The Writing Is On The Wall

Multiple cracks can be seen in the middle of the Washington Monument.

A four foot crack divides a center mason stone
on the tip of the Washington Monument.

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  On August 23, 2011 a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the east coast of the United States.  The city that seemed to endure the most damage was the nation's capitol, Washington DC, and nowhere was this more evident than in two places -- the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral.  The damage to the Washington Monument is significant and the historical landmark has been closed indefinitely.  Engineers still aren't sure how to repair the damage.  What is visible from the outside poorly reflects the significant interior damage.  The Washington Monument is America's national symbol of pride, power and prestige.  Named after America's first president under the Constitution, George Washington, the monument stands 555 feet, or 6660 inches, from its base.  The building project was funded almost entirely by Freemasons and its designer, Robert Mills, was himself a Freemason.  Upon completion in 1884, it stood as the world's tallest building, rivaling the Cathedral in Cologne Germany, until it lost that designation in 1889 with the completion of the Eiffel Tower in Paris France.

Spire on National Cathedral

The National Cathedral is owned by The Episcopal Church (TEC), and is often designated as "America's Cathedral" for the number of historical religious services that have occurred there over the last century.  Both the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument are adorned with fifty flags, each representing the fifty respective United States of America.  The Monument flies them in a circle around the exterior of the tower, while the Cathedral hangs them internally down the nave of the main chapel.  Next to the Washington Monument, the National Cathedral sustained the most earthquake damage both inside and out.  One of the four main spires that stretch heavenward from the top of the cathedral came crashing down, along with some smaller structures, and significant cracks can be seen in the interior of the building.  The cathedral is the seat of the Presiding Bishopess of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori.  Congress designated the National Cathedral as the "National House of Prayer."  During World War II, monthly services were held there "on behalf of a united people in a time of emergency."   The building has hosted other major events, both religious and secular, that have drawn the attention of the American people.  The cathedral has hosted the funeral services of many national dignitaries as well.  President Woodrow Wilson is entombed there.

Structural debris liter the Cathedral rooftop and grounds.

The connection between the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument is through its members, because you see a majority of U.S. Presidents (including George Washington) were Episcopalians, as well as a majority of U.S. Senators and Congressmen during the first century of America's existence, as well as the majority of U.S. Supreme Court Justices.  In fact, The Episcopal Church has contributed more elected and non-elected officers to the United States federal government than any other church or denomination.  If America ever had an official religion, at least on some unofficial level, than it was most certainly The Episcopal Church.   The National Cathedral is the nationwide "headquarters" of The Episcopal Church, as it is the "seat" of authority for the primate archbishopess of The Episcopal Church USA.

The spire to the right was decapitated, while
the spire to the left is leaning.

The simultaneous damage to these two structures is more than just coincidental.  It could very well be providential.  The Washington Monument is the symbol of our nation's government, while the National Cathedral is the symbol of our government's spirituality.  They have always been interlaced.  The damage to both of them at the same time could very well be a message from beyond by Divinity Himself, warning us of our national sins and our federal government's blasphemy.  It is as if cracks have appeared in the very fabric of America's being.

Thousands of years ago a similar event occurred on the other side of the world.  The Babylonian King Belshazzar was feasting with his royal guests at a banquet when suddenly he witnessed a hand appear out of nowhere and etch something into the plaster of his palace wall.  He eventually called upon the Jewish Prophet Daniel to interpret the script.  This was St. Daniel's interpretation...

And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.  And this is the interpretation of the word. MANE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.  THECEL: thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting.  PHARES: thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians.

-- Daniel 5:25-28

The flipped repair crane.

Within hours the Babylonian Empire fell, the king was slain, and the Medes and the Persians became the dominant power in the Middle East.  This is where the saying "the writing is on the wall" comes from.  Was this earthquake damage in Washington DC a similar prophetic event?  Only time will tell.  One thing we do know however is that so far, all attempted repairs of the Monument and Cathedral have run amok.  The crane working on repairs to the National Cathedral collapsed and flipped recently, causing the Cathedral to have to move commemorative 9-11 ceremonies to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  It has been said that the crane collapsed on the very spot where President Barack Obama was supposed to give a speech this Sunday.