Category: end time

Posted in end time, prophecy, wheel within a wheel

The machinery of heaven

Posted on by elizabethprata

When we think of heaven, we often think of the emotions we will feel in heaven. Foremost in many Christians’ hearts is our reunion with the risen Jesus in the flesh. We know Him now by faith, but up there we will know Him by sight. We think of the love that will abound, and the crushing dazzle that will envelop us. We also think of the people we will reunite with, people we were heart-breakingly separated in time and space from husbands, wives, children, parents, friends.

Some Christians go further in their thoughts, when they dwell on heavenly things, envisioning the city of New Jerusalem (which descends from heaven). Puzzling over the transparent street of gold (street is singular in the Rev 21:21 verse), thinking of the animals that will be peaceful, pondering the upcoming beauty and majesty of the surroundings described in the few verses that present a physical picture of New Jerusalem to us.

But did you ever think of the machinery of heaven? Machinery is a strange word to think of being in heaven, because the word machines bring to mind oil and drip pans and messiness and noise, none of which meshes with a peaceful and perfect heaven. But if you never think of machinery in heaven, you haven’t read Ezekiel 1.

Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision

In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him.

I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.

As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

lapis lazuli

Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
————————————————
Well! That was some inaugural vision! Did you notice the moment when Ezekiel saw the wheel beside the creature, and that the creature was in the heaven (sky) and the wheel was on the ground? I envision the the heavenly realms and the earth as connected, the wheels of heaven rotating and the creature moving as the Spirit led and the wheels beside him moving too. Machinery. Incredible, unexplainable machinery.

The other unexplainable thing to this is that we GET TO GO THERE! We will see this creature. We will see the throne and the rainbow of lapis above. We will be with Jesus, yes. We will reunite with loved ones, yes. We will meet martyrs and missionaries and Apostles and just plain folks there, yes. But we will see God in all His glory and His works, too! His wonders to behold. He will give us glorified eyes so that we CAN behold them. He is marvelous and merciful indeed. Are you getting impatient to see all this? I am! I can’t wait!
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in amos, end time, end time. prophecy, fires, gray whale Israel coast

Does Amos’s prophecy have application for what’s happening in Israel today?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Did you know that some of biblical prophecy could be interpreted to have a partial fulfillment in the distant past and another completion in the future? Some prophesies were filled only once (Zechariah 9:9). Some were given a long time ago and are pending, they still have only one fulfillment in the future. (Isaiah 17:1). But some prophesies actually have a parallel track that can be applied to modern times. Why? God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and what He was concerned about in the past He is concerned about in these times. If He warned and judged for lackluster worship in the past, He will again. If he warned and judged about greed, truce-breaking, false idols, and oppression in the past, He will again. Just because Amos’s day has passed does not mean no one is an oppressor. Just because prophesies given in the past became fulfilled, does not mean the cycle bad behavior and proper repentance, warning and judgment, cease.

Take Amos, for example. What he warned the Israelites about in 750 BC are things that are again occurring today and so we should be concerned about them today.

Amos prophesied in 750BC or so. He spoke God’s Word at a time when the Israelites were enjoying success, which they equated to wealth. As for wealth, they equated it to God’s favor. Just as today we have the prosperity gospel false ideology, so in the past the Jews mistakenly thought that wealth meant they were all set with God and could coast. They relaxed their spiritual duties and God was not pleased.

God was actually looking unfavorably on them. Their worship had become hollow, it was religiosity without heart. God sent Amos to warn them. Amos 1 begins:

“He said, “The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers.” (Amos 1:2)

Amos, being a sheepherder, knew the sound of the lion. It was a prevalent predator in his day and many a sheep were lost to it while shepherds stood helplessly by, able to do nothing. When the lion roars, he means business. His roar, notoriously loud, is meant to startle. The metaphor is meant to startle awake the Israelites to the warning of the lion.

The lion “thundering from Jerusalem” has two metaphors. The first is thunder, which acts the same way as the lion’s roar. Thunder presages a storm. When you hear it, you perk up and you know the storm is on its way. Thundering from Jerusalem means that the LORD  is reminding His people from whence true worship stems.

The “pastures of the shepherds dry up” is simply drought. God is not an absentee landlord. He is active and He sends or withholds rain. Israel today has been experiencing the worst drought in their modern history. For five years rainfall has been a record low levels. All the storage tanks indicate below red marks. Just to give an example, the average rainfall for Jerusalem in November is 60mm. This November, they got 7. ‘The pastures of the shepherds dry up…’ Is it a coincidence that their worst drought in the modern era coincides with a fallen Israel, straying from worship? I do not believe so.

Wildfires broke out this week at Mt. Carmel forest. The Carmel forest is a verdant area of Israel. The area is held up in the bible as the ideal of fertility and beauty. For the “top of Carmel to wither” would be devastating indictment indeed.

Amos prophesied that God was about to raise up the pagan nations around Israel to judge her and them. Lebanon had broken treaties and colluded with Jordan (Edom). The LORD’S anger burned against Gaza because they had deported an entire population. God was angry with Syria for their incessant warlike actions. Greed was the watchword of the day and Israel’s enemies had dragged Israel into a sour economy. The Lord would send fire to the walls of Tyre.

Do you see parallels from the time of Amos with Israel today and her spiritual state? Her wealth and success has seduced her into a relaxed or even a non-existent worship. Her worship was flash over substance at best and so it is today. Her enemies are truce-breakers, greedy, deporting entire populations (Gaza) and militaristic. Even after Israel attacked and destroyed Syria’s nuke site three years ago, the Syrians have apparently rebuilt. The Jerusalem Post reported this week that a possible Syrian nuke facility has been identified by satellite. By the way, Syria has never allowed IAEA inspectors in despite pressure and entreaties by the UN to do so.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of the ultra-orthodox party Shas, said this week in his address that God is judging faithless Jews who do not keep the sabbath. Iran’s Press TV reports: “An Israeli rabbi has suggested that wildfires still raging in northern Israel were God’s punishment for religious offenses committed by the area residents.” Ynet news reported “Haredi newspapers say disaster ‘a warning sign’, call for personal and public self-scrutiny” and as a result, “ultra-Orthodox newspapers called for self-scrutiny, saying the disaster was a sign from God.”

We do know that God warns before judging. The Tribulation is judgment on non-believers and on Israel. When anything destructive or cataclysmic, or miraculous, occurs in Israel, believers should sit up and take notice. When superlatives are attached to any event in Israel, such as “worst drought”, “uncontrollable wildfires”, or “worst disaster” then we should really attune to what God might be saying. When combined with indicators in the bible as to God’s standards, His warnings, and His judgment, and the events match up as a possible prophetic fulfillment, then spiritual alarm bells should be ringing in every Christian.

I advise four things:

1. Hal Lindsey’s Report this week is an excellent overview of Ezekiel’s prophesies fulfilled in regard to Israel. His 20-minute segment gives a wonderful context from which every believer should then come to the minor prophets. Part one of Hal’s segment this week, titled “Ezekiel’s Enigma,” is here and part 2 is here. If that link expires then go to Hal’s web page here.

2. Read Amos 1 with an eye toward a possible fulfillment of the prophesies today that Amos was burdened with speaking back then. If you are not of the ilk that believes in prophetic fulfillment twice, then examine the principles exhibited. Is what is happening in Israel with the drought and the fires a warning from God? If it is a warning, what were the people doing that caused God to warn them? Are we as individuals or as a nation doing those same things today? It is always worth checking ourselves to see how our walk with the Lord is going. Are we wandering? Or are we close to Him?

3. Pray for Israel! Not only are we commanded to in Psalm 122, but Jack Kelley also has an explanation of what you are really doing when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, here. Joel C. Rosenberg has specific prayer needs listed at his website, here. I copied the ones listed for 12/5/10 below:

4. Consider. Amos is written to stir the soul to action. Whether you believe that Amos’s prophesies were fulfilled once for all, or have an imminent fulfillment application for today, the bible is God’s word and it stands for all time. If you have fallen into a prosperity gospel mentality, get out. If you have succumbed to allowing your thoughts to accept division of Israel for peace, stop. If your worship has become flash over substance, shake yourself out of it. The Rabbi’s call to private and public self-scrutiny is good advice, no matter where you stand on fulfillment of prophetic theology (eschatology).

And keep looking up, for your Redemption draweth nigh!

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in blair and hitchens, end time, Ixchel, julian of Norwich, prophecy

Of Mayan goddesses,Tony Blair’s time-delayed faith, and Pope Benedict

Posted on by elizabethprata

Despite the abundant evidence for God’s existence and for Jesus’ work on the cross, many people refuse to believe. “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised…” Paul wrote in Romans 1:25. We know that this state of worshiping something or someone other than Jesus will only continue to increase in the last days. As a matter of fact, this state of affairs MUST continue, because it is prophesied. “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. “(2 Thess 2:3-4). In this case, “apostasy” means falling away or departure from belief.

The moment when the Antichrist proclaims himself to be god, the whole world will be astonished. We are told they will follow that beast and believe, especially when he recovers from a seemingly fatal head wound, though in a disfigured way- (Revelation 13:3; Zechariah 11:17). However it is not so astonishing. It is the logical conclusion to falling away from God. He simply allows people to follow their own desires to their natural end: total evil.

As the run-up to that moment proceeds apace, we see plenty of apostasy in the world already. Any and all religions, philosophies, and modes of higher thought are venerated, while the only true way, following Jesus, is denigrated. The global climate change conference held in Cancun Mexico this week opened with a prayer to the Mayan moon goddess Ixchel.

In January, a terrible earthquake occurred in Haiti. Though many were killed, it awakened a spiritual revival and many repented and came to Jesus. However, almost a year on, the Haitians have endured aftermath of the earthquake, a devastating cholera plague, riots, violence, water shortage and famine. We read, “Fear overtaking some Haitians in spiritual realm. “Throughout the eleven months from the January earthquake to the November elections, millions of lives have been lost in Haiti. Homes have collapsed, children have been orphaned, church leaders have fallen ill. No one can blame those who have managed to survive the extensive trauma for being at least a bit nervous. The suffocating fear that now chokes the country, though, has led to some troubling spiritual outcomes. For one thing, many believers have been too scared even to go to church. “[Fear] sets the stage for the other false religions to flare up, as they’ve been recently hearing more of the voodoo drums at night.”

In other apostasy news, Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and noted atheist Christopher Hitchens debated religion this week.

“Mr Blair, a Catholic convert, said faith was a force for good and it was “futile” to attempt to drive it out. But Mr Hitchens, who is terminally ill with cancer, argued religion forced people into doing terrible things. In a vote after the debate, the audience voted two-to-one in Mr Hitchens’ favour. A 23-country poll paid for by the debate’s Canadian organisers suggests the world is evenly split on the issue.”

Evenly split…how sad! Note this news story from 2007 “After 30 years as a closet Catholic, Blair finally puts faith on the front burner

It is stated in the article, “His spiritual awakening goes back at least 30 years, to his time as an undergraduate at Oxford, but due to political considerations Tony Blair’s conversion to Catholicism has been a long time coming.” In Matthew 8 a disciple of Jesus said he would like to follow Him but wanted to bury his father first. The disciple’s father was not laying dead on a slab somewhere but what the disciple was saying was that he wanted to wait until his father died and then he would follow Jesus. Jesus said “Let the dead bury their own dead.” (Mt 8:21-22). In another case, the rich young man didn’t want to sell all he had to follow Jesus though he seemed zealous enough in the beginning of the conversation. (Mt 19:22) The hitch came when it became obvious he would have to give up wealth and disappointed, he turned away. Jesus demands that we be ready to give up our earthly possessions, money, and way of life to follow Him, or they will not inherit eternal life. For thirty years Blair stated a faith but was not willing to give all to Jesus to enact that faith. He wanted his political career and all that came with it, fame, wealth, attention. Blair lost the debate 2-to-1 because you cannot defend that which you do not know.

Speaking of Catholicism (and apostasy), Pope Benedict reveals his mystical side
From Ministry Values.com – “Pope Benedict XVI held a general audience this week in which he revealed a side of himself which is very real but, unfortunately, quite unknown to many who receive their information about the Pope from the secular press: he revealed his mystical side. The mystical side of the Pope came out this Wednesday when Benedict admirably spoke of Julian of Norwich, a medieval English mystic and visionary, as well as when he gave an enthusiastic shout out (on the same day) to Croatian pilgrims from the village of Medjugorje, where six modern visionaries have reported experiencing the supernatural phenomenon of Marian apparitions since they were children in 1981. Pope Benedict spoke of Julian of Norwich—who is considered one of the greatest English mystics in history and the first woman to write a book in the English language—with great affection, citing her work “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love.” Julian, who lived between the years 1342-1416, was an anchoress in the town of Norwich who experienced mystical visions of Jesus Christ when she was 30. Her visions resulted in revelations that were recorded as theology in her book on Divine Love.”

An anchoress is a type of hermit living in a cell attached to the church, engaged in contemplative prayer. They are walled-in, never to come out. They are fed by the Church and are expected to produce evidence of their wisdom either verbally by dispensing advice to comers who knock on a small grate which she slides back, or written form through books. Julian’s book, “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love” (circa 1393) is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language. She had her visions on what she believed to be her deathbed, but recovered, and wrote them down, finalizing her theology 16 years later.

One falsity that Julian taught was this: she believed that sin was necessary in life because it brings one to self-knowledge, which leads to acceptance of the role of God in one’s life. Julian taught that humans sin because they are ignorant or naive, not because they are evil.. Secondly, Julian saw no wrath in God. She believed wrath only existed in humans, but that God forgives us for this…Lastly, Julian’s theology was controversial in regard to her belief in God as mother. So you can see the issue with one of the leaders of the (perceived) Christian world, the Pope, admiring this anchoress and her false theology!

She was the first notable person noted as Universalist, believing that there is one universal truth: God is love, and ONLY love. She, and most Universalists believe that when Jesus spoke of God’s judgment upon the wicked, he did so with words that implied a limited, corrective punishment. This is not true. His wrath is real and He will not let the guilty go unpunished. The smoke of the torment of the lost goes up forever. (Nahum 1:2-6; Rev 19:2-3). Julian was troubled by the question of what would befall those who had never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The answer she received was that whatever God does is done in love, and therefore “that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Beloved, most importantly in these end times, mystical visions and experiences are NEVER theology. That is why we in the West are having the issue today of a diluted theology from the Charismatics who promote the Word of Life gospel, prosperity Gospel, and all the other perversions of the true Gospel. If the canon of scripture is not closed at John the Revelator’s warning in Rev 22:18, then you can and you will accept anything as theology, and build a faith upon t something will turn out to be sand and fog. We are told that satan comes as a minister of righteousness, and that in the Tribulation even the elect can be deceived because some supernatural workings will be so convincing and so powerful. NOT EVERYTHING SUPERNATURAL IS FROM GOD! Beware falsity.

I do not believe Islam is the major threat to Christianity, the “god is love” idea is the major threat and I beleive will be the prevalent religion in the tribulation. Not Islam. In Islam, no one is assured of attaining heaven (except through jihad). It is a works-based religion, which includes worshiping Allah and prayer, among other of the 5 pillars. You work and you pray and you obey but a Muslim will never know if they ‘made it’ until they face Muhammad, and even then he is said to be capricious. He may deny you entry. The only surety of attaining heaven is to die in jihad, a martyr’s death, killing non-Muslims.

As far as the Tribulation religion goes, to which would you rather succumb, a religious structure as embodied by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad in which you are never sure you will get to heaven, unless you blow up apostates? Or one in which is embodied in Pope Benedict, where “that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well”, no repentance required?

The only way to stay true to Jesus and not fall away is to continually read His word. Study what He said to us, and you will be well.

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in end time, end time. prophecy, fires, israel

O, Israel! Her fires rage on

Posted on by elizabethprata

Precious Israel, about to become the burden of the world and undergo a time of Trouble for Jacob that the world has never seen, no, nor shall ever see again, is undergoing a heartbreaking trial even now:

Fires break out in northern Israel
“HAIFA, Israel – Help streamed in from across the world Friday to help Israel battle a forest fire that’s already killed at least 42 people and ranks among the nation’s worst natural disasters. … Many Israelis said they’re still shocked by the bus tragedy, which happened during the first hours of the inferno. According to rescue workers, the bus, carrying trainee prison guards to help evacuate a low-security jail, was caught by flames travelling 100 mph down a hillside. None of them could escape.”

The fires rage on…and on…and on:

Flames out of control, firemen rescued
“Israel’s deadliest fire, which claimed the lives of at least 41 people, continues to rage for second night in a row: Several firefighters were rescued from the flames in the northern community of Nir Etzion, where paramedics continued to search for possible casualties in the area.”

Israels more overt enemies are demonstrably happy at her misfortune:

Hezbollah overjoyed by fire
“Arab networks celebrate fire disaster: Many Arab media outlets have been taking advantage of Israel’s fire disaster to disparage the Jewish state and rejoice over its misfortune.”

Israel’s less demonstrable enemies are perceiving her as weak…perhaps a weakness that includes vulnerabilities which make her ripe for attack?

World perception: Israel is weak
“Meanwhile, officials in Jerusalem presented a grim assessment of the public relations damage suffered by Israel as result of its inability to effectively fight the fire.” The PR damage in the world is huge; Israel is perceived as fully incompetent,” one source said.”

Yes, lovers of Israel pray! Let us pray for her!

Fires spawn international prayer response
“The United States, Bulgaria, Russia, Egypt and Turkey are among the nations rushing to help Israel in its time of need. The international emergency aid to a country that rarely accepts or receives foreign help may be a result of international prayer for the safety of Israel. John Hagee, founder and national chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), is among many leaders who have issued a prayer alert for the nation. His prayer asks God to “comfort those who mourn for their precious loved ones who are injured or have lost their lives in the midst of the raging fires” and to “protect Your land which You have given to Your people as their inheritance.” (You can read the rest of Hagee’s prayer on the CUFI Facebook page.) Martin and Norma Sarvis, Christian artists and intercessors who live in Israel, have also issued a prayer alert about the fire on Mount Carmel.”

Psalm 122 says for us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Jack Kelley asked, Why Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem?

“On several occasions I’ve been asked something like, “If this is a great cosmic problem that won’t ever be solved until the 2nd coming, how can our prayers help?” Here are some good reasons why we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

“1st, speaking of the Jewish people the Lord said, “Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye” (Zech. 2:9) and to tribulation survivors He’ll say, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40). I know it breaks His heart to see the way His city has been defiled by hate and bloodshed. As Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision has said, “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” It’s good for us to be on the Lord’s side.”

“2nd, He has commanded it and rewards us for obedience. All of Psalm 122 speaks of the special nature of Jerusalem, the one place on Earth God specifically chose for His dwelling, and promises prosperity to those who pray for its peace. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. (Psalm 122:6 KJV)”

“And 3rd, when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, you’re praying for the Messiah to come and establish His Kingdom. Maybe that’s the best reason of all.”

Selah!
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in end time, microbe, mono lake, prophecy

What does the NASA discovery of the new life-form at Mono Lake mean?

Posted on by elizabethprata

This week, NASA scientists announced that a new life-form had been discovered, saying “NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.”

It caused a sensation among scientists, amateur astronomers, and conspiracy theorists. Waiting for the press conference on Thursday Dec 2 was a nail-biter. Millions tuned in. NASA explained what had been discovered. It was “a bombshell that upends long-held assumptions about the basic building blocks of life, scientists have discovered a a whole new type of creature: a microbe that lives on arsenic. It is unlike every other lifeform on the planet – from the simplest plant to the most complex mammal. “It’s terrestrial life – but not life as we know it,” said Mary Voytek, director of NASA’s astrobiology program.

Well.

“All life on Earth relies on six principal elements — carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and phosphorus. Phosphorus is a key ingredient in the ladder of DNA, as well as many key components of cellular machinery. The microbe in Mono Lake uses arsenic as a nutrient; not one of six major elements thought to be essential for life.”

As science goes, this is pretty major and I can applaud the persistence of the scientists and enjoy the thrill of discovery and increased knowledge. But what does it mean for Christians? How does this discovery mesh with what we know, believe, and have faith in?

There could be of four paths of thought about this new ‘discovery.’ My list is certainly not exhaustive, they are simply musings upon my Lord and the work He is obviously doing in the world now, in the end of the end time.

First, in Revelation 13:3; Zechariah 11:17 the antichrist is seemingly killed by a head wound and then seemingly raised from the dead. (I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;) Can it be? Can satan create, or at least imitate, new life? I don’t think so, the verse in all its translations says that the antichrist only seemed to be dead. Satan is a counterfeiter. He can pervert life (Genesis 6:4). He can genetically mutate life (Numbers 13:23; 33 NASB) but he cannot and does not create new life. He only fakes it. It is toxic life, filled with sin as the antichrist is after he seemingly rises from the dead. If satan counterfeits life, than a toxic emergence of toxic cells filled with arsenic sounds like just his style. So one idea is that the microbe is something that satan perverted in his never-ending quest to be like God (Isaiah 14:14).

Second, we do know that the Lord has a purpose and a plan for this life that we do not know. Even if satan twisted God’s good life-forms into a toxic pestilence, God will use it for his good and his purposes. If God made this life, then He made it for His plan and His purposes which we know are always good. (Romans 8:28)

Third, is this microbe something that God made as a readiness of the pestilences that Rev 6:8 says will come? A pestilence(s) of some kind is prophesied to emerge when the fourth horseman rides. Maybe this is a killer pestilence. It IS a bacteria, after all.

Fourth, and last, it could be that the scientists are wrong. Mockers of Christ will scorn this last idea, for their god is science, and to them, it is inerrant. But science has often been wrong. Last year, the fossil dubbed “Ida” was supposed to be a missing link in the theory of evolution., We are related to lemurs, scientists said. ‘This will re-write history,’ they said. Almost immediately, the hoopla faded and scientists were saying Oops! Fossil not missing link after all, It’s just 2 animals squashed together, Utah museum says. History re-written? And I didn’t even have time to uncap my pen. Some scientists even claim that the notion of a missing link at all is a myth. After Ida, a new missing link was touted. Before Ida, we were supposed to have been related to birds.

This microbe was found in the lake but then grown in a petrie dish and increased amounts of arsenic added to it. It was manipulated, in attempts to re-create the in-situ conditions. In biology in situ means to examine the phenomenon exactly in place where it occurs (i.e. without moving it to some special medium). Moving the bacteria to other conditions and coddling them as you inject new arsenic to see if they can handle it is not exactly the same as what was found at Mono Lake.

This is not to say science is bad. It isn’t. I am saying that science isn’t my god. I don’t believe it is the source of absolute truth, or even inerrant truth. The discoveries are touted with ever-increasing fervor (nervous hysteria?) combined with blaring headlines full of hyperbole. Let’s just say, based on an observable track record, I am skeptical that this microbe is what science is purporting it to be.

Scientists keep exclaiming that this microbe is not like any life they thought possible, nor is like any life that thought existed. New life-forms are conformed to exist, scientists say, and it is not like any life they thought possible. The discovery “changes what we think of as life” they say. Scientists need to expand their thinking a little more. Christians know that other life exists. God created angels, you know. They are off-earth life forms that live, breathe, think, and exist in various dimensions inside of time and outside of time – at will. Here is a description of one extraterrestrial life-form that’s pretty dizzying:

“Within it there were figures resembling four living beings And this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies…” Ezekiel 1:5-11…

I think God’s wheels within wheels beats a toxic microbe any day.

Whatever God is doing by revealing a bacteria that has a basic building block different from us humans is not cause to doubt nor to defend nervously. It IS cause for celebration. His ways are so far above our ways, but He lets us participate in observing His work on earth with insight from the indwelling Holy Spirit, and soon we will FULLY participate as co-heirs in His work from heaven. Praise His name, He is amazing!

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in a little child shall lead them, end time, end time. prophecy, faith

An interesting conversation

Posted on by elizabethprata

An interesting thing happened yesterday. I work at an elementary school and after the children leave at the end of the day, I remain, and continue working in the After School program. It is a less academic environment, where the kids rotate into different settings. One is play time in the gym, another is homework room, a third is games in the cafeteria, and the fourth is the computer lab.

I am the leader in the computer lab. It’s quiet, the kids like it in there, and for the first few minutes we get to chat, before they tell me their choice of educational computer software they want to use for the 30 minutes they are present.

Yesterday I noticed that after chatting and when all the kids were settled and sitting on their stools with headphones on and working busily way at the keyboards, a fourth grade boy who rarely talks had turned sideways from his computer and said he didn’t feel like doing computer any more. I asked him if he was feeling OK and he said yes. I asked him if he’d like to read a book and he said no. I said all right, let me know if you need anything.

A few minutes later he got up and sat next to me at my computer. I turned to chat with him and it was like pulling teeth. He gave one word answers to the usual questions, “Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Yes. Did you have a good day at school? Yes. Was there anything special you learned today you would like to share? No. I gave wait times, and nada. So we just sat quietly, giving him space to ponder his thoughts, work up his courage, or whatever was obviously on his mind to come out.

After a moment, he said that he really doesn’t like it when his friends keep saying the world will end in 2012. He said that the Maya were a people that were either predicting a new phase of life and time, or that they were saying they themselves would be phased out as a people, was his interpretation. But the thought that the world was ending in 2012 was false. He said that one day recently he had to defend his point of view for a while in talking with a friend, even though his “throat hurt so bad it felt like a cat scratched it.” He spoke for a while, and it was the longest I’d ever heard him talk. Eventually, when he wound down, I asked, “Do you think that the world will ever really end?”

“Sure, when Jesus comes,” he replied.

Ah! I asked him to share with me his ideas on that. What ensued was the most balanced, theological, and confident conversation about the end times I’d ever had with anyone, adults included. He knew about the earth being melted in a fervent heat. He knew about the moment when satan is thrown into a gloomy dungeon with a chain. He knew that the tribulation will be horrific, and that after that Jesus comes back in glory “and all will see him.” He knew about the rapture and that it could occur at any moment, “even before we finish this sentence, or years from now. You just don’t know,” he said.

I was proud of him. He was confident in the Lord’s work, but impatient with those who turn to other predictions or philosophical structures. I wish the conversations I have with adults were this way. Most “Christians” I speak with never bring it up on their own. If I do, they invariably edge away, or change the subject. Most say they are scared, or that it is a scary subject. Many spout incorrect doctrine. One lady I spoke with was a holy roller, bible-thumping self-stated believer. When I mentioned the rapture, she said, “Oh, that’s just a made-up doctrine from the 1800s.” I showed her the 1st Thessalonians verses where Paul reveals the rapture doctrine, and she still wouldn’t believe. Adults pollute their beliefs with personal wishes, refusals to study, and stubbornness. Children have an innocent belief, a pure belief. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said:

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of Godlike a little child will never enter it.”And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” Mark 10:13-16

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” (Is 11:6)

This ten-year-old’s steady and clear-eyed view of Jesus, the end time, false doctrine, and sin is something that should be expressed by every adult. But it is not. It’s sad that many adult “Christians” are so weak and pale in their faith. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said in Revelation 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” These believers are not hot nor are they cold. They are lukewarm believers who will be discovered not to have been believers at all.

PS: I know there are detractors who will say, “That kid was forced to believe, it was shoved down his throat.” But all children are under the tutelage of their parents. Their ideas and outlook into the world are through the lens of their parents: for good or for bad. Children who grow up liberal, on welfare, feminist, homosexual, Buddhist, Mormon, whatever, have learned it. But Christianity is the only truth where it is written: “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov 22:6). No matter what you are, your parents taught you, either by word or by deed. They “shoved it down your throat,” as it were. The children are watching. What do YOU believe? How do you demonstrate it? Time is short. It may be as short as until the end of this sentence.

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in end time, prophecy

They hate Him without cause

Posted on by elizabethprata

We know that many of the Psalms are prophetic. Psalm 83 lists a particular configuration of nations that attack Israel, and that particular configuration has not occurred yet. In Psalm 22, the crucifixion is depicted. We know that David was not crucified so it must be that Jesus is speaking through David in a prayer that’s a  forerunner to the actual event. Psalm 69 is again one of those prayers of Christ speaking through David, in part or in whole. Though Psalm 69 could be easily applied to the Christ-type David, most of it can also applied to Christ speaking those words, especially verses 4, 9, 21, bolded here:

 Here are verses Psalm 69:1-12; 22

Save me, O God,         
For the waters have threatened my life.    
I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;         
I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.    
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;        
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.    
4. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;         
Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
O God, it is You who knows my folly,         
And my wrongs are not hidden from You.    
May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts;         
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,    
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;        
Dishonor has covered my face.    
I have become estranged from my brothers         
And an alien to my mother’s sons.  
9. For zeal for Your house has consumed me,         
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.   
When I wept in my soul with fasting,         
It became my reproach.    
When I made sackcloth my clothing,         
I became a byword to them.    
Those who sit in the gate talk about me,         
And I am the song of the drunkards.
…
21. They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

In Psalm 69 we get a peek at how the Lord was feeling, not just what He was doing or saying as he is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I was moved to think of Him born in a stable, or a cave, laid as a babe to rest in a trough. His humble beginnings carried out through his life, with the Son of Man having no place to lay His head. And to boot, being scorned by drunkards at the gate, and his own half-brothers not believing Him (John 7:5). Just as Psalm 22 begins with humility and ends in exultation, so does Psalm 69.

Now the cross-reference:

Prophesied:
(Psalms 69:4) Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.

Fulfilled:
(John 15:23-25) “He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, “They hated Me without a cause.'”

Do you hate Him without cause?
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in end time, mud island appears, pakistan, prophecy

Island appears overnight in Pakistan, it’s seismic

Posted on by elizabethprata

Island of mud appears near Hingol, shows seismicity

PFF spokesman, Sami Memon told Dawn.com that the fishermen of Ibrahim Hyderi area described the occurrence after returning from Hingol. Fishermen observed white, slippery hot sand erupting from water,  three km away from the beach. Before the upsurge of sludge, fishermen also observed high tides near the coast and several boats were trapped due to the emergence of the island. Memon told Dawn.com that the island is 98 feet beneath the water and 196 feet above the sea level which is a total of 295 feet in height. According to Memon, the fishermen also registered another island 12 years back which plunged into the sea after four months. However, the amateur video of the event clearly showed eruption of white hot liquid sludge on top of the island which is still ongoing. Speaking to Dawn.com, Director of Geolabs at Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP), Asif Nazeer Rana said the area holds three tectonic plates – namely Eurasian, Arabian and Indian plates which are responsible for high seismic activity due to subduction in the Makran area. Rana said that the Chaman Transverse Fault could also be responsible for the sudden rise of the island at Hingol because the fault is extremely active, moving at a rate of four centimeter yearly. The Chaman Fault is the only physical feature of Pakistan which can be seen from space and it was responsible for the horrifying earthquake of 31 May, 1935 in Quetta. Over 30,000 people died in the quake. Rana said that an earthquake of 4.1 magnitude on the Richter scale was also recorded recently in the Chiltan area due to activity of the Chaman Fault and the series of these events need serious attention. – Dawn.com”

This happened before. An island appearing overnight, that is. “New Volcano appears, Wasn’t there days ago.”

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in end time, pre-trib, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy

The rapture will occur before the Tribulation

Posted on by elizabethprata

Believers of the Church Age will not go through the Tribulation. This statement is not an opinion. It is decree from God. Anyone who firmly believes the Church will go through the Tribulation is twisting verses. Further, anyone believing the Church will go through the Tribulation has an incomplete understanding of what the Tribulation is all about. Here are the verses:

The Tribulation’s purpose is stated in Dan 9:24. God’s purpose for the Tribulation is to accomplish 6 things:

Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to:
1. finish transgression,
2. to put an end to sin,
3. to atone for wickedness,
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness,
5. to seal up vision and prophecy and
6. to anoint the most holy.

First, the verse begins by stating it is for “your people,” the Jews. Not the church. It is stated for Jerusalem, (and wicked unbelievers by extension). Not the church. The transgression to be finished was the prophesied 490 years of a decree stated in Daniel 9:25:

“So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

The starting point of that decree began in Artaxerxes given in 444 b.c. as recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8. It paused at the crucifixion of Jesus. It will resume the last 7 years of this earthly existence, after the rapture. It is a time when the Jews will be dealt with, God picking up the threads of a work begun at the decree of Daniel.

Second, believers in the church age have had our transgressions is already put an end to. We are considered righteous with Him, made perfect, our sins nailed to the cross. (Heb 12:23; Col 2:14). So that takes care of #1 and 2 and 3. Jesus atoned for our wickedness and our repentance clears the judgment against us. Why would Jesus die to make us perfect, we are seen as righteous in His eyes, only to be punished for sins already wiped away? Makes no sense. It makes God contrary and inconsistent, and He is not that!

Third, Paul said we are not appointed for wrath. (1 Thess 5:9). The “wrath” is not that God is really, really mad. It’s not an emotion. It is punishment and it is controlled and it has a purpose (see above, again). It has a designated beginning and an end. Rev 6:17 declares that His wrath has begun (with the seals opened) and Rev 15:1 concludes it. The church is seen in Rev 5 in heaven already (singing!), and a  reasonable interpretation of Rev 4 shows our arrival. Revelation is mostly chronological and we arrive in Heaven prior to Rev 6 when the wrath begins.We are not only not appointed for it, but He promises to rescue from it.

“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (1 Thes. 1:9-10).

Fourth, Paul wrote: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess 13-18). The Second Coming shows Jesus returning all the way to earth. But that is not where we meet Him. We meet Him in the air. When? Prior to our return with Him in Rev 19:4.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3).

“For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.” (Psalm 27:5)

The Holy Spirit spent a tremendous amount of energy and words encouraging us to look for Him, telling us we won’t be here, and blessing us for longing for His appearing. Therefore, we will not be here. It is not an opinion, it is a promise of GOD! 🙂 You can bank on it, rest on it, and declare His glory through it!

Have a wonderful day and blessings to you!
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Posted in end time, prophecy, wikileaks

What effect will the Wikileaks dump have on the end time?

Posted on by elizabethprata

WikiLeaks ‘nothing short of a political meltdown for US foreign policy’ – Der Spiegel

“The United States was catapulted into a worldwide diplomatic crisis today, with the leaking to the Guardian and other international media of more than 250,000 classified cables from its embassies, many sent as recently as February this year. At the start of a series of daily extracts from the US embassy cables – many of which are designated “secret” – the Guardian can disclose that Arab leaders are privately urging an air strike on Iran and that US officials have been instructed to spy on the UN’s leadership. These two revelations alone would be likely to reverberate around the world. But the secret dispatches which were obtained by WikiLeaks, the whistlebowers’ website, also reveal Washington’s evaluation of many other highly sensitive international issues.” Read more from The Guardian

Some of the revelations include:

Iran is fortifying its arsenal with the aid of North Korea – NYT

Arms deliveries to militants: Cables describe the United States’ failing struggle to prevent Syria from supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has amassed a huge stockpile since its 2006 war with Israel. One week after President Bashar al-Assad promised a top State Department official that he would not send “new” arms to Hezbollah, the United States complained that it had information that Syria was providing increasingly sophisticated weapons to the group.- NYT

US embassy cables: US fails to dissuade Turkey from Iran ‘meddling’ – The Guardian

Iran is fortifying its arsenal with the aid of North Korea – NYT

Saudi willingness to see nuclear weapons deployed in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) as a deterrent to Iran. – Wikileaks

Wikileaks docs show Turkey helped al-Qaeda – Jerusalem Post

What does all this mean for the end time? We know that conflict in the Middle East is front and center at the end of the end time and in the Tribulation. At some point, a war prophesied in Psalm 83 occurs where Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and miscellaneous enemy groups (potentially Hezbollah and Hamas) attack Israel. Isaiah 17:1 depicts Damascus (Syria) totally destroyed. And of course, Gog-Magog battle takes place, by the end of which all the nations know it was GOD who protected Israel from the surprise attack by Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

The nations have been gridlocked for so long over matters of national security maybe the lid being blown off will prompt some action. Iran is obviously making nukes, but they deny it, and their plausible denials have allowed the cover to stay on. Turkey’s shift in alliance from the west to the Muslim nations is obvious, but their protestations and insistence on inclusion in Western channels allowed the cover to stay on. Syria’s obvious military build-up behind the UN’s coattails has allowed plausible deniability to reign- until the Wikileaks cover blew them all sky high.

Perhaps this will be the catalyst for action to be taken. Perhaps this is what it will take for Israel to say, we wait no more for fickle and lying “allies”. Perhaps this is what it will take for the US to fall, in credibility, foreign policy, and be forever marginalized at the edges of the grownup table. It certainly has destabilized the US.

I am not intelligent enough in foreign affairs to determine what effect these documents will cause. And after all, fewer than 300 of almost 3 million have been yet published. But the above allegations alone are incendiary. I believe the most incendiary is the Saudi plea to allow a nuclear deployment to Iran’s ambitions. This will have an effect. What exactly that will be, only God knows. In the meantime, come, Lord Jesus!
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js