Signs of the Times

Gotcha. This isn't a post about the Revelation of the Apostle John on how our world will end, rather something much more trivial than that. I recommend you read up on Revelation and commentary on the hermeneutics of end time prophecy but this isn't where your going to find out about that. I believe the end times are rapidly approaching. I mean Barack Hussein Obama is our president who promotes more and more 'one world' activity and everyday Iran speaks more about wiping Israel off the map. There are wars and rumours of wars and earthquakes more frequently occuring. But no, I need to write to you about another kind of sign today.

Mennonite scripture signs.

Come on, I know you've seen them. While you may not be as specifically intrigued as I am on their creation, you've had to at least wonder where they come from. If you've ever taken a drive on a road through the fields of Franklin County, PA you'll see these scripture signs. They are placed at the end of driveways, usually right by a mailbox, and they quote scripture in a very abbreviated way. Like the example the paraphrase will say "Where will you spend eternity?" and underneath, usually in tiny letters, will be a scripture reference. While I do not oppose anything the signs say of course, I do however think some of the scripture paraphrasing gets written in such a way to promote the Mennonite/Anabaptist way of teaching. But that's not really what is intriguing to me in what I'm now calling the 'mystery of the sign'.

I mean where are these things developed. In Antrim township, I'm knee-deep in Mennonite culture but I've never seen the signs in any store. I doubt I go to many Mennonite stores but it would seem these signs are not for purchase by the general public. So now I assume we're dealing with an underground kind of thing. There may just be Mennonite stores that exclusively handle the signs. It may be a trade among Mennonite farmers who make the signs and distribute to neighbors or even a competition among neighbors like a 'keeping up with the Martin's' kind of thing. Or it may just be that this is a Mennonite trend much like Silly Bands where they go with the 'everyones doing it' philosophy.

So however the signs have affected your life, you can agree they've caused quite the buzz around humble Cumberland Valley. Bless the Mennonite people and their discipline, everyone could learn a little something from them about non conformity. However, I prefer attire from about 1870, not 1780. My advice to you is that you get to the bottom of this mystery so that everyone (probably just me) can get on with their lives. Also, reading the Bible on a sign is awesome, but reading the Bible from the book will change your life. It may just scare the hell out of you.