REAPING WHAT YOU SOW!

by Jon R. Welker

In December 1945, five U.S. Navy torpedo bombers disappeared above the area known as the Bermuda Triangle. That's just one of many bizarre events occuring in that area of the western Atlantic....

This article was excerpted from an article originally written for SHEPHERDSFIELD UPDATE No. 8 in 1983, and republished in SHEPHERDSFIELD UPDATE No. 45.

Several years ago, I visited a Christian community in Illinois, and engaged in a discussion with a psychiatrist who is part of the community there. During the course of our conversation, something was brought up which I found intriguing. Simply put for now, this doctor relayed the story of another doctor/psychiatrist, a friend of his, who had been on vacation to the island of Jamaica sometime before 1977. On the return cruise, the boat had engine trouble which required a few days to repair. After some time had elapsed, many people began to hear some strange "African sounding music" which could not be accounted for, since they were far out at sea. The doctor also eventually heard it. Then it dawned on him - they were in the Bermuda Triangle! People became concerned - but eventually the motors were repaired and the cruise ship returned to the States safely.

However, the incident continued to concern the doctor. He began to research the material on the Bermuda Triangle, for he did not believe that such things attributed to the area were anything but superstition, based maybe upon coincidence. His research led him to the discovery that the Bermuda Triangle is or was a sort of "clearing station" for the prosperous slave trade to the United States during that episode of our history! Slaves who were not well, or were maimed or weakened by the journey from Africa were dumped overboard alive! Furthermore, having taken out insurance on the slaves to insure their price, if the price was lower than what could be gained from the insurance (when they were put on the auction block) - the slaves, en masse, were thrown overboard! I have forgotten the number quoted, but I believe that it was estimated that thousands upon thousands of such people were cast off in the area we now call the Bermuda Triangle. Forgotten and not acknowledged as the hideous crime it was, it passed into history; a little incident among its vast pages. But if this is so, was it forgotten by God?

A FAR-REACHING NEED...

It seems that at the time of this incident, portions of the psychiatric community were discussing the idea that just as individuals need inner emotional healing, so do families, communities and nations! A group of Christians among these doctors got together and had a memorial service for these lost souls sometime around 1977 - confessing the wrong done to them and asking for forgiveness for this nation, etc. The Doctor looked at me and said, "You know, to my knowledge, there have been no recorded incidents of tragedy in the Bermuda Triangle since 1977"!

Now, I CANNOT vouch for the accuracy of this report or its details. And, I am somewhat aware of the many theories regarding the Bermuda Triangle and similar phenomena in other parts of the world. Therefore, there would be a risk for me to step out too far into this subject, but it is intriguing.

WHY THE OTHER TRAGIC INCIDENTS?

What is it? What has caused the legend regarding the Bermuda Triangle and the recorded incidents of many people lost and killed there? Is it all to be chalked up to fabrications, even when the Armed Forces and other reputable groups have acknowledged the accuracy of some of the incidents and disappearances of crafts and persons? Did something really happen to cause those people to be lost, or was there some deeper consciousness that caused the people to react in a bizarre fashion which led to their demise? And if such similar places exist elsewhere, could there be a common thread to the history of such regions? It is worth noting that most of the incidents which have been reported have involved wind and/or storms at sea. In fact, hurricanes are known to originate in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea, right in the area of Triangle.

Well, whatever you may answer, I was quickly given to see the potential of a profound truth from God's Word come to life. I turned to the psychiatrist and began to explain the Deuteronomy 21:1-9 passage. Please read it, paying careful attention to verses 7-9!

"If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: and it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley: and the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the Name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried: and all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: and they shall answer and say,
* Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O LORD, unto Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto Thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD." *

GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN!

Many of our readers are familiar enough with the literature of The Shepherdsfield Center for Biblical Studies to discern the manner in which I shared this Scripture with this psychiatrist. The very ground cries out with innocent blood! (See Gen. 4:9-11.) Un-atoned for, it was also unconfessed. A Law of Life had been broken with those thousands of slaves. Although man has forgotten and gone on to live his life, and other generations have come and gone - I am certain that God has not forgotten!!

The Bermuda Triangle has claimed the lives of hundreds or thousands (we may not know all). Innocent blood shed will not be overlooked by a God Who knows each sparrow that falls to the earth and places "our tears in a bottle" and writes them "in His book" (Ps. 56:8). It has been said that "The wheels of the gods grind slowly, but exceedingly fine." How true. We cannot break laws of life and be free from the consequences, even if it be "unto the third and fourth generations" (Num. 14:18).

My point in relaying portions of this story is not to identify the cause of the "stories" surrounding the incidents that have taken place in the Bermuda Triangle. Nor do I want to get involved in the type of "journalism" that tries to make something big out of questionable events. But if such a relationship truly exists between the Bermuda Triangle and the "murder" of countless slaves, dare we not consider the potentials of such a connection? And even if parts of such an account were to be found in error, I believe that the truths as I have brought out are still extremely vital. We cannot escape the goodness of God - but we also cannot escape the severity of God - unless we repent and confess our sins! Is it at least not worth reconsidering the actions of your life, your promises, broken commitments and their effect upon others? Selah. And, what of the 2001 World Trade Towers [and the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 in the Indian Ocean]?! Should we now, and in the future, expect similar occurrances as reported from other areas of the world where there has been tremendous loss of human life? Time holds the answer.