Is there hope? Can the Divine Chastisements be averted?     God's Chastisements seems imminent and near at the door. Can they be averted or lessened? Can we, the Nineveh of this modern age, which has lost the sense of goodness and love, has abandoned and rebelled against its Creator, be able to repent and ask God for forgiveness? Is there any hope? Let us now recall the story of the Old Nineveh...   And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah (the prophet) the second time, saying: "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to them what I commanded you." So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to God's Command. Nineveh was very large city as it took three days to walk across it on foot. After one-day journey, while walking Jonah said: " Forty more days, Nineveh shall be destroyed!" Hearing this proclamation, the people of Nineveh repented and believed in God. They proclaimed a general fast, put on sackcloth, from the highest to the lowest in the society. Even the king of Nineveh arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on ashes. And he decreed throughout the land that neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, tasted anything, neither food nor drink. But let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God. Le everyone turn away from his evil way, from the violence they commit with their own hands. Who can tell if God might turn away from His fierce and just anger and they might not perish. And God saw their works, that they turned away from their evil way; and God held back the punishments that He had promised to strike them with, but He did not.   (Based on Jonah 3: 1-10)   Is there any hope that Bill Clinton would issue a decree of repentance throughout the land? Is there any hope that Planned Parenthood would close down all abortion mills? Is there any hope Russian women of whom each has six abortions during her lifetime wouls stop this contraceptive practice? Is there any hope that South Korea would stop about 12 million abortions per year on the nation of 46 millions? Is there any hope for an end of violence, adultery, materialism, pornography, homosexuality, fornication and so on? The propect does look very gloomy indeed. Take care yourself, my friend. Repent and pray and hope that God will have mercy to us.