16 - Are these the Last Days -Traitor

Luke 21:28 (KJV) "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

This know also, that in the last days men shall be…traitors…

A TRAITOR is defined in Webster’s American 1828 Dictionary, as “one who betrays his trust.|

The most famous traitor in American history is arguably Benedict Arnold, though Arnold was not tried for his treachery and the statute defining treason did not exist at the time he tried to sell out American troops for money and a commission in the British army.

Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple was convicted of providing top-secret information about radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and valuable nuclear weapon designs. Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the federal government of the United States in 1953 at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, becoming the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to receive that penalty during peacetime.

Aldrich Hazen Ames was arrested by the FBI in Arlington, Virginia on espionage charges on February 21, 1994. At the time of his arrest, Ames was a 31-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who had been spying for the Russians since 1985. Arrested with him was his wife, Rosario Ames, who had aided and abetted his espionage activities. Ames was a CIA case officer, who spoke Russian and specialized in the Russian intelligence services, including the KGB, the USSR’s foreign intelligence service. His initial overseas assignment was in Ankara, Turkey, where he targeted Russian intelligence officers for recruitment. Later, he worked in New York City and Mexico City, Mexico. On April 16, 1985, while assigned to the CIA’s Soviet/ East European Division at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, he secretly volunteered to KGB officers at the USSR Embassy, Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter, the KGB paid him $50,000.

When we see this term we tend to think of military situations but traitors are found in every situation where a person can advance his position at the expense of others. Luke 6:16 (KJV) ”and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.” Judas Iscariot was the most famous traitor in the Bible. After three years as a disciple of Jesus, and treasurer of the group he betrayed the Son of God for thirty pieces of silver. We live in a society where traitors abound. In sports, families, marriages, politics, and business some people change their loyalties to enhance their power, prestige, or wealth.