Month: May 2013

Posted in day of the lord, prophecy, the last days

Is the "Day of the Lord" the same thing as "The Last Days"?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Part 2 is here

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I’d like to examine a last days prophecy Paul delivered to Timothy. It is in 2 Timothy 3, 1-9, and it concerns “perilous times”, or “Godlessness in the last days.” Paul warned Timothy that in the last days perilous times would come, and Paul went on to describe the characteristics of people’s behavior in those last days.

There is a common misconception regarding the passage though, and I’ll be addressing the verses and the misconception in part 2.

But before we look at perilous times in the last days, I want to define last days, and show its distinction from the phrase we read about in the Old testament and the New, “The Day of the Lord”.

The Day of the Lord is mentioned 4 times in the New Testament. (Acts 2:20; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:2; and 2 Pet 3:10). The Old Testament prophets mentioned it much more often, 19 times in fact. The prominent theme of every Day of the LORD prophecy is God’s judgment of sin. (source)

“Now what is the day of the Lord? Well, the day of the Lord as a term, mark it in your mind, refers to not one day but a period of time. We use the word “day” in the same way. We say this is the day of…this is the day of space travel, or this is the day of existentialism, or this is the day of alcoholism, or this is the day of marital breakup, or this is the day of whatever. We use it in that sense and that’s the way it’s used in this reference. This is the day of the Lord. In other words, man has had his day, man has had his fling and now it’s God’s time. And the Lord is going to begin to do some things. And so the day of the Lord is a period of time beginning with the rapture of the church and extending through the millennial kingdom. It covers all kinds of events. It covers the Tribulation time when the Lord takes back the earth. It covers the conquering of the nations at Armageddon. It covers the judgment of the nations. It covers the establishment of the Kingdom. It covers the reign of Jesus Christ on earth for a thousand years. It covers the vanquishing of Satan. It covers this whole great eschatological time block from the Rapture to the end of the Kingdom. That whole era of the end of history is the day of the Lord. ” (source)

Source

Of 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “Paul here reminds us of this significant important climactic cataclysmic day to come in human history. Frankly, it is not at all popular to talk about God’s fury. It is not popular to talk about God’s anger, God’s vengeance. In fact, seldom do you hear a sermon on the day of the Lord, on the time when Jesus comes back to judge those who have rejected Him. Everything today needs to be positive and affirming and comforting. And very few preachers really want to deal with this particular topic. Rarely does someone preach on the vengeance of God.” (source)

Last year, Paul Lopez in Crosswalk.com, wrote an essay titled, “Seven ‘Last Days’ Passages You’ll Rarely Hear Pastors Preach On”. He said, “When was the last time you heard a “last days” sermon from the Old Testament? When most pastors preach a sermon on the end times they usually start with the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21) or the Book of Revelation. For years the focus on end times discussions has remained in the New Testament. Unfortunately that results in our teachers only giving us the end of the story.”

Mr Lopez’s assessment includes a dearth of preaching on the following topics (verses and summary included in the link)

1. Jacob’s Prediction of the Last Days
2. Moses’ Warning to the Israelites
3. Jeremiah’s Prediction of the Last Days.
4. Prediction of the New Covenant That Would Come
5. Jesus Was Born in the ‘Last Days’
6. Isaiah’s Prediction of judgment on Old Covenant Israel in the Last Days
7. Joel’s Prediction that the Holy Spirit Would be Poured Out in the Last Days

Is the Day of the Lord one day, or more than one day? BiblicalTraining.org defines it this way,

DAY OF THE LORD. An eschatological term referring to the consummation of God’s kingdom and triumph over his foes and deliverance of his people. It begins at the Second Coming and will include the final judgment. It will remove class distinction (Isa. 2:12-Isa. 2:21), abolish sins (2 Pet. 3:11-2 Pet. 3:13), and will be accompanied by social calamities and physical cataclysms (Matt. 24:1-Matt. 24:51; Luke 21:7-Luke 21:33). It will include the millennial judgment (Rev 4:1-Rev 19:6) and culminate in the new heaven and the new earth (Isa. 65:17; Isa. 66:22; Rev. 21:1).”

Some scholars include the actual Millennial Reign in the Day of the Lord, such as John Walvoord and John MacArthur, others such as Professor Richard Mayhue of The Master’s Seminary, for example, simply include the judgment at the outset of it and the end of it (Sheep & Goats judgment and Great White Throne Judgment) and not the reign.

So when are “the last days”? Most scholars acknowledge that it is the Messianic Age. Some of them agree that the last days began with the birth of Jesus, through the rapture. Others say that the last days began when John the Baptist began preaching in advance of Jesus. Still others hold the last days began when Jesus was baptized and began preaching. A very few believe the last days began in 1948 when Israel was re-formed into a nation as the major end times sign. In any case, the last days are the Messianic Age. After the rapture, the Day of the Lord will begin, the judgment period of time when sin will be addressed through God’s vengeance and wrath.

My position is the last days began at the birth of Jesus, and will end when the rapture occurs. The Day of the Lord will then begin.

Now the verse about Godlessness in the Last Days

Godlessness in the Last Days 1But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Can you really live casually knowing that there comes a day of wrath and vengeance? The LORD never, ever, EVER lets sin go unaddressed. He will address it- He is angry at the sin in the world and the sin in you. Jesus is your ark, your shelter, your safety. He is the refuge for your very soul. He died on the cross for the LORD, as the sacrifice upon which God exhausted His wrath. If you are in Jesus, He will not pour out His wrath on you, because He already poured it out on Jesus. If you are not in Jesus, you will be in the middle of the world’s largest storm of heavenly wrath ever seen by man, and shall ever be. (Matthew 24:21). Pray to Jesus now for Him to forgive your sins. If you are sincere, claiming Him as risen Lord and Savior able to forgive, then you are saved. Confess and believe. (Romans 10:9). The Day of the LORD is at hand! (Isaiah 13:6).

Part 2 will take a closer look at Godlessness in the last days, and whether Paul was referring in those verses to the world or the church.

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Is the “Day of the Lord” the same thing as “The Last Days”? Part 2

Posted in foxe's book of martyrs, martyr

Sunday Martyr Moment: Matthias and Andrew

Posted on by elizabethprata

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. According to this summary from Christian Book Summaries,

Writing in the mid-1500s, John Foxe was living in the midst of intense religious persecution at the hands of the dominant Roman Catholic Church. In graphic detail, he offers accounts of Christians being martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ, describing how God gave them extraordinary courage and stamina to endure unthinkable torture.

From the same link, the book’s purpose was fourfold:

  • Showcase the courage of true believers who have willingly taken a stand for Jesus Christ throughout the ages, even if it meant death,
  • Demonstrate the grace of God in the lives of those martyred for their faith,
  • Expose the ruthlessness of religious and political leaders as they sought to suppress those with differing beliefs,
  • Celebrate the courage of those who risked their lives to translate the Bible into the common language of the people.
Matthias

Of whom less is known than of most of the other disciples, was elected to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.

Andrew

Was the brother of Peter. He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on an X-shaped cross, which came to be known as St. Andrew’s Cross. Art: Mattia Preti – The crucifixion of St Andrew.

The flag of Scotland is an X-shaped cross. Wikipedia explains, “Use of the familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, first appears in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1180 during the reign of William I. This image was again depicted on seals used during the late 13th century; including on one particular example used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286.”

Posted in bible, judgment, new earth, ruin porn

Why are people attracted to ruin? (A beautifully decaying world)

Posted on by elizabethprata

In the beginning, God created a perfect universe, the beautiful stars, and a habitation for His people, humans. Earth was perfect. Rivers were sparkling and drinkable. Trees and flowers were lush and abundant. And Adam and Eve were His triumph, people with whom to have fellowship with Him. I can’t imagine how beautiful it all was, but I know He is going to restore it. (Revelation 21:1; Ezekiel 47:1-12).

When Eve and then Adam sinned, God cursed the earth. (Genesis 3). Thorns sprung up. Animals turned to carnivores. Sweat and blood and labor and toil became the characteristics of man’s life.

Despite the present despoiling of the earth after all these thousands of years, it is still beautiful in many places. Like this-

Photograph by Ireena Worthy on Flickr

Photograph by Mario Neumann (scuba.hamburg on Flickr)

Photograph by Nick Lippert (via Komo News)

There are many more beautiful photographs here: Top 100 photographs of the year 2012

I’ve said over an over that this present time, and every day thereafter, draws humankind closer to the moment when there will be a final dividing line. The middle ground that the Lord has graciously allowed is disappearing day by day. After Revelation 13 when humankind is forced to choose between the beast or the Lord (Rev 13:16-17), the final destinies will be set. Every day we go forward in time is another day that widens the gap between believer and unbeliever. it all is drawing down to that.

And each day we go forward widens the gap between believers and unbelievers. Every day, more apostates are unmasked. Every day more and more false prophets and preachers infiltrate pulpits. Every day more thousands fall for satan. It widens, until the earth is a battleground of them versus Jesus. (Revelation 16:14-16).
“It’s a bizarre, post-apocalyptic landscape that captures a traumatic moment in time.”Therefore the curse is proceeding apace, also. Amid the beauty of those scenes above, and many, many more, we have scenes of ruin.

Strange Geographies: The Mojave Desert’s Airplane Graveyard

Submerged ghost town comes up for air
In this May 7, 2013 photo, birds fly over the village of Epecuen, Argentina. Epecuen village was once home to 1,500 residents before it started flooding on November 10, 1985. After heavy rains the lake Epecuen burst its banks. It only took 20 days for the town to submerge beneath almost 10 metres (30 feet) of water forcing everybody to leave. As the years passed slowly the water started to recede. Nowadays the town that was never rebuilt, and was famous for therapeutic salty waters that surrounded it, is once again becoming a tourist destination but for the ruins that have been left. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Tank graveyard on Afghanistan

Photo: Ilya Varlamov

I thought these next two photos were eerily similar. Pompeii was the Roman-era vacation seaside resort town of about 20,000 people, that was covered in ash in 79AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, obliterating the town in ash in just a few days. Before the curse, volcanoes didn’t erupt. After the curse, earth became our enemy. The town was submerged under ash for 1500 years, and re-emerged after it was re-discovered in 1748. Excavations have been ongoing ever since. Today, Pompeii is a huge tourist draw with 2.5 million visitors arriving each year to view the ruins.

The photo below that is of the Argentine lake resort town of Epecuen, formerly home to about 20,000 people that was suddenly submerged with water when the lake overflowed its banks in a violent rainstorm. Within days the town was obliterated.

“It’s a bizarre, post-apocalyptic landscape that captures a traumatic moment in time.”

“I came to see the end of the world!”

Why do people travel 6 hours to the town of Epecuen from Buenos Aires to view ruins? What attracts people to the post-apocalyptic visions? The NY Times examined the whys and wherefores of what it is about ruin and blight that attracts tourists. Detroit is the UN capital of ruin porn, a visual genre that not only photographers and artists explore, but tourists to also, coming to the city specifically to stare at ruined buildings. People are simply fascinated by it, as they demonstrate by driving to Epecuen over rough country roads. The NY Times article states,

“Meditation on ruin is a long and noble tradition. In Renaissance Italy, antiquarians like Leon Battista Alberti and Poggio Bracciolini began to promote the study and preservation of Roman ruins, which, to that point, had been unsystematically pushed aside as the city expanded. According to Alberti’s biographer, Anthony Grafton, they also “made fun of those who became too depressed” about the ruins, like poor, oversensitive Cyriac of Ancona, who “seemed to mourn the fall of Rome with excessive emotion.” “

We think nothing of viewing the Colosseum in Rome, a ruin, but ponder the whys of people driving to Detroit to look at falling down buildings. Perhaps the ancient has more mystique, and thus pondering the ruins of today is just plain morbid? A Paris family flew to Detroit to see the ruins of the once-beautiful Packard Plant, and when asked what appealed to them about Detroit, “One of them gleefully exclaimed, “I came to see the end of the world!”

In this article titled the Psychology of Ruin Porn, ruin photographer Matthew Christopher said, “I’d like the viewer to step back just a bit and to see the horror story that’s implicit in the image,” he says. “These pictures document physical conditions that are the direct consequences of failed economies.”

I agree with his assessment but would edit it to a biblical stance. When people are drawn to modern ruin, either in images or to places, it is to personally interpret not just the physical conditions that are the direct consequence of failed economies, but to document physical conditions that are the direct result of sin and the curse.

See, all people respond to the creation. All. People.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)

Romans 1:18 says tough that people deliberately suppress the truth. The feel it. They know it. They suppress it. Yet their fascination with it peeks out in trips to ruins, to ponder the explosiveness of a long-dormant volcano, a once-placid lake becoming a killer, weapons of ear dying in the desert. The earth is blighted by disease,war, and cataclysms, and we cannot help but ponder the power of it all. The fascination with ruin, pure and simple, is people pondering their eternity, thinking they have escaped such a ruin themselves. But they have not.

The same is true for people who travel far and wide to view the beauty of the earth. They are responding to God’s eternity set within their hearts.

The Lord has dominion over all. As we see in this verse from Ezekiel 21:27, it is prophesied of Israel–

“A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.”

Yet the Lord’s dominion extends also to the church and the whole world. Wesley’s notes explains, “Shall be no more – Never recover its former glory, ’till the scepter be quite taken away from Judah, and way be made for the Messiah. He hath an incontestable right to the dominion both in the church and in the world. And in due time he shall have the possession of it, all adverse power being overturned.”

Ultimately, all earth will be a ruin before the Lord renews it. That is why we do not cling to the cities of today, nor do we exult in their passing, for that means the unsaved people within them are passing into eternity of hell. The writer of Hebrews said, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

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Other essays on this topic:

Things Fall Apart

Ruin porn

Posted in marriage supper of God, prophecy, woman eaten by vultures

Woman who fell to her death eaten by vultures in 45 minutes

Posted on by elizabethprata

This week I’ve posted on several different topics. I posted an academic kind of essay called “What we need around here is some apocalyptic journalism.” I posted a sweet essay and a simple one about creation, called “Birds make me laugh.” I posted one about discernment and contemplative prayer, and a political one about the Middle East. I think what we are missing to round out the week is something of the weird!

It is reported that a woman who was hiking in France fell 980 feet off a cliff to her death. Before rescue workers could extract her body, vultures had eaten the body within 45 minutes.

“The body of a woman who died after falling off a cliff in France was devoured by vultures in just 45 minutes, before rescue workers were able to reach the body. The 52-year-old woman was hiking with two friends in the French Pyrenees on April 14 when she fell off a cliff and plunged more than 980 feet to her death, according to France’s TF1. The woman’s body was eaten by vultures in minutes. “There were only bones, clothes and shoes left on the ground,” Major Didier Pericou told The Times of London. “They took 45 to 50 minutes to eat the body.” Adding, “When we first went out in the helicopter looking for the body, we saw numerous vultures without realizing what they were doing.””

Spooooky!

Vultures are carrion birds and the bible declared them unclean, in the Old Testament. The Lord will use vultures after the Tribulation to eat the bodies of those who fell at Armageddon.

The Lord organized the world and he made several different avian migration routes. The largest goes over Israel. Three continents funnel their birds over Israel twice a year, as they migrate north to south or south to north, depending on the season. 500 Million birds funnel over that tiny nation, as they avoid the Mediterranean and Caspian seas and fly over Israel. It presents quite a hazard to flight navigation, a problem Israel has recently made advances in solving. I wrote about the bird migration over Israel, here in this essay titled Bird Watching in Israel, and The Great Supper of God

As far as prophecy goes, there is this verse-

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” (Rev 19:17-18).

This moment occurs after Jesus bursts back onto earth on a white horse with His saints following, and He slays all those hundreds of millions assembled at the battle of Armageddon. The angel then calls to the birds “which fly directly overhead” to come eat the dead. I’d often wondered about the hundreds of millions of dead and how or where the birds will come from to be able to match the numbers indicated in the verse of how many dead there will be to eat.But the LORD has that covered, with having set the migratory routes and the great numbers of birds already traveling over that region.

Also Ezekiel 39:17 at the end of the Gog-Magog war: “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.”

In that previous essay, I’d shown that because of the bird migration routes going over Israel, and how the Lord has already trained them, the numbers of birds available to attend the Great Supper of God are already set. Now with this article about the woman hiker in France, you can see how, once the birds arrive, how efficient the carrion birds are in dispatching corpses.

There will be two great suppers. One will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. All those who believe on the name of Jesus as Savior and Lord, having repented of sins and believed in His work on the cross, and in His resurrection, will be attending. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). It is going to be great!!

“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God. (Revelation 19:7-9).

The other supper will be the Great Supper of God.

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,e both small and great.” (Revelation 19:17-18).

Only two suppers. You will either eat with the Lord in glory, or be eaten as carrion by vultures. The difference is repentance or rebellion, salvation or sin. The difference is eternal. Pray to Jesus now for salvation and be blessed of those invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

Told you this was a weird essay! Praising the Lord for carrion birds! Yes! He already has everything organized and in His timing, all will be performed excellently- just as the bible says!

You might also be interested in this:
Where the vultures gather

Posted in apocalypse journalism, ecclesiastes, robert jensen, tribulation

What we need around here is some apocalyptic journalism

Posted on by elizabethprata

A true church is marked by spiritual discernment. The church, the body of Christ, the people of God, are able to look at the world and understand it. They have the capability to sort out the things that are happening all around them both in the realm of the physical world as well as the spiritual.”

~John MacArthur, Marks of a True Church part 1

People underestimate the power of the press. The words the press uses, and the issues they choose to present (and not present) shape the way we think about the world. For a Christian, it is the bible that shapes our thinking and provides the worldview. (Romans 12:2). It is either-or. You are either influenced by the world, or the bible. Just as the words of the bible have the ability to transform our mind, the press has the ability to shape how we think about issues. The result of journalism is that it can potentially shape our reality. Journalism does the following-

  • first, it helps people make sense of the world (as described above)
  • second, it figures prominently in the upcoming Tribulation (more in a minute)
  • third, I believe unsaved people have now gone beyond comprehending what is going on in the world and that therefore journalism has exceeded its usefulness in this regard. This is the point of this essay.

Robert Jensen of the University of Texas at Austin, Journalism department, wrote an extraordinary essay this week. In it, the Professor called for “apocalyptic journalism.” Don’t get excited, he is not referring to Christianity in any way, nor giving credence to our God as existing and sovereignly controlling affairs of men. But he is acknowledging that man’s understanding (unsaved man, that is) simply can’t comprehend the scope of our world’s catastrophes any more. In my opinion, his acknowledgement is a significant advancement on the road toward the rapture.

Jensen seems to understand that the fabric of things is unraveling … and unraveling so completely that it is not going to be repaired. He, and others he quotes, see an upcoming “massive social dislocation” due to our failure to ‘make peace with Gaia.’ (honoring the creation rather than the creator as per Romans 1:25.) He writes,

“That means that we’re in trouble, not in some imaginary science-fiction future, but in our present reality. We can’t pretend all that’s needed is tinkering with existing systems to fix a few environmental problems; significant changes in how we live are required. No matter where any one of us sits in the social and economic hierarchies, there is no escape from the dislocations that will come with such changes. Money and power might insulate some from the most wrenching consequences of these shifts, but there is no permanent escape. We do not live in stable societies and no longer live on a stable planet. We may feel safe and secure in specific places at specific times, but it’s hard to believe in any safety and security in a collective sense. … In short, we live in apocalyptic times.”

He is right. We do. And this isn’t even the Apocalypse yet.

What Jensen is comprehending is the eternity set within his heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He feels it, but just doesn’t know what it is. He seeks a framework within which one can try to make sense of what is happening. Jensen speaks the same words that millions are already thinking, of this I am sure. His view has become the representational view of most of the secular world. Sadly, he will never find the framework he seeks to make sense of things, unless he has the framework of Jesus.

The world does not make sense unless one sees it through the biblical worldview. Any other worldview will be false. But it is the worldview people have used for millennia and its falsity is showing up clearly now because it is coming apart at the seams. Nothing makes sense anymore and nothing is working.

Jensen continues in his article by saying that we need a new framework in order to connect the dots. He is right, and he is so close to the truth! The framework we need in order to make sense of the world is Jesus. But that is not what Jensen calls for.

In Jensen’s mind, and I believe he is speaking for many in the world who can’t figure out what’s going on, is that the old dots that need connecting are too far apart now. They are so far apart that each one is as distant from one another as the east is from the west. So therefore, he calls for new dots. He calls for “apocalyptic journalism”, a kind of return to ‘prophetic preaching.’ He says in effect that those prophets of Old Testament days didn’t cause the crises that came upon people, but they had something important to say that ought to have been listened to. He says we need more of that nowadays. What Jensen forgets is that the old Prophets had messages from God, they weren’t monster shouters spouting off on their own agendas. Anyway, the people didn’t listen to Noah preaching apocalypse when the world was unraveling the first time. To continue, Jensen writes,

Prophetic preaching does not put people in crisis. Rather it names and makes palpable the crisis already pulsing among us. When the dots are connected, it will require naming the defining sins among us of environmental abuse, neighborly disregard, long-term racism, self-indulgent consumerism, all the staples from those ancient truthtellers translated into our time and place.

The sins that need naming are not environmental abuse, being a bad neighbor, racism, and consumerism. Jensen says that those were the old sins that Amos and Hosea and Jeremiah and Isaiah were calling out against, and we use modern language to name them now. No, not at all. The prophets were calling the people to stop sinning by turning away from sin and turn to Him in repentance. Obeisance and repentance were the clarion calls of the day, as were rejecting idols and worthy worship of the LORD, because God is the only hope, through Jesus. I am so sad that people today see that the world is crumbling, the old frameworks don’t make sense any more, that journalism is failing to show us the world through a proper lens- and do not turn to the one Hope there is. Even Jensen says he has no hope. Look what he writes at the end of his article–

[INSERT HOPEFUL ENDING HERE]
That subhead is not an editing oversight. I wish there were an easy solution, an upbeat conclusion. I don’t have one. I’ve never heard anyone else articulate one. To face the world honestly at this moment in human history likely means giving up on easy and upbeat.

In this, Jensen is right. To face the world honestly DOES mean giving up on being upbeat- if you are a secular person who doesn’t know Jesus, that is.

The upcoming Tribulation movers and shakers will use journalism as a fully satanic framework to promote satan’s false signs and wonders. (2 Thessalonians 2:9). It will be used to promote the peacemaker who will turn out to be the antichrist. It will be used to show the death of the Two Witnesses. (Revelation 11:9). Satan has his clutches in the media even now, and after the rapture you will not be able to believe anything you see or read. The Tribulation will be a time of utter lies, because it is the time given to satan to allow sin to come to the full, and satan is the father of lies. Anyone who reads a newspaper or watches the news now knows we cannot trust it. What will it be like after the rapture? The worst.

Jensen’s message, as well as most of humanity’s today is, “Nothing’s working, we’re losing hope, it is all for nothing”. These were words that Solomon used after he had tried every which way to find fulfillment. Solomon’s conclusion was that all is vanity.

All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing. (Ecclesiastes 1:8)

Hosea wrote that Israel had been feeding on wind. (Hosea 12:1). That is the world today, feasting on vanity and wind, and finding that nothing they do fulfills. But, there IS hope!! Saving the world does not depend upon us, upon man. That should be a relief. The earth is the LORD’S and everything in it. (Psalm 24:1). He will take care of renewing it. The prophets of old called for the people to turn their eyes on God and his coming Messiah. He is the hope. Any spiritually discerning person knows that though these times are dark we have a huge hope in Jesus coming soon. We have the hope of our inheritance, which is Him and His finished work on the cross, forever. Jensen calls for someone to [INSERT HOPEFUL ENDING HERE]? OK I will!

[THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL]

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Posted in birds, childlike faith, children

"Birds make me laugh"

Posted on by elizabethprata

The cafeteria at school is crowded with first and second graders. It is full, and it is loud. VERY loud. It has to be, with nearly 200 children talking even at a normal level, trays banging, feet shuffling, and forks tinkling.

There is this first grade boy who is quiet. He doesn’t speak much, and when he does it is in a soft-spoken voice. He is sensitive and artistic. He has a kind heart and loving eyes.

He raised his hand today and he had something to say. I came over, expecting him to ask me the usual, please open my ketchup packet, or I dropped my fork and I need another. Instead he said,

“I saw birds at my house.”
“What kind of birds did you see?”
“I saw a blue jay!” he said happily. “I saw a robin, and a red bird, and crows.” He looked very pleased about this.
I said, “The red bird is a cardinal.”
“OH! I saw ducks too. We have a pond. And some other birds I forgot.”
“Yes, ducks are birds. What do you like about birds?”

“Birds make me laugh.”

To be touched by the simplicity and beauty of birds singing and flying about your yard is, to me, a response to the Creator in childlike faith.

A childlike faith means that the child sees the wonder of God as the bible says. Children intuitively understand the connection of creation to the Creator.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Even as the creation groans for its Creator, it still does what it is supposed to do- bring Him glory. And they do it.

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this? (Job 12:7-8)

Posted in contemplative prayer, meditating, mysticism

Are we there yet? I contemplatively prayed all day and all I got is bupkis

Posted on by elizabethprata

The unregenerated man looks within, and finds nothing. There is no inner peace, no ritual, philosophy, no lofty argument that will ever bring it.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8).

That is how deception works. It’s the blending of empty philosophies with what we are already familiar with. It packages poison in a pretty package with a bow. Satan wants to make his poison attractive, so when you read about “contemplative prayer” it puts together two good words to make a poison result. Many people think that ‘contempative prayer’ means contemplating God via prayer. It does not.

Words like Vision casting, missional, emergent, centering prayer, gifting, unity, spiritual formation, spiritual disciplines and tolerance are just a few words that the dark side has co-opted, injected with poison, and launched aloft via milkweed seeds to waft into unwary churches with no screens on their windows.

For example, centering prayer sounds good. Here is the definition of what it is and how to do it.

“Centering prayer is popping up within the emerging church movement. Centering prayer, also known as contemplative prayer and listening prayer, is the practice of relaxing, emptying the mind, and letting one’s self find the presence of God within. It involves silence, stillness, patience, sometimes repeating something, and the practice of “not knowing” as the person seeks God’s presence.” (source).

So what’s wrong with seeking God’s presence? Relaxing? Because meditating, or contemplating God, does not involve emptying the mind and allowing a whatever presence to enter. That is just asking for trouble, it being so occultish. Meditating on God’s word means actively contemplating Him, via bible verses. (Psalm 63:6, “When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches.” Psalm 119:15,23,27,48,97, same source as above.). It means thinking. Not emptying. You see how contemplative prayer is the opposite of what the bible says to do? The term does not mean what you think it means.

A Christian does not need to be still and know He is God, we do not need to empty the mind in order to find Him. THIS is what “be still” means in the context of the Psalm 46:10,

“”be still”; not that they should be like sticks and stones, stupid, indolent, and unconcerned at the commotions that were in the earth, and be unaffected with the judgments of God, and be wholly silent and inactive; but that they should not be fearful, nor fretful and impatient, or restless and tumultuous; but be quiet and easy, resigned to the will of God, and live in an assured expectation of the appearance of divine Providence in their layout.”  (Gill’s Exposition).

It means your mind is calm because you have contemplated God, His statutes, and you rest easy knowing He is in control.

If you are asking “are we there yet” because you’ve gotten involved in the trap of stilling the mind in expectation of a presence to endow you with information, peace, or any other emotion, it is because you will never ‘get there’ that way. Any Christian knows the ‘are we there yet” question is moot: when we hear the trumpet, we’ll be there in an instant. Everything else until the trumpet sounds or we stop drawing breath is a slog through lively, active, mental contemplation of Him. In other words, STUDY!

Posted in ersecution, muslim, world watch list

And the winner of "The most difficult place on earth to be a Christian" is…

Posted on by elizabethprata

Open Doors released their list of top-Christian persecuted places to live on earth.

North Korea Deemed ‘Worst Persecutor’ of Christians by Open Doors World Watch List 2013
“North Korea has been deemed the “worst persecutor” of Christians by Open Doors USA, in its 2013 World Watch List – a report into global persecution. The country has held the top spot in the persecution list for the past 11 years now, and has been widely condemned for its human rights abuses and infringements on religious freedom. “For the eleventh year running, this is the most difficult place on earth to be a Christian,” the report stated. “One of the remaining Communist states, it is vehemently opposed to religion of any kind. Christians are classified as hostile and face arrest, detention, torture, even public execution.”

The following list, with North Korea at #1, are places in the world where Christian experience “extreme persecution.” It is the 2013 list which means it is data gathered from 2012 and released in April 2013.

North Korea
Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan
Iraq
Somalia
Maldives
Mali
Iran
Yemen
Eritrea
Syria

This next bunch are in order of those countries which perpetrate “severe persecution” of Christians,

Sudan
Nigeria
Pakistan
Ethiopia
Uzbekistan
Libya
Laos
Turkmenistan
Qatar
Vietnam
Oman
Mauritania

You can read the entire watch list here. Please pray for our brethren in the line of fire, and for those who are firing on them.

Posted in end of days, muslim, persecution

Christians are the new terrorists, man copies out bible by hand, Christian exodus from Islamic countries

Posted on by elizabethprata

Hatred of Christians is nothing new. It has been with us since Adam and Eve. Satan hates whom God loves. Christian persecution is nothing new. Satan kills who God loves.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” (1 Peter 4:12-16).

However, we know that as the time of the last days comes to a close (last days being between Christ’s ascension and the rapture) the hatred will rise in preparation for its flashpoint-bursting during the Tribulation (AKA Time of Jacob’s Trouble AKA Day of the LORD). (Matthew 10:22)

However, the hatred for Christians and Christianity has risen to a furious level unprecedented in my lifetime. And I’m talking not just the usual nations one would expect hatred of Christians to be present in zeal and furor, like Saudi Arabia, but in America. It is an irrational, unreasonable, unreasoning, mad-dog kind of foaming at the mouth hatred.

In just the last couple of weeks we read these headlines:

Fundamentalist Christian Monsters
“Today, we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces.”

Source

Pentagon says military personnel can evangelize but not proselytize
“Service members can share their faith (evangelize), but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one’s beliefs (proselytization),” Christensen added. The Alliance Defending Freedom characterized the clarification as backtracking from a previous statement issued Tuesday that the ADF said indicated members of the military could be subject to court martial for “religious proselytization.”

Army Orders Removal of Bible References From Military Scopes
“The U.S. Army is ordering that references to Bible verses that were etched into rifle scopes sold to the military be removed. Troops at Alaska’s Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, were told to remove the Bible references, which the company manufacturing the scopes engraved next to the serial numbers.  The two verse references etched into the scopes are John 8:12 and II Corinthians 4:6. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,” reads the scripture from the Gospel of John. The verse from the apostle Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians reads: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.””

I wrote about the bible verses on rifle scopes in 2010. In that article, “Mikey” Weinstein, pictured, is the same man who spoke the quote in the first link, ‘Fundamentalist Christian Monsters.” He said the following of bible verses on scopes-

“This is probably the best example of violation of the separation of church and state in this country,” said Weinstein. “It’s literally pushing fundamentalist Christianity at the point of a gun against the people that we’re fighting. We’re emboldening an enemy.”

How sad to speak this much hatred and for us to know that this man will stand before Jesus on judgment day and account for his words. Please do not hate Weinstein back, only pray for him!

As for the brethren around the world, Fox News reports today-

Christians in all Muslim counties face persecution
ranging from low-level harassment
and discrimination to outright genocide. source

The Mass Exodus of Christians from the Islamic World
“A mass exodus of Christians is currently underway. Millions of Christians are being displaced from one end of the Islamic world to the other. We are reliving the true history of how the Islamic world, much of which prior to the Islamic conquests was almost entirely Christian, came into being. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recently said: “The flight of Christians out of the region is unprecedented and it’s increasing year by year.” In our lifetime alone “Christians might disappear altogether from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt.”

Belgium erasing Christianity for Islam
“Under the guise of letting go of the Christian holidays, this text provides Muslims with a waiver to add Islamic holidays…. Six Belgian senators introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Parliament that would make “Islamophobia” a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. A person would be guilty if he “considers Islam to be violent, threatening or supportive of terrorism…” or “considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish it hegemony.” If passed, the law would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in Belgium. Wallonia, the French-speaking southern region of Belgium, has officially renamed the four major Christian holidays on the Belgian school calendar with secular names. Critics of the move say it reflects an ongoing effort by politicians in Belgium to remove Christianity from public life to accommodate a burgeoning Muslim population.”

This next story totally perplexed me. It is so wrong on every level. I’m going to post lengthy excerpts and comment in between.

Area man copies out entire Bible by hand
“In 2007, Phillip Patterson decided to create his own handwritten copy of the Bible. Now, six years and more than 2,400 pages later, Patterson will finally copy the book’s last word on May 11. ABC News reports that the 63-year-old began by copying the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, before moving on to the King James Bible. Copying the Pentateuch, he determined his technique, layout and technical details. Patterson writes at a wooden desk by his bed on 19 by 13 inch watercolor paper with felt-tip pens. He pencils ruled lines onto the page to guide his writing and then erases them when he finishes a page. Patterson began copying the complete King James Bible, considered the most literarily renowned version of the Bible, in 2009. He used to work up to 14 hours each day on the project, but now he averages about six to eight hours, until he can no longer stay awake. “I go to bed and close my eyes and feel so incredibly serene,” he told ABC News.”

OK, so I’m reading along, thinking, ‘hm, this is kind of strange, but if it gives the guy a sense of peace…though I wonder why He isn’t talking about why he is doing it..’ Then we read this next-

“Patterson began the project after his longtime partner, Mohammad, mentioned that Islam has a tradition of handwriting the Quran. When Patterson answered that the Bible was too long, Mohammad suggested that Patterson do it anyways.”

So Patterson is a homosexual, with an Islamic partner. Curiouser and curiouser.

“Patterson has encountered obstacles along the way. Poor health (he suffers from AIDS and anemia) sent him to the hospital multiple times and he relies on two canes and walls and furniture to get around his apartment near the Massachusetts border.”

So Patterson is an active homosexual, with AIDS and an Islamic partner…

“Patterson will transcribe the Bible’s final lines in the Book of Revelation at a ceremony at his church, St. Peter’s Presbyterian, on May 11.”

What what?!?! Very strange.

The sad part, of course, is that he personally transcribed the book of John, literally touching every letter, savoring the formation of each, coming alive from his hand through the pen, and not succumb to the power of the Gospel, the deity of Christ, and the beauty of the grace He gives to repentant sinners.

Please repent, time is short. If you are a Christian, whether in a hostile country or not, please understand that the definition of a hostile country is rapidly eroding. Soon, it will simply be the world is hostile to us and there is no place hatred of Jesus won’t have touched you personally as a child of Jesus. Be prepared. Pray up, know the world expect hostility, and listen for Jesus’s call to the Bride!