Dad
April 7, 2003
(Just before we left France.)10/3/81DFO1311
1. THIS IS A DREAM THAT I HAD ON THE 10TH OF MARCH 1981 DURING A NAP. It was in an old-fashioned town in Northern France, that was my impression, & everybody was wearing those old–fashioned clothes like they used to wear way back then. There was this festival or fiesta or some kind of a fair going on & I was speaking or lecturing, sort of like at a political rally. It was like there were different people lecturing & different speakers at this affair, whatever it was!
2. I WAS REALLY PREACHING‚ & SUDDENLY SOMEBODY STOPPED ME & SAID, "YOU CAN'T SPEAK ANY MORE, YOUR TIME IS UP!" I was sort of surprised & shocked & almost offended that they told me my time was up, I had to stop. And some fellows that seemed to be of my people or political party or whatever it was, I don't know what, my friends anyhow that were standing beside me said,
3. "WELL, THEY CAN'T DO THAT TO YOU! THEY CAN'T STOP YOU! YOU'RE A VERNIER!" V-E–R-N–I-E-R. But now the fact that he was a person and that I was way back then, it would have been like they dressed back in the 1600s, you know, all those funny clothes they used to wear & those funny hats. Huge swords & all that sort of thing like the Three Musketeers, that's the way they looked. It's like they look in some of these old films we've been seeing about the history of England & all, all those old-fashioned clothes like that.
4. (MARIA: WERE YOU LECTURING IN FRENCH OR IN ENGLISH?) Well, I don't remember that, I mean the person didn't speak to me in French. Of course, in dreams it doesn't mean anything, you can be speaking in any language. (Maria: Why would you have had a dream like that?) That was just as clear as anything, it said "vernier‚" that's funny. What does that mean? "You're a vernier!"
5. BUT I HAD THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS SOME KIND OF AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY OR OFFICER‚ OR IT WAS SOME SORT OF TITLE. (Maria: Well, maybe it is, we'll have to look it up in French & see.) Not that it was a family name. They said, "Well‚ they can't stop you, you're a vernier!" (A small rocket that guides a big rocket—that's sure funny!—Or a calculator of some kind, it says.)
6. MY FRIENDS WERE INSULTED! THEY SAID, "WELL, THEY CAN'T STOP YOU, YOU'RE A VERNIER!" So I just went on talking!—Even more vehemently! They said, "They can't stop you‚ you're a vernier!" Just as plain as day! It was almost like I could see the word, I woke up almost immediately & I thought, "Well, that's a strange word, I don't remember ever hearing that before. A vernier!"
7. I AM A SORT OF A SMALL ROCKET GUIDING A BIG ROCKET. One guy said once: I was the fuse that lit the bomb! The big rocket is the Family. I'm a small rocket that's guiding the Family & they can't shut me up! (Maria: That's for sure, TYL!) They said, "Well, they can't stop you, you're vernier!" I wonder if that was some episode that happened in his life or something, hmm? Are you sure it didn't say where he was from? He was a Frenchman though, right? (Maria: Uh-huh.) Hmm? Did you look it up in that old dictionary? That old one often has more details about ancient history.
8. ISN'T THAT STRANGE? I CAN SEE THOSE BUILDINGS YET! It reminded me a little bit of the town square in Luxembourg, old-fashioned buildings & all these old–fashioned people walking around. It wasn't like a stationary audience, you know what I mean, it was just like everybody was given their chance to speak to this big fair, you know, to attract what attention you could. You were given a chance to get up there & talk.
9. SOMEONE OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT STOPPED ME MOMENTARILY & SAID MY TIME WAS UP, but my friend was standing right here & he was insistent‚ he said, "Well, they can't stop you, you're a vernier!"—Just like that! (Maria: Amazing!) I never heard of such a word before!)
10. I IMMEDIATELY WOKE UP AND I THOUGHT, "A VERNIER!" It was just like I could see the word, V-E-R-N–I-E-R. "They can't stop you, you're a vernier!" I wonder if it has some significance about our stay in France? I'm doing a lot of talking here. (Maria: That would be interesting‚ yes! You seem to get so inspired when you teach the Family & you talk, or different things come up in the Family that you want to talk about or comment about, & we're going full steam ahead here!) Well, you inspire me just as much!
11. (MARIA: WELL, YOU HAVE TO ADMIT THAT YOU REALLY HAVE DONE MORE HERE THAN EVER BEFORE for some reason or other, whoever's inspiration it is, whatever it is, you've really done more here than ever!) The Family can inspire me anywhere. I mean, I'm in-fired, ha, ha!—That's a good word, in-fired!—I'm inspired just by thinking about'm! (Maria: Well, there's something about it here, that you've gotten practically more here than you ever have. I mean, we almost always have something everyday!)
12. WELL‚ I WAS REALLY PREACHING AWAY! I don't know just what I was talking about, but I know I was really on-fire speaking! And this guy like an old Systemite over here on my right said. "Your time's up! Time's up! Gotta stop!" But this fellow on my left said‚ "Well, they can't stop you! You're a vernier!" The funny part about it was I had the definite impression it was in a town in Northern France, & I've hardly even been in Northern France. I don't hardly know anything about it, just passed through.
13. THE INVENTOR WAS A PIONEER, HE MUST HAVE BEEN A MATHEMATICAL PIONEER to be that smart to invent a calculator & a system of calculation that is even still used on astral maps & sextants, barometers, & for accurate measurements etc. (Maria: It's like a small scale on a fixed scale.) That was the original thing. But it's still used on technical instruments, huh? (Maria: Uh–huh.) What do they call those? Switzerland is famous for its manufacture of, what do they call'm? Delicate instruments, fine instruments, technical instruments, technological instruments.
14. WHAT'S THE USUAL TERM THAT THEY USE FOR THE MANUFACTURING OF INSTRUMENTS? The manufacture of ... (Maria: Precision.) Precision instruments, good girl! Precision! Instruments that are precise & exact! (Maria: Yes, it said more precisely, a small rocket that makes the big rocket move more precisely.) Instruments have to be precise. So it's still used for measurements, like precision instruments, the dictionary says.
15. DO I MEASURE SOMETHING? WHAT AM I MEASURING? Am I making measurements more precise? (Maria: You're making the Word more clear.) These Bible Prophecy lectures are really making things precise & exact. "They can't stop you, you're a vernier!" Well, in a way I'm doing exactly that for these Bible Prophecy Lessons, I'm showing them the precise measurements, exactly. (Maria: Yes, & mathematics too! The last one you did was all on Math!) Mathematics. The exact number of days‚ years, months, things like that. (Maria: Hallelujah! That's a neat dream!)
16. I'M A VERNIER! WHAT'S A VERNIER? IT'S A CALCULATOR, RIGHT? (Maria: Yes!) What's a calculator? It measures things, right? (Maria: Yes.) And I'm measuring the times & the days & the seasons, years & months mentioned in the Bible. (Maria: Hallelujah! Ha ha!) They can't stop me, I'm a vernier! I'm a very necessary precision instrument used as a calculator. I'm a computer‚ a computer is a calculator. A calculator is a computer, it computes things, it figures things precisely, right? (Maria: Yes!) "They can't stop you, you're a vernier.
17. NOW EITHER I WAS HE OR A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY BACK THERE IN THAT VILLAGE or town way back then that had something to do with what he was preaching or advocating, or it seemed like it was me, though, & they were calling him by my name or my family name. That word could be the family name of a person‚ & they were telling me that they couldn't stop me because I was a vernier, because of my social family status or something, like it was somebody in authority, somebody that had the authority to speak.
18. BUT BOY, A COMPUTER & A CALCULATOR SURE HAVE AUTHORITY, DON'T THEY? (Maria: Uh-huh!) They have exact authority! (Maria: Almost the ultimate today‚ that's the word!) The ultimate authority! Mathematics is an ultimate authority. I told you mathematics is a proof of the existence of God. It's a proof of the absolutes‚ a proof of perfection, exact measurements, it's a proof of exactness.
19. IT'S A RULE, A RULE IS AN AUTHORITY, RIGHT? (Maria: Yes!) Like a ruler, a ruler is a calculator & it has the authority to measure, right? (Maria: Yes!) Huh! Isn't that funny? Like I had authority to speak, that they couldn't stop me, I had the authority to speak. A ruler has authority. A calculator has authority. A precision instrument that measures things precisely is an authority!
20. I'M AN AUTHORITY ON THE SUBJECT OF BIBLE PROPHECY! They can't stop me, I'm an authority! I'm a vernier! I'm a vernier of the Bible! A calculator, precision instrument that measures & calculates things said in the Bible & explains what they mean & gives the exact measurements, right? (Maria: Yes!) Doesn't it say something about making measurements more exact? (Maria: Yes‚ "To make them more precise or exact.)" Make the measurements more precise.
21. SO I'M A VERNIER! WHAT A NAME! WHAT A FUNNY WORD! I never even heard it before in my whole life! (Maria: I haven't either!) In fact, when you first started to read to me that it was some kind of a calculating instrument I was disappointed. I thought you were going to tell me I was some kind of a nobleman or that it meant that I was some kind of an important official‚ like the Mayor or the Duke or something of the town, that therefore they couldn't stop me! But that's even more interesting, huh? (Maria: Yes, very!)
22. I'M A CALCULATOR! I'M A PRECISION INSTRUMENT! Now how about that! (Maria: That's tremendous!) I sure get some funny things, Honey! (Maria: Yes! That's really amazing!) A calculator or a computer or a precision measuring instrument is actually an authority on something, right? (Maria: Yes!) So I'm an authority on the Bible! (Maria: Definitely!) So they can't dispute my right to explain the Bible! I can measure it with precision, like a calculator or computing instrument.
23. (MARIA: I WONDER IF IT DOES HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH FRANCE, because you said it's strange that it would be in France & they said, "Your time's up" And then they said, "No, he's a vernier!") "Your time's up!" yes! And the other guy to my left said, "No, they can't stop you, you're a vernier!" This other old guy was really kind of snooty‚ or grumpy, sort of a big fat guy on my right, like a big Systemite said, "Your time's up, you gotta stop." And this one on my left said, "They can't stop you, you're a vernier!"
24. I MEAN, I CAN SEE IT YET, IT'S JUST AS CLEAR AS ANYTHING! I was facing this town square & in some kind of a prominent place there, sort of like a platform or something right at the side of the square, & there were quite a few of these distinguished gentlemen standing around me there‚ you know, like they were different ones talking turns making speeches. I'd been speaking for apparently quite awhile already, & then they stopped me, "You've gotta stop now, your time's up!" And I was sort of surprised & shocked that they had stopped me right when I was really preaching away! But this guy says, "They can't stop you, you're a vernier!"
25. SO IT'S A CALCULATOR—A CALCULATOR, COMPUTER, PRECISION INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING, WHICH IS AN AUTHORITY ON SOMETHING! Every country has a kind of a Bureau of Weights & Measures that is the final authority on how long is a yard or how heavy is a pound. In the Bureau of Weights & Measures in Washington they keep a yardstick under certain hermetically sealed atmospheric pressure conditions under glass‚ so it has a very exact length. And the pound, the same thing. It's set as the set authority on what the distance is or what a weight is, on weights & measurements‚ & that's the final authority!
26. I ALWAYS USED TO SAY THAT THE BIBLE IS THE YARDSTICK, IT'S THE FINAL AUTHORITY by which you can measure anything that is said, & if it doesn't fit the Bible then it's not so. So a calculator, a measuring instrument, precision measuring instrument, or a computer, is really an authority on something, right? (Maria: Right!) So what am I an authority on? The Word of God, PTL? (Maria: Yes! Amen! Amen! That's for sure!)
27. MAYBE THE LORD GAVE ME THAT TO ENCOURAGE ME ABOUT THE NIGHT BEFORE LAST WHEN I WAS LECTURING ON THOSE DAYS & TIMES, EXACT TIMES IN DANIEL & I was sort of wondering if I was right in that solution, that explanation or interpretation that came to me! I mean, God can make me an authority if He wants to, hmm? (Maria: Of course!) He can tell me exactly what things mean, just like He has! So I'm a precision measuring instrument.
28. ARE YOU SURE HE WASN'T FROM NORTHERN FRANCE? (Maria: It didn't say, it just said French mathematician.) Didn't you say something about Burgundian? (Maria: Oh yes! Ha ha!) Well Honey, Burgundy is a place in Northern France! (Maria: Oh yes! I forgot that! Ha ha!) (Dad laughs!) Oh me! (Maria: I did say that, I'm so sorry!) Isn't Burgundy in Northern France? (Maria: Yes‚ I'm pretty sure, I'll look it up.)
29. WHERE IS BURGUNDY? Didn't we find out Picardy was part of Burgundy? (Maria: I don't know, maybe so.) Burgundy‚ I know is a part of France & I know that they made war on the Parisians. Well, where is it? I thought it was in Northern France. Well, it is definitely France, I know it was France, but I don't know why I had the feeling it was in Northern France. (Maria: It would make it even more significant if it was Southern France.) Yes, it would!
30. I DON'T KNOW‚ MAYBE I HAD THE FEELING IT WAS NORTHERN FRANCE BECAUSE IT REMINDED ME SO MUCH OF LUXEMBOURG, that old–fashioned square in the middle of Luxembourg. Remember when we were there & all those hippies & all? Well, where is Burgundy‚ Honey? (Maria: I'm not sure, it's called Bourgogne now, Southeast France. This is considered Southeast France! And he said, "Your time's up!") Yes, I think that sounds very significant, too! "Your time's up", that's what we've been worried about here!
31. (DAD READS IN AN ENCYCLOPEDIA ABOUT THE HISTORY OF BURGUNDY in Southeast France, which was also known as the Kingdom of Arles.) I looked up Aix in here one time, & it said something about it was once part of Arles. Arles was the capital of Provence & it was also the capital of Burgundy. The Kingdom of Arles was the same as the Kingdom of Burgundy apparently. If he was a Burgundian he must have been around here somewhere!
32. PROVENCE WAS A PART OF BURGUNDY, HOW ABOUT THAT? I'll betcha Arles was once the capital! Arles is almost straight across here‚ parallel to us, did you know that? And the Burgundians were some of the first Christians in this whole area of the Franks, how about that! (Reads:) "By conquest, treaty & marriage they acquired vast territories including most of the present Netherlands, & Belgium was once a part of Burgundy. And then the extensive Duchy of Luxembourg, Picardy" ... Picardy!—I told you Picardy had something to do with Burgundy! "In the 15th century, the Dukes of Burgundy dominated French politics‚" how about that? Provence where we are right now‚ was a part of Burgundy, & it had its capital at Arles!
33. SO THIS GUY VERNIER WAS A BURGUNDIAN‚ & that's all it says about him? It doesn't say anymore? (Maria: We can look & see!) Vernier. "A vernier is an auxiliary scale‚ either straight or an arc of a circle, designed to slide along a fixed scale. Its unit divisions usually smaller than those on the fixed scale permit a far more precise reading." That's what we're doing every night in our Bible studies, Honey! We're having a far more precise reading! Hallelujah! TYJ! PYL! (Maria: Amen!)
34. "THE VERNIER IS ATTACHED SCALES OF INSTRUMENTS EMPLOYED FOR VERY ACCURATE LINEAR OF ANGULAR MEASUREMENTS. These include the transit, the sextant, the barometer, the compass & the caliper. It was devised by a French mathematician, Pierre Vernier, who described it in his 'Construction, Uses & Properties of the Quadrant, New Mathematics' in 1631. "Funny, it doesn't tell you in this one he was a Burgundian, it says in that other one, isn't that funny? "Certain auxiliary control mechanisms used for fine measurements or adjustments are often called verniers."
35. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT THING ABOUT THE ROCKETS? (Maria: That was in the dictionary. I think even the Burgundian was in the dictionary.) See, you can often get stuff out of that dictionary that you don't even find in anything as big as this! That dictionary is amazing! Really amazing! "Auxiliary control for mechanisms used for fine measurements are called verniers. Contol mechanisms used for fine measurement."
36. HONEY, THAT'S WHAT I AM, I'M A VERNIER! "They can't stop you, you're a vernier!" He said that as plain as day! And I never even heard of a vernier before! I never even knew there was such a word! A vernier!—Invented right around here somewhere in what used to be Burgundy‚ by a man by that name! And I look like him! That's just about the kind of clothes they wore in the 17th Century. (Later with the rest of the Family:)
37. GUESS WHAT? I JUST LEARNED WHAT I AM! I was having a dream! I'm a vernier! How about that! (Maria: Honey, I thought you wanted to play them the tape you just made so you could eat.) I am! But I just thought I'd tell them that much, a little bit, that's not much. TYL! Hallelujah! (Techi sings "This Little Light of Mine.") Amen! Amen! That was wonderful! XXXXX! That's almost like what I just got‚ about this little light of mine. A light is a sort of a thing that does that sort of thing too, helps you see more clearly. PTL!
38. WELL, HOW ABOUT THAT! GUESS WHAT I AM? I BET YOU'D NEVER GUESS IN A MILLION YEARS! I didn't know it myself until I just had a dream awhile ago. In fact, when I had the dream I never heard of such a thing, but I figured it must be something though‚ so I had Maria go look it up in the dictionary & sure enough it was something! I'm a vernier, how about that? A vernier. V-E-R-N-I-E-R. Just as plain as anything!
39. DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A VERNIER? Does anybody know what a vernier is? (Sara: A polished thin surface?) No, you're thinking of veneer, V-E-N-E–E-R, that's something else. Veneer means a thin surface. This is V-E-R-N-I-E-R. I never heard the word before myself, at least if I did I don't recall ever hearing it before! I didn't know what it was, we had to look it up, a vernier. How about that? Ha ha!
40. WAIT TILL YOU HEAR WHAT IT IS! YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM! Ha ha! It has something to do with this part of the country that we're living in right now! It was invented here by a man by that name, Pierre Vernier, V–E-R-N–I-E-R‚ how about that? All right we've got to eat now, we'll play you the tape & it'll let you know what a vernier is—or maybe I can put it on this video after I eat! PTL!
41. YOU'LL FIND OUT WHAT A VERNIER IS & THEN YOU'LL KNOW WHAT I AM!—And if you don't, we'll have a Letter on it, because it's all down on tape‚ PTL! Would you like to hear it right now? (Family: Yes!) It's a one-hour tape. You mean one whole hour we spent talking about it & reading about it & telling you my dream & everything? Well, how about that! One whole hour tape! Would you like to hear it to-night for your Bible study while we're having one in here? (Family: Yes!) OK, PTL! (Puts the tape on.)
42. NOW DID YOU HEAR THAT? MARIA HADN'T EVEN READ ME THE MEANING YET! I said it was like they used to dress back in the 1600s.—This guy lived in the 1600s! How about that? (Family: Wow!) Isn't that something! You're living with a prophet! Hallelujah! I'm a vernier! You knew I was a prophet, but I'm also a vernier. You're going to find out a prophet is a vernier!
43. SHE FOUND "VERNIER" IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA, & ONE OF THE THINGS IT IS‚ IT'S ONE OF THE SMALL ROCKETS ON THE SIDE OF THE BIG ROCKET THAT HELPS TO GUIDE THE BIG ROCKET. You're the big rocket, I'm just a little rocket. Got it? It guides the rocket. The big rocket just has the power to push, but the little rocket guides the big rocket. Ha ha! How about that! That isn't all! Hallelujah! TYJ! (Abrahim: What mysteries the Lord reveals to your father!") Amen! TYJ!
44. IMAGINE THAT! THE GUY WAS FROM THIS PART OF FRANCE WHO INVENTED THE VERNIER‚ & THAT WAS HIS NAME! I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be, whether it meant I was supposed to be a member of his family or what. But it was like I was this guy in these old-fashioned clothes like the Three Musketeers, you know? And imagine that, he came from this part of France, he was a Burgundian! We've got to look up more about him & his family, maybe we can find out something about his life or something. Maybe that was he speaking in the dream!
45. WELL, WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THE FINAL THING WE GOT! You're getting a revelation, fresh, hot off the griddle! (Family: Wow!) Still steaming! TYL! I'm a vernier! (Family: Wow! Hallelujah!) The little rocket that guides the big rocket! Isn't that amazing? TYL! We had to look in about three or four different books to find all this information, one big dictionary & a big encyclopedia & a little encyclopedia & on maps & atlas! TYL! Go ahead!
46. BURGUNDY WAS THE BIGGEST & RICHEST & AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWER IN THE 1600'S! It dominated French politics, think of that‚ & Arles was the capital at one time. We've got to see Arles, we've never seen Arles! They've got a Roman arena over there in Arles that seats 26,000 people! Think of that! I don't think that was where I was preaching though. It was like in the City Square.
47. IT REMINDS ME OF THE TOWN SQUARE THEY HAD IN LUXEMBOURG, if you've ever been there, big old-fashioned building surrounding the city square there. All these people dressed in all these old-fashioned clothes. They wore beautiful clothes in those days!
48. THE MAIN REASON I THOUGHT IT WAS IN NORTHERN FRANCE WAS BECAUSE I REMEMBERED LUXEMBOURG‚ it was like that up there in Luxembourg. Isn't that North of here? (Family: Yes!) Anyway, it was in France. And if I were he in that thing, if I were Vernier, it was here in Burgundy, maybe Arles, which was the Capital, PTL! Arles is a little town right over here not far away.
49. I'M A VERNIER, PROVING GOD'S EXISTENCE! TYL! This is how we get'm! We don't get it all at once‚ we just get it in little bits and pieces like a jigsaw puzzle, finally the picture comes together. You're hearing the raw thing right now. It's not quite as easy as when after I get it all put together & cut & polished for you. These are the raw materials out of which it's made! PTL! I cut & polish it, that's a precision operation too, isn't it? (Family: Amen!) TYL!
50. ISN'T THAT AMAZING? I NEVER EVEN HEARD THE WORD BEFORE! I didn't know what it was! I thought it meant I was some kind of an officer of something like a mayor, like "They can't stop you, you're the mayor!" But it turns out to be pretty important. A ~:3 vernier is pretty important!
51. MAYBE IT'S TO ENCOURAGE NOT ONLY ME BUT THE FAMILY. It's like the Lord is putting His mark of approval. They can't stop me, I'm a vernier! It doesn't matter what you say or anybody says, I'm an authority! Hallelujah! You're hearing the battle right now, we finally got the victory. You don't have to listen, you can read it later in a Letter! (Family: No!) Anything else you want to do‚ you're welcome!
52. THERE YOU ARE! HOW ABOUT THAT? I'M A VERNIER! I NEVER EVEN KNEW IT! (Sara: How does it feel to be a vernier?) It feels pretty good right now! It didn't feel very good when I didn't know what it was! (Family laughs!) I was really mystified. But then it's amazing how the Lord begins to show you & interpret it! I mean, dreams have to have an interpretation, they're nothing without the interpretation. What's a vernier? I'm a vernier, so what? Ha ha! What is a vernier? TYL! Hallelujah! Revelations have to be interpreted!
53. THE LORD LOVES A MYSTERY! Isn't that amazing? (Family: Amen!) PTL! He loves mysteries! Look at all those mysterious visions He gave the prophets & they didn't understand, they had to wait till God explained it. I'm a vernier! Hallelujah!
54. THE GUY WITH ME WAS QUITE YOUNG LIKE ME‚ the other guy was an old bald-headed fat fellow. "You can't stop me, I'm a vernier!" I'm already planning the front cover of the Letter, ha ha! The grumpy old Systemite said‚ "You gotta stop now, your time's up!" The fellow on my left, he was a nice young fellow like me—I was young, quite young—& he said, "They can't stop you, you're a vernier!" Ha ha! I think the Lord likes stories and drama too‚ mysteries! TYL! Hallelujah! They can't stop me‚ boys, I'm a vernier! (Family: Hallelujah!) And they can't stop you either, you're a vernieress!
55. HALLELUJAH! THE CREATOR MAKES THE INSTRUMENTS, RIGHT? I'm just an instrument. If you don't believe my measurements you'll have to blame it on my Creator! (Maria: We believe'm!) Well, it is amazing, the guy was right from this part of the country! Now we've got to look him up at the library & find out if there's any more on him, & he'll surely be in it. I mean, if he was in our English encyclopedia & in the dictionary both, certainly vernier would be in there! You can jot us down what it says about Pierre Vernier & "a vernier."
56. REMEMBER HOW I WONDERED WHAT IN THE WORLD THE BRITISH WERE DOING ON THE COAST OF FRANCE‚ & sure enough they were building forts along the South Coast in the "Christmas Massacre," isn't that something?—Some things that I didn't even know about history at all! I never even heard of the word "vernier." Isn't that amazing? The Lord is amazing! Hallelujah, TYL! I think the Lord gave me that to encourage me in my Bible prophecy series. (Family: Oh boy!) I'm a vernier! TYL! Hallelujah! PTL! (Family: Amen!) Do you believe it? (Family: Yes!)
57. WELL, I BELIEVE IT WHETHER YOU DO OR NOT! (Family: We do!) I know it! The Lord said so, I'm a vernier, I don't have to doubt it any-more! My interpretations are right! Maybe I ought to just start being more dogmatic. I'm always afraid of being wrong so I'm always saying, "Well, maybe" & "my theory is" & "my opinion is," "you don't have to believe it." (Maria: Well, we accept it as fact anyway!) Hallelujah! TYJ!
58. WELL, THAT WAS A REAL ENCOURAGEMENT TO ME‚ because that's, I think, about the first thing I thought about, was about these Bible Prophecy studies‚ all these fine line interpretations & all! I think it's pretty important‚ really, for the future—you're the guys who are going to live it, not me, I hope.
59. IT TURNED OUT TO BE SOUTHERN FRANCE & ARLES WAS THE CAPITAL. Boy, if I walk into Arles & look at that town square & it turns out like I saw in the dream, that would be like that time I walked into Kyrenia & I saw there before me the wharf exactly like I had seen it in the dream! (Family: Wow!) Well, maybe Arles wasn't the place where he was lecturing, I don't know!
60. YOU GUYS OUGHT TO STUDY UP ON THE HISTORY OF THIS AREA HERE, IT'S AMAZING! Boy oh boy, I mean it's really very interesting. The Burgundians were some of the first French to accept Christ in about the second or third Century. Some of the first Franks to accept Christianity, think of that! Isn't that wonderful? Are you happy you're related to me? Are you glad you're my wives? (Amen!) Are you glad to be my wife, Honey? ILY! TYL! And all my sons! TYL! Hallelujah! How about that? Isn't that something? I'm a vernier! Something I never heard of before.
61. HA! HA! THIS IS BURG-UNDY! Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! I tell you‚ I get more out of one little prophecy! PTL? Hallelujah! Amen? (Family: Amen!) You've got to be a little bit crazy to believe it! It takes faith, & faith is insane! There's no sanity to faith‚ you know? Faith is all completely contrary to natural expectation & natural conditions, right? (Family: Amen!) Burgundy, how about that! Ha ha ha! Isn't that funny? TYL!
62. DID YOU KNOW THIS IS SOUTH-EAST FRANCE? You may think you travelled a long ways from Nice but you're still in Southeast France, how about that? Burgundy was at one time the richest & most powerful kingdom in all of Europe. And when it united with Savoy, that's when they finally made France out of it. It was even a part of Switzerland!
63. (DAD SINGS:)
"SONS OF TOIL & DANGER,
WILL YOU FEAR THE STRANGER,
AND BOW DOWN TO BURGUNDY!
Will the friends around us,
Break the chains that bound us
And to Hell with Burgundy!"
—That was the Parisians talking.
"Onward, Onward, on to meet the foe!
Forward, forward, the lily banners go!"
—That was the banner of Paris!
"Sons of toil & danger,
Will you fear the stranger
And bow down to Burgundy!"
—Well, they did for awhile. The Burgundians dominated all French politics for awhile there, about the 16 to 1700's, the most powerful part of France. Hallelujah! (Family: Amen!)
64. IT'S THE MOST POWERFUL PART OF FRANCE RIGHT NOW! Amen? (Family: Amen!) Hallelujah! Ha ha ha! Oh my, TYJ! PTL! Isn't that amazing? TYL! Hallelujah! Isn't that wonderful? (Family: Amen!) I'm a vernier! The Lord said so! TYJ! The guys with me were young people‚ & there were a bunch of old fuddy-duddies over here. This one fine young fellow like one of the Three Musketeers stepped up beside me & said‚ "They can't do that to you, they can't stop you, you're a vernier!" Ha ha! Isn't that something? (Family: Yes!) Hallelujah! TYL! I believe he grabbed his sword handle when he said that! He must have been left-handed‚ his sword was on his right side. Hallelujah!
65. WE'RE NOW BURGUNDIANS! HA! The Netherlands & Belgium & part of Switzerland & all those countries used to belong to Burgundy! That was most of France, but the main part of it, the beginning part of it was right here, & Arles was the capital, right over here only about 50 kilometers!—And Aix was in it! How about that? Hallelujah! We are Burgundians! PTL! Hocus-Pocus! Make you Burgundians all of a sudden! TYL! Hallelujah! The Lord can do magic, you know that?
66. THAT WOULD MAKE A GOOD COVER: "YOU'RE A VERNIER!" TYL! If I'm a vernier, then you're vernierians! Right? (Family: Amen!) Isn't that amazing? I mean, I was he in this thing! Maybe he's one of our helpers! Who else do you know would make a marvellous invention like that that's still in use on precision instruments? Think of that! 1631! That's only 20 years after the King James Bible! Those were great days, huh?
67. IT TAKES WORK TO FIGURE OUT GOD'S PUZZLES! He gives you the key & you have to unlock the door & explore the rooms. "You don't have to stop, you're a vernier!" Hallelujah! Ha! TYL!
REPORT ON PIERRE VERNIER!—By James Penn.12 March '81:
PIERRE VERNIER IS THE INVENTOR OF THE ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENT THAT CARRIES HIS NAME. Born in 1580 in the town of Ornans, in the country of Burgundy, he started to learn at a very young age precision sciences from his father, Claude Vernier, an accomplished mathematician. Pierre later wrote: "From my youngest years‚ imitating my father, I especially started studying all sorts of instruments, not only by looking at them, but also by examining & using them."
HIS TALENTS HAVING BEEN RECOGNISED, HE WAS EMPLOYED IN FLANDERS & IN BURGUNDY in different commissions which he fulfilled in an honourable manner. Having been named captain in command of the garrison of the chateau of Ornans, he was also named as counsellor to the king of Spain & treasurer for the County of Burgudy. He was also the adjutant to Counsellor Petray & was in charge of defending the town of Gray. He fell sick shortly thereafter & was replaced by J. Maur-Tissot in this job. He was taken to Ornans where he died shortly afterwards‚ on Sept. 14‚ 1637.
OF HIS WORKS THERE RESTS "THE CONSTRUCTION, USE & PROPERTIES OF A NEW MATHEMATICAL QUADRANT", as well as the construction of the sines tables, calculated minute by minute. There is also the method of finding the angles of a triangle when you know the lengths of the sides, & vice versa, without any need of a table. This preceding work is very rare. However, Delambre in his work "HISTORY OF MODERN SCIENCE" gave a detailed analysis of it:
"THIS TREATISE EXPLAINING THE CONSTRUCTION‚ USE & PROPERTIES OF THIS NEW INVENTION IS ADMIRABLE & HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. It is very necessary to the perfection of mathematical sciences, especially the movements of the heavens & the correction of longitudes and latitudes of certain areas of the Earth, & the measurements of the Earth. Without this, science would have been sadly lacking, as it has until now.
"THIS INSTRUMENT CONSISTS OF A QUARTER OF A CIRCLE, DIVIDED INTO 90 EQUAL DEGREES‚ placed in a mobile portion, shared into 30 equal parts, & contained within two lines which control the precision of the machine & the exactitude of the operations.
"SOME ASTRONOMERS TRIED TO NAME THE MACHINE AFTER ANOTHER ASTRONOMER, NONIUS, but Lalande protested & demanded that it be named after the true inventor. Delambre also said that improvements on it were normal, but in all justice it should forever be called a vernier!"
VERNIER WROTE THAT: "IF THIS SMALL TREATISE (OF INSTRUMENT) IS WELL RECEIVED BY SCIENTISTS, it could lead to the discovering of something higher." But his other occupations without doubt stopped his from fulfilling this promise. He is said to have written a "TREATISE ON ARTILLERY," which remained in manuscript form, & no copy is known to exist!
Apart from the above information on his life, another book adds:
HIS WORK CONSTRUCTION‚ USE & PROPERTIES ..." WAS PUBLISHED IN BRUSSELS IN 1631. This describes his instrument‚ which was a much improved instrument to replace the Nonius which was used up until this period (named after its Portuguese inventor). Sometimes the two are mixed up, but the Nonius is not used much today.
THE INSTRUMENT VERNIER IS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: Small ruler or small arc of a circle divided in an equal number of parts contained within the smallest unit of the ruler or arc that is being used to measure. ... It is used to measure the length of arcs & to read easily the smallest fractions adapted‚ for example 1/10 of a mm if the ruler is divided into mm, or 1/10 of seconds if the arc is divided into seconds.
ONE MATHEMATICIAN DESCRIBED IT AS FOLLOWS: "When a length is considerable, it normally is acceptable to measure it by a ruler using the necessary unit, for example, a meter or one of its subdivisions, & then see how many times this unit & marked subdivisions fits into the relative length. However, often the exact distance of the length being measured does not coincide with one of the subdivisions marked on the measuring unit. There is thus a fraction of one of these smallest subdivisions to estimate, which is OK when a very high degree of precision is not necessary; but if the contrary is true, this fraction is measured with a vernier."
THERE WAS A THIRD BOOK WHICH HAD A SHORT REFERENCE TO HIM, with nothing that has not been mentioned above‚ except to specify that the town where he was born is in the department of DOUBS. It was not until the end of the 1600s that the vernier was called vernier, it having been referred to until then as a Nonius. Two of the three books make the point that Vernier was wronged by this misrepresentation, & that it is only fair that he be credited with having this invention called after him.
MORE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT, "QUEEN OF HEAVEN"!
MY MOTHER USED TO SAY THAT SHE ALWAYS PICTURED THE HOLY SPIRIT AS BEING THE MOTHER OF THE TRINITY, or like a mother. No wonder the Lord was jealous & forbade the old Jews to worship the Syrian heathen goddess that was called "queen of heaven." I mean He was jealous, He didn't want some heathen goddess being called "queen of heaven" when He already had His Own Queen! I believe it! You can take it or leave it! That's one of the thing you don't have to believe to get to Heaven! Ha! But you might be a little bit ashamed if when you got there you'd meet Her & She smile & kind of looks a little bit mischievous at you & says, "—And you didn't even believe I existed!" Ha! Thank You Jesus for His Holy Spirit!—the true "Queen of Heaven"!—GBY!—D.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family