3 thoughts on “End Times

  1. Never will forget seeing Johnny Cash, live in person, at the Ryman Auditorium (Grand Ole Opry ) Nashville, Tennessee in 1971.

    This song closes with with the last of the four horsemen recorded in Revelation 6:7-8: And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

    No doubt he is singing about Judgement Day.

    Who Was Johnny Cash? Rock star? Country boy? Folk hero? Preacher? Poet? Drug addict? Rebel? Sinner? Saint? In truth, the Man in Black lived long enough and hard enough to embody all of the above-and much, much more. He was a musical legend, a one-of-a-kind communicator, an American icon-but you could never pigeonhole him or pin him down. You never completely knew him…or what he was going to do next.

    Cash’s faith in God was no different: “I’m still a Christian, as I have been all my life,” he once said. “Beyond that I get complicated.” Cash’s faith wasn’t smooth, slick, or sweet-it was grizzled, challenged, broken, and messy. Worlds away from perfect. But it was transparent … and real. Always real.

    In his book Dave Urbanski “The Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash ” he explores with vivid, narrative detail the wild ups and downs, the highs and lows, the ebbs and flows, that took place within this man’s soul-from beginning to end. It’s his spiritual chronicle. His sacred story-yet one that no doubt describes, in one way or another, where we’ve all been…and perhaps where we’re all going.

  2. Fred, thanks for the comments and for the links to that eBook series.

    Yes, Johnny Cash led an extraordinary life and his music is quite distinctive. I am glad you got to see him live. I thought this particular piece was pretty striking.

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