elizabethprata

Random thoughts: Nephilim, myths, comments, compassion, children, and Jesus the Christ

Posted on March 30, 2012 by elizabethprata

I am very intrigued by the Nephilim spoken of in Genesis 6. Many people are, and I always get a lot of views on any essay I publish about them. I might research some more about the days of Noah, soon. When I was in high school I was fascinated by Roman and Greek mythology. I studied it all. The Titans, the Olympians … Cronus was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky. He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son, Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus. Tartarus in the bible as we know is the place where Peter described the fallen angels being chained up. (2 Peter 2:4)

I believe the ancient myths are a vestigial memory of the fallen angels, the “mighty men of old” (Genesis 6:4) coming to earth and having supernatural powers … and we know from the bible that they certainly did take the daughters of men, all that they chose. The myths reflect this lack of self-restraint too. That is practically all they did, always go after women who ended up bearing super-men half breeds like Hercules. Achilles, another demi-god, brings to mind the prophecy in Genesis 3, where God said to satan that satan will strike the heel, and in the myth the heel was the vulnerable spot (but just like all false religions, the truth is that the hero could not be overcome by striking His heel!!) It was just a temporary bruising, and Jesus crushed satan’s head through His death and resurrection on the cross.

So I think there is weighty cultural memory and man-made myths stemming from the influx of the original fallen angels and their first interaction with humans as described in Genesis 6. I think the pyramids and the South American ziggurats are results of their superior intellect in building them and using humans to make monuments of worship for them.

The bible doesn’t speak much of these events, just gives several tantalizing clues in a few verses. However we know that they and also man’s evil were the cause of the flood. So SOMETHING had to have been going on! It will be interesting if Jesus lets us know what really happened when we get to heaven…and we can resolve all these tantalizing glimpses into full knowledge.

On another topic, I want to explain what kind of comments I allow and what will prompt me to delete some. This is not a complete explanation but it is the basic benchmark.

Some people will write in and say “you’re crazy.” Or “you’re mental.” If that is all they write I delete it. If they conclude their own cogent argument with that I’ll usually allow it and respond.

Some people disagree with me by using a false and true misapplication of scripture to ‘prove’ their point. They’ll say, “Judge not!” or “Touch not God’s anointed!” or one of those oft-thrown around misunderstood and out of context verses. I will allow those and then explain the context of the verse and why they are using it incorrectly. I do both of the above so that others reading may learn an insight into the verse.

Some people write a long reply which shows me they are passionate about something, but say something in it that I just cannot allow to go forward. Yesterday someone wrote a long comment and there were many errors in their answer. That is OK, we’re all learning. We could have a discussion. But he concluded by saying “Jesus is not God.” I deleted it because arguing that would be a fulfillment of casting pearls before swine. (Matthew 7:6). If someone has an incomplete or incorrect understanding of a verse, that is OK and can be discussed. If someone has come to such a false conclusion about the basics of who Jesus is, there is no argument, he has already condemned himself. It is a case of the saved arguing with the unsaved, offering holiness to a person who has already rejected it. I will not participate in allowing such falsity to go out to the unsuspecting. Nope. And worse, usually people who say such things have a website attached to their comment, and so I won’t put that forward either.

Profanity never gets a pass. I delete those out of hand.

A new topic. This week was a really rough week. I work in a kindergarten section of an elementary school. We know that times are tight. Parents are stressed to the max to pay the bills to keep a home over their kids’ heads and to put food on the table. Kids sense this and more often not only sense it but know it because of the open discussions he parents have in front of them. Yet kids are powerless to change their circumstances. They feel tenuous because their family situation is tenuous. They worry. Sometimes that worry comes out physically and emotionally and it makes for an adventuresome day at school. Today was like that. Please have care and compassion for other people, and for kids. If you’re standing in line at a store or at a game or sitting in a restaurant, no one knows what the next person is going through, and everyone needs an extra dose of patience and for sure needs some love. Instead of mentally judging the parent or situation, pay their bill, or offer to help them with their groceries or simply smile.

In the middle of that tough week before our Spring Break, (which has started, yay!) here is a moment. Some of the kindergarten kids I work with had saved up their behavior rewards. If they save up for a short time they get ice cream or a pajama day. But if they save up for a long time they get the big prize, a pizza party. So they did, finally. They brought their beach towels and their sunglasses and we went outside on a 78 degree day with pizza and chips and soda. They spread their towels around and sat next to each other happily. They donned sunglasses and thought themselves so cool. They leaned back on elbows and looked at the clouds, saying “There’s a dog!” or “I see a turtle! The pizza was served and they ate all they wanted. Afterwards we were all just lounging on the grass, and suddenly they broke out in song. They sang under the sun, and when they finished they laughed delightedly. Children laughing under the sun in joy is a Godly gift for which I am always thankful.

Last, remember always that Jesus is sovereign, loving, and He is coming! He is my Light and My hope. He is someone I cling to, look toward, and reside in. He is my all in all. Without Him I am nothing but in Him I am made perfect because His power is in me and brushes aside my weakness and is His manifest glory. Everything I accomplish is made possible from Him. Thank you, Jesus.

faith, perseverance

Cultural decline and righteous perseverance

Posted on March 30, 2012 by elizabethprata

Prophecy says that as we near the very end days, the culture will worsen. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:11-12,) and that the body of believers will grow less effective in the battle against satan, less of an example to a dark and dying world and less approved by God (1 Tim 4:1, Jude 1:8, Rev 2:4, Rev 3:16). We see this now.

Cash stolen from handicapped Cary boy collecting funds for wheelchair basketball
“Seated in his wheelchair, Nolan Turner, 12, staked out his neighborhood Thursday evening to sell water bottles and raise money to bring his wheelchair basketball team to his elementary school.“Everybody at school has been asking me what it’s like to (play basketball) in a wheelchair, and I want to show them,” the Briarcliff Elementary fifth-grader said.He had already collected more than $250 – kept in a bucket – of the $1,000 needed to bring the experience of playing wheelchair basketball to his schoolmates. But as he began to work the neighborhood near High Meadow Drive about 6:30 p.m., a man he didn’t recognize grabbed his money bucket and unhurriedly walked away, according to Cary Police Department Capt. Mike Williams. Nolan yelled and screamed at the man but was helpless to follow him.”

Saints alive, that is horrible.

Police: Students Caught In Sex Act On School Bus
Actions Of 13-Year-Old Boy, 8-Year-Old Girl In Question
“Fishers police said an 8-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were caught in a sexual act on a school bus. The girl’s parents are now trying to determine if the February incident was a rape or molestation.In a statement, police said a bus aid caught the girl and the boy “trying to have intercourse,” and that the “bus aid immediately separated the juveniles and informed the bus driver.”

Saints alive, that is worse than horrible!

Now this scene of unfettered greed and thievery:

Motorists scoop up armored car money, in scene witness calls ‘snow globe of cash’
“As many as 40 motorists stopped their cars and helped themselves to cash that fell out of an armored truck Friday morning along Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, according to authorities.A total of $5,795 fell out of an unsecured door of the truck, said Maryland State Police Sgt. Mark Cummings. As of 12:45 p.m., only $100 had been turned in to authorities, Cummings said. State police are offering amnesty for anyone who returns the money to the Rockville Barracks at 7915 Montrose Road in Rockville. “No questions will be asked,” Cummings said. One reason so many people may have scooped up cash is that the armored truck had continued down the road, and they may have considered it lost or abandoned money, Cummings said. The bills fell out in two plastic bags, which broke apart when they hit the road, he said. The Associated Press reported that attorney Heather Kelly, driving on Interstate 270 to her office in Frederick, saw two bags of currency and people frantically trying to collect the money. “It was in the traffic lanes and on the shoulders and just generally kind of like a snow globe of cash,” she told AP.”

Before the first judgment, the flood, demons were rampant in the world. The fallen angels had mated with human women, all that they chose, (Gen 6:1-2) and the resulting situation was chaos. All the people on the earth were thinking of only evil continually. (Gen 6:5-6).

Imagine being on earth in those days when every person was doing and thinking evil. They hadn’t finished one evil act before they were thinking of another. But Noah found favor with the LORD. (Gen 6:8). Despite all the temptations around him despite the daily pressures of remaining faithful Noah did it. He was the only blameless person, and he walked with God. (Gen 6:9). He was rewarded with His life, and with permanent righteousness and regard of the Lord. (Hebrews 11:7).

The time of Jesus’s fleshly incarnation was a time of rampant evil and demon-infestation. He spent up to 25% of His time dealing with demons and sicknesses caused by demons. He sent the twelve apostles into the world with demon-casting abilities. (Luke 9:1-3). He called out that generation:

“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” (Mt 17:17). Clarke’s Commentary explains His comment: “These and the following words may be considered as spoken–“

“1. To the disciples, because of their unbelief, Matthew 17:20.
2. To the father of the possessed, who should have brought his son to Christ.
3. To the whole multitude, who were slow of heart to believe in him as the Messiah, notwithstanding the miracles which he wrought.”

Demon infestation was everywhere and it was everywhere for the same reason as in Noah’s generation: faithlessness. Demons aren’t successful where there is great faith and a strong Holy Spirit presence of the Lord. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7).

But in the midst of that entire unbelieving generation was a righteous man. Simeon. “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him”. (Luke 2:26). There also was a man named Zacharias. He was the father of John the Baptist. He was a priest, having for generations been in the line of Aaron. He was not a Pharisee nor was he self-righteous. He was purely righteous, looking always for the Messiah and being with the Spirit.

It can’t have been easy, being holy in a perverse generation, where the Lord had been silent and the Messiah all but forgotten. But the LORD had not forgotten Zacharias, nor did He forget Simeon. I can imagine that Simeon’s life was kind of like Noah’s. He was it the midst of people who practiced a legalistic and perverted religion, if they practiced one at all. Paganism was rampant. Demons were running wild. The People had not heard from the prophets in 400 years. Can you imagine being of a people who had heard from God constantly since the beginning, and yet had not heard from Him in 400 years? We get tired of waiting after 4 minutes. Yet Simeon and Zacharias persevered in righteousness and holiness. They persevered, and were rewarded.

We find the same thing true now. Evil is rising and that is because of demon-infestation. We are also a wicked and perverse generation, the last one (I believe) in advance of the Lord’s Second Coming. It is hard to stay righteous in the face of all the temptations. It is hard to remain patient and loving in front of all the evil and hate. But we must. It is no excuse to faint and fail just because it is hard to remain faithful.

James 1:12 says “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Perseverance is evidence of belonging to Christ. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;” (John 8:31)

“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:6).

If Noah could do it in his wicked and perverse generation, if Simeon and Zacharias could do it in their wicked and perverse generation, we can do it. We have to do it. The promise of Jesus is that He will reward us, He is noticing our perseverance under trial. He loves us and embraces us, and will deliver us.

Persevere!

northern lights

Aurora over Nebraska last night

Posted on March 28, 2012 by elizabethprata

This is the second time that I know of that the Northern Lights descended this far south. On October 25 2011 they descended as far south as Alabama!

This is from Spaceweather.com. I like the 30 second clip because of the contrast of the wind turbines and the time lapse stars.

“NORTHERN LIGHTS OVER NEBRASKA: A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth’s magnetic field, causing magnetic unrest and auroras at high latitudes. Last night faint Northern Lights descended all the way south to Nebraska. Click to view a movie of the display, photographed by Chris Allington of Crofton, NE:”

iran, last days, persia

Iran rising

Posted on March 28, 2012 by elizabethprata

Persia figures prominently in the last days. This segment below is from Joel C Rosenberg’s Q&A about the Gog Magog war (Ezekiel 38-39), in which Iran, Russia and Turkey with others attack Israel, and no one comes to her defense…except God Himself.

Will the War of Gog and Magog happen before or after the Rapture?
“The truth is we simply do not know the answer for certain, because Ezekiel does not say. Many of the theologians I have cited in this book believe the war will occur after the Rapture. In the novel Left Behind, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins describe the War of Gog and Magog as having already happened before the Rapture takes place. In The Ezekiel Option, I also chose to portray the war occurring before the Rapture.”

“In Matthew 24:14, Jesus says, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (NASB). We also know from Ezekiel that God will use the War of Gog and Magog to display his glory to all nations and to pour out his Holy Spirit, particularly on the nation of Israel. As a result of the entire world seeing God defend Israel from the onslaught of the Russian-Iranian coalition, a dramatic spiritual awakening will occur around the globe. It would certainly be consistent with God’s heart for humanity that he would cause this cataclysmic moment to occur before the Rapture in order to shake people out of their spiritual apathy and/or rebellion and give them at least one more chance to receive Christ as their Savior before the terrible events of the Tribulation occur.”

“But let me be clear: I believe that the Rapture could occur at any moment, and I would certainly not be surprised in any way if it occurred before the events of Ezekiel 38 and 39 come to pass. Christian theologians speak of the “doctrine of imminence.” This means that according to the Bible there is no prophetic event that has to happen before Jesus snatches his church from the earth. That is, the Bible teaches us that we should be ready for Jesus to come for us at any moment. I fully believe that. But it should be noted with regard to this doctrine that while no major prophetic event has to happen before the Rapture, that doesn’t mean no such event will happen first. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this truth is the rebirth of Israel. This major prophetic event was foretold in Ezekiel 36–37, yet its fulfillment happened before the Rapture. Thus, it is certainly possible that other events—such as the events of Ezekiel 38–39—could happen before the Rapture as well.”

Persia (Iran) has always been opposed to God’s people. The angel that came to Daniel was hindered by the prince of Persia (Daniel 10:4-21). Places in the world have fallen angels behind the leadership to spread evil amongst the people and to rule in oppression and fear, and in the invisible realms they hinder God’s angels and try to oppose God’s work. Iran has always been a place in the real earth and in the celestial realms that has been a stronghold of opposition against God’s people.

Report: Iran planned to bomb Israeli ship in Suez Canal
“Iran had planned to bomb an Israeli ship while it crossed the Suez Canal, the prosecution in Egypt’s state security court said, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Saturday.According to the report, two Egyptians were recently arrested and investigated for allegedly planning an attack on an Israeli ship in the Suez Canal.”

Iranian weapons half Syria’s Assad put down unrest
“Iran is providing a broad array of assistance to Syrian President Bashar Assad to help him suppress anti-government protests, from high-tech surveillance technology to guns and ammunition, U.S. and European security officials say.Tehran’s technical assistance to Assad’s security forces includes electronic surveillance systems, technology designed to disrupt efforts by protesters to communicate via social media, and Iranian-made drone aircraft for overhead surveillance, the officials said. They discussed intelligence matters on condition of anonymity. “Over the past year, Iran has provided security assistance to Damascus to help shore up Assad. Tehran during the last couple of months has been aiding the Syrian regime with lethal assistance – including rifles, ammunition, and other military equipment — to help it put down the opposition,” a U.S. official said.”

Despite Iran’s continual prayers that Islam prevail, despite the fact that Iran as repeatedly said that they want to wipe Israel from the map, despite the fact that Iran is inches away from obtaining a nuclear bomb and has said they have no hesitation to use it, despite myriad foiled plots against Israel AND the United States, some 1000 Israelis marched against the thought of striking Iran’s nuclear bomb-making facilities–

Hundreds of Israelis march in Tel Aviv to protest war with Iran
“Hundreds of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against a possible Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The protest came amid a recent Facebook campaign linking Israeli and Iranian citizens in their opposition to war between the two nations. Campaign leaders, however, made it clear on their Facebook page that they had nothing to do with the Tel Aviv protest march.”

Iran is in the news just about as much as Israel. Just as the bible said the world would be focused on these matters in the last days, we are.

jesus, repent

Nebuchadnezzar understands the power of a holy God

Posted on March 28, 2012 by elizabethprata

“Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” (Daniel 3:28-29)

THERE IS NO OTHER GOD. (He is holy and true).

There is no other God ABLE TO DELIVER. (Jesus saves)

There is no other God able to deliver IN THIS WAY. (His power is unsurpassed).

So what does all this mean?

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

false teachers

One of God’s judgments on people are false teachers

Posted on March 28, 2012 by elizabethprata

“False teachers are God’s judgment on people who don’t want God, but in the name of religion plan on getting everything their carnal heart desires. That’s why a Joel Osteen is raised up. Those people who sit under him are not victims of him but he is the judgment of God upon them. And they want exactly what he wants, and it’s not God.” ~ Paul Washer

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.” 2 Timothy 4:3

false gospel, jetblue, restrainer

What’s up with all the crazy rants?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by elizabethprata

Some people went berserk these last couple of weeks. Normally this is not newsworthy. People are always going berserk, everywhere. These particular incidents made big news though. And in addition to being newsworthy I note a pattern. First, here are the three excerpts:

March 9: American attendant disrupts flight to Chicago
“An American Airlines flight attendant disrupted a flight Friday morning as it was about to take off from Dallas-Fort Worth en route to Chicago, saying over the aircraft intercom system that the plane was going to crash, alluding to 9/11 terrorist attacks and ranting about the airline’s bankruptcy reorganization, passengers said. Passengers ended up restraining the female flight attendant in a forward seat of the cabin until the plane returned to the gate and airport police arrived. Two flight attendants were injured in the incident and were taken to a local hospital. No passengers were injured, and they were never in danger, an airline spokeswoman said. The flight attendant who caused the commotion shrieked as she was handcuffed by police and placed into a police car, passengers on the flight told the Tribune after they exited the plane at Chicago O’Hare. “I will never get that sound of her screaming out of my head,” said Bethany Christakos of Plano, Texas. “It took a good 10 minutes, it felt like, to get her off of the plane.”

March 11: US soldier arrives at Ft. Leavenworth
“The U.S. soldier accused of going on a rampage and killing 16 Afghan civilians in their homes, identified as Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, arrived today at a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.Bales, 38, a husband and father of two, was serving on his fourth combat deployment in 10 years, the first three in Iraq. He was on his first tour in Afghanistan, where he’d been since December. The combat veteran is accused of leaving his remote base Camp Belambay in the middle of the night Sunday and walking about a mile to an Afghan village where he broke into homes and killed 16 civilians, mostly women and children.”

March 27: Hero: JetBlue Passenger Put Unruly Pilot in Chokehold
“…Gonzalez, 50, was sitting in the second row of JetBlue Flight 191 when the he saw pilot storm out of the cockpit and rush toward an occupied bathroom. The co-pilot quickly locked him out of the cockpit. After being locked out of the cockpit, the pilot began banging on the door, demanding to be let back in. “We got to get this plane down,” Gonzalez remembered thinking. “This guy is nuts.” Flight attendants struggled to control him and Gonzalez said the pilot began moving in the direction of the plane’s emergency exit. “I just didn’t want him opening up that door,” Gonzalez said. “I knew if he got in there, we wouldn’t be sitting here now.” … The passenger said it was a “crazy scene” that ended when a group of male passengers restrained the disorderly pilot at the front of the plane until it was able to land.”

The pattern I notice in these and in precious incidents (remember another flight attendant who ranted then jumped down the emergency chute?) are that they are people who are are trained to protect civilians, and trained to endure stressful situations. Their job is to care for and protect the people in their charge. But they are cracking, and in very visible and unsettling ways. I mean, the UK Daily Mail put it this way-

“‘We’re all going down. Say your prayers’: Berserk JetBlue captain has to be restrained by PASSENGERS after being ejected from cockpit in mid-flight and and running up and down screaming.”

There is nothing more unsettling than to put your trust and care into someone else’s hands and to think that they subsequently have gone nuts. It is worst on a plane, because you cannot get away. There is no escaping the crazy person, and when that crazy person is the one who is supposed to be flying the plane, it’s a nightmare.

I have mentioned before that society’s fabric is ripping. The last days of the last days, and the Tribulation Days are times when God intervenes and takes down all man-made constructs. This culminates in Revelation 18 and 19. This and the upcoming time is a time to show that people cannot depend on their government, cannot depend on weather models, cannot rely on medical personnel to know the answers (pestilence). They cannot rely on the ground under their feet. (earthquakes). Man cannot rely on other men, they will be increasingly stressed and desperately brutal. The verses in 2 Timothy 3 are made as a warning to the church:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

If the people of God are only imitators of God and are in fact treacherous and brutal, how will people be acting who don’t know God at all? Worse.

In addition, people in positions of authority, especially ones who are supposed to protect civilians such as pilots, flight crews, soldiers, and also EMTs, police, and firemen, are at the front lines of a society that is cracking. We put on them the expectations to protect and serve in any or all circumstances, but the circumstances these days are increasingly unpredictable and brutal. The stress is incredible, and the cracks are showing.

The orderliness of civilization is only a veneer that covers man’s basic condition: sinner. See what happens to people when God gives them over to their base desires:

“being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;” (Romans 1:29-31).

The unbeliever often says that man is basically good and if just given a chance, will be truly good and get better as time goes on. But that is not true. When God gives them over to what they want, what they want turns out to be treachery, insolence and evil.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 mentions a “restrainer” that is holding back sin and lawlessness. The Restrainer, who is the Holy Spirit, will be removed from the earth at the rapture, allowing sin to have jurisdiction over mankind. What we are seeing, I believe, is the slow lifting of the Restrainer’s hand. It will suddenly disappear at the rapture, and then people will really go berserk.

Any person who is not saved by repentance and submission to Jesus, can become saved if they accept that their original condition is one that includes all the above: treachery, evil, lawlessness…etc. That is what sin is, lawlessness in breaking God’s commands. Here is an explanation of the true Gospel from GotQuestions:
——–
“The true gospel is the good news that God saves sinners. Man is by nature sinful and separated from God with no hope of remedying that situation. But God, by His power, provided the means of man’s redemption in the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” But to truly comprehend how good this news is, we must first understand the bad news. As a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6), every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. Because of man’s sinful nature, he does not and cannot seek God. He has no desire to come to God and, in fact, his mind is hostile toward God (Romans 8:7). God has declared that man’s sin dooms him to an eternity in hell, separated from God. It is in hell that man pays the penalty of sin against a holy and righteous God. This would be bad news indeed if there were no remedy.

But in the gospel, God, in His mercy, has provided that remedy, a substitute for us—Jesus Christ—who came to pay the penalty for our sin by His sacrifice on the cross. This is the essence of the gospel which Paul preached to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 15:2-4, he explains the three elements of the gospel—the death, burial and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. Our old nature died with Christ on the cross and was buried with Him. Then we were resurrected with Him to a new life (Romans 6:4-8). Paul tells us to “hold firmly” to this true gospel, the only one which saves. Believing in any other gospel is to believe in vain. In Romans 1:16-17, Paul also declares that the true gospel is the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” by which he means that salvation is not achieved by man’s efforts, but by the grace of God through the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Because of the gospel, through the power of God, those who believe in Christ (Romans 10:9) are not just saved from hell. We are, in fact, given a completely new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17) with a changed heart and a new desire, will, and attitude that are manifested in good works. This is the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in us by His power. Works are never the means of salvation, but they are the proof of it (Ephesians 2:10). Those who are saved by the power of God will always show the evidence of salvation by a changed life.”

end of days. prophecy, signs in the stars

Signs in the sun, moon, and stars

Posted on March 26, 2012 by elizabethprata

Funky things will be happening to the sun and the moon and the stars during the Tribulation. Lately, we have seen an uptick in solar activity, and certainly there seems to be an asteroid a day discovered, and each one that is discovered seems to have a trajectory bringing it closer and closer to earth.

The prophecies regarding the funky things happening to the sun such as it going dark are plentiful in the Old Testament and in the New:

Isaiah 13:10–For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Joel 2:31–The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Matthew 24:29– [The Coming of the Son of Man] “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 8:12 [Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck] Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

Jesus said that in advance of His coming that “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.” Luke 21:25. Here are a few newspaper articles about that funkiness in advance of the Tribulation (which of course will grow much worse during that 7 year period of judgment):

Here is a roundup from The Weather Channel titled “The ten weirdest things about March 2012 weather“.
“To say March 2012 has been weird…strange…bizarre weatherwise has been, frankly, a gross understatement.”
1. Record Heat — An Understatement
2. Heaviest late-season snow
3. A Massive, Rapid Snowmelt
4. 80s…in Canada…in March!
5. All-Time March Heat … Several Days in a Row!
6. Atlanta Pollen Count Tops 9,000
7. Michigan, Minnesota Tornadoes … in March
8. Record Hailstone…in Hawaii!!
9. Chicago Record Streak
10. International Falls: The Melting Icebox

The planet Mercury is swelling up. It must have water weight gain this time of the month…

Mystery rising with Mercury
“Something besides volcanic eruptions and asteroid and comet impacts has sculpted the surface of Mercury — an unknown process, possibly still going on today, that causes the ground to swell from the inside out.The evidence, collected by a NASA spacecraft orbiting the innermost planet, is scattered all over Mercury, including a dramatic finding that half of the floor of the biggest crater on the planet has been raised above the walls.”

Hmmm, weird. I wonder what is making the planet Mercury swell up. I hope they find out. There is so much going on in the universe it boggles my mind! Yet God is in control of it all.

Solar storm dumps gigawatts
“A surge of infrared radiation from nitric oxide molecules on March 8-10, 2012, signals the biggest upper-atmospheric heating event in seven years. A recent flurry of eruptions on the sun did more than spark pretty auroras around the poles. NASA-funded researchers say the solar storms of March 8th through 10th dumped enough energy in Earth’s upper atmosphere to power every residence in New York City for two years.”

From Spaceweather.com. a CME is a coronal mass ejection–
“INCREDIBLE SUNSPOT AR1429: Big sunspot AR1429, the source of so many strong flares and geomagnetic storms earlier this month, is still erupting. The active region produced a significant coronal mass ejection on March 24th at 00:39 UT. Because of the sunspot’s location on the far side of the sun, this particular CME will not hit Earth. An animated forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab shows the trajectory of the expanding cloud.The leading edge of the CME is expected to arrive at the STEREO-B spacecraft on March 25th at 13:08 UT (+/- 7 hours). None of the inner planets will be affected.Since March began, sunspot AR1429 has propelled CMEs into every corner of the solar system, stirring up stormy space weather around every planet and spacecraft. If the sunspot remains active for another week or so, it will turn back toward Earth for a new round of geoeffective eruptions. Stay tuned.”

Scientists are beginning to wonder if the giant asteroid Vesta is actually a planet
“For years, scientists have been calling Vesta an asteroid. Granted, it’s a big asteroid — at 330 miles across, it’s the second biggest in the solar system — but NASA’s Dawn spacecraft recently got its closest look at Vesta yet, and according to Dawn’s principle investigator Christopher Russel, astronomers have been finding it hard not to refer to the asteroid as a planet. Of course, the odds of the International Astronomical Union convening to name Vesta a planet (the same way they met in 2006 to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet) are basically zero. So instead, astronomers have taken to describing the massive asteroid as “transitional.” But what’s with all the confusion in the first place? Long story short: Vesta resembles a planet. And not just any planet; Vesta is home to a lot of features typically associated with terrestrial bodies like Earth.”

“Transitional”?? LOL! Talk about not knowing and thus hedging your bets… As an aside, I always wondered why the scientists name the planetary bodies after mythological gods and none are named after the real bible heroes. You find Vesta, goddess of home and hearth; Venus, Roman goddess of love; Mars, Roman god of war; Pluto, Roman god of the underworld; Jupiter, Roman king of all gods; Mercury, messenger to the gods; Saturn, Roman god of agriculture (and origin of Saturnalia, a gift giving celebration held around the third week of December and in which some of its customs may have influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas); Neptune, god of water and the see; Uranus is the ancient Greek god of the Heavens, but was dethroned by his son Cronus. Here is a link to the origin of the names for the planets, moons, and satellites.

Note the similarity of the ancient Greek and Roman myths to the truth of the bible account of the origin of the universe–

According to Greek mythology, the first god was Chaos. While the word Chaos brings certain images of mayhem and disorderliness to the English-speaking mind, the Greek god Chaos was just a big, empty, black, Nothing. Chaos was Nothingness, the Void, or empty space. After Chaos came the goddess Earth, who was known to the Greeks as Gaia, and to the Romans as Terra. Earth appeared out of nothing according to Greek mythology: “Chaos was first of all, but next appeared broad-bosomed Earth” (Hesiod, Theogony). To the ancients, of course, earth was not perceived as a planet, as it was not perceived to “wander” or move at all.Ge (Earth) was a virgin when she gave birth to her firstborn son, Ouranos, which means “Sky” in Greek. “Although the Roman name for the god Sky was Caelus, the Latin spelling of the Greek name Ouranos was “Uranus”. From this, we get the name of a modern planet…” (source)

It is interesting to see that when Vesta was discovered in 1807 the asteroid was thought of as a planet for about fifty years. It was declassified as a planet in the mid 1800s. So as I was saying earlier about the scientists, their information unfolds and as new facts are added their paradigms change. It’s the missing link! No it’s not! It’s a planet! No, it’s not! It’s a new volcano! No it’s not!

Are we not blessed with the bible which we can count on as total truth, all the time?! Aren’t we blessed to have an unchanging Savior?! Keep looking up. The more funky things happening the more likely it is that He will call for us in the rapture. We don’t know what day or hour, but the celestial funkiness and weather anomalies tells us that it may be the season…

bible jesus, end of days. prophecy, messiah

Do you have a divided heart, or a whole heart?

Posted on March 26, 2012 by elizabethprata

Jesus at His zenith of popularity… Big crowds, laudatory accolades, and promises, promises by the naive:

“And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61-62).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary says of that verse, “As ploughing requires an eye intent on the furrow to be made, and is marred the instant one turns about, so will they come short of salvation who prosecute the work of God with a distracted attention, a divided heart. … The expression “looking back” has a manifest reference to ‘Lot’s wife’.”

You can imagine what a furrow looks like when a plow has swerved. Or a mower with the operator looking backwards. It soon gets crooked.

The ‘don’t look back’ warning in Luke does bring immediately to mind the warning given to Lot and his family as they prepared to flee the imminent judgment at Sodom, that most wicked city. The angel told the family,

“Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (Gen 19:17b).

Those directions are pretty clear. Don’t look back. The family had been told in no uncertain terms that what was going to happen to the city. They knew it was judgment from God, and they knew they were in the presence of an angel who was delivering this message. you cannot get much higher than an authority than an angel sent by God, and you would think that a person would listen to the directions. When the judgment started, this is what happened:

“Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Gen 19:24-26).

She had a divided heart.

Now, the Lord is THE highest authority. And He told the would-be follower in Luke not to look back. He had discerned that the would-be follower already had a divided heart. You can’t move forward while looking back. If you do, you mar your walk.

Jesus is the most beautiful treasure, the most glowing glory, the most perfect sight one could ever imagine. He is the most important person in the Universe, from all time and forever. The question is, why would you WANT to look back? Is there a possession Mrs Lot had that was worth more to her than her family around her? More important than an angel from God? More important than judgment behind and salvation ahead?

Of the young follower questioning Jesus, who was at his house that was more important than the Messiah?

In John 6, Jesus was talking with the disciples. A great many of them had been following Jesus for some time, including the Twelve. As Jesus was preaching about the bread and the blood, and saying that no one can come to Him unless it has been granted by the Father. It was a hard saying, hard to understand and hard to accept. The scriptures say,

“As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”

Peter got it. He knew that there was nothing else on earth more important than the time He could spend with Messiah in person.

Do you have a divided heart? Where else would you go, once you found the key to eternal life, and the One who brings it? There is no place else to go, nothing else to have, not one thing of any iota of importance compared to Jesus. A divided heart is no heart. What was Mrs Lot looking at? What was back at Sodom that was better to mourn over than in looking back, rather than looking ahead at the angel who was leading them to safety? Who was better for the young would-be follower to be with than the most important Person of the universe??

My hope for myself and for you is to have a whole heart for Jesus.

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