixty....60.....centuries since God created Adam and Eve. A little calculation and....there have only been 120 of those fifty year periods since the Garden of Eden! This isn't lotto odds folks....in that this is the generation that will live through the tribulation described in the book of Revelation.
Fifty years ago was our bicentennial. I remember quite well the tall ships and the celebrations. There is not going to be a tricentennial....or tercentenary. Scripture is very clear on this....but one has to have eyes to see and ears to hear.....and one also has to have a desire to see Jesus return....nor would anyone thinking logically and rationally....want this time to pass....for where the world and society are going at....full-speed-ahead....is not a time period that anyone should look forward to or even want to live through.
We have run our course. The situation alone that Israel is in should show us this. There is no peace coming to this world. AI and the potential horrors of drone warfare....let alone drone terrorism....and the proliferation of Nuclear weapons....including small transportable weapons....and add to this a geological and cosmic increasing turbulence and volatility should tell us to....as a Christian neighbor passing by the house today....stopping only long enough to comment on the news of the day....smiled a hopeful smile up to me and said...."Keep your lamps full of oil".....(a reference to the Parable of the Ten Virgins from Matthew's version of the Olivet Discourse)....of which I then said....and some extra to take along!"
Addendum: 'Tippecanoe and Tyler too.' We learned that presidential campaign slogan in grade school. William Henry Harrison....(Tippecanoe)....became our ninth president....and John Tyler....his vice president....later our tenth president....this in 1841. As governor of Virginia....Tyler gave the funeral eulogy for Thomas Jefferson. Here is a rather astounding genealogical trivia. President Tyler's grandson....not great-great-great grandson or something like that.....but his grandson....died....last year.....last year....in May 2025!
