MARLEY was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
…
How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and he were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain.The mention of Marley’s funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. (the opening lines from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol)
David Rockefeller, one of the world’s richest men and one of the richest families and most influential families on earth and possibly in human history, has just died on March 20th, 2017:
the banker and philanthropist with the fabled family name who controlled Chase Manhattan bank for more than a decade and wielded vast influence around the world for even longer as he spread the gospel of American capitalism, died on Monday morning at his home in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. He was 101.
A family spokesman, Fraser P. Seitel, confirmed the death.
Chase Manhattan had long been known as the Rockefeller bank, although the family never owned more than 5 percent of its shares. But Mr. Rockefeller was more than a steward.As chairman and chief executive throughout the 1970s, he made it “David’s bank,” as many called it, expanding its operations internationally.
His stature was greater than any corporate title might convey, however. His influence was felt in Washington and foreign capitals, in the corridors of New York City government, in art museums, in great universities and in public schools.
Mr. Rockefeller could well be the last of a less and less visible family to have cut so imposing a figure on the world stage. As a peripatetic advocate of the economic interests of the United States and of his own bank, he was a force in global financial affairs and in his country’s foreign policy. He was received in foreign capitals with the honors accorded a chief of state. (source)
I have very little nice to say about David Rockefeller and the Rockefeller family. As one of the most powerful families in the world and human history through their positions in the banking industry, they and a series of other families- DuPont, Ford, Goldman, Gould, Harkness, Kuhn, Loeb, Mellon, Morgan, Oppenheimer, Reynolds, Rothschild, Sachs, Schiff, Seif, Stillman, Warburg, and Whitney (not to mention a host of families who are married to or connected to in another way)- are the unspoken rulers of the world, possessing more power than the governments as it is they who control the money supply. In the infamous words of Meyer Amschel von Rothschild, “give me control over a nation’s currency, and I care not who makes the laws.”
The American Dream film. Produced in 2011 and while it does not tackle the issue of usury, it describes in an easy to understand and entertaining way the evils of the banking system and identifies certain major players at the time, such as “Rothschild” (using the literal English translation of “red shield”). One of the few drawbacks I see to it is the identification of George Soros as the “head” of the “beast” at the end of the film, since he is actually a much smaller figure in comparison to the families listed above.
David Rockefeller was involved in many organizations and major world events throughout his life. Where there was something of major significance, there he was, from supporting the overthrow of Iran’s legitimate government in 1954 up through his lifelong role with the Bilderbergers, the Club of Rome, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and countless more. Wherever he went, he was received no different than a head of state because, by him being the head of one of the world’s largest banking families, he was the creditor to foreign governments and thus more powerful than they were.
It is interesting to look at a man such as Rockefeller, because no matter how powerful he was, what he did or did not do, the fact is that he still could not avoid death, which is the great equalizer that touches all men and spares none. As the Bible says, “it is appointed for man to die once,” and no matter who has said that he could cheat death, the reality is that death will always win in the end.
The Old man and Death by Joseph Wright, 1774
But there is a beauty that can come with death. For as the Bible states, that unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it can bear no fruit, so does thanks to the Cross, man’s death can bring him eternal life. That is, assuming that man has lived a life worth living as God has ordained for him in accordance with His will, and this is entirely up to the choice of the person.
When a man dies, he goes from this world naked just as he was born and in that he can take nothing physical with him. All that he has are his memories, the record of his actions, and the effects they left behind to those around him. It is on these things, not the externals, that a man is judged worthy of eternal life or damnation.
There is such a strong emphasis, and understandably so, on the matters of life at the moment. These matters are real and important, they cannot be ignored, for as God has made man in his image He has also appointed work for men that will better himself and his world around him. While the work must be done, it must be remembered that work was made for man to ultimately bring him closer to God, not make was made for the purpose of work.
The meaning of life is found in a life well lived in accordance with the will of God. While there are many things to do, the current life is truly a preparing and learning ground for the next life. This is also too easily forgotten but very real.
This is why I am concerned when I see men, especially those like Rockefeller, taking very large roles in public movements while at the same time associating with groups and peoples that are openly evil and promote sins such as usury, robbery, enslavement and eugenics. What is to be said of his life? Clearly he left a long-lasting, major impact on the world, but what was that impact and what were the effects that it had on people? Was it a life well lived?
Man is made in the image and likeness of God. All men are created this way. It does not matter what color, size, shape, normality or abnormality one has, all are one because unlike the animals, men have souls and the ability to reason, placing him above the animals but lower than the angels. Regardless of what world historians, people, or anybody else says, the Bible clearly teaches that the greatness of a man is measured by his sight in the eyes of God as how he lives in his particular situation with what he has.
Let David Rockefeller’s death be a reminder that while every man dies, not every man lives, and that in some cases, those who are considered worthless or unknown and irrelevant in the eyes of men are worth the most in the eyes of God.
The Ghost of Christmas Present from A Christmas Carol with English actor George Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. One of the finest versions of Dickens’ classic tale presented, his message is a timeless reminder of what true value is.