elizabethprata

catholicism, christianity, crusades, inquisition, Obama, pope

Why the Crusades & Inquisition don’t belong in a discussion of Christianity

Posted on February 9, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

And why it doesn’t matter what Obama said…

The Battle of Ager Sanguinis, medieval miniature

On February 5, 2015 Obama gave an address at the National Prayer Breakfast. He said of people who seek to “hijack religious for their own murderous ends”,

“Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”

There was enormous outcry over Obama’s likening of Christianity to terrorist Muslims. There have been many Op-Ed pieces, reaction articles, and blogs published over it.

Even reformed pastor-blogger Tim Challies linked to Professor of Medieval History Thomas Madden’s piece, in which Madden said both the Crusades and the Inquisition

“were initiated by popes, the unquestioned leaders of Western Christianity.”

Kings and popes. Professor Madden set forth a response placing the Crusades in historical context as part of Christianity. Madden said the first Crusade was called in 1095 by Pope Urban II. Remember, Tim Challies linked to the piece in his daily A La Carte segment.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said Obama’s words were “an unfortunate attempt at a wrongheaded moral comparison,” He continued, “The evil actions that he mentioned were clearly outside the moral parameters of Christianity itself.”

That’s because the evil actions that happened in the Crusades and the Inquisition were not part of Christianity at all. In a CNN interview discussing Obama’s remarks, Russell Moore took issue with Obama’s statement solely on the front of its moral equivalency, saying it was wrong to compare ISIS with Christianity, and it would be the same as if Roosevelt had stood up and said “Pearl Harbor was a day that will live in infamy, except let’s remember we surprised the British at Yorktown too.”

A 19th-century depiction of Galileo before the Holy Office, by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury

All of this is moot. Wrong. Of no consequence. It. does. not. matter. Why? Of the reactions I’ve read from both political leaders and religious leaders, none have stated the obvious. The Crusades and the Inquisition were Catholic events. The Catholic popes started them and Catholics carried them out.

Catholics are not Christians. The First Crusade was Papal response to Muslim aggression, especially the first crusade which sought to retake Jerusalem from Muslim hands. The First Crusade was followed by the Second to the Ninth Crusades. In all cases, the Catholic popes’ thrust was to forcibly defend against Muslim invasion. The Catholic popes have the Inquisition on their hands also.

Catholics follow a false god and their doctrine is not the saving doctrine of Jesus’ Christianity.

Catholic dogma is not of Jesus and is in fact of satan, just as the Muslim dogma is.

The worst comparison Obama made in his speech was not Christianity to ISIS, but Catholicism to Christianity. If people would take issue with THAT, it would really be doing something for the name of Jesus.

prophecy, rapture, second coming

Prophecy is incredible: biblical proof

Posted on February 8, 2015 by elizabethprata

Last June, I wrote a message to “pan tribbers.” I’d written,

But there is an even worse tribulation position than the denial of the rapture, the partial rapture, the post-tribulation rapture. It is the “Pan-Tribulation” position.

It is the position for some reason that irks me the most. You hear it sometimes from Christians, who, when discussing the rapture and last things, and the rapture’s timing, they say, “I’m a pan-tribulationist. Everything will work out in the end. HAR HAR HAR.” They think this is funny. They think this is clever. They even think this is pious.

It isn’t.

Here is more for the people who believe prophecy, especially second coming prophecies, are an afterthought, an unpalatable subject, or a marginal doctrine.

It isn’t.

Prophecy occupies at least one-fifth of the Scriptures if not more.
The second coming of Christ occupies one-third of that one-fifth.
There are over 660 general prophecies. Half of them are concerning Jesus Christ.
Of these 333 prophecies concerning Christ, 109 of them were fulfilled in His first coming.
224 prophecies are yet to be fulfilled in His second coming.
Of the 46 Old Testament prophets, less than ten of them speak of events in Christ’s first coming
36 Old Testament prophets speak of events connected His second coming.
There are a total of 1,527 Old Testament passages referring to the second coming.
1 out of 25 New Testament verses refer directly to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Next to the subject of faith, the subject of the second coming is the most dominant subject in the New Testament.
For every time in the Bible the first coming is mentioned, the second coming is mentioned eight times.
For every time the atonement is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned twice.
The Lord refers to His return 21 times.
And 50 times plus men are exhorted to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ.
All of the prophecies related to His first coming were literal, then if God is consistent all the ones related to His second coming will also be literal.

Source: John MacArthur

Each day that passes is a day closer either to your own death, or a day closer to when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Being ready for His return is critical for life and eternal life. Are you ready?

ISIS, jesus, jordan, nimrod, prophecy

ISIS, Jordan and prophecy

Posted on February 7, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Jordan is much in the news today, due to the horrific killing of its downed pilot. The world became aware of the pilot’s killing because the Muslim terror group ISIS released a video of it.

ISIS’ brutal killings, march of terror over the interior Middle East, and its famed videotaped beheadings certainly bring back to mind their ancestors, the Assyrians. In this same region several thousand years ago, the mighty kingdom of Assyria had arisen, with its capital, Nineveh. God used this nation to punish Israel.

In 722 BC, the Assyrians conquered Israel. The Assyrians were aggressive and effective; the history of their dominance over the Middle East is a history of constant warfare. In order to assure that conquered territories would remain pacified, the Assyrians would force many of the native inhabitants to relocate to other parts of their empire. They almost always chose the upper and more powerful classes, for they had no reason to fear the general mass of a population. They would then send Assyrians to relocate in the conquered territory.

When they conquered Israel, they forced the ten tribes to scatter throughout their empire. For all practical purposes, you might consider this a proto-Diaspora (“diaspora”=”scattering”), except that these Israelites disappear from history permanently; they are called “the ten lost tribes of Israel.” (Virtual Jewish Library)

One small section of Sennacherib’s Lachish relief. Wikipedia

Assyrian King Sennacherib’s statement inscribed on the relief: “Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment, before (or at the entrance of) the city of Lachish (Lakhisha). I give permission for its slaughter“

The Assyrians were known for their terrible brutality. When Sennacherib defeated Israel’s second most important city, Lachish, he commissioned a 12 foot tall relief commemorating the effort. In the Lachish relief we see the Assyrians flinging Israelites off the ramparts, leading them in a line with meathooks in their jaws, and worse. Just the name of Assyria brought terror to the hearts of its enemies.

In His sovereign plan, God used Assyria as His rod of judgment upon Israel. We read When Assyria was God’s Rod…

In Isaiah 10 our Lord spoke about the coming judgment of Israel through the prophet. He explained in vivid imagery that nothing remained for those who stood condemned, but the coming condemnation. In this case, God was going to rouse Assyria against Israel (Judah). To frame this judgment, the Lord says through Isaiah, that Assyria doesn’t intend to be God’s rod of correction; that they are merely another wicked nation and that this plundering of Israel is merely an expression of their own corruption. Once God has used the Assyrians to judge Israel, He will then judge Assyria.

He did. Assyria’s capital, Nineveh, was so thoroughly destroyed that though its destruction occurred in 612 BC, the city and environs were not re-discovered until 1849AD. God had promised Israel that He’d make an utter devastation to the place, and that the Assyrians would not bother them a second time. (Nahum 1:8-9).

Jordan. National Motto: “God, Country, The King.” But which God?

Now, what of Jordan? Jordan’s history is pretty interesting. When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in 1916, the Sykes–Picot Agreement carved it up between Britain and France, defining much of the common border between Syria and what was to become Jordan, Palestine / Israel and Iraq. Wikipedia has more:

The Emirate of Transjordan, also hyphenated as Trans-Jordan and previously known as Transjordania or Trans-Jordania, was a British protectorate established in April, 1921. The Hashemite dynasty ruled the protectorate, as well as the neighbouring Mandatory Iraq, following the Cairo Conference. The territory was officially under the British Mandate for Palestine, but it had a fully autonomous governing system from Mandatory Palestine. In 1946, the Emirate became an independent state named the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. In April 1949 the name was shortened to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The Emir of Transjordan from 1921–1946 was Abdullah I. The British Representative from Oct 1921 – Nov 1921 was T. E. Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia.” Yes, he was a real man, it wasn’t just a movie.

The Hashemite emir Abdullah, elder son of Britain’s wartime Arab ally Hussein bin Ali was placed on the throne of Transjordan. The king of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today is Abdullah II. Both Abdullahs were/are Sunni Muslim.

After WWI, Abdullah I, alone among the Arab leaders of his generation, was considered a moderate by the West. It is possible that he might have been willing to sign a separate peace agreement with Israel, but for the Arab League’s militant opposition. Because of his dream for a Greater Syria comprising the borders of what was then Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the British Mandate for Palestine under a Hashemite dynasty with “a throne in Damascus,” many Arab countries distrusted Abdullah and saw him as both “a threat to the independence of their countries and they also suspected him of being in cahoots with the enemy” and in return, Abdullah distrusted the leaders of other Arab countries. Source.

King Abdullah I

In 1951, King Abdullah I was assassinated while visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The alleged reason was that his enemies suspected the King of engaging in secret talks to participate in a peace treaty with the new country of Israel. The regional distrust of the dynasty ruling Jordan continues today, partly because the peace treaty Jordan signed with Israel did come about (in 1994), despite pressure as recent as a few months ago to cancel it. We know from prophecy that in the end, no nation will be friends with Israel (Zechariah 12:3) so at some point that one remaining regional pact will disappear.

One last thing before we go to this week’s news. The Abdullah family traces its Hashemite ancestry back to Ishmael, (Abraham’s son by Hagar), and ancestry continuing through the prophet Muhammad and his daughter Fatima.

You might remember Genesis 16:11, where Sarai told Hagar to come to Abram and lay with Abram and Hagar did so. The LORD said the son from that union shall be called Ishmael.

You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen. (Genesis 16:11-12)

The LORD promised blessings to the line of Ishmael, but His covenant would be with Abram’s son Isaac and his line.

As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. (Genesis 17:20)

Ishmael’s half-brother Isaac was born a year later. However due to the laws of primogeniture wherein the first-born son is considered the inheritor, the line from Ishmael never recognized Isaac’s right to inherit and still to this day considers Ishmael the proper heir. That is why King Abdullah traces his line back to “Ismail”. However it was the LORD’S decision that not only will the covenant be through Isaac’s line, but the elder shall serve the younger. This was stated when Jacob and Esau were in the womb-

And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

In addition, the Ishmaelites forget that Esau purposely renounced his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. (Genesis 25:34).

The News: Nothing New Under the Sun

King Abdullah II of Jordan was incensed this week that one of his pilots who crash landed in ~~Assyrian~~ ISIS territory was put in a cage and burned alive. It was a barbaric and brutal event, made worse by its videotaping by conscienceless terrorists. He vowed to crush ISIS and retaliate with everything the nation’s got.

Jordan unleashes wrath on ISIS: ‘This is just the beginning’

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh later stressed to CNN that the airstrikes marked the beginning of his nation’s retaliation over the pilot’s death, but not the start of its fight against terrorism. He vowed to destroy ISIS. “We are upping the ante. We’re going after them wherever they are, with everything that we have. But it’s not the beginning, and it’s certainly not the end,” Judeh said.

Jordanian fighter jets strike hard at ISIS, pay tribute to murdered pilot

Jordanian fighter pilots carried out devastating sorties against ISIS early Thursday, making good on their king’s vow of vengeance for the horrific burning death of a captured airman — whose hometown the jets buzzed triumphantly after the mission. Reports from the Middle East said the latest strikes killed 55 members of ISIS, including a senior commander known as the “Prince of Nineveh.”

You can see by that statement that ISIS purposely identifies with ancient Assyria and with Nineveh itself. Nineveh has a long and terrible history. The city’s history goes back to just after the Flood, to Genesis 10. After Noah was 500 years old, Noah begat three sons, one of them was Ham. (Genesis 5:32). Ham begat Cush, and Cush begat Nimrod. (Genesis 10:8-9). Noah’s great-grandson Nimrod is specifically noted as the first on earth to be a mighty man, AKA a tyrant. Nimrod built Nineveh.

A handshake between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin,
accompanied by Bill Clinton, during the Israel-Jordan peace negotiations,
July 25th, 1994

Assyria was an actual nation and its name also stands for the type of nation which in the future, in all brutality will come against Israel. Another name for this type of nation is “Land of Nimrod.” Jesus will smite them and Israel will be at peace. This is an end-time Tribulation/Millennium prophecy. Some believe Micah refers to the antichrist when he says ‘the Assyrian’, but most commenters believe the Assyrian stands for the type of brutal enemy in general that the former nation of Assyria was. For example, Walvoord and Zuck’s Bible Knowledge Commentary says,

Though Assyria will not exist as a nation in the future, it represents nations who, like Assyria in Micah’s time, will threaten and attack Jerusalem (cf. Zech. 12:9; 14:2–3).

Micah 5:1-6 has the prophecy-.

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;

siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the judge of Israel

on the cheek.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land

and treads in our palaces,

then we will raise against him seven shepherds

and eight princes of men;

they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,

and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;

and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian

when he comes into our land

and treads within our border.

Bible Knowledge Commentary again,

This is one of Messiah’s several accomplishments in bringing peace to Israel (vv. 5–15). He will be Israel’s peace because He will subdue the hostile powers around that nation. … The land of Nimrod (cf. Gen. 10:8–9; 1 Chron. 1:10) was a synonym for Assyria (cf. Assyria as a name for Persia in Ezra 6:22). Christ will enable Israel to defeat her foes, giving the nation a more-than-adequate number of shepherds or leaders (on the formula seven … even eight; cf. comments on “three … even four” in Amos 1:3). Whereas many nations have ruled Israel with the sword, in the Millennium the tables will be turned and Israel will rule over her foes because He, Messiah, will deliver her (cf. Zech. 14:3).

CONCLUSION

All of this to show several things:

1. The Preacher said,

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

and that which is done, is that which shall be done; what is done in the present age, nay, in this year, month, or day, shall be done over again in the next; Gill’s Exposition

War after war in the Middle East, man’s brutality, hatred of Israel, the long struggle between the two nations in Rebekah’s womb, the old Assyrians, the new Assyrians (ISIS) …all known to God and He will bring it to the good for those who love Him and to the justice of those who don’t. Either way, it all will end in glory.

2. God’s sovereignty, majesty, power, and might are demonstrated from the opening letter of the bible to the last amen. What’s happening now goes back to Genesis 10 and even before, to Genesis 3. All that is being done now on earth by men and demons are part of His sovereign plan which will culminate in the visible glory of our risen Christ coming to judge, rule, and reign. Prophecy is mighty in demonstration just Who is in control.

3. Prophecy marches apace. Today is one day closer to the fulfillment of all that is written. Hallelujah!

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Scripture photo: The waves may not pass

Posted on February 6, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Click to enlarge

EPrata photo

forgiveness, free grace, irresistible grace, justification, robe of righteousness, salvation, witness, wrath

Mr Lamb’s Robe Store

Posted on February 6, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Scene, busy shopping mall. It’s so large that many people are lost. They look at the map in the central courtyard with the dot “you are here,” but many still don’t know which way to go. Others become distracted by the many choices. Still others sit in the courtyard just lazing away the day.

In a nearby clothing shop, two people browse the racks of robes on a rounder. They are called Sinner and Saved. Saved is a salesperson, trained and ready to explain any aspect of anything about the robes on display.

Saved: May I help you?
I think I would like one of these robes, they’re so white and beautiful. Are they silk?
They’re fine flax, plus other threads extremely rare and unique because they’re imported from a remote location.
It looks shimmery…
That’s because the Light reflects on it, through it, and off it. Some call this garment “Woven Moonlight” from the Grace line. It comes with a lifetime guarantee. It will never wear out.
That would be something, I hate going to the store to buy robe after robe. No robe I buy ever seems to last and I always end up cold and chilly in my house.
So, would you like one?
I don’t think I can afford it.
You can. It’s free.
No way! You mean just get one, put it on and walk out of here?
Yes, but there is something you need to do first before it can be put on.
I knew there would be a catch. You’re probably going to tell me I have to work for you for fifty years or something, like an indentured servant.
No, there’s no works involved.
Where are the lawyers, you’ll have me arrested if I take one for free.
The owner of this store has plenty of robes and is perfectly willing to give them away. There is no Legalism here.
I’ll get back to the robe in a minute, but I want to know this. Who in his right mind would give away his inventory? How does he stay in business? This is crazy!
I agree, it is unusual. There is no other store in the world which does this. This is certainly an exclusive shop.
But how can the owner stay in business?
He is extremely wealthy. And he wants to share his wealth. Again this is unusual. No other store owner in the world gives freely and doesn’t take.
Wait, I thought you said there was a catch. What is it?
No catch, but you do have to say you’re sorry before you can put on one of these exclusive robes.
Say I’m sorry for what???
For all your crimes against the owner of this store.
Whatchoo you talking about? I never done nothing to this guy!
Well, you have. If you ever even took a paperclip home from work, you’ve been stealing.
What does that have to do with the owner of this store?
He owns the paper clip. He owns everything. I told you he is very wealthy.
I knew this was too good to be true, I’m leaving.

Sinner leaves and walks to the next store. He is gone for hours. Eventually, he returns.

Ah, sir, so glad to see you again. What brings you back into our exclusive store?
I looked at every other robe in the mall. None are as good as this one. Once I saw the white gossamer shimmering threads, so delicate but so strong, I knew that no other could compare. Tell me more about this garment being free but having to be sorry first…
Well, you have committed crimes against the owner of this store, Mr Lamb, who owns the inventory of White Robes. Every time you stole, cheated, lied, even unknowingly, you sinned against Him. He owns all that is on the earth.
I’ve gotta know, who is this man?
He’s God.
God?! Like the Man Upstairs?
He is not a man, and though he is in heaven he is also on earth, in the form of His Spirit.
I think this God talk is kind of crazy but I admit His robes look different from all the others.
I’m wearing one.
You? You’re wearing regular clothes.
Yes but have you ever heard of layaway? My robe is on deposit, the Spirit is the deposit of the guarantee of being given one when we get to heaven. You will inherit His wealth, and the robe comes with it. (Ephesians 1:14)
Doesn’t a dad have to die in order for the kids to inherit?
He already died. He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, paying the debt you racked up, and the debt of all mankind. (John 3:16). In addition, He endured all the Father’s wrath for these sins, poured out onto the Son. I mean didn’t your dad get angry when you messed up? (Romans 1:18)
LOL, he sure did. When I was a kid I took his keys and drove the car, and I crashed it. Cost him a lot of money. He was so mad he used his belt on me for the first and only time. It hurt. I still have the scar from one of the welts.
Well, imagine how angry the Father is over your crimes against Him, and though His anger is controlled, it is there and poured out on the Son on behalf of you. He bore your stripes so you can live right. (1 Peter 2:24). The Son died. He sure did. However the good news is, He didn’t stay dead. Satisfied with His Son’s sacrifice, God resurrected the Son to eternal life.
Who is the Son?
Jesus.
I knew it, you’re a Jesus freak!
That I am, proclaiming His excellencies to call you from darkness to his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9).
When I was looking at all the other robes I was thinking about the paper clip. You know, um, I have done worse than taking a paper clip. A lot worse. When I committed them I didn’t know he was the owner of all the earth. (Psalm 24:1).
Well, you did. Just looking at the creation makes you know He created it. (Romans 1:19)
OK, you got me. I guess I lied again just then. I am surely without excuse. (Romans 1:20). What a miserable human being I am. I thought I felt bad before looking at the other robes, which suddenly looked like filthy rags next to this one, (Isaiah 64:6) but now I feel terrible seeing myself next to it. (Isaiah 6:5). I’m hopeless.
Yes, you are- out there. (Amos 5:20). In here, you have the deposit guaranteed, the robe of righteousness, the Spirit in you to strengthen you, Jesus to look forward to, and all hope and all wealth. As a matter of fact, all things will be yours, including eternal life. (Romans 8:24).

A rotten tomato splats against the store window, dripping down, with some youth running away shouting, “Your store is stupid and so are you!”

A few women wander in, but they stop only inches inside the threshold. One says, “This place smells horrible! Like garbage! And the clothes are all weird and shiny. Let’s go, Myrtle. We can check out the store that has grey robes. I hear they’ve got 50 shades of them!” They hustle out.

Sinner says,
Why’d they do that? You’re just standing here, minding your own business!

That happens a lot. Pay no mind. We don’t bother to fight against flesh and blood, but fight against what drives them. It’s their conscience. “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:14-16). With you, your thoughts are accusing. With them, they are trying to defend themselves and so they lash out.
Accuse is a good word. I feel a great heaviness on me because of all the wrong I’ve done. The more I look at the robe the more I see myself as a sinful man. (Luke 5:8). I couldn’t get it out of my mind these past few hours. (Romans 2:15). As much as I didn’t want to come back in here, I felt like I had to. (Ephesians 2:1–10).
You’re almost ready for a robe, I think. I’ll go get one in your size. While I’m gone, why don’t you speak with the Owner, and tell Him how you feel?
You mean on the phone? Or an intercom?
Just speak with your mouth, He will hear you. (Romans 10:9).

A few minutes go by. When the salesman returns, the Sinner is beaming.
I talked with Mr Lamb! He heard me, I know He did. He said He forgives me of my crimes against Him. There were a lot. Once I got going I hadn’t realized how many times I broke Mr Lamb’s law. But He said He would throw my sins away as far as the east is from the west. He said I’d receive a robe when I get there. He said I might have to pay for my past sins, endure the consequences you know, but He would always be with me and never forsake me. I believe Him I believe it down to my bones.
That’s wonderful! I’m so pleased!
You know, this is so weird. This place is right in the mall but I’d never seen it before today. I come here every week but I never saw it. And the owner is rich but wiling to give it all to us. He doesn’t make money, he gives it. He covers us with his garment which was made at great expense and gives it away free. All we have to do is be sorry for our sins and believe in His death, burial and resurrection. I can’t believe my whole life I thought Mr Lamb as a jerk.
That’s because you’re a new creation now. The Spirit is already inside you, helping you. He is the Helper. He’ll strengthen you in faith, change you from the woeful man you were into the righteous man you are now and will become. (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Hey I’ve got to tell this news to my family. I’ll come back and we’ll talk more, OK?
Sure, Godspeed!

~~Sinner~~ Child of God knew exactly what to do and exactly where to go before he headed home. The bible store …

queen of sheba, solomon, wisdom, worship

Why did the Queen of Sheba want to visit King Solomon?

Posted on February 4, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:42)

Jesus is talking to the Pharisees here, and the generation He’s talking about was the generation that saw Messiah arrive, work miracles, preach truth, and reject Him.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Giovanni De Min (1789-1859). Wikipedia

Is this verse a prophecy? A promise? A historical incident? All three. Read the beautiful sentiments Matthew Henry shares in his Whole Commentary on the bible:

As a generation that would be condemned by the queen of the south, the queen of Sheba, v. 42. The Ninevites would shame them for not repenting, the queen of Sheba for not believing in Christ. She came from a far country to hear the wisdom of Solomon; yet people will not be persuaded to come and hear the wisdom of Christ, though he is in every thing greater than Solomon.

[1.] The queen of Sheba had no invitation to come to Solomon, nor any promise of being welcome; but we are invited to Christ, to sit at his feet and hear his word.

[2.] Solomon was but a wise man, but Christ is wisdom itself, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom.

[3.] The queen of Sheba had many difficulties to break through; she was a woman, unfit for travel, the journey long and perilous; she was a queen, and what would become of her own country in her absence? We have no such cares to hinder us.

[4.] She could not be sure that it would be worth her while to go so far on this errand; fame uses to flatter men, and perhaps she might have in her own country or court wise men sufficient to instruct her; yet, having heard of Solomon’s fame, she would see him; but we come not to Christ upon such uncertainties.

[5.] She came from the uttermost parts of the earth, but we have Christ among us, and his word nigh us: Behold he stands at the door, and knocks.

[6.] It should seem the wisdom the queen of Sheba came for was only philosophy and politics; but the wisdom that is to be had with Christ is wisdom to salvation.

[7.] She could only hear Solomon’s wisdom; he could not give her wisdom: but Christ will give wisdom to those who come to him; nay, he will himself be made of God to them Wisdom; so that, upon all these accounts, if we do not hear the wisdom of Christ, the forwardness of the queen of Sheba to come and hear the wisdom of Solomon will rise up in judgment against us and condemn us; for Jesus Christ is greater than Solomon.

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1676). Peabody: Hendrickson.

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Truth in photos: Church Curmudgeon, Haaretz terrorism map, winnowing photo, prepare

Posted on February 3, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Some truths in pictures today.

This photo appeared in the Israeli Newspaper Haaretz

The Lord will return to thresh, winnow, separate, and burn the chaff… Here is an actual photo from Palestine from the 1890s of the process. The oxen, yoked equally or else they would not pull in unison, drag the sledge. The sledge pulverizes the wheat stalk, separating the wheat from the outer husk. This is called threshing. The action takes place on a circular threshing floor. Then the men take a winnowing fork and pitch the ground-up chunks into the air, and the wind blows the chaff away. The wheat grains fall back to the ground. Repeat.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:12)

The Lord is returning soon. Prepare. You will need more than milk and bread.

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14b-15)

discernment, false teachers, joel osteen

What Joyce Meyer believes & teaches, what Joel Osteen believes & teaches

Posted on February 2, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

On Twitter, A Call for Discernment ‏( @call4discern) posted a few pictorial cheat sheets on what several of the false teachers believes and teaches. I asked permission to post two of them here, What Joyce Meyer believes and teacher,s and what Joel Osteen believes and teaches.

A Call for Discernment’s bio blurb states that it “calls for Believers to stand and contend for the Faith. Our ministry is to expose the wolves that have infiltrated the flock.”

Click to enlarge

A Call 4 Discernment posted; “The teachings of Joel Osteen compared to Scripture. #falseteachers pic.twitter.com/Cp7AHlSzL9”. Click to enlarge

Note: the falseteachers.org website at the bottom of Joyce Meyers photo is a redirect to a church in Orlando FL.

angel, countenance, encouragement, prophecy, wisdom

A godly face radiates His glory

Posted on February 1, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

In Adult Bible Study we are going through Acts. I am also listening to John MacArthur preach through Acts. When reading the part where Stephen was dragged in front of the Sanhedrin and about to answer charges of blasphemy, we read the following:

And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:15)

As is the way with the Spirit, he got my attention to focus on the part that said ‘the face of an angel.’

I envisioned Stephen’s face full of serene glory, bright and shining. It reminded me of the verse when Moses had been with God and Moses’ face shone so brightly the people were scared and urged Moses to cover it with a veil. (Exodus 34:30, 35, cf. 2 Corinthians 3:13).

Other incidences of a person’s face shining with glory were also in the New Testament, this time it was Jesus-

There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:2)

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. (Luke 9:29)

Moses, Stephen, Jesus, faces shining with glory. I want that. I want that because when someone sees me I want them to see Jesus. I don’t want them to see my face, but a serenely joyful face, so different from the faces in the crowd. I want people to notice something different about me. The something different, of course, is Jesus.

But how? Moses was with God Himself on Mt Sinai. That was a unique occurrence. Jesus is, well, Jesus, and though He was fully man He was also fully God. So X that off the list. Stephen was filled with the spirit at a moment when supernatural ability was promised God’s people. (Matthew 10:19-20).

Still…if the Spirit’s ministry is to point people to Jesus I want Jesus to be evident in me. I know the fruit the Spirit grows will do that.

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? (2 Corinthians 3:7-8)

What else will do that? I found an answer in Ecclesiastes 8:1

Who is like the wise?

And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,

and the hardness of his face is changed.

Wisdom. The kind of wisdom that emanates and makes a face soften. Here is what the Jamieson-Fausset Commentary explains about the Ecclesiastes verse:

Praise of true wisdom continued (Ec 7:11, &c.). “Who” is to be accounted “equal to the wise man?… Who (like him) knoweth the interpretation” of God’s providences (for example, Ec 7:8, 13, 14), and God’s word (for example, see on Ec 7:29; Pr 1:6)?

face to shine—(Ec 7:14; Ac 6:15). A sunny countenance, the reflection of a tranquil conscience and serene mind. Communion with God gives it (Ex 34:29, 30).

The Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible says of the Ecclesiastes verse,

Wisdom: It beautifies a man in the eyes of his friends: It makes his face to shine, as Moses’s did when he came down from the mount; it puts honour upon a man and a lustre on his whole conversation, makes him to be regarded and taken notice of, and gains him respect (as Job 29:7, etc.); it makes him lovely and amiable, and the darling and blessing of his country. The strength of his face, the sourness and severity of his countenance (so some understand the last clause), shall be changed by it into that which is sweet and obliging. Even those whose natural temper is rough and morose by wisdom are strangely altered; they become mild and gentle, and learn to look pleasant.

The way to softening our countenance is wisdom. We absorb wisdom from above by holding close communion with Christ. We read His word, the best – and only – wisdom. Prayer is close communion with Christ, an intimate privilege that delivers wisdom because in prayer we contemplate Him. Proclaiming His truths, as Stephen did, will increase our wisdom because if what comes out of us defiles us, alternately His truths enliven us with His glory. (Mark 7:20, James 3:6).

NH Old Man of the Mountains,
a granite face. Source

To understand this as a full truth we look at its opposite. If wisdom of God softens our face and makes it serenely radiant, a man with no Godly wisdom will have a hard face. The ultimate example of this is the antichrist. We read in Daniel 8, one of the antichrist’s qualities is that he has a hard face.

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. (Daniel 8:23 KJV)

Friends, the gentle disciplines of reading the bible, prayer, and proclaiming His truth will transform us, and it’s not only the mind that is transformed (Romans 12:2) but when the mind is drenched with wisdom, truth, Jesus, it will alter our very countenance.

The upshot is, close communion with God will alter our face.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18).

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Behold His glory and it will shine upon you today, reflecting back to a dark world that needs to see it.

laver, ocean, prophecy, revelation, sea

Will Heaven Have Oceans? My Take

Posted on January 31, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I wrote this in December 2009 and I edited it and added more scriptures and Commentary excerpts. I am reviving it because there was an article linked to by Tim Challies titled “Will Heaven Have Oceans?” from The Gospel Coalition. (The Gospel Coalition has been publishing very iffy authors and squishy doctrine lately and I don’t recommend them unreservedly, if at all.)

The Gospel Coalition article about Heaven and oceans is from a series which examines difficult verses in the bible. Now, I’m not a trained theologian. There are many people who have interpreted this verse in different ways, so I can’t be dogmatic. But I am nearly so.

Why? One particular verse. If God “placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it” then I need to understand that if there is no sea, what does ‘eternal’ mean? Plus I have several other reasons I believe interpreting the text this way. See what you think. Your contributions or corrections to the discussion welcome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Venice FL, Lomo Camera. EPrata photo

Revelation 21:1 says-

“The New Heaven and Earth” – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.“

This disappoints many people, including myself. I love the sea and I hope that Jesus is preparing a place for me near it. Many people can’t conceive of a world without the oceans and their tides, waves, ships, and magnificent animals. Someone recently asked me about this and I agreed that it was a disappointment that the scriptures seemed to say that after the old earth passes away and the new earth is made, that the oceans will be no more. Until…

I started thinking, and remembered that the sea is a biblical symbol for heaving, undulating, rippling discontented people. Scripture interprets scripture, here is sea defined for us:

Isaiah 57:20, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud.” (NASB)

There is a support text in the bible that reinforces the notion that the wicked are like the sea:
Jude 1:11-13, “These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.”

Pulpit Commentary explains the use of the word ‘sea’ in context to Revelation 13:1. The reference is to the beast that rises from the sea. Is the antichrist actually a beast, actually rising from the sea?

The sea, again, is the type of instability, confusion, and commotion, frequently signifying the ungovernable nations of the earth in opposition to the Church of God (cf. Revelation 17:15; Revelation 21:1)

I believe the reference to the sea in Revelation 21:1 could be a symbolic reference just as it was in the Revelation verses and Jude and in Isaiah.

Lubec Maine. EPrata photo

An alternate interpretation could be that reference to the sea as the name for the bronze laver. Here, 1 Kings 7:23 has the verse:

“Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.”

Also the Sea is referenced in 2 Chronicles 4:2, Jeremiah 52:17, 2 Kings 16:17.

In Revelation 21, the reference being to ‘no more sea’ could mean that as in Isaiah’s symbolism, there are no more wicked (sea), they have all been judged and put into outer darkness. Or in 1st Kings, there is no need for a laver (sea) because there is no longer any need to sacrifice and clean up. There is no need to wash before sacrificing since Jesus washed us all, and there are no more wicked people. We are all clean by then.

I thought further. A third reason I believe there will be a sea, is this. If God created a sea and its animals on the third day and declared it “good,” and also created the land and their animals and declared them good, then why would He abandon the sea at the renewal of the earth but not the land? Does that mean it is ‘not-good’ now? God is not inconsistent. It doesn’t make sense.

Nassau Bahamas. EPrata photo

One smaller piece of reasoning, in Revelation 10:4-6, we read of the Angel standing on the sea and on the land, and He swore by the sea and by the land that there would be no more delay in rendering judgment and that the mystery of God would be fulfilled. A promise from heaven made by the Angel swearing an oath on the sea and land…is serious. I highly doubt God would allow an oath to be made with the sea as the witness and then later delete the sea.

In still more reasons, Jesus said in Matthew 19:28

“I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Rev 21:5 repeats the concept ‘at the renewal of all things,’

“And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

All things being made new means all things!

I believe that this means what He created in the 6 days, the first beginning of “all things.”

Finally, The sea’s boundary is eternal.

Jeremiah 5:22–

‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

There exists a decree from the lips of the LORD who said it will stand for all eternity: that there is a sea-sand boundary over which the sea will never cross. For this decree to be in force eternally, there must always be sand and sea.

There are support texts in the bible that reinforces the notion that there is an eternal decree:

Job 38:8-11

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
And I placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

Psalm 104:9

You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.

Proverbs 8:29

When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

Venice FL. Lomo camera. EPrata photo

Finally, Matthew Henry’s commentary explains thus:

“The new heaven and the new earth will not be separate from each other; the earth of the saints, their glorified, bodies, will be heavenly. The old world, with all its troubles and tumults, will have passed away. There will be no sea; this aptly represents freedom from conflicting passions, temptations, troubles, changes, and alarms; from whatever can divide or interrupt the communion of saints.”

My conclusion, based on scripture, is that when John declares, “and there was no longer any sea” that if we substitute Isaiah’s definition for sea, OR the laver being the sea, rely on the promise of the renewal of all things, and know that there is an eternal decree for a sea-sand boundary, and that Jesus swore an oath by the land and the sea, that all things means ALL things, then we can safely propose that in the New Earth, there will likely be an ocean kind of sea. Hallelujah!