elizabethprata

The sun is a very special star…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by elizabethprata

I work in a kindergarten class as a teacher’s aide. The teacher was teaching nursery rhymes, and we were reading “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The kids were directed to draw a picture of the scene, and the teacher emphasized that the sky should be black because the stars only come out at night.

One little girl piped up, saying, “Except for one very special star, and that’s the sun, which comes out in the day.” Very true, little girl! Good for you.

Our ‘very special star’ has had indigestion lately. It is an active star and not immune to blurps and belches. When these happen they are called CME’s or Coronal Mass Ejections. The sun pitches a filament of plasma off itself and it hurls out into space. If the sunspot from which it emanates is pointed into the blackness of space (where all the other not-so-special stars are, lol) then it floats harmlessly away. That is good. If the sunspot is pointing in a direction of the earth, when the CME ejects and travels through space, it will hit the earth. That could be bad.

The force with which the CME ejects is on a rating system. Just as earthquakes are rated on a Richter scale, and tornadoes are rated on a Fujita scale, (F-scale) so are CME’s. Here is spaceweather.com’s explanation of the rating system for solar flares;

The Classification of X-ray Solar Flares or “Solar Flare Alphabet Soup”

A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in twisted magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. Flares produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma-rays.

Scientists classify solar flares according to their x-ray brightness in the wavelength range 1 to 8 Angstroms. There are 3 categories: X-class flares are big; they are major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. M-class flares are medium-sized; they can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare. Compared to X- and M-class events, C-class flares are small with few noticeable consequences here on Earth.

There is a difference between a solar flare and a coronal mass ejection, but let’s not get too technical. You can read about the difference here. Suffice it to say that if a flare or a CME knocks out your power, you won’t care which is which.

All this to say that the sun has been extremely active this week. Spaceweather’s report today says,

“CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of X-class solar flares and an 80% chance of M-class solar flares today. The source would be active sunspot AR1748, which is turning toward Earth.

ANOTHER X-FLARE ON MAY 15: When the week began, the sun hadn’t unleashed an X-flare all year long. In only two days, sunspot AR1748 has produced four. The latest X-flare from this active sunspot occured on May 15th at 0152 UT.

In summary, AR1748 has produced an X1.7-class flare (on May 13), an X2.8-class flare (on May 13), an X3.2-class flare (on May 14), and an X1-class flare (on May 15). These are the strongest flares of the year, and they signal a significant increase in solar activity.”

Pretty, isn’t it?! The LORD does good work!

horoscope, occult, swaziland, witch

Swaziland Aviation Authority bans broomstick flying witches

Posted on May 15, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Even the article’s author says he doesn’t know how serious the Civil Aviation Authority marketing and corporate affairs director was, and he MAY have been kidding, but the fact is, in an official report, they have limited broomstick flying witches to flights below the new 150 meter limit.

Broomstick-flying witches to be brought down in Swaziland
“Witches flying broomsticks in Swaziland above 150 metres will be subject to arrest and a hefty fine of R500 000, civil aviation authorities said, according to a report. Witches’ broomsticks are considered similar to any heavier-than-air transportation device that is airborne, reports The Star. “A witch on a broomstick should not fly above the [150-metre] limit,” Civil Aviation Authority marketing and corporate affairs director Sabelo Dlamini told the newspaper. No penalties exist for witches flying below 150 metres. The report said it was hard to say how serious he was, but witchcraft isn’t a joking matter in Swaziland, where the people believe in it. The statute also forbids toy helicopters and children’s kites from ascending too high into the country’s airspace.” More at link.

Source

We read that article and we think, ‘oh my, how could they believe in such things?!’ Here is how…and it is a lesson for all of us to take to heart.

Witches, demons, evil spirits etc. have been with us since almost the beginning. After the fall, the earth became satan’s domain. (2 Corinthians 4:4, Matthew 4:1, 1 John 5:19). It is his spiritual influence that we fight against. Though Jesus is sovereign, He has allowed satan to dominate as prince of this world for the present time. (John 12:31).

Satan is a supernatural being, and his demons are supernatural beings. God is a supernatural being. We Christians engage in supernatural activity every day. We live by the Spirit, who is a supernatural Being and has supernatural powers. We pray- which is a supernatural activity. We read the living word, which was delivered supernaturally. Miracles occur (not performed by people in these days, but by God) and those are supernatural. The bible informs us of the existence of the supernatural. To pretend the supernatural does not exist is silly. Here are a few verses that tell us about the darkness of satan’s supernatural activity (as opposed to God’s GOOD supernatural activity)

“You shall not permit a sorceress to live”. (Exodus 22:18.)

Barnes notes explains why the severity: “This is the earliest denunciation of witchcraft in the law. In every form of witchcraft there is an appeal to a power not acting in subordination to the divine law. From all such notions and tendencies true worship is designed to deliver us. The practice of witchcraft was therefore an act of rebellion against Yahweh, and, as such, was a capital crime.”

In that verse, we are told of several things. Witches were a problem since the writing of Exodus, sometime around the 15th century BC. Witches routinely pretended to have information about persons, dead or alive, cast spells, and did amazing feats. The fact that they were fake and knew they were fakers is evidenced by the Witch of Endor’s surprise at actually conversing with someone who was dead- Samuel. (1 Samuel 28). Samuel’s appearance scared her and shocked her. If she had been routinely able to perform the things witches said they could perform, it would not have been such a shock when Samuel appeared, eh?

Deuteronomy 18:10 is another verse addressing the dark arts. It expands the definition of prohibited activity related to the dark arts. It is not only witchcraft that the LORD is against. There is other activity satan will try to use to get over on you, “here shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer.”

The New Testament also references sorcerers and diviners, indicating that such activity was still a problem 1500 years after God’s Moses’s first denunciation of it through Moses. In New Testament times it was still against God’s law to engage in it or commune with people who do it. (Acts 16:16, Galatians 5:19, Revelation 21:8).

It should not surprise us that the first mention of witchcraft 3500 years ago, and reiterating its evilness 2000 years ago, that its practice is still ongoing today. Witches still abound. It is an old problem that is still with us in these “modern times.” People who perform the dark arts still exist. People who believe others can accomplish the dark arts still exist- as testified to the official Swazi ban on witches flying at high altitudes!

Satan will corrupt anything he can. He is the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10). That he corrupts the name and work of Jesus is not surprising. That he corrupts the supernatural, turning it away from Jesus and toward witchcraft, divination, omens, and sorcery (like Tarot) is also not surprising. If you are of Jesus you will not (or should not engage in these dark arts. I mean even reading horoscopes! Here is a short article about horoscopes. It is not the harmless activity some think it is.

GotQuestions says of horoscopes, “The purpose of a horoscope is to gain insight into a person’s character and foretell the future. The basic belief of astrology is that planets and stars exert an influence upon our lives. Those with special knowledge—astrologers—can predict events in a person’s life. It is distressing that most major newspapers have a horoscope column, and even more distressing that many Christians read their horoscopes.”

“The Bible expressly forbids divination, sorcery, and hidden arts (Deuteronomy 18:10-14). God’s people

are to heed God only (Deuteronomy 18:15). Any other source of guidance, information, or revelation is to be rejected outright. (See also Acts 16:16-18.) The Bible points to Jesus Christ as the only proper focus of faith (Acts 4:12;Hebrews 12:2). Our trust is in God alone, and we know that He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Faith in anything besides God is misplaced.

Astrology, then, opposes biblical teaching in at least two ways: it advocates faith in something other than God, and it is a form of divination. We cannot determine God’s will for our lives through horoscopes. As Christians, we are to read the Bible and pray to God in order to gain wisdom and guidance. Consulting a horoscope is a violation of God’s means of communicating with His children. We strongly believe that horoscopes should be rejected by Christians.”

We read even today that Pope Francis was elected after the conclave considering his nomination to the Papacy were witness to several supernatural signs! “He [A Cardinal] added: “I received at least two strong signs: one I can tell, the other was in the Conclave I can’t speak about – but real signs of the Lord giving me indication ‘he is the one’.”

Catholics are not saved by grace of Jesus. They are pagans. Therefore He is not managing the papal election in any way, shape, or form. One of the signs the cardinal spoke of was a ridiculously interpreted thing, mis-attributed to the Holy Spirit. The cardinal said that after he had asked advice on the papal election, his friend whom he had run into whispered into his ear “Bergoglio”. Since when is a friend whispering a name a supernatural sign and not simply influence peddling? Oh well, the other sign was just as ‘astounding and miraculous’, but he refused to disclose it due to its occurrence in the conclave, which is a secret proceeding. If it was as ridiculous as the first sign, I can pass. However, that’s the problem with the dark arts, satan will attribute to the Spirit the things of satan, and to the things of satan he will say it is the spirit. (Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24).

“How do they do it? By attributing to the Holy Spirit words that He didn’t say, deeds that He didn’t do, and experiences that He didn’t produce, attributing to the Holy Spirit that which is not the work of the Holy Spirit. Endless human experiences, emotional experiences, bizarre experiences and demonic experiences are said to come from the Holy Spirit…visions, revelations, voices from heaven, messages from the Spirit through transcendental means, dreams, speaking in tongues, prophecies, out of body experiences, trips to heaven, anointings, miracles. All false, all lies, all deceptions attributed falsely to the Holy Spirit.”

If you are not of Jesus, you are already under satan’s sway and while you are blinded to the supernatural goodness of Jesus, satan will turn you toward the supernatural evilness of the dark arts, including witchcraft. Count on it.

last days, perilous times, prophecy

Is the "Day of the Lord" the same thing as "The Last Days"? part 2

Posted on May 15, 2013 by elizabethprata

In two parts, I’m examining a last days prophecy Paul delivered to Timothy. Paul’s warning to Timothy 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. Paul begins his warning to Timothy by saying that the prophesied times of difficulty will come in the “last days.” In part 1, I looked at what the “last days” are, and how they are different from the Day of the Lord. In this part 2, I will look at the passage closely and show that how it is commonly interpreted may need a second look.

Here is the passage- It is in the ESV.

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)

People usually interpret this passage as pertaining to the world. As when “in the last days, perilous times in the world will come.” That, perilous times from the world will come. That when sin in the world heightens to monstrous levels, it will be a sign of the perilous times Paul spoke of.

I used to think this way also, and in a way it is still true. Sin gets worse and worse. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 that “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” and that shows us that sin gets worse and because of it, people’s love gets colder and colder (that is the meaning of grow cold, ‘to breathe, blow, to make cool’). Later in this same chapter of Timothy I’m looking at today, 2 Timothy 3:13, it says “while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” They go from bad to worse. Sin always gets worse.

But though sin in the world will get worse and worse, the passage specifically isn’t talking of the world here. It is speaking of people in the church. People in the body of Christ. How do we know this? There are several clues.

If you read 1 Corinthians 2:14 in it surrounding context, the passage there is saying in essence, don’t be angry with unbelievers when they act like unbelievers. The world has always been brutal. The world has always presented difficulty to the church.

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, it was around 67 AD and shortly before Paul was martyred. It was no surprise to Timothy that people in the world were brutal, Christian martyrdoms had been going on since Stephen, our faith’s first martyr. Stephen was killed for the name of Jesus barely a year after Jesus rose to heaven. Killings had been ongoing ever since. Nero’s wave of particularly vicious killings began in 64AD. Why would Paul need to warn Timothy that the world will treat us brutally? Jesus even said so (Matthew 10:22).

The surprise is that the people claiming to be Christian who dwell inside the body of believers will act in the ways Paul outlined. We need to guard ourselves from people on the inside.

The second clue is that Paul warned such folks will have adopted an “appearance of Godliness.” Pagans who hate Christians and treat them brutally do not stop to pretend they are Godly. They just hate.

A third clue that this passage relates to how people inside the church will act is that they are “lovers of self.” Those in the world, pagans, already love themselves. This is not news to Christians and certainly would not have been necessary to warn Timothy about people such as those.

No, I’m afraid this passage sadly tells us to watch out for those who are brutal, false, hating, greedy, treacherous, conceited, etc and will be people who sit alongside you in the pew. Or preach to you from the pulpit. Or teach you in Sunday School class. Now that is a warning worthy of taking heed of!

In case you have difficulty interpreting that the passage from verse 1-9 relates to the church, think on this. First:

Some say that the current evil in the world surely matches the passage and must be a harbinger of Jesus’s soon appearing. Well, the evil in the world is surely awful. They cite the present escalation of evil and say that the events of today are frequent as opposed to evil event that used to be rare and isolated. But are they so rare? They cite the Gosnell baby abortion murders, or the kindergarten massacre at Sandy Hook school. But haven’t people always sacrificed children to Molech? (Leviticus 18:21). Children have always been at risk as society’s most vulnerable targets. Or they cite the New Orleans Mother’s Day Parade shooting, or the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing. Yet enemies have always come by stealth or deceit to kill (Joshua 9). They say that the Benghazi terror attack and coverup, and the current government abuse against citizens with IRS spying or tapping phones, is surely evidence of the world’s descent into evil. But look no farther than today’s North Korea and Eritrea as most oppressive regimes full of abuse and hate against their own citizens, or Egypt and its treatment of millions of Jews in Pharoah’s day. Or they say that today’s shock video of victorious Syrians eating the dead hearts of their enemies is definitely evidence of how far the world has fallen. But the ancient Aztecs and the ancient Chinese of the Tang Dynasty ate the hearts of their enemies.

Eve and Adam rebelled against God, Cain killed Abel, and not long after, Nimrod was the first world dictator. The world IS brutal. Always has been since the fall.

The evidence of the evil in the world is how far it has crept into the church. Jesus said there would be tares sown in with the wheat and that He wanted it kept so until the harvest. (Matthew 13:24-30). Tares (darnel) and wheat look the same until just before harvest when it only then becomes possible to tell one from another. The field of the church is filled with those who are just as Paul warned Timothy about. They infiltrated then (Simon the Magician) and they infiltrate now, but since the last days have progressed so long, the progression of the behaviors Paul warned Timothy against have grown too and now the church is overgrown with infiltrators.

We have our greedy ones, pitching Jesus at you to make money for themselves so they can fly around on their private jets to one of their many homes. We have the unholy, heartless false pastors spiritually abusing their people and tossing them under the bus. We have the slanderous and unappeasable litigating against their own family members over their television station ownership. And boy, the name it and claim it crowd sure do love themselves. The way they preach by inserting themselves into every passage surely is disgusting.

No, the warnings about those to look out for is a warning to us in the last days to look out for infiltrators (traitors to Jesus) who have an appearance of Godliness but deny the power thereof.

The glorious part is that those who are in Jesus have the Holy Spirit in them to help spot these who would make a shipwreck of their faith (1 Timothy 1:19). He cares for His sheep, and cares for His church. After all, didn’t he warn us that these things would happen?

Recently I noted that our pastor was asked to resign because the sermons he was giving for the last many years were word for word someone else’s. He was a plagiarizer. It is a heartbreaking thing to discover you have been worshiping through a veil of untruth. But I was truly grateful to the Lord also, not only because by the Spirit He had revealed this to us, giving us the opportunity to address it in a God-honoring way, but also because He already told us these things would happen. Therefore was I shocked? Yes. Was I surprised? No. Through the pain we were feeling, I praised Him because of His many warnings about false prophets and false teachers and disqualifying behavior throughout the Old Testament and the New. Even right at the end of verse 8 in the passage we are studying today, did the Spirit not inspire Paul to write, “men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith” ?? It made me love the Lord all the more for His care in showing us these things, and for giving us His comfort when when they do happen to us.

If you are in a church worshiping body and are reeling because you’ve experienced deception or brutality by one of the kind of people mentioned in the passage, take heart. The Lord warned us because He loves us! And if you have not been affected by the behavior of any of the church-fakers mentioned in the passage, take heart, because you will! (2 Timothy 3:12). Take heart because He will use your experience for the good to those who love Him, and you will be polished as a jewel of faith in His trophy case. He is equipping you for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17).

In my opinion, that is our highest calling- service to a holy Lord who loves His own.

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

Is the “Day of the Lord” the same thing as “The Last Days”? part 1

Rare Ice tsunami rises up and crushes lakeside homes in moment

Posted on May 14, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Interesting weather we’re having eh? It’s the hottest spring on record! The next year it’s the coldest spring on record! The most tornadoes ever! The least tornadoes ever! Rare phenomena becoming common. Common phenomena (like rain) becoming rare. It is a wildly swinging pendulum, and this ice tsunami adds to the pot.

This occurred 188 miles north of Winnipeg, Canada a few days ago.

Massive wall of ice rises out of lake and destroys a dozen homes as residents watch helplessly from the shore
“Massive ice floes rose out of a lake in Canada over the weekend, destroying a dozen homes and damaging fifteen others. Within mere moments, strong winds drove piles of ice onto the shore from Dauphin Lake on Friday, inundating homes and giving residents only minutes to flee. 55-mile-per hour winds drove masses of ice from the thawing lake in a phenomenon that is commonly witnessed but rarely seen with such intensity and size. Authorities told the Winnipeg Free Press that seven of the destroyed homes were ‘literally crushed by the ice that rose up within minutes from Lake Dauphin. Twenty-seven homes were affected in total as the frozen wall to plowed through everything in its way along Ochre Beach.”

Source Daily Mail

There are lots more pictures at the Mail. The same thing happened in Minnesota this week. Here is raw video showing it. At about 30 seconds in, the mom explains to the daughter what is happening. I was struck by how loud the phenomenon is. You can hear it on the video. Also in the video, the adult daughter is videotaping the event and remarking on how crazy it is, how loud it is, questioned ‘how are we going to stop it’, but doesn’t seem to apprehend the danger until the ice crept to the front of the house and busted into their front door. Then she ran in a panic.

Raw: Ice Wave Comes Ashore in Minnesota

Todd Strandberg at Rapture Ready posted his weekly essay Monday, and the topic was “Unusual Weather We’re Having.” He ended it this way- and please overlook his reference to “mother nature”.

“I think Bible prophecy is the only way to account for the oddities of Mother Nature. God warned that the calling card of the Tribulation hour would be an increase in weather anomalies. The on-and-off pattern may be God trying to get Man’s attention. Since that doesn’t seem to be working, I look for the warning signs to be replaced by judgment.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:25-26).”

day of the lord, prophecy, the last days

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

Posted on May 13, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Part 2 is here

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

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.

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

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

flowers

Feelin’ Groovy

Posted on May 12, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

foxe's book of martyrs, martyr

Sunday Martyr Moment: Matthias and Andrew

Posted on May 12, 2013May 9, 2016 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.”

bible, judgment, new earth, ruin porn

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

Posted on May 11, 2013May 9, 2016 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)

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

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

Posted on May 10, 2013May 9, 2016 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

apocalypse journalism, ecclesiastes, robert jensen, tribulation

What we need around here is some apocalyptic journalism

Posted on May 9, 2013May 9, 2016 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)