elizabethprata

Germany wants a fiscal overlord

Posted on October 19, 2012 by elizabethprata

The Tower of Babel

“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 10:1-9).”

Is God one big party pooper? Not allowing the men of the earth to have some fun, to build a tower to worship Him?

Nope, that’s not it. That is not why He stopped the tower building, confused the languages, and dispersed the people.

He did it because He knows that humans collecting together under the rule of one man (in that case, Nimrod) is bad for us. If one man runs everything, there are no checks and balances, and our evil ways will emerge very quickly to the detriment of all humankind.

Did He not say to Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply and fill the whole earth? (Genesis 1:28). But they didn’t.

And after the Flood, did God not say to Noah and his sons, “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it” ? (Genesis 9:1). But they didn’t.

And in no more than 100 years after the flood, Nimrod had set himself up as dictator, founded the Babylonian Kingdom, and began worshiping idols by building this tower for worship of the false gods. The did the opposite of filling the earth. The gathered, huddled, collected. It was rebellion. And worse, the tower was a monument to their pride. It wasn’t built to worship God, it was intended for worship of idols.

They said:
“Come let us…make a name for ourselves“.

So God said,
“Come let us…disperse them”

We know that the Tribulation, AKA The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, will be a time of 7 years when sin will be allowed to course unrestrained through the world. (2 Thessalonians 2:6). Sin will reach its full course, its full measure. Without a restraint, the full impact of man’s evil will come out. The most evil man who ever lived will be allowed to create his own Tower of Babel so to speak. The antichrist will run the economy, the military and the religion of the world. It will be a one world government and there will be no checks and balances. What God stopped at the Tower of Babel will become all too real in the Day of the LORD.

We already have a dilution of the world’s languages. This article in How Stuff Works, The Future of Language has some interesting facts. They wrote-

“It’s difficult for linguists to know how many languages exist in the world at any given time, mainly because the point at which a dialect becomes a separate language is hard to pin down. Best estimates put the current total at 6,909 distinct languages. Despite the difficulties of counting languages, most experts agree on one thing: There are fewer languages around today than yesterday. That’s because languages are disappearing at an alarming rate – some experts predict that half of the current languages will be gone by the year 2100.”

“Imagine losing the languages of the world to a dominant global one. According to Dan Fitzgerald, a Washington, D.C.-based French instructor, the costs to humanity would be huge. “Much of the culture that goes along with each of those languages would also disappear,” he explains. … Some might say that we already have a world language: English. English is spoken in more than 100 countries, making it by far the most global language on earth. There are certainly other languages that are spoken by more of the world’s people, such as Mandarin Chinese and Hindi. However, Mandarin Chinese and Hindi are spoken in only 16 and 17 countries, respectively.”

In a sense, we already have a one world language, almost. At the United Nations you can put on headphones and listen to simultaneous translation. It is really amazing. Slate explains:

“The United Nations uses simultaneous interpretation, which means translating on the fly without breaks (as opposed to consecutive interpretation, in which the speaker and translator alternate). At any given moment, the U.N. Interpretation Service has a dozen interpreters working six booths—one for every official language. The pair of interpreters in the English booth translates into English, the French booth translates into French, and so on. Attendees can then listen to the interpretations on headphones, clicking across channels for different languages. The job is exhausting, so interpreters will usually switch off every 20 minutes or so. They can also take breaks when the speech is in their language, since no translation is necessary.”

Online, google translate will instantly translate any language on a web page to any other language, even Esperanto or Latin. So in some respects, a one world language is already here.

A one world religion is clicking along to close to fulfillment. Calls for ecumenism, tolerance, and an interfaith church based on religious elements of faith that we share and not the differences are getting louder. Ecumenism according to Walter A. Elwell, in The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, is “The organized attempt to bring about the cooperation and unity among Christians.” To this end, the Catholic Church and its practices are increasingly accepted in evangelical circles. Labyrinth walking, lectio divina, contemplative prayer, saintly visions, works/word-based faith, and direct revelation had all been part of the Catholic Church for many years but is now permeating the conservative Southern Baptist congregations like gangrene in a Civil War soldier.

Which is funny because the more that the conservative Protestant Churches accept Catholic ecumenism, the more they die an agonizing spiritual death, because Catholicism teaches that no salvation is available to anyone not a Catholic. So there’s their ecumenism for you. It is a classic bait-and-switch

[Proof-text: “For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God.” (CCC 816). ‘

That desire to congregate is reaching a height these days. The religious conglomeration that will be fulfilled in the Tribulation in a one world religion is ramping up now with demands for ecumenism and with the active push of the Roman Catholic Church to overturn the Reformation (and the more gullible Conservative Evangelicals accept the push).

Gathering together is a bad thing for humanity, not the least of which is because of the evil the prophesied overlord will perpetrate. And what’s worse, is the leaders of the world are clamoring for it. Read this headline from two days ago:

Germany shocks EU with fiscal overlord demand
“There must be an EU “currency commissioner” with sweeping powers to strike down national budgets; a “large step towards fiscal union”; and yet another EU treaty. Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble dropped his bombshell in talks with German journalists on a flight from Asia, and apparently had the blessing of Angela Merkel, the chancellor. “When I put forward such proposals, you can take it as a given that the chancellor agrees,” he said.” … Mr Schaeuble said the currency chief should have powers similar to those of the EU’s competition commissioner, a man “feared around the world”. The competition Czar is the arch-enforcer of the EU machine, with powers to launch dawn raids, deploy SWAT teams, and block mergers on his own authority.”

Did you even know there was such a thing as a Competition Czar? I didn’t. And now the EU official wants a fiscal overlord? Wow.

In my opinion, one of the scariest things God said is in the opening verse above, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (Genesis 11:6). But THE scariest is that in the tribulation, He will allow it.

While you still can,
COME TO CHRIST, HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE!

Watch the 3 minutes that may change your life-

paul washer, regeneration

"How Did Lazarus hear Jesus? He was dead."

Posted on October 17, 2012 by elizabethprata

In 8 minutes, Paul Washer explains the Doctrine of Election, the goodness of God, and the evilness of man. He does so in a loving and beautiful way. A student had approached Pastor Washer at the Deeper Conference, asking him to explain the doctrine of Election. The link to the sermon that Paul Washer recommended can be found here: http://www.anchoredintruth.org/sermonplayer#!/swx/pp/media_archives/106081/episode/22276

false teachers, merchandise, priscilla shirer, prophecy, rob bell

Peter’s prophecy fulfilled: False teachers who make merchandise of you

Posted on October 17, 2012 by elizabethprata

Here is a prophecy in 2 Peter 2:3 that has recently come to my attention. Read it in different translations:

“In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (NIV)

“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (ESV)

And my favorite translation of the verse;

“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (KJV)

Looking at the verse in context, Peter is warning about false teachers to come. The ESV’s heading for the entire chapter is called “False Prophets and Teachers” and the chapter goes on to describe all the qualities of false teachers and prophets who are prophesied to come. Peter opens with chapter 1 in reminding the brethren that our salvation is sure, and that Christ’s word in the prophetic is glorious. He tells us in chapter 2 about those prophecies, namely focusing on the false teachers and prophets, and then continues the thought in chapter 3, reminding the brethren to think on these things and be duly warned. He then reassures the church that the Day of the Lord will come, and all the false teachers and prophets will be dealt with in due time.

We are told in His word that what will happen is that false teachers will make the Word a merchandise and they will exploit the believers. They do this because they are greedy. When it happens it will not be because they made a mistake, or briefly had a period of a wayward interpretations, or due to Christian immaturity. The bible says they do it on purpose and they do because they want money.

So back to the verse. Are the brethren exploited? Is the word being merchandised? Yes.

The consumerism in current Christianity bothered me when I attended the Beth Moore live weekend “bible study” at the Time Warner Arena. The slickness of the extravaganza was shocking, and the prices of food the vendors were charging really made me think of the moneylenders in the temple.

When the Fireproof movie came out I was struck by the push to buy the DVD, the books, the “Love Dare” diary. I mentioned that in another blog post, that fads in Christianity seem to come with their own cottage industry or marketing and merchandising of trinkets.

Same with the Courageous merchandise. You can buy a pack, complete with The Resolution For Men Book, the Resolution Certificate print (as seen in the movie) and the FREE Bonus I Resolve/I Will wristband. Hurry while supplies last.

Then I read of all these mega-church pastors who quit their post at a church to go on book tours.

There is nothing wrong with a pastor writing a book. Nothing. What the prophecy says is that they will be false, they will write false things, and make merchandise out of the false words and they will exploit the people who support them. And that, my brethren, is exactly what is happening today.

Rob Bell, founder of Mars Hill Bible Church in MI, recently released the heretical book, Love Wins. Love Wins impugns the character of God by saying that hell is not real.

After the book was a runaway success, Bell resigned the ministry and went on a tour. An article in Crosswalk noted, “Bell’s resignation makes him the latest in a string a celebrity pastors who have said goodbye to weekly sermons, potluck dinners and other staples of church life. “A New Kind of Christianity” author Brian McLaren, “Crazy Love” author Francis Chan, “Deep Church” author Jim Belcher and the popular British Bible scholar N.T. Wright have all left their church leadership positions in recent years.”

Bell left his church “to pursue a growing number of strategic opportunities.”

The article states, “For pastors with ambitions to reach huge audiences, there’s often no better platform than the megachurch, which has given rise to powerhouse media empires from T.D. Jakes to Max Lucado to Joel Osteen and many others. But some high-profile pastors are opting to leave congregational ministry altogether to pursue publishing and other media ventures full time.”

Media empires is right. And the article correctly noted that the mega-church has become a ‘platform’ from which to launch that media empire, make a lot of money, and go on tour, leaving the picked-over flock behind.

Speaking of cottage industry, never mind the packets, kits, trinkets, and books, there are new businesses springing up to support the business of Christianity. For example, Alive Communications is a Colorado Springs, Colo., literary agency that represents megachurch pastors. Now pastors need agents? Apparently so.

Even the woman are getting in on it. Priscilla Shirer, daughter of popular preacher Tony Evans, is also her own cottage industry. “Conservative Bible teachers like Shirer have built a new paradigm for feminine preaching, an ingenious blend of traditional revivalism, modern therapeutic culture and the gabby intimacy of Oprah. … This theology has spawned a subculture of Bible studies, conferences, ministries, religious retreats and literature ranging from Christian fitness books to Christian romance novels, all produced by and for evangelical women.” (source)

Above, Priscilla Shirer, source

For the women who go on tour, this cottage industry is at the expense of biblical womanhood. The article notes that Mr Shirer spends much of the day negotiating Priscilla’s speaking invitations and her book contracts. In the afternoon it’s often Mr Shirer who collects the boys from school. Back home, Priscilla and Jerry divide chores and child care equally. “Jerry quit his job to run his wife’s ministry. Priscilla now accepts about 20 out of some 300 speaking invitations each year, and she publishes a stream of Bible studies, workbooks and corresponding DVDs intended for women to read and watch with their girlfriends from church. Jerry does his share of housework and child care so that Priscilla can study and write. He travels with his wife everywhere. Whenever possible, they take their sons along on her speaking trips, but they often deposit the boys with Jerry’s mother.”

And don’t forget to pick up your Shirer “I Am Resolved” tee shirt on your way out.

After Rob Bell left in a cloud of dust for his book and speaking tour, the remaining pastor at Mars Hill shortly decided to leave also. Shane Hipps said he enjoys “serving the broader church” by speaking and writing. The ‘broader church’ is code for, well, the world. Hipps worried that if he accepted the new role as main teacher after Rob Bell’s departure to serve the world, (they don’t call them preachers at Mars Hill), “I would have to dramatically reduce my service to the broader church which is an integral part of my sense of call.” Translation: I will have to be accountable to the elders and I’d have to curtail my book tours. Ix-nay on the teaching-ay. Who wants to be stuck at a podium preaching week after week when you can be a media darling and start an empire? Good bye Mars Hill, hello new book, “Selling Water by the River: A book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way.”

This writer below in the next article asks a good question, many good questions as a matter of fact. Who decided that these particular teachers speak for the local church?

None dare Call It Marketing: Lifeway, Beth Moore and the conspiracy to take over your church

“The idea of a celebrity Bible teacher, a teacher who teaches thousands and thousands of people through media, isn’t antithetical to the Bible’s presentation of discipleship, but it certainly isn’t normative. It’s not what the Bible has in mind. And one of the reasons is this: The ministry of the “celebrity” Bible teacher tends to undermine the ministry of the local church pastor.” … “What I will ask, however, is whether my fellow Christians have the courage to admit that Beth Moore and Rick Warren and the next publishing superstars are, in large part, promoted by Lifeway for profits? Not chosen by God, but chosen by Lifeway and other publishers for potential book sales? Lifeway would say chosen and promoted for the good of my church. Well, if it’s profitable. If you can’t see that, you’re naive.” … I’m distressed that Christian media’s capitalistic agenda has become the source of an unquestioned spiritual authority in so many churches.”

Me too.

John MacArthur exposits the Peter verse, “The operating motive, the underlying cause. Verse 3, “And in greed they will exploit you with false words.” Here’s another component that you need to know about. What drives them on the inside to do what they do? Listen very carefully. They’re not driven by immorality. They’re not driven by aselgeia, sexual immorality. You can do that by yourself. That’s not going to make you a false teacher. You can be immoral all alone in your own little world with just the people you choose to be immoral with, you don’t need to be a false teacher to be immoral. And if all they wanted to do was fulfill their sensual desire, they wouldn’t need to be a false teacher. But there’s another component. What is it? Greed…greed.”

“The driving force of their enterprise to be teachers is not the love of the truth, it’s not submission to the Lord, it’s not even sexual immorality, they can do that in the pew. The driving force is money. The word pleonexiameans uncontrolled greed. They’re expert at it. They’re in it to accumulate money. And watch them, they do. Verse 14 of the same chapter, “Their eyes are full of adultery…obviously…they never cease from sin, they never submit to lordship, they entice unstable souls…why do they do that?…because their hearts…boy, this is really graphic..are trained in…what?…greed.” They’re experts at it. They can con money out of anybody. They want money. They want money. They want your money. They want anybody’s money.’ … “They exploit you, they get rich off you with false words.”

Now you might deduce that I am offended at Christian merchandising of God’s word. That I am concerned with women who have their own cottage industries of tours of ‘bible studies” and products at the expense of their children, their husbands and their husbands’ jobs. But this next bit really gets me.

“Bell’s 2009 project, Drops Like Stars, explores the links between creativity and suffering. Drops Like Stars was an international tour and a book, initially handwritten by Bell, with photographs. The title of the project comes from a young child’s view of raindrops on a window at night. Rather than focusing on the conundrum of why an all-powerful God would allow suffering, Bell instead looks at the creativity, empathy, new connections, and growth that can spring from suffering. When asked in an interview how he had become interested in suffering, Bell replied that as a pastor he had been given a front row seat in the most poignant moment’s of people’s lives. At the same time he was doing lectures on creativity and realized, “There was a connection between these two halves of my life – all these connections between suffering and art-making.” (source)

He had a ‘front row seat’ to people’s spiritual and emotional pain, and decided to make money off it. This right there is a fulfillment of the worst kind of the prophecy Peter warned us about.

Though Bell’s book is a sad instance of the merchandising of God’s word and exploitation of His people, this one is just plain silly and ridiculous:

Pastors, at a loss for how to lead your church? Call Will Mancini, Clarity Evangelist. He will help you discover a unique vision for your church, and sell you a Unique Vision Kit, to boot.

Your church’s Unique Vision Kit
CHURCH UNIQUE BOOK: (1) Written to help you find your Church Unique and live a vision that creates a stunningly unique, movement-oriented church. (The Church Unique Vision Kit includes one copy of the book.)
LEADERS GUIDE: (1) Step by step instructions for the leader of the Church Unique Vision Pathway process. Everything you need to lead 8 vision clarifying team sessions.
DVD: (1) Video teaching from Will Mancini provides insight, encouragement, and inspiration.
PARTICIPANT GUIDE: (9) Map, journal, and sketch book to help each team member participate effectively in the vision clarification process. (Pick up your own 3 ring binders at your favorite office supply retailer.)
VISION DECK: (1) 52 optional exercises to inspire visionary teams.
JOE GROW: (9) Bendable figure empowers teams to explore the impact of vision on real people.
COMPASS KEY CHAIN: (9) Take home object lesson for team members.
COLLABORATION CUBES: (9) Table top team interaction style reminders for team members.
VISION FRAMES: (9) Customizable frame for team participants to record the vision outcomes.
ALIGNMENT RING: (1) Illustrates the power of a unified vision and momentum.
ROLE CARDS: (9) One laminated role card with key responsibilities for each team member.
MISSION CARDS: (9) One wallet sized card for each person to record your unique mission.
WALL CHARTS: (18) Posters that illustrate key concepts in the Vision Pathway Process as well as charts to capture your unique vision. (Pick up additional flip charts or blank sheets of newsprint to record ideas at your favorite office supply retailer.)

The 2 Peter 2:3 verse says “they will exploit you” or “they will make merchandise of you” and the Greek word for exploit is emporeusontai, from which we get the English word emporium. Emporium is a term used for a store selling a wide variety of goods, and for marketplaces or trading centers.

Making money is no problem. Writing a book is no problem. Having money is no problem. Being a megachurch pastor is not a problem (usually). But false teachers will come in, and not sparing the flock, they will exploit the Word and the people for their greedy purposes. I believe it is clear that it is happening to a high degree today. All I can say is,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

maine

4.6 quake in (UPDATED with raw video)

Posted on October 16, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

USGS stats: epicenter in Lake Arrowhead, SW Maine.

Update, raw video has surfaced from the Waterboro Selectmen meeting:

New Haven Register:
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake centered in southern Maine was felt throughout New England, including here in Connecticut.

People in RI said their fridge and TV shook.

Boston Herald: An earthquake based in Maine sent tremors through the region prompting the phones to “ring off the hook” at the National Weather Service. The quake — registering 4.6 on Richter scale — was centered southwest of Lake Arrowhead in Maine west of Portland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The news blasted out on social media just as quickly, with some saying “Earthquake in Brookline. Building just shook like mad!” and “Did You Feel an Earthquake?”

It was a quake felt throughout New England. Interesting!

jesus is my boyfriend, priscilla shirer, romantic jesus

Introducing Priscilla Shirer and Jesus, her boyfriend

Posted on October 16, 2012 by elizabethprata

“My God reached down from the heavens, dipped his finger into the depths of my being, and began to rouse in me a desire for a real relationship with him.” [Book “One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land” by Priscilla Shirer]

Yeah. I know.

Mrs Shirer explains that she became sad at the daily ‘chore’ of the spiritual disciplines such as prayer and bible study because “He just wasn’t knocking my socks off anymore, and I wasn’t sure why.”’ (source)

I’ll tell you why. When people rely on spiritual experience and not biblical knowledge to maintain their relationship with Jesus they always succumb to the law of diminishing returns. Art Azurdia spoke about this in the series by Todd Friel called Drive By Discernment. “A pastoral concern is that the spiritual development of well-meaning Christians easily falls prey to law of diminishing returns. Today’s enthusiasm becomes tomorrow’s bore. Today’s spiritual ecstasy this week will need to be out-done next week. You’ve seen it, the ordinary gives way to the unusual, the unusual gives way to the extreme, the extreme gives way to the ridiculous, and eventually it always leads to the same end: emptiness.”

What do you do when Jesus just doesn’t knock your socks off anymore? When salvation by His blood gets old? When His death on the cross for our sins just doesn’t rouse us like it used to? When His glorious resurrection isn’t feeling the way it did before? When the thrill is gone?

Oh, how sad that Jesus isn’t enough for so many women!

[Priscilla] “grants that the Bible is shot through with romantic language describing the relationship between God and his people (the church, after all, is the bride of Christ). Throughout Christian history, men as well as women have written erotically about their relationship with God — especially medieval monks, who wrote more commentaries on the Song of Solomon than almost any other book of the Bible.” (source)

I’ve written before of the ‘Jesus is my boyfriend‘ problem in evangelical female circles. With new generations of women bible preachers and teachers like Mrs Shirer wielding influence on a national stage, it doesn’t look like the problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

Sisters, Jesus is NOT your boyfriend or your lover. Learn about Him by reading His word. By knowing about Him, studying Him, and by living a Christian life full of love for brethren and good deeds in His name. And for all of our sakes and sanity too, let your husband do the socks knocking.

explosion, louisiana, meteor, shaking

Loud boom/explosion in north Louisiana, shakes homes, breaks windows

Posted on October 16, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

UPDATE: The officials at the local base, Camp Minden, say that the explosion was caused by a bunker exploding. They don’t know why the bunker exploded. They reassured residents that it was a “contained” explosion though. So there’s that.

In the wee hours of the morning, a loud explosion or boom was heard in northern Louisiana.

Last night KSLA 12 reported a huge boom. The boom or explosion shook homes and broke windows across a large swathe of the northern part of the state. Officials are investigating but are not sure what the shaking boom was from or why it happened. KSLA reported:

“1:15 a.m. Update: Webster Parish Sheriff Gary Sexton tells us they “definitely had something happen” in Webster Parish Monday night. Sheriff Sexton confirms all of the explosion manufacturing facilities and natural gas facilities in Webster Parish have been ruled out as the source. Sheriff Sexton adds that there is a “possibility that a meteor did hit the ground” in the area, but deputies have not pinpointed an exact location. He does suspect it happened in a secluded area between Minden and Dixie Inn. Sheriff Sexton said, first thing Tuesday morning, he will dispatch helicopters in the air to look for any damage.”

“KSLA News 12 viewer Shana Levick tells us she was driving on I-20 by Dixie Inn when she saw the sky light up a bright orange color. She said she could see what appeared to be small fire sparks above the tree lines. Another witness near Dixie Inn told KSLA News 12 photographer Cody Jennings that he saw something flash across the sky streaming from the west or southwest direction. That witness also reported seeing a bright flash that lasted for a while. Authorities are investigating a loud boom that shook homes across Northwest Louisiana Monday night.”

“We are getting reports that people heard an explosion just before 11:30 p.m. from areas including: Minden, Doyline, Haughton, South Bossier and Shreveport. Callers are also reporting seeing a bright light flash in the sky when they heard the boom. Officials with the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office tell us they have crews searching for the source of the noise.”

The Shreveport Times reported,

UPDATED: Something shakes northwest La.
“Northwest Louisiana authorities are investigating the source of whatever shook people’s residences and businesses about 11:40 p.m. Monday. The Webster sheriff’s office now is entertaining the possibility that it may have been a meteorite, possibly in the Dixie Inn area. There have been a large number of reports stating that they saw something come down instead of something blow up, a spokesman said. … helicopters are expected to be in the air this morning to survey the area along U.S. 80 and Interstate 20 for the cause of what caused the ground to shake. Reports of the shaking came in from Lake Bistineau, Springhill, Sibley and Barksdale Air Force Base.”

The explosion is at the north near Shreveport and the sinkhole/collapsing butane cavern in Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish is at the south.

Truly interesting times…I’ll find out more as the day goes on and post any new facts later.

rumors of wars, wars

Wars & rumors of wars

Posted on October 16, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

More and more nations are preparing for unrest. Like the Swiss.

The Swiss? The nation of neutrality? The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815. But now it is handing out guns to all comers. Well, that’s hyperbole, but you get the idea.

Switzerland prepares for unrest
“The Swiss Army is preparing contingency plans for violent unrest across Europe. A nation mostly famous for its banks, watches and chocolate fears it may face a massive influx of European refugees in the near future. One of the world’s richest nations openly expressed concerns over the possible outcome of Europe’s continuing financial troubles, and is currently conducting army exercises against the possibility of riots along its borders. … Minister Maurer, accompanied by whispers from the top uniformed leadership in Switzerland, is trying to raise awareness that Europe’s massive fiscal-cum-political crisis could get very unpleasant,” John R. Schindler, a professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College wrote in an article for the XX Committee website.”

It is ironic that the European Union receives the Nobel Peace Prize the same week that Switzerland, sitting in the middle of all that peace, prepares for war.

Meanwhile Iran wonders if the US will lose it if Obama loses…

Threats of elections riots if Obama loses
“Despite the issue receiving national media attention, Obama supporters continue to threaten to riot if Mitt Romney wins the presidential election, raising the prospect of civil unrest if Obama fails to secure a second term.”

Methinks…yes. If hundreds of skateboarders denied entrance to a movie riot in LA, then what are the chances the race warfare Obama fanned for four years won’t erupt? Nil, if you ask me.

Syria’s neighbours to watch airspace
“The United States has called on all Syria’s neighbours to keep a careful watch over their airspace, after Turkey says it intercepted a Syrian plane from Russia carrying military equipment.”

Syria-Turkey tensions soar as clashes intensify
“Syria banned Turkish flights from its airspace on Sunday and Turkey made a similar tit-for-tat move, as regime forces pressed their counter-attack against rebels to regain territory lost in northern battlegrounds. … Tensions from the conflict are also being felt in neighbouring Lebanon, and hundreds of people took to the streets of Beirut for two separate rallies, one supporting the Damascus regime and the other calling for its downfall.”

Yikes. Remember Isaiah 17, Damascus (Syria) will be destroyed. Maybe Turkey will fulfill that prophecy on behalf of the Lord. Turkey has the 2nd larges military in NATO after the US.

WILL NETANYAHU TAKE ISRAEL TO FULL SCALE WAR?
Excerpts from new ebook, The risks of going to war are enormous. But as Netanyahu sees it, so are the risks of not going to war. What if Israel waits too long? What if Washington continues to hesitate and fails to take action in time to prevent Iran from getting the Bomb? What if the Israeli people wake up one morning to the news that those running Iran now have operational nuclear warheads and both the will and eagerness to use them to annihilate Israel and hasten the coming of the so-called Islamic messiah known as the Twelfth Imam or the Mahdi? Worse, what if one morning most of the Israeli people never wake up at all because the mullahs in Tehran have—without warning—launched a nuclear strike and wiped out most, if not all, of the Jewish State?”

“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:3-8)

Keep praying. Never cease praying.

jesus, spiritual abuse, who is your covering

Out from under cover: Covering Theology and its impact

Posted on October 15, 2012 by elizabethprata

Spiritual abuse… it’s real and it is devastating.

I’ve written about the encroachment of the Gnostics into evangelical churches. Also the intrusion of mysticism, ecumenism and seeker friendly liberal theologies. All these attacks on the Bride of Christ, His church, are foretold in many scriptures in the New Testament. (2 Peter 2:1; Matthew 7:15; Gal 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:1 to name a few). Colossians itself was a corrective epistle to the church at Colossae which was falling under the sway of the Gnostics. The Nicolaitans of Revelation 2 are mentioned as a group bringing liberal false teachings, also.

But those are the liberal teachings and heresies. Just as much, we need to be wary of the legalistic, conservative teachings of the end time. These teachings are the ones that the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees brought in Jesus’s day.

The Pharisees were the original spiritual abusers. As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. Their special kind of abuse which brings bondage is coming in again. The legalistic, oppressive teachings are coming into church of today like a tsunami. It has different vocabulary, but the same source. It has a variation of the old methods for oppression, but the same outcome.

The Pharisees were a sect of the Jews who were the strictest of those observing the Mosaic Law, (Acts 26:5). The Pharisees were the most zealous, (Galatians 1:14), the most outwardly moral, (Luke 18:11) but the most inwardly dead (Matthew 23:27). They were oppressive to those who needed grace the most, and bitterly cruel in persecuting those who opposed them. (Matthew 23:4, Acts 9:1-2). They had everything backward- calling Christ’s miracles of the devil (Matthew 12:24) but believing themselves to be of God. (Luke 18:9, Acts 22:3).

How did the Pharisees spiritually abuse their sheep?

“Examples of spiritual abuse are found throughout the Bible. God describes (and condemns) the “shepherds of Israel” who feed themselves rather than the flock, who do not heal those who are hurting, or seek to bring back those who were driven away but rather discard them, ruling with force and cruelty (Ezekiel 34:1-10). Jesus reacted with anger against the thievery of the money changers in the Temple as they misused God’s people for selfish reasons (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-16). He was angry at those more concerned with rules and regulations than with human suffering (Mark 3:1-5). In Matthew 23, Jesus describes the abusive spiritual leader in great detail. In John 9 the Pharisees “cast out” the man born blind simply because the truth he told about his healing exposed their own corruption. In Acts 7:51-56, Stephen called the Jewish leaders to account over their spiritual abuse.” (Source)

Others were afraid they would be cast out: “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” (John 12:42). Threat of dismissal or excommunication is a favorite tactic of abusive leaders. A shepherd’s job is to feed, nurture, care for and keep safe the flock. The abusive leaders of Jesus’s day were more content to simply throw people away.

So authoritarianism, oppression, and legalism was a characteristic of abusive leaders who were more interested in themselves than their flocks.

And so it is today with some.

I am not talking of the difficulty inherent in a proper cycle of church discipline. I am all for that. The bible is followed and Jesus is the invisible but very present overseer of the proceedings. If all is done biblically, prayerfully, and correctly, the best case is to restore a wayward one. For today’s purposes I am not talking of discipline but of abuse that perverts, uses, or simply ignores proper church discipline plan outlined in Matthew 18.

I am also not talking of not behaving well for your pastors, deacons, leaders and teachers. I honor those men highly, and pray for them because they are on the frontlines of satan’s targets for spiritual attack. I esteem them, pray for them, tithe for them, praise them, encourage them, speak well of them, but I do not follow them. I follow Jesus.

Even though we know there is nothing new under the sun, where did this latest iteration of legalistic abuse come from?

Though we can trace it back to the Pharisees, and indeed, all the way back to the Garden, of this generation we can see a heightening of the authoritarian tendencies emerge in the 1970s. Five Florida pastors in the Charismatic denominations (Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Charles Simpson, and Don Basham) felt that the Charismatic movement was too loose and that there was not enough accountability. The five created an accountability system of hierarchical structure in the shape of a pyramid. The five pastors, of course, were at the top. They all claimed they had submitted to one another, and they made a national network of followers who formed pyramids of sheep and shepherds below them. Down through the pyramid went the orders, while up the same pyramid went the tithes. This was the beginning of the Shepherding Movement.

But between the Shepherding Movement of the 70s and today’s spiritually abusive pharisee, there is the book called Under Cover: The Promise of Protection Under His Authority, by John Bevere. It came out in 2001, and it is the answer to every Pharisee’s prayer. The book itself is widely held to be error-ridden, if not heretical, but that does not stop every would-be Pharisee from making it his manual.

The book brought a new theology, called “Covering Theology.”

“Covering theology is an erroneous doctrine that claims all Christians must be under the authority (covering) of a church leader to be protected from the warfare of the devil. It also claims this same covering is necessary to receive God’s blessings. However, there is no Scripture foundation for this doctrine. Covering theology is a leftover from the debunked Shepherding Movement that appeared about 40 years ago.” (source)

Lies Under Cover is a segment of a blog series exploring today’s apostasy by Blogos/GotQuestions. This part asks the question:

“Should believers allow pastors to rule over them? This posting is part 2 in an 8 part series about deception in the church addressing the Under Cover book by John Bevere, its teaching, its origination, why it is wrong, and its impact on the church.”

It is a very good essay and the series itself is good too. I recommend it. Here are some excerpts from the essay on the Covering Theology. The essay continues:

“Not too long ago I learned about a new question circulating in the evangelical circle asking “Who is your covering?” Soon thereafter the full meaning of that question became apparent. In the church I attended, its leaders announced they were adopting the Under Cover teaching by John Bevere. The central theme for the teaching is God guarantees protection for believers who submit to pastoral authority. On the flipside of the theme, failure to submit to the pastor places believers outside God’s protection, removing the protective hand of God. In other words, a believer who does not submit to and obey the pastor falls out from under the protective covering of God and that of the church. After researching the teaching, I found it to be pure heresy.”

“John Bevere’s heresy teaches that obedience to the pastor is on the same footing as obedience to God. To disobey the pastor, even when the pastor is wrong, is to disobey God because the pastor is always in authority and God the ultimate authority. In other words, the pastor stands in authority between Jesus and the body of believers, becoming the spiritual covering over his or her church.”

Covering theology emphasizes the following:

Sin is disobedience to God’s authority
Grace is the power of God to obey him
All authority is instituted by God
God establishes his rule in the church through people he has delegated to be his authority
The 5-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) represents God’s authority on earth
Obedience to the Lord requires obedience to God’s delegated authorities (employers, church leaders, civil authorities)
Rebellion against God’s delegated authority is rebellion against God
Rebellion to authority opens one up to the demonic realm resulting in deception
People should live by the principle of obedience rather than reason
People should always obey authority [usually the pastor] unless they are clearly instructed to violate scripture [but he is the final interpreter of scripture, so…]
Spiritual authority and blessing flows to those who suffer under authority
God does not judge people on the fruit of their life but on how faithfully they followed authority
Those outside the local church and the covering of its leaders are at serious risk of spiritual attack

The key is submission to an authority figure who presumes to be standing in the stead of Jesus. It is similar to the Pharisees’s presumptions, who thought they were the final decision-maker of interpeting what were really their own rules rather than themselves submitting the Word of God and to Jesus the Messiah when He arrived.

If you are in a church where the pastor has set himself up as the sole or final arbiter of spiritual matters, interpretations, or church or financial decisions, you may be in a spiritually abusive church.

If you have a palpable feeling, or have had an overt threat of excommunication, unless you blindly follow the pastor in all he says and does, with no questions asked, you may be in a spiritually abusive church.

If you have been told that performance/work/submission is the indicator of faith, you may be in a spiritually abusive church.

If you have been told to leave a church or fired from a ministry because you were told you were divisive, critical, a hazard to the brethren etc., but have NOT been through the steps for church discipline outlined in Matt. 18:16-18, you may be in a spiritually abusive church.

If you have been threatened with the phrase “You will be out from under my covering” you ARE in a spiritually abusive church.

R.C. Sproul writes, “The church is called not only to a ministry of reconciliation, but a ministry of nurture to those within her gates. Part of that nurture includes church discipline…” but the key words are nurture and reconciliation. The man who was healed by Jesus and went to the Pharisees was not nurtured nor reconciled to leadership. They tossed the man out summarily. Read John 9:13-38 and see if you don’t weep at the terrible grilling the abusive Pharisaical authorities put the man under, and their abuse of him who had the Light come into His life but instead who wanted to put him back in the dark!

Across the country, parishioners are now being challenged to legalistically take oaths, perform vows and sign covenants. People who question the legitimacy of these activities or even ask for a biblical foundation for them are attacked, dismissed from ministries, and/or told to leave the church, all without benefit of biblical standards for reconciliation or even proper discipline. It is bewildering, devastating, and causes much harm to the body of Christ.

It happened to me.

Of all that occurred, what captured my attention the most was threat that “you no longer have our support or covering.” Though I was told I was negative, immature, led by the devil, divisive, critical, and more, I knew I was not those things. I was surprised that the bible was not opened, consulted or interpreted for my wayward behalf in pursuit of reconciliation for whatever wrong I had committed. Nor I was corrected in grace and love. I was confused as to what was happening because it didn’t jibe with the outline in Matthew for church discipline. It was simply an attack and a dismissal.

But what intrigued me was the phrase ‘no longer have the covering.’

It immediately rang bells in my spirit, and seemed ‘off.’ What covering? Where was this covering? Why didn’t I know about it before? What will happen if I don’t have this covering? Where is it in the bible? It all seemed so vague and somehow…wrong. Now that I’ve read the theology behind the Bevere book Under Cover, I know why. Things clicked, finally. It is a false theology used and wielded by hyper-authoritarian pastors and leaders and teachers who seek to control rather than share and worship on the same blood-soaked ground that Jesus died on for us all.

I grieve so deeply for churches that do this to the lambs and the sheep. I mourn for people who are withering under leadership that oppresses rather than shepherd rightly. I lament the loss of time and spiritual growth for people who, when threatened with dire events should they be loosed from some artificial pastor “covering”, stay in a church where the vine is withering.

I’m passionate about the Christian life. I am a sinner and not perfect, to be sure, but I strive so hard to live up to what He wants us to be for the lost world’s behalf. I want to do my part in the Spirit’s work of shining the light in me brighter and the church I’m in to be blessed by me and not embarrassed by me. I know a bit of the bible enough to understand some of the standards of what Jesus wants the church to be, and when it isn’t that, it is a grief. When it is deliberately wrested away from His holy ground for abusive purposes it is a woe that cuts my heart in two.

Far from the dire threats that were leveled against me in having some unbiblical covering removed, coming out from ‘under cover’ is a praise to the Lord, who is the Great Shepherd! Finding a good church with leadership one can trust is a heaven-sent gift! However through the praises, I will not diminish the toll. It is a devastating thing to happen. Ask the Petry family, formerly leaders in Mark Driscoll’s Mars Hill Church. Jonna Petry wrote, “Seeing your loved ones abused, their hearts broken, their emotions heavy and dark, and their faith nearly destroyed, is the greatest pain of all.”

I shudder to think of this happening as frequently as it does – and it does. When it happens to families, or employees, or people who are new in the faith, or tossed from a church where they had been for a long time, I absolutely grieve just thinking about them!

Jonna’s story and mine and I am sure, many others, has a redemptive ending. The Lord Jesus is trustworthy and He knits together broken hearts, opens eyes to see, allows for time to heal, and supplies with deeper faith than ever before. I love the Lord even more now that I did before and I never thought my love for Him would have deepened so beautifully, but it did. He is faithful in trials and all you need to do is trust Him.

I wanted to bring you this information for several reasons:

–The watchful who are on guard against liberalism might miss the legalism creeping in,
–You are not crazy, spiritual abuse is real,
–Watch out for talk of ‘the covering‘ !!!!!!!!! It is a huge red flag!
–JESUS IS LORD and He is love. Rest in Him even through trials. He has a reason for all that He does, even if you can’t see it through the tears.

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RESOURCES

Covering and Authority

Covering: Impact to the Church

Joyful Exiles

Pure Provender

encouragement, kids, planet

Blog entries for you: encouraging, fun, or beautiful!

Posted on October 14, 2012 by elizabethprata

Here are some blog entries I’ve done over the years, collected and divided into three categories: Encouragement, Kids, and Planet/Science. Have fun!

ENCOURAGEMENT

Encouragement: “Testing the Genuineness of our Faith”

Come Up Here!

Simple Praise Moment

Imagine the Dawn Chorus in Heaven

Will Today Be The Day?

Take Comfort in the Lord

Some Sunday Encouragement

The Bride Awaits her Groom

Lessons from Elijah, you are not alone

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KIDS

Conversations in the New Millennium

The Ghost is Clear

An interesting conversation

The Light is so bright in kids!

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PLANET/SCIENCE/CREATION

Flexahexagon will blow your mind

Highest Wave Surfed, what a rush!

Icy Finger of Death Caught on Camera

Sleeping Hummingbird Snores in Peru

Mururation, breathtaking!

Numerical Grace

Frozen Planet: Amazing Photos

baptism of the spirit, cessation, second blessing

Are the miracle sign gifts for today? Part 3: Baptism of the Spirit

Posted on October 14, 2012 by elizabethprata

The mystery of how the Holy Spirit works is fascinating. He has an incredible ministry, and does amazing work. He empowers us to do the work of God. He indwells us and helps us resist sin. He is a deposit of the guarantee. He restrains sin in the world. And so much more!

Yet He is often overlooked. James R. White wrote a book called “The Forgotten Trinity”. It is a well-regarded book on the unfortunate fact that so many Christians have little understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity, and examines ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit, the oft-overlooked member of the Triune God. If you have an hour, here is Pastor White preaching it.

Any discussion of the Spiritual Gifts should begin with an understanding of the member of the Trinity who delivers the gifts, the Holy Spirit. In part 1 I posted links to the collected verses which speak to who He is and what He does. Here is another link to a different source listing the verses where it speaks to the Spirit’s ministry.

Understanding who He is and what He does is important, because misunderstanding how the gifts are supposed to be used dishonors Him. It grieves Him, as a matter of fact. And one can go so far to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. How?

“[I]n this contemporary sort of Christian evangelical church world, people are a little less reluctant to bring dishonor on the name of God, and the name of Christ, but they think they have a free run at dishonoring and abusing the Holy Spirit apparently, because so much of that goes on. I’m not here to defend the Holy Spirit, He can defend Himself. But I am here to say that reproaches that are falling on His holy name are falling on me as well, and mostly this comes in the professing church from Pentecostals and Charismatics who feel they have free license to abuse the Holy Spirit and even blaspheme His holy name. And they do it constantly.”

“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.”

That is called is the Modern Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

What does the bible teach about the Trinity? How can we not blaspheme Him? Know this:
1. There is one True God. (Monotheism). (Deuteronomy 4:35, Deuteronomy 6:4, Malachi 2:10a, 1 Corinthians 8:6)
2. There are three Divine Persons. (Father-Son-Holy Spirit) (Genesis 1:1, 26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 48:16, 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
3. The three Persons are co-existent and co-eternal. (Psalm 90:2, Romans 1:20)

That is the monotheistic faith of Israel and of the Church.

So what about being baptized with the Holy Spirit? Even though the ‘baptism of the Spirit’ is not a sign gift per se, I include the answer here because those who believe in the second dose of a separate Spirit Baptism often use several of the miracle gifts as their basis. They call the Baptism of the Spirit a ‘second blessing’

“Most Pentecostal and Charismatic people believe that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a second blessing – one received in addition to salvation. They believe that you can be saved, and be indwelt by Christ — but that this is not ALL that God has for us. You must go on to receive POWER, gifts, and an overflow. This, to them, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the so-called, “second blessing.” Notice what, by default, is wrapped up in this teaching. If you must receive a second blessing to receive ALL that God wants to give us, then you do NOT receive all when you receive Christ. The answer from scripture is clear: There is NO second blessing. There is NO additional experience we must have after we receive Christ. When we receive Christ, we receive everything God has for us. We are COMPLETE IN CHRIST.” (source)

So, is what they say true? IS the second blessing, or baptism of the Spirit, a separate event?

No. No. No. NO. It is not separate. The indwelling of the Spirit at justification (born again belief) is not different from the baptism of the Spirit. It is the same thing.

We all receive the Spirit at conversion. All. Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:5, Acts 11:16). That is the baptism.

Some Pentecostals and others teach a notion of a two-tiered regeneration, the lesser having the first dose of the Spirit and the more advanced believer having been blessed by a second dose. People who believe these things are confused and anxious over their salvation! Of those who teach these things what a stumbling block they put on the fellow believer! What an anxiety they needlessly instill!

John MacArthur tells of the despair and then the rejoicing of a man who had come from that background, who learned the truth–

“Understanding what you have in Jesus Christ is really essential. I was talking to a…a gentleman in our church yesterday and he was saying to me, “You know, the study of Ephesians is so very important.” “Because,” he said, “I was raised in a family where I was told and in a church where I was told that when you get saved, when you come to know Jesus Christ basically nothing happens. The only thing that takes place is sort of a judicial act on God’s part where He forgives your past sins and that’s it. There’s no empowerment, there’s no gift of the Holy Spirit, there’s no nothing, just the matter of past sins forgiven. And then when you get the second blessing,” quote “Then you get all the goodies that go with it.” And it would be a horrible thing to think of but that’s the way most of those people have to exist, somewhere in the limbo between believing though they’re saved they have nothing and, trying to find that second thing that you finally get that can give you the power that you need.”

Ephesians teaches this most pointedly. If you are not sure where to start in learning the truth of the one Spirit baptism, please start there.

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6 RSV).

And also 1 Corinthians:

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

“The baptism of the Holy Spirit does two things, 1) it joins us to the body of Christ, and 2) it actualizes our co-crucifixion with Christ. Being in His body means we are risen with Him to newness of life (Romans 6:4). We should then exercise our spiritual gifts to keep that body functioning properly as stated in the context of 1 Corinthians 12:13. Experiencing the one Spirit baptism serves as the basis for keeping the unity of the church, as in the context of Ephesians 4:5.” (source)

So there is one baptism. The baptism of the Spirit is the mark of Christian unity! However some churches have made a division by claiming that there is a separate baptism given to some and not others. This is a doctrinal error and a misinterpretation on their part. John MacArthur:

“So when somebody comes along and says – Well, I’m sorry if you haven’t had the second work, if you haven’t had the special baptism, if you haven’t had this little special thing, you don’t have the power. I say to them – garbage.”

Selah!
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Are the Miracle Gifts for Today? Part 1
Are the Miracle Gifts for today? Part 2: Tongues