Rockrimmon, Judgment, and the Colorado Fires
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

This special edition focuses on the thoughts of another blogger. Thanks to my friend Jerry McFarland for sending me a thought-provoking and insightful article posted by Joseph Herrin on his website. I have summarized some of his points to present the general idea. Click here to read his entire article.

America’s sins are many, and I do not question that she is heaping up judgment for herself due to her ungodly pressure upon Israel. At the same time, I want to focus in on one detail of the Colorado fires that I have come across multiple times. Even in the article above [read his entire article] you find mention of the name Rockrimmon. A search on the Internet reveals numerous stories on the fire that make mention of the boulevard, and community in Northwest Colorado Springs named Rockrimmon. When I saw the name Rockrimmon I recognized that it is derived from a story found in the Bible. The story involves Yahweh’s judgment upon Israel due to unrestrained sin and abominations committed in the land. The story is found in the book of Judges, evoking a correlation to the judgment of God.

The Biblical story is a large one, giving indication of its importance. It takes up three entire chapters of the book of Judges, beginning in chapter 19. The story relates how a Levite man dwelling in the territory of Ephraim went to bring back his concubine who had departed from him, engaging in harlotry. As the man returned he was passing through the territory of the tribe of Benjamin when wicked men surrounded the house he was in, demanding that he come out so the men could sodomize him. The man’s concubine was given to the men instead, and they raped and ravished her until the first daylight. Then they let her go. The concubine fell at the steps of the home in which her husband was staying and there she died.

When the man found his concubine dead at the hands of the wicked men of Benjamin, he took her home and cut her body into twelve pieces and sent them throughout the twelve tribes of Israel, reporting to the people what the men of Benjamin had done. All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!” (Judges 19:30)

All eleven tribes of Israel gathered together and demanded of Benjamin that they punish the evildoers in their midst. Benjamin refused, and arrayed themselves for battle. During the first two days Israel was horribly defeated by the Benjamites. Benjamin slew 22,000 Israelites the first day, and 18,000 the second. This caused the other eleven tribes to humble themselves before Yahweh and to confess their own sins, which were many. Yahweh would not permit them to achieve victory when they were acting in a self-righteous manner.

The next day Yahweh gave Israel victory and over 25,000 men of Benjamin were slain. All that was left of Benjamin was 600 men who fled into the wilderness to the Rock of Rimmon. So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who draw the sword; all these were valiant warriors. But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months (Judges 20:46-47).

On this most terrible day for Benjamin, the men of the other eleven tribes set an ambush for them. They acted like they were being defeated by the Benjamites once more, and began to retreat in order to draw the men away from the city. When the men of Benjamin

Colorado Springs evacuees watch smoke rising from their city

were drawn out, Israelites hiding in ambush struck the city with the sword and set it on fire. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city (Judges 20:38). Do not these words form a parallel to what is being observed in Colorado Springs at this time? A great cloud of smoke is rising from the city.

The name Rimmon is the name of a Canaanite god. Right next to Rockrimmon in Colorado Springs is an area called “Garden of the Gods.” This is certainly not a reference to the God (singular) of Israel. It is a reference to pagan gods, and one is led to consider the closeness of the Garden of the Gods to this area named after Rimmon. When Elijah healed Naaman the leper, who was from Syria, Naaman asked Elijah’s God to please pardon him when he went with his master into the house of Rimmon (See 2 Kings 5:18).

America is a land of many idols and false gods. It seems symbolic that the sinful sons of Benjamin did not run to a stronghold of Yahweh when judgment befell them. Instead they ran to a stronghold named after the false god Rimmon. In this hour when judgment is even now at the door of America, the majority will not turn back to the one true God, but will run to false gods for protection and safety. They will look to the arm of man to deliver them.

Click here to read his entire article.

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