Category: end time

Posted in apocalypse, end time, prophecy

End times being discussed in the news

Posted on by elizabethprata

UPDATE: adding this link from MSNBC’s Lawrence “It’s Not The End of the World” O’Donnell, refuting Beck & O’Reilly saying it IS the end of the world. Probably.

End time fundamental Christian prophesies are increasingly the news. People are beginning to wonder, “Is there something to all this?” It would take a person living under a rock not to see that things are not normal, and that a bit of personal introspection is in order, because the end of time prophesies just might be true. The massive earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunami are the latest events to really cause non-believers to wonder these things.

Of course, Fundamentalist Christians already believe them, wholeheartedly. We believe ALL of the bible is true. All of it. Liberal Christians believe differently. As Richard Niebuhr once famously said, liberal Christians believe in “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” (H. Richard Niebuhr). So it goes without saying liberal Christians are not so hot on Revelation, believing it to be allegory and just plain weird, besides.

Here is a letter to the editor from a non-believer that sums up how the lost see us:

“St Louis Suburban Journal: Better to miss the “rapture”
“Please leave me behind! A number of fundamentalist Christians believe Jesus will soon come back (no date is set) and “rapture” them to heaven. All the rest will be left behind on earth to suffer misery, supposedly caused by Satan and his hosts. Those who are “raptured” will probably be ultra-right fundamentalists such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Since I have no use for these people, I would prefer to stay behind and party with the “unrighteous.” Though I believe in some kind of “higher power,” I subscribe to no religious belief system. Most mainline Christians do not believe in the “rapture.” They believe doing good here on earth (preserving the planet, helping others) is the number one priority. I’m on their side. “Rapturites,” however, are anti-science, anti-government, anti-sex and anti-environment. They do not believe in evolution and think the world is only 6,000 years old. These beliefs are held by many “tea party” types recently elected to Congress, something which I as an American “progressive” find very embarrassing. To the extent that fundamentalist “rapturites” have political power, real, positive common sense says progress will be set back decades. People have the right to believe whatever they want, but they should not be able to push their beliefs into government policy. To paraphrase an old joke, “rapture” Christians and “tea-partyites” remind me of Moses. Every time they open their mouths, the “bull rushes.” Count me grateful to be left behind.”

Please remember to pray for the lost! He does not know the horror of what he asks for.

Since the mainstream media is so negative toward fundamental Christians, I am always happy to see reasonable articles about reasonable pastors and Christians in the news who are discussing the end time! The following two excerpts are from Christian publications, though, so they really are preaching to the choir:

The Christian Post: Pastor says end of world is near, really
“Every generation has cried “the end of the world is near.” Yet “here we are still,” noted one Southern California pastor. “Yes, we have heard this message before but over the years, certain things have happened that have immense prophetic significance,” he said. He listed the dramatic escalation of global wars and terrorism, the push for unity or globalism, the change in world economics toward a cashless society, the unprecedented increase of killer earthquakes, and false teaching permeating the church. The world isn’t quite yet at the seven-year Tribulation Period that the Bible prophesizes, Laurie said, but he believes it’s close. “That means the return of Jesus Christ is even closer yet,” he said. There may be some disagreements over the order of the prophetic events, he noted. But there is no division on “this one truth: that Jesus Christ is coming back again soon.”

One News Now: Repentance in the wake of tragedy
“The founder of a Messianic Jewish ministry believes the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last week is actually a “birth pang” for what the Bible says will grow more frequent and more intense in the very last days. These so-called ‘birth pangs’ really are intensifying and getting greater and more frequent — and I think it’s a wake-up call, not just for the Japanese,” she offers. “We’d all like to think that the nation of Japan would turn and repent as a result of what happened. [While] we know that won’t happen, we know individuals will. “[The] same is true in America,” continues the ministry leader. “We’re hoping that some of these horrible things can open up some eyes; that they can see that God allows these things for greater purposes; that time is indeed short, and that people would get right with the Lord.”

Overall, it’s the greatest to see a discussion occurring in mainstream newspapers about the end of days. Such a discussion happened yesterday as the Rev Franklin Graham was interviewed by a mainstream news outlet about the earthquake and tsunami, and end of the world prophesies. He was being interviewed because his organization, Samaritan’s Purse, had collected 91 tons of relief supplies and was at the North Carolina airport ready to ship it to Japan. His answer is getting a lot of play in the mainstream press.

In the face of such negativity about biblical prophecy as shown in the `first letter above, and in the face of firm stances uttered by the two pastors in the next two excerpts, it’s a bit sad for me to see that Rev Franklin’s answer was less firm than I think it could have been. It’s my opinion that Rev Franklin squandered an opportunity to speak with authority about prophecy to a lost and dying – but curious – world. However, I’ll leave it to you to make an opinion for yourself. He did point to Jesus and the need to be ready to stand before Him at any time, which is a good thing to get out into the news stream. Here is a transcription of that part of his interview and below that is the entire video.

JOURNALIST: Some Christian authors and pastors claim that recent earthquake activity points to the soon coming of the return of Jesus. That we are living in the last days before the return of Christ. We’ve had the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We’ve had the earthquake in Haiti. Hurricane Katrina. The devastating tsunami in Indonesia. Are folks right to link these natural disasters to end of world prophesies?

GRAHAM: Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus what are the signs of your Second Coming…of your return. He told them there will be wars and famines, there would be earthquakes, that it would be escalating like labor pains. As a woman gives birth to a child, those labor pains as they begin, would start to intensify and with more frequency. And so, maybe this is. I don’t know. But regardless, all of us need to be ready to stand before Almighty God. Because every one of us someday is going to die and where do we stand, are our sins forgiven? Are we prepared to meet Him? And Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes before the Father except through Me.

JOURNALIST: So, these end of world prophesies, you’re saying there could be something to them?

GRAHAM: There could be. I don’t know. But the bible tells us that we should watch. We should pray, we need to be vigilant, and no question, the bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to return someday and for many of us we believe that day is sooner rather than later.

Rev. Franklin Graham: Japan Quake May Be Beginning Of Second Coming
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In all seriousness, the point of the birth pangs is that they will increase as the birth nears. People will notice them more as unusual as they get worse. The pangs will penetrate their consciousness. The birth in my opinion being the Millennium Kingdom, the fulfilled promise of the Messiah to the Jews, and New Jerusalem, the Blessed Hope of our dwelling with Jesus in the place He has prepared for us). People are talking, and that is good. We can all pray that as the pangs grow more devastating and painful, that more people would look UP and seek Him. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:32

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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, striggio

Uplifting music for tough times: Striggio’s long lost mass found

Posted on by elizabethprata

A 16th century Mass has hit the charts…and if you hear only a piece of it you will understand why.

UK Independent has the story
Spiritual music for tough times
“It’s not the first thing you’d expect to see in the pop charts alongside Bon Jovi and Duffy: a choral work in 40 parts by a composer little recognised beyond the ivory towers of early music. Yet the world premiere recording of the Mass Ecco sì beato giorno, written in 1566 by the Italian composer Alessandro Striggio (c1536-1592) but long thought lost, has rocketed up the sales ratings since its release earlier this month. It was the No 1 classical download on iTunes and it has reached No 68 on the pop charts.” [more at link]


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Posted in end time, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy

A compare and contrast exercise

Posted on by elizabethprata

If you look at the world today it is dark, ugly, and bleak. Stay with me, it gets good.

There is a report of another oil spill in the Gulf. It is reported to be 100 miles long and 10 miles wide. The Coast Guard did go out and check, and confirmed some slicks. Their investigation continues.

Radiation from the Fukushima prefect in Japan is now high enough to have infected milk, spinach, and Tokyo tap water. All food sales from that district have been halted.

The radiation plume from Japan has made its way across the Pacific and USDA is now testing west coast milk for milk infection.

Dead baby dolphins are washing up along the Gulf shores and also along the coasts of SC. Ten times as many as usual. Imagine walking along with your kids and coming across a badly decomposed 6 foot mammal. Ugh. Scientists do not know why only dolphins are dying.

Wars, bombs, and death in the Middle East continues apace.

A huge swathe of land in Washington state is sliding down the hill, taking people’s homes with it. A huge section of Route One in California slid into the sea. 

To sum up, the air is toxic, the water is polluted, the land is poison, the animals are decaying, and the land is unstable. It’s gross everywhere, and more of it is coming.

This reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode called The Masks, set in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras. A rich guy with a hateful family is dying. He calls them all to his house for his last breaths, and he knows they will come because they want the money. They are insufferable, one being a coward, one a self-absorbed brat, another a buffoon, and another a greedy miser. The rich guys says you can all have the money but you have to do one thing: wear these Mardi Gras masks until the stroke of midnight. They are grotesque masks, but the family accepts the condition because they want the guy to die so they can have the money.

The guy does die after making his final speech to them, and the clock strikes midnight. They gleefully cheer (over the guy’s dead body) and peel off the masks…except they won’t come off. Their faces have transformed into the characteristics of their awful inner selves. What was inside them, hidden, was made manifest on their exterior.

The world’s awful condition is manifesting its sin on its exterior.  Once charged to take care of the world (Genesis 1:27-30), in our sin, we corrupted it. In its pollution and toxicity and poison, the invisible qualities of the world’s sinful people are made manifest.

ALL TO HIS GLORY!

How so, you ask? Because He will lift us out of this place, from its poison and rot, its radiation and oil, and how much MORE glorious His face will seem! How much MORE pure! How much MORE holy! He shines like the sun! His throne is radiant with rainbows shining about it! He is like silver, refined seven times! Turning our face from our rotted planet, we will see how much more glory He deserves in His sinlessness!

If there is anything good about this world, it is that His shining visage will appear all the more bright when we SOON gaze upon it.

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Posted in bible, end time, prophecy

The Language of God: Thunder

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is part of an ongoing series called “The Language of God”. Previous entries were:

The Language of God: Earthquakes
Language of God: Fire and Brimstone
Language of God: Lightning
Language of God: Hail

Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. (Rev 4:5)

In the bible, God’s voice is often depicted as thunder, or, alternately, when thunder occurs, it is God speaking. We’re told that thunder, when it is God’s voice, presages judgment. We remember the people at Mt Sinai were scared out of their wits upon hearing the thunder and begged Moses to ask God not speak aloud again (Ex 20:19).

We recall Revelation 10:1-4 and the mystery of the Seven Thunders. “And I saw another angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. And he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

These booms happened this week, except for the next to last one which was in January and the last one which was 4 months ago, but I included it because it happened in GA

Florida:  Geologist: Shaking Wasn’t Florida Earthquake
Investigators are trying to solve a bizarre mystery in Flagler County. A wave of people called 911 around 9:30am Friday to report the ground shaking in Flagler County. The calls all came from the Hammock area of Palm Coast. However, people in the north Daytona area, as well as in Deltona and as far north as St. Augustine, said they felt it as well. Many people were worried that the shaking was an earthquake.  The Emergency Management Office was on the phone all day trying to figure out the cause of the shaking. Residents said that buildings were shaking, and even a dispatcher in the county felt it happen.

South Carolina: Residents report loud booms; CofC says no indication of seismic activity
Loud booms and shaking across the Charleston area Monday afternoon had people a little jumpy. Three big booms were reported late Monday afternoon. The reports came from people in different parts of the metro area. A Mt. Pleasant man said it felt like a truck hit his house. Vacationers from Canada reported hearing and feeling a series of loud booms at Folly Beach. “They sounded and felt like muffled explosions. Others on the beach appeared as unsettled as we were,” said one Lowcountry resident. “The last few we felt once we had returned to our condo. The sound made the light in the dining room rattle.” “Stuff like this normally does not bother me, but this was over the top,” says one Mt. Pleasant resident. “I could actually see the window frame move.”

South Carolina: Booms revive an old mystery
The first boom sounded like thunder. The second shook windows. The third shook an entire house. Then they quieted, mysteriously. The series of booms were reported Monday afternoon by people on Kiawah and Johns islands and Isle of Palms. At least three booms, each more intense than the last, occurred within 15 minutes starting about 3:30 p.m. “There’s another one. The third one, just now. It’s like thunder getting closer to us, only there’s no rumble, just a blast. Beutel, S.C. Earthquake Education and Preparedness director. She suspected sonic booms, but a public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort said no F-18s were flying in the area at that time. A public affairs officer for the Charleston Air Force Base said C-17s were operating, but not fast enough to cause sonic booms.

New Jersey: Newark Police Puzzled By Mystery ‘Boom’
Police were investigating the cause of a mysterious noise on Monday after multiple people reported hearing it and feeling it. Residents living in the area of Idlewilde and Weiant avenues called police on Sunday afternoon to report what sounded and felt like a loud explosion. The noise caused homes to shake, residents said. Police and fire crews responded after several people called 911 to report the noise. They were unable to find any sign of an explosion or what might have caused so many people to feel the shaking.

Washington State: Mystery boom heard Saturday
A loud boom was heard through Moses Lake Saturday night about 8:30 p.m.  Authorities do not know what caused the sound.  People described it in a variety of ways from a methane explosion to a sonic boom. “I don’t know what it was, but it was loud,” said Moses Lake police Capt. Dave Ruffin. “It sounded like a transformer blowing (up) down the street.” The Multi Agency Communications Center (MACC) received several reports through 9-1-1 about the sound of an explosion and deputies were dispatched to determine the cause, said Kyle Foreman, Grant County Sheriff’s Office public information officer. Moses Lake firefighters did not receive any calls for fires or explosions, said Chief Tom Taylor. The US Air Force did not have any jet fighters operating in Grant County this weekend, nor any other types of aircraft operating at supersonic speeds, according to Foreman. Authorities would like to determine the cause, said Foreman.

Oklahoma (in January) : ‘Boom’ Heard Across SE Part Of MetroA loud ‘boom’ was heard by Oklahomans on Thursday morning, but officials confirmed that it was not an earthquake. Eyewitness News 5 began reporting a possible earthquake around 10:30 a.m. The United States Geological Survey said no such earthquake had occurred.

Georgia: Mystery boom still confounding officials
A tremendous boom that shattered the quiet of a Friday night in rural west Georgia continues to defy explanation. Residents of Carroll, Douglas and Haralson counties heard it, and officials in all three counties tried to find what caused it. They’re still trying. Douglas County Communication Director Wes Tallon said “911 calls lit up” the switchboard after the 9:45 p.m. noise rattled windows across a large area of west Georgia. “There was no catastrophe, we know that,” Tallon told the AJC Saturday morning. Villa Rica authorities dispatched several police and fire units to the Mirror Lake subdivision when the sound was first reported, but they found no damage or even smoke. “People all over the city heard the boom, but we couldn’t find anything,” a police department receptionist said late Friday. The National Weather Service in Peachtree City had no natural explanation for it. And there were no obvious signs of damage on the ground.

These booms interest me for several reasons. First, because all the articles used the same language, “mystery” and “boom.” Secondly, they all excluded all known explanations. It wasn’t a quake, it wasn’t sonic, it wasn’t an explosion, it wasn’t a transformer, it wasn’t a gas line…they all defied explanation. The latest bunch of skyquakes all resulted in the same string of denials from U.S. Geological Survey officials (no earthquakes), civil officials (no construction blasting or other known explosions), military nor civilian air traffic controllers (no exercises or high-speed flights). Last, I am interested in these booms because of our reaction to them.

When we read about mysterious booms that defy natural explanation do we shrug and go on… or do we think of God? Come on, be honest. I bet most of us don’t think of God. Perhaps we should.

Thunder, when it is not a God-controlled weather phenomenon, is a direct representation of God’s power. Even adults startle when a particularly loud boom of thunder claps above you. The booming noises could be interpreted as God’s instrument to invoke awe and righteous fear into those who do not yet fear The Lord.

The throne of God is surrounded by thunder. “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.” (Revelation 4:5).

God spoke to Moses and the people heard thunder. “When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.” (Exodus 19:19.) When Jesus spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus, those who were with Paul heard thunder. God said to Job, “Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” (Job 40:9). The bible shows us time and time again that sometimes when God speaks, it sounds like thunder, or a boom.  Not every thunderclap is God speaking. Sometimes it is simply one of the forces of nature controlled by God. Sometimes it is His voice as heard by flawed and un-glorified man. Other times- as recorded in the bible from past to future- it is an expression of His divine wrath.

Now, usually nowadays God speaks through His son, and the Holy Spirit, and the Word. But if I hear a mysterious boom, I would like to think that it is a merciful God speaking to us, to awaken us to His tremendous power … but showing us His tremendous love by using only an infinitesimal amount of that power, otherwise we would surely surely die. The loudest thunder is still God’s whisper to us; “I love you…wake up.”
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Posted in end time, prophecy

Earthquake in FL? Now the ground’s shaking for no reason at all

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is a short excerpt to a news story this afternoon out of north coastal Florida.

Geologist: Shaking Wasn’t Florida Earthquake
“PALM COAST, Fla. — Investigators are trying to solve a bizarre mystery in Flagler County. A wave of people called 911 around 9:30am Friday to report the ground shaking in Flagler County. The calls all came from the Hammock area of Palm Coast (see map). However, people in the north Daytona area, as well as in Deltona and as far north as St. Augustine, said they felt it as well. Many people were worried that the shaking was an earthquake.”

A resident said that the building he was in rumbled and the ground definitely rumbled. This observation was similar to many others who frantically called 911. Even a county dispatcher felt it as it happened. The news journalist  found some people who have experienced sonic booms before as well as earthquakes and they confirmed that it felt like an earthquake. But the geologists say it wasn’t. The USGS said nothing registered on their seismic scales.

Explanations for the rumbling range from sinkhole opening, aquifer collapse, fighter jet taking off, and supermoon.

With all the talk of the effect the Supermoon will have on the earth, this weird, abnormal, and unexplained Florida event will fuel their speculations. The Canadian Broadcast Company reported, “Earth’s closest celestial neighbour will appear to loom larger and brighter than usual on Saturday night, as astronomers anticipate a cosmic event called an “extreme supermoon”. One effect that a moon approaching its closest position to earth has always been abnormally high and low tides. The last time a lunar perigee occurred was 1955, 1974, 1992, 1993 and 2005 but it was only 1993 that the moon was full. I remember that one.

I was living aboard a sailing yacht in the Bahamas at the time with my then-husband. I wasn’t saved then. I remember the talk about the really large moon and the effect on the tides was something us seagoing cruisers had to pay attention to. I didn’t own a bible then but we did have several dog-eared copies of the tidal almanacs.

The tide did go out really low, exposing marine life and formations we did not usually have the advantage of seeing without benefit of a snorkel mask. As for other effects a supermoon would have on the earth besides tides, I am not aware. But plenty of people are wondering. Some say that there is increased risk of tsunamis, extreme seismic activity and volcanic eruptions. Others say such effects from a supermoon are rubbish. Pooh-poohing the supermoon effects  isn’t stopping Californians, though, as this article from LA Times states: “Worries about a big earthquake jolting California have shoppers stocking up on survival supplies.”  The fact is, people are spooked. “[T]he combination of quakes, a freaky big moon and the recent massive fish die-off in Redondo Beach has people such as Michael Jaworski stocking up on freeze-dried food and first-aid kits, just in case.” Add to that radiation plumes, and you pretty well have an uneasy west coast population, and former USGS geologist Jim Berkland didn’t help matters by predicting a huge quake for this weekend. It didn’t help because Berkland has a good record of quake prediction. He isn’t a fringe guy spouting off, but spent a career in the mainstream and he has the science. He believes the supermoon will have an effect on earth.

As for volcanoes, Indonesia issued a red alert Friday after Mount Karangetang on the island of Sulawesi erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds down its slopes. Officials are evacuating villages now.

Back to  the Florida pseudo-quake. I don’t know what it was, but so many strange events are occurring in the world that defy explanation is unsettling, to say the least. And the events that man does explain, like huge earthquakes or nuclear radiation, are so outsized that they induce fear, anyway. All I can say is, it’s the end time.

If you want to view the supermoon, it will be about 15 per cent larger and up to 30 per cent brighter than usual on Saturday night. Check it out around sunset, when it’s low in the sky.

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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, rapture

Encouragement

Posted on by elizabethprata

Mike Taylor wrote a great essay about God, recent news, and judgment. I recommend it. Here is an excerpt from his essay “Our God is a consuming fire”

“Our minds cannot comprehend the vastness, the power, the might of Almighty God. We have scriptures in Revelation that John the beloved, tried to describe what he saw and they are partially revealing of the power of God, but I believe to express fully the power of God in all His glory is beyond the scope of mortal man. There are not enough words or adjectives that give enough information of what, and who we serve and the awesomeness of our God. … Was this the judgment passed on the people of Japan or in other countries where the human toll was great? I don’t even begin to understand the ways of God and what His judgments are and who will be affected. Because I am reminded of the apostles when they came to Jesus and asked the same type of question that many wonder with all these disasters. It’s found in Luke–

“Luke 13:1-3 “at the same time there were present some who told him (Jesus) of the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with [that of] their sacrifices. And he answering said to them, Think ye that these Galileans were sinners beyond all the Galileans because they suffered such things? No, I say to you, but if ye repent not, ye shall all perish in the same manner.”

“Sin is in this world and all will perish unless they are forgiven of their sins against God. It is not only individual judgment on a particular people, but the whole of humanity that will perish apart from forgiveness of the sinful condition that is rampant on this earth, especially in these latter days of man’s existence. We can’t point to anyone event or disaster and say that it is God’s judgment, as that is left to God, but we can see what is happening all around us, and know that God’s judgment is close at hand and we will see even more as the days grow darker and more evil.”

The time is growing short, but the news is so dire, it saddens all of us. I am asked quite often, how do I stay so cheerful? Optimistic? It takes work.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

How does one overcome? You persevere. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Perseverance leads to endurance– “If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;” (2 Timothy 2:12)

Endurance leads to overcoming– “”I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Like any race you put one foot in front of the other, every day. Just never stop moving. Here is the practical application of how I do that:

I pray, read the Word, and listen to hymns, the ones that have the real verses in them. As for praying, I do all kinds. I do it every day at all times. Quick prayers, short conversations. A comment. Other times during the day I engage in intentional, deep prayer that is a humble, a spiritual communion with the Lord. The point is, the communication with Him is constant and doesn’t have to be in a special kind of theological language. He is God, but He is my friend, too. Fellowship with Him through prayer is the way to keep in touch and remain open to His communication back to me. It calms me to talk with Him, and it gives me peace and strength.

Reading the Word is the other way to remain in constant communication and fellowship with Him. Doing this gives me a center point. When I begin reading a peace washes over me. The peace turns to joy and usually tears as I re-read the promises He has made, or the nature and attributes He demonstrates in his Word.

I sing. Praise music leaves me just as hungry as when I began singing but I get full of the Word with the traditional hymns such as The Old Rugged Cross, Shall We Gather At the River, Glory to His Name, etc. I turn on Pandora online. You get 40 free hours per month, and it streams your favorite music. You can hone and refine the music by clicking ‘like’ or dislike;’ to a particular song. It will re-add or delete songs with those attributes so that the music list lengthens increasingly with only songs you enjoy. I particularly enjoy the Gaither Vocal band, with many traditional quartets. Even if I am doing dishes or another task that takes my mind away from intently concentrating on the words, the background noise in my home is reverential, joyous, and appropriate. This also puts me in good frame of mind. These days I need all the tips I can employ to keep steadfast and serene. If I have too much clamor in my heart, I can’t hear Him.

As for the negative tips, here is what I do. Sins begin with a thought (Mt 15:19). Footholds and fortresses begin with a thought (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). When a thought comes creeping in, such a “Maybe you aren’t really saved after all, or  “Maybe you will be left behind” or “Maybe the rapture isn’t really pre-trib like you thought” I shut them out immediately. I mean immediately. I don’t dwell on them. I don’t share them with others. I don’t obsess over them. I don’t muse over them in my journal. I knock them out of the ballpark right away, and I don’t watch them go. Satan will try to steal your joy by confusing you and weakening you. The way he does this is by planting seeds of doubt. When you are dragging around doubt it is the same as dragging around a ball and chain. Add another ball to the chain every time you let a non-biblical thought linger. Pretty soon you are so tired from dragging the doubt-chain behind you that you don’t walk any more. Not walking with the Lord means that you stop persevering. You stop enduring. You stop overcoming.

It is work to remain joyful and optimistic in days such as these. It’s work. It doesn’t come naturally, because though we are saved, we have a sin nature and by nature, sin is negative. It is work to remain walking with Him when the days are filled up with just surviving. We are working harder, we are working longer hours, knowing that there are so many out of work that we are eminently replaceable. We are tired. It gets easier to lay aside the bible, it gets harder to sing His praises when there is so much happening that we do not understand. But as any athlete knows, this is precisely the time to keep doing what we have always done, pray, walk, sing, study…because it is precisely now that we need it more than ever. And most importantly, the lost need us. As one famous advertisement says, not advertising is like winking in the dark. You know what you are doing, but no one else does. Everyone should know Jesus, and if we work at our relationship with Him we will shine brighter than ever, pointing to Him. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” (John 12:32)

So be of good courage, and persevere.
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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, japan, nuclear

News you can use

Posted on by elizabethprata

This link to the Economic Collapse Blog has an excellent list of 27 reasons why the Japan nuclear crisis is worse than the government and media are telling us.

“We are not just talking about a repeat of Chernobyl. We are possibly talking about “many Chernobyls”, it is stated on the blog. Here are the top indicators on his list, and these are just a few:

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is urging all people living within 30 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility to stay indoors.
Andre-Claude Lacoste, the head of France’s Nuclear Safety Authority, says that the containment vessel surrounding the No. 2 reactor at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex is “no longer sealed“.
Radiation levels in Tokyo are already 10 times above normal levels.
Reuters is reporting that some residents of Tokyo are already starting to flee the city.
Radiation levels in one city north of Tokyo, Utsunomiya, were recently reported to be 33 times above normal levels.

Fact based, and clear, the list should give you chills, or make you cry. 12 million people live in Tokyo…and things do not look good for them.

Nuclear expert Arnie Gunderson said today on Democracy Now! that children who live near the reactors should be evacuated, and that the Fukushima meltdown is at the level of Chernobyl right now.

People have reported tens of thousands to millions of dead fish in New South Wales, Australia.

Also in South Wales from March 11, about 26,000 trout have been found dead at a fish farm in Rhondda.

Dead fish wash ashore in Hawaii, from roiled and/or polluted tsunami waters.

On the mainstream news today, the guy who predicted the 1989 San Francisco California “World Series” quake predicted a major quake at California … during a window of March 16-19.

And now comes the supermoon, “On March 19, the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past 18 years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles” with the inevitable question as to whether it will trigger natural disasters. Some think yes.

The dollar is tanking, and the Feds are deploying radiation equipment to the west coast of the US. Lots of different news items for your consideration, and none of it is normal. Read, understand, be informed, but always pray and be ready to meet Him who is coming in the clouds for His own! The time draws nigh.
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Posted in end time, prophecy, revelation

Don’t be destroyed for lack of knowledge

Posted on by elizabethprata

Wilfred J. Hahn usually writes about economic and financial matters. His bio states that he “is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada country’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization.”

This week he published an interesting essay regarding Wikileaks and how the world’s reaction to the leaks, to the company, and to its founder, Julian Assange, is similar to the prophesied world reaction toward witnessing Christians during the Tribulation and to the Antichrist’s financial schemes. It is really interesting, but even more interesting, to me, was his interpretation of the famous Daniel prophecy. Hahn writes:

“But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge” (Daniel 12:4). A popular interpretation of this verse is that not only will knowledge (i.e. information and data) increase in the world, but also travel. While this may not be a harmful interpretation, for a number of reasons, it is not likely that this text refers to such phenomena at all.”

“As it was, Daniel’s prophecies are concerned with the Jewish people and their future. Just as Hosea 4:6 (“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge”) is expressly spoken to the Jews, so likely is Daniel’s prophecy of an increase of knowledge. The word knowledge here does not refer to technical and scientific information, but rather to the knowing of God’s plan and His laws. The prophets had often castigated the Hebrews for their lack of knowledge. “Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge” said Isaiah (56:10).”

“Hosea confirms that the knowledge lacked refers to the ignorance of God and His Laws. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children” (Hosea 4:6). In Biblical terms, the word “knowledge” is more aptly defined as the “act of knowing.” In this sense, it is not knowledge that increases, but rather the knowing of it. For this and other reasons, we are safer to interpret this passage as referring to an increase in understanding of historical prophecy and Scripture, not an increase of information.”

“During the last days, the Jewish people will again come to an increasing understanding of their destiny and purpose. Finally, at the end of the Great Tribulation, a remnant will receive a full understanding. “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land, declares the LORD […]” (Jeremiah 3:15-16). The full content and revelation of the Bible will be “leaked” … in other words, rediscovered and revealed in the light of truth.”

Thoughts to Ponder

“Sadly, all of us living in the super-charged media and commercialized culture of our time, struggle in attaining the type of devotion that Scripture upholds. Apostle Paul was already worried about this type of assault upon the minds of Christians 2000 years ago. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Yes, Paul may not have understood the “somehow.” But today, we do recognize the devices and means that are being employed to lead our minds astray from the Bible.”

“The Bible has the first and last word on knowledge. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). Here, we clearly see that knowledge is the foundational information that matters for an eternity.”

I was never satisfied with traditional interpretations of the Daniel verse, ‘going to and fro and knowledge shall increase.’ I used them, spoke of them, but was never 100% on them. However the link Hahn makes to how God uses the world knowledge in the bible and Hosea’s prophecy of the people are destroyed for lack of knowledge makes total sense. Kudos to him for allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him to the conclusion, and kudos for publishing it to allow us to make our own decisions about it, too.

In all cases, knowledge of the word is essential, and in dark times like these we are veritably destroyed without it. It is like jumping into a roiling ocean from a sinking ship without a life jacket. We should be clinging to that bible for all it’s worth, because it is worth everything. As this church sign says:

If we are destroyed for lack of knowledge, and if “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD”, (Amos 8:11) then absorb all we can now and teach it to the young, the unbelieving, the faithful. Share His word liberally, frequently, and hide it in your heart. Buy extra bibles and stock them at work, the gym, school. Donate to the Gideons. When the Jews return to Covenant with God after the Gog-Magog battle and then first set of judgments is concluded (Seals) then 144,000 Jews are supernaturally sealed by God and are thus protected throughout the duration of the Tribulation. They are super-evangelists and they proclaim the Word. So do the Two Witnesses later on, and finally the angel in Rev. 14:6 proclaims the Gospel too, and every nation, people, tribe and tongue hears it.

Until then, it is up to us to share the word. Do not be destroyed for lack of knowledge! A few minutes in the morning or the evening reading the Word of God is a good thing to do. And just think, you don’t even have to go here and there to find it.
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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, pre-tribulation rapture, radiation

Expect the unexpected

Posted on by elizabethprata

Man has his own preconceived notions about Who Jesus is, what He should do, what heaven will be like. We are usually wrong. He does the unexpected! Consider His first coming:

–The man in Mark 2:1-12 expected healing but his sins were forgiven also.
–In Luke 5:1-11 the disciples went to sea and expected an ordinary day of fishing, but they met the Savior.
–A widow was expected to bury her own son, but Jesus restored her son to life. (Luke 7:11-17)
–The disciples thought the crowd should be sent home because there was no food, but Jesus used a small meal to serve thousands, and there were leftovers! (John 6:1-15)
–The people expected for a political leader to overthrow Rome’s control, but Jesus offered them a spiritual, eternal kingdom instead that overthrew sin’s control (Gospels)
–The disciples wanted to eat the Passover meal next to Jesus, their Master, but unexpectedly Jesus washed their feet instead- showing that He was also their servant (John 13:1-20)
–The religious leaders wanted Jesus killed and so got their wish, but no one expected the resurrection!! (*note: above synopsis from NIV Life Application Study Bible)
They wanted a lion, but got a lamb. No one expected that Jesus would pause for two thousand years and come to earth TWICE, the first time as a lamb for the slaughter and the second time as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. No one expected the Gentiles to be grafted into the Jewish family tree, and no one expected the rapture doctrine. That was something Paul revealed for the first time in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and in 1 Corinthians 15:52.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

In this end of the end time, end of the Church Age, end of the days before Judgment, we know some things that will happen. The Lord graciously revealed them to us in the Olivet Discourse, 2Timothy 3, Jude, 2 Peter, Revelation and many other places in the New and the Old testaments. But as His thoughts are above our thoughts, we cannot see around the corners that He sees, we cannot understand how one variable will impact another variable, with what results. Who could foretell the Japan situation? It began with a 9.0 earthquake but the nuke reactors were rated up to 7.2. The tsunami came and the reactors were protected against 2 km waves, but these were 4 km waves. Incredible aftershocks that are major quakes in their own right caused reactor cooling failure. The roof was blown off and this allowed radiation to escape into the atmosphere. The possibility of atmospheric radiation making its way across the Pacific, and if it reaches North American shores, would impact the growing soil and air in fertile fruit and wine producing regions of California. Who could predict that Revelation 6:8’s pestilence may be radiation poisoning? Skeptical? The Surgeon General of the United states says that buying iodide pills might not be such a bad idea.

We do know one thing though. And it is expected. The invitation to His cross is not going to be extended forever. There comes a point of no return in each person’s life when He hardens their hearts. This is not a vengeful act, it simply is an act that confirms the person’s choice. This has been true since the beginning of time. (Exodus 9:12; Romans 1:24-28; 2 Thessalonians 2: 8-12) After the Mark of the Beast is taken in Revelation 13, you have made a permanent choice. He is loving, but He is no fool and He will not be mocked. He wants you! He really does. But decide soon, it is in your own best interest. And you do not know when the moment will come that He chooses that it is time to give you over to your unbelief.

I hear all day every, day that non-believers want evidence. “Show me the proof!” they cry. But when Jesus first came, “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.” (John 12:37). Now is the time for faith, not sight.

What this means for you, non-believer, is to examine your beliefs about Jesus. Do you believe He is the risen Savior? Do you even believe in sins? Do you believe you commit them, and that they are crimes against God? Do you believe you qualify for heaven? If so, on what basis? Do you have faith that if you confess your sin-crimes, that Jesus will forgive them? These earthquakes and tsunamis and radiation poisonings and droughts and wars are happening for a reason. It is not normal, and in your heart of hearts you know this. You secretly wonder, what is happening? Could those Christians be right? We are right. Because Jesus is right.

For the believer, we need to rely on Him for strength. We cannot know what will happen next. His ways are so far above our ways. We know that there will be earthquakes, as He told us, and we think that is easily understood. On one level, it is. But on another level, it isn’t. Who could have understood the magnitudinal effects of a 9.0 on Japan and the continually unfolding effects on an fallen world? Not me. I am in awe. Friends, keep the faith, and expect the unexpected. Our God is The Ancient of Days, the Great I AM, and He who is so far above us in thought and ways, came down to us once, and He will come down to get us again. May His name be forever praised!

click on image to enlarge, and then click again to read the bottom.

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Posted in encouragement, end time, japan, nuclear, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy

Christians, this is where the rubber meets the road

Posted on by elizabethprata

The immediate future looks very, very dim for all of us on planet earth. The Japan situation is one where we simply do not have words any more. The human toll, the infrastructure toll, the economic toll, the financial toll and the nuclear toll affects everyone on this planet, whether you are Japanese, American, or Finnish. As a matter of fact, the Finns are buying iodine pills like they are going out of style, which they are. Over at The Economic Collapse blog, Mike Snyder noted: “[Japan is the] 3rd largest economy in the world … Could this be the “tipping point” that pushes the Japanese economy over the edge and into oblivion? … The truth is that the economy of Japan was already deeply struggling before this disaster. The national debt of Japan is now well over 200% of GDP and there seems to be no doubt that they will need to borrow massive amounts of money to deal with the aftermath of this crisis. Up until now the Japanese government has been able to borrow money at ultra-low interest rates of around 1.30 percent for 10-year bonds, drawing on a huge pool of savings from its own citizens. But in light of what has just happened, will the citizens of Japan still have enough resources to continue to fund the rampant spending of the Japanese government? At this point, it is estimated that this gigantic mountain of debt breaks down to 7.5 million yen for every single citizen of Japan.”

Add to that the cost to rebuild, mainly from scratch in places, and you have a serious dent in Japan’s and the world’s economy.

The nuclear situation is dire. Here is a photo from satellite of nuke reactor (left) and which still had smoke rising from its most recent explosion. [Photo credit: Photo DigitalGlobe / Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND]

They are destroyed. The steel housings of the construction are hanging outside the building and have actually melted on the concrete, you can see them running parallel to each other from top to bottom. The core is clearly visible, the overhead protective structure is completely obliterated at the very least. They are talking about radiation, plutonium, cesium, chromium and/or MOX getting into the atmosphere. Reactor 3 was burning MOX (mixed oxide fuel) fuel which is a VERY radioactive fuel when used.  MOX is bad because it will burn hotter then regular uranium. This was warned to be a bad fuel IF the plant were to come close to meltdown. Here is a link to Japan’s MOX program.

People on conspiracy sites all over the place are putting up wind and jet stream maps to determine when and where the radioactivity will arrive in the US and in other places. All three reactors are in meltdown mode and today even the mainstream newspapers are discussing the radiation fallout and putting up maps. They are buying gas masks, getting treated for radiation poisoning, hospitals are filling up…it is truly a doomsday scenario. The spectre of radiation raises the spectre of a chilling thought: the Revelation 4th seal of death through pestilence could well be radiation. Maybe not, but it shows us how He could lift a finger there and over here something completely un-thought of comes forth.

What can we as Christians do? We know to pray. We know to donate. We also know to rely on the promises of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Rely on His promises! This time is where the rubber meets the road. I painted a realistic picture for you and it is truly a doomish one. But He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! (Hebrews 13:8) Lest you forget what is ahead for us, and perhaps SOON:

‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5) What a comfort to be known and spoken of by the God of the Universe!

Ps 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” Yes, we have afflictions, and more may be coming down the pike, but what a blessing to know that we will be delivered!

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:18). Does this compute? The God of the Universe, will come to you. He will come right now if you need Him, pray if you need comfort. He is there, right beside you.

We are looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13). We are the generation that will see Him from life to eternal life without death! We are blessed to see Him soon, His glorious appearing! “Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” (Mt 17:1-2). We will see Him through glorified eyes, gaze upon His bright face!

Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. – John 14:1-3

So though the near future looks dim on planet earth, this is not our home! It looks very bright for us in New Jerusalem.

He knows your name, He is readying a place for you, He is bright like the sun and so you shall be bright, and He is coming to gather you to His bosom. Do not quiver in fear, this is where the rubber meets the road in your faith! Stand strong and ready, “‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.‘”
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