Category: end time

Posted in end time, north korea, prophecy, wars and rumors of wars

Will the church be on earth during wars? Will we experience wartime hardship?

Posted on by elizabethprata

We know that the first judgments in the Tribulation (the Church is gone) are the Seals. The Second Seal is the Red Horse and its rider takes peace from the earth. But the warnings of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse also remind us that one of the birth pang signs is also war, and not just between nations but kingdoms against kingdoms. Will we, the Church experience the effects of war? Will war occur on our soil prior to the Rapture?

We have experienced war since the moment Jesus ascended, as part of the prophesied birth pangs. In one sense, the Church is already experiencing wartime hardship. Any Christian in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel, or much of Africa is living in a time when war touches their lives directly. But with the ramping up of the conflict between North Korea and South Korea, with the US and China being dragged in as powerful allies, it is a timely question. There was a mystery missile shot just 35 miles from the western shores of the US this month, which also spooked many. In our secret heart of hearts, we have visions of mushroom clouds over LA, NY, Kansas… Or Sydney or London. Will wartime hardship touch the Christians in other places and locations? Let’s take a look.

WARS RUMORS OF WARS-
Matthew 24:6: “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.”
Mark 13:8a: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
Luke 21:11– “There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus spoke of what will happen in direct response to the Disciples’ questions about the end of the age and the signs indicating it. In the first verse of His answer in Mt 24:2 He told of something that will happen in a few years hence, though the Disciples were not aware of the timing. The Temple was going to be destroyed in 70AD. Then He spoke of signs of the end of the age in verses 4-8. Verse 9 begins a shift to the time of the Tribulation. Jesus says: “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” The rest of the Discourse relates only to the Jews and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble as they term it, or as we term it, The Tribulation.

We know that the first judgments in the Tribulation (the Church is gone) are the Seals. The Second Seal is the Red Horse and its rider takes peace from the earth. But the warnings of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse also remind us that one of the birth pang signs is also war, and not just against nations but kingdoms against kingdoms.

The number of military conflicts have risen dramatically as the end nears. In one of John MacArthur’s sermons on this subject (the end days) he cited statistics at the Encyclopedia of Wars, and I placed those numbers into a spreadsheet and turned it into a graph showing the number of military conflicts over the last 3000 years. No one on the planet since Jesus uttered His warning sign has been immune from wars, conflicts, battles, and uprisings. You can view that post by clicking here. The graph is below:

Though numbers of wars have been rising and rumors of wars are constant nowadays, I believe that the difference between our living through military conflicts now and those in the Tribulation will be markedly different. Why? The bible tells us. The verse in Revelation states: “When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.” (Rev 6:4)

Please notice several things about that Tribulation verse. First, peace is taken from the earth. There is no peace, anywhere! Imagine living in a constant state of conflict. Even in your home, you feel no peace. Riots, wars, conflict, fights, any flavor of the opposite of peace you want to think of, will be the state of things, all the time. Now, even in the end time prior to the Tribulation, we can find peace. Rumors of wars are unsettling, but they are not the scale and breadth that they will be as soon as we leave and the Seal is opened.

Sword is the Lord’s metaphor for war, or actually, judgment. The root word in the verse in Rev 6:4 is megas, meaning exceeding, great, large; and machaira, meaning figuratively, war, judicial punishment — sword. So, second, the verse takes careful note of the size of the sword. The Lord gave unto men a sword in other verses throughout the bible, as in Ezekiel 21:14; Ez 32:20; Jer 50:36; etc. Look up sword in the bible, and then look up large sword (or great sword, mighty sword). The sword of war is never described in any of the verses I could find, as mighty, (except in one verse in Isaiah 27:1, The Deliverance of Israel, which is the Lord’s own sword.) In other words, the wars and rumors of wars now are normal business, but the Tribulation wars will be devastating.

See what happens in the Fourth Seal: When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” The verse tells us a quarter of the earth’s population dies, partly from results of war (sword).

Ultimately, I interpret the verses in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 to say though there will be conflict both prior to the Trib and afterwards, the conflict in the Tribulation will be horrendous while the conflicts in the end of the age will be manageable. Will the US experience a nuclear holocaust, or even en electro-magnetic pulse wiping out all electronics? Maybe, I can’t predict the future, but I believe the church all over the world will experience normal conflict prior to leaving, but not horrendous hardship from nukes and direct attacks. That would be judgment, and we are not to be judged.

That is not to say that the normal course of war is anything to take lightly. It’s terrible. Ask any war widow. Ask anyone who lives in the line of fire, whose home is blown up and who has lost their nation, being a refugee. But the terrible times of the wars depicted in the Tribulation will be so much worse.

When Jesus said that there will be nations rising against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms, it sounds quaint and old-timey to hear the word “kingdom.” Monarchies seem outdated and bygone. But there are kingdoms in the world today, many with ruling and active kings (or queens). UK’s full name is really The Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The full name of other nations reveal many kingdoms. Others on the earth today include the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Kingdom of Denmark. Kingdom of Bahrain. Kingdom of Belgium. Kingdom of Bhutan.  Kingdom of Cambodia. Kingdom of Lesotho. Kingdom of Morocco. Kingdom of the Netherlands. Kingdom of Norway. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Kingdom of Spain. Kingdom of Swaziland. Kingdom of Sweden. Kingdom of Thailand. Kingdom of Tonga.

Kingdom of Tonga

Isn’t it strange to think that in the Tribulation, no where will be peaceful, including the far-off, remote and tiny place of Tonga. How many travel posters tout places like Tonga as the quintessential peaceful place, perfect to escape to? Pictures sch as the one above are emblematic of peace and tranquility. But when Jesus tells John that “peace will be taken from the earth”, that means that nowhere on earth will you find peace. Nowhere. At all.

As for the current conflict in the China Sea, time will tell how that may or may not blossom into a hot conflict narrow in scope or worldwide in impact. We won’t have long to wait. The joint US-SKorean military exercises are due to begin on Sunday and NKorea has vowed retaliation of we do. Here are a series of recent news headlines illustrating the progression of the conflict that has evolved over the last four days:

Boston Globe: South Korea’s Defense Minister Resigns
South Korea’s defense minister resigned Thursday, two days after an artillery attack by North Korea killed four people on small island near their disputed frontier.  The move came as President Lee Myung-bak vowed to send more troops to the island and as residents tried to salvage belongings from its blackened wreckage. Pyongyang warned of additional attacks if provoked.

Korean Times: NK fired fuel-air shells on Yeonpyeong
North Korea used a new type of artillery shell capable of penetrating concrete walls and causing fires in Tuesday’s deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea, military investigators said Thursday.  The “special shell” similar to a thermobaric weapon, known as a fuel-air bomb, is believed to have been deployed since 1985, they said. A team of investigators has recovered some 20 duds that landed on the island for analysis.

BBC News: N Korea warns war drills take region to ‘brink of war’
North Korea has warned that impending joint military exercises by the South and the US are pushing the region to “the brink of war”.  A group of naval ships, led by a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier, is heading to the Yellow Sea to take part in the drills, due to begin on Sunday.  At least four South Koreans died on Tuesday when the North shelled the Southern island of Yeonpyeong.

Korea’s Yonhap News: N. Korea says it is ‘ready to annihilate’ S. Korea’s stronghold North Korea said Friday it is “ready to annihilate” South Korea’s stronghold if its sovereignty is violated even a bit, raising already high tension after the two countries exchanged artillery barrages earlier this week, Yonhap reported. “We will show a firm and merciless example to whichever provoker encroaches on our dignity and sovereignty,” the North’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement released by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation: Japan increasing air patrols
Japan currently deploys five EP3 aircraft at its Iwakuni Base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan.  The aircraft routinely patrol the skies over Japan and surrounding areas, monitoring North Korea’s military activities, such as a ballistic missile launches.  The Defense Ministry appears to be increasing the number of EP3 flights to be on the alert for further possible military actions by the North.

UK Independent: Expats recalled as North Korea prepares for war
A mass exodus of North Korean workers from the Far East of Russia is under way, according to reports coming out of the region. As the two Koreas edged towards the brink of war this week, it appears that the workers in Russia have been called back to aid potential military operations.

China’s Xinhua News: Chinese FM discusses Korean Peninsula issue with Russian, Japanese counterparts on phone
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday discussed the latest situation on the Korean Peninsula in phone calls with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Japanese foreign minister Seiji Maehara. He said all parties should work together to help cool the situation as soon as possible and effectively ensure no repeat of such conflict. Meanwhile, the Chinese minister expressed the hope that concerned parties would take a reasonable and pragmatic approach to actively create favorable conditions for resuming the six-party talks.

Hankyoreh (Korea’s Independent Newspaper): Joint drills will be far from NLL, military reports
Joint South Korea-U.S. drills with the USS George Washington in the West Sea will be held from Sunday to Wednesday. North Korea has promised retaliation if both countries hold the drills in the West Sea. South Korea and the United States have stated that the drills are routine and defensive in nature, but with the drills being held in the middle of the West Sea for the first time, they strongly take on the character of a show of force against North Korea.

Stock Analyst: SKorea may elevate NKorea to main enemy status
Meanwhile, an unidentified South Korean official told Yonhap Saturday Seoul was mulling over whether to designate North Korea as its “main enemy” when the Defense Ministry publishes its next biannual defense white paper. The South now considers North Korea “an immediate and direct threat” to its national security.

The world holds its breath as it teeters on the brink of war.
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Posted in end time, prophecy

Enduring sound doctrine in the days of tickling ears

Posted on by elizabethprata

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

Do you notice that word “endure”? The verse does not say “they will not like sound doctrine…” It does not say “they will not enjoy sound doctrine…” It doesn’t even say “they will not accept sound doctrine.” It uses the word endure. When you endure something, you writhe. You wish you were not there in the midst of it. If anyone has ever undergone physical therapy, you know that you have to endure it but if you could you would shoot out of the gym so fast you’d be like a speeding bullet. If anyone has ever had to get a root canal, you know that you endure it. You do not seek it, you do not like it, and if you could, you go away from it.

That is the process by which lukewarm Christians, fake Christians, and unholy pastors feel about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. To be sure, the true Gospel of the Risen Savior is full of warm fuzzies. He loves us. He prospers us. He sends angels to us. But the True Gospel is also full of truth, the unpalatable truth that the iniquitous lawless cannot endure: we are sinners. Rejection of the remedy for your sin means you will spend eternity in torment, apart from God. That there is nothing good in us. That we are fallen, craven, and deserve judgment. No, they will not endure that. So they don’t.

Instead they seek teachers to tempt us with what the devil has always tempted us with, and tempted Jesus too: health, wealth, fame. They may find it in some “preachers” and in some “churches”, but it is for a season. Most do not find prosperity in health, wealth and fame. The only ones becoming famous and rich are the false pastors who urge the hapless and desperate to send money.

In his new series, “Toxic Television: Unmasking the Prosperity Gospel part 1” bible teacher John MacArthur spends a few minutes below of his one-hour sermon (linked above) explaining why Joel Osteen is false, dangerous, and unholy. He also spends time explaining why the Trinity Broadcast Network is also false, dangerous and unholy. MacArthur says, Osteen “is a quasi-pantheist where Jesus is a footnote that satisfies his critics and deceives his followers.” As for Osteen’s book, MacArthur says ‘Your Best Life Now’, the title, is a dead giveaway. The only way you can have your best life now is if you’re going to hell.”

Toxic Television: Unmasking the Prosperity Gospel part 1

A watered down gospel removes the book-end to the love parts that they seek. That other book-end is judgment. They will not endure sound teaching that His holiness involves love but it also includes righteous judgment.

“I have sworn by Myself,
         The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
         And will not turn back,
         That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
“They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’
         Men will come to Him,
         And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. (Isaiah 45:23-24)

A watered down gospel that removes the other book-end from truth is less filling but it tastes great. The bible shows us that the True Gospel tastes great, and also the watered down false Gospel tastes great. In the verses telling us of Ezekiel’s commission,

“Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” (Ez 3:1-3).

The true word absorbed by submissive believers is sweet. But it is also sometimes accompanied by a bitterness felt by even the most beloved of followers, even the most obedient of disciples. Sometimes the true word is hard to hear and bitter even for believers, because it reveals to us the true state of our sinfulness and the fate of those who refuse His hand, those mockers and scorners whom we mourn over-

“I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.” (Rev 10:10) The only way to endure the knowledge of judgment that is coming is to rest on His truth and His promises. Those who do not rest in that truth, bitter as it sometimes is, do not endure it. Not only have they stopped asking the Spirit for wisdom, but they simply stop ingesting the sweet Words of the LORD and they flee away, being unstable in all they do.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)

But we do endure! Paul said to in 2 Tim 2:3, 10. Peter said to in 1 Peter 2:20. The writer in Hebrews 12:7 advised us to endure. Endure what? Hardship. Beatings. Wrongdoing. Life. Hardship. Persecution. And there are those today who cannot sit still in a chair or a pew and ‘endure’ the Word of the Living God who loves them. They seek tickling instead. They are gaining the world only to lose their lives forever.

If you seek sound doctrine but have had a hard time finding it, I encourage you to enjoy the teachers I have been enjoying. John MacArthur is strong, loving, and firm in preaching and teaching all of the Gospel. His doctrine is sound because it comes verse by verse from the Living Word. His website is Grace to You, or gty.org. There, you can read essays and transcripts if you do not have a fast connection, or click on audio or  video to listen or watch.

Steve Hadley of Harvest Family Fellowship is another who teaches the bible and is unapologetic but loving about presenting sound doctrine. Steve’s recent message on 11/21/10 called Judgment Day is a devastatingly honest and convicting message that all need to hear. Click here for the list of messages, including the one titled Judgment Day.

Has solid preaching become an endurance test for you? Or are the hard but truthful words uplifting to you and filling in every way? If you have recently changed churches because the pastor is “a little too bible thumping for my taste”, or have drifted away from regular worship lately because the sermons are too long, too convicting, or demand endurance on the part of your deceitful heart, then ask yourself if you are really just trying to accumulate a teacher in accordance with your own desires, and are wanting your ears tickled with a less filling but great tasting sermon. If so, you may be at risk.

Why at risk? Because we all live forever in eternity in one of two places. The day will come when the eternity you are beginning will either not have the word endure associated with it, which is heaven, or it will have the word endure associated with it. You may try to avoid enduring a convicting sermon from a ticklish teacher today, but the end result will be that you will have to endure an eternity separated from Him in torment. O, faithful one, let it not be so!
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Posted in end time, prophecy, thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on by elizabethprata

About Thanksgiving. I’m reminded of the hymn, “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.” My thankfulness stems from the root of it all: my salvation. I’m thankful Jesus came, taught, died and rose again for pardon of my sins. I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s ministry to guide me on all straight paths in His Light. I’m thankful for Father God Who made us in His image….and did not wipe us all out in the Flood. I’m thankful that He sends the angels to protect me. Am I thankful for friends? For turkey? For my job? Absolutely. But the gratitude for secular things pale in comparison to the center of the universe: GOD, and the fact that He resides in me through His grace and mercy. From that One Truth, all other blessings flow.

The most important question you can ask yourself at Thanksgiving, is “Am I thankful I’m saved?”
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Posted in end time, prophecy, william M. Windsor

One retired Grandpa against the US Justice System

Posted on by elizabethprata

In this day and age, heroes are few and far between. William M. Windsor is one. A retired, Atlanta GA grandfather, he has had enough of judicial abuse. He is now challenging the Supreme Court of the United States on three points:

The Questions Presented to The Supreme Court by Grandfather Windsor are:

1. Will The Supreme Court declare that the Constitution and its amendments may be voided by federal judges?
2. Should federal judges be stopped from committing illegal and corrupt acts to obstruct justice and inflict bias on litigants?
3. Will The Supreme Court be afraid to disclose the corruption in the federal courts?

“These questions are presented in three separate Petitions for Writ of Mandamus filed with The United States Supreme Court the first week of November 2010 (appeal numbers to-be-assigned).”

“Windsor has been involved in legal action in the federal courts in Atlanta since 2006. Windsor was named a defendant in a lawsuit (1:06-CV-0714-ODE) in which Christopher Glynn of Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls, swore under oath that Windsor did a variety of things including the crimes of theft and bribery. Windsor stated under oath that Christopher Glynn made it all up and lied about absolutely everything that he swore. Windsor then obtained deposition testimony from Glynn and the other managers of the Maid of the Mist boat ride in Niagara Falls, and they admitted, under oath, that charges against Windsor were not true.”

“Despite this undeniable proof, federal Judge Orinda D. Evans declared that the grandfather of three should not have fought the lawsuit, and she forced him to pay over $400,000 in legal fees. Windsor appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, but federal judges Dubina, Hull, and Fay rubber-stamped Judge Evans’ ruling. Windsor then took his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court where the justices said the appeal was not worthy of their consideration (cert denied).”

“Windsor believes that the federal courts and nine federal judges violated the Constitution, the Due Process Clause, and the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.”

“Windsor says: “I have discovered that, at least in Atlanta, Georgia, the federal courts operate like a police state in which the judges are all-powerful, committing criminal acts from their benches and violating the Constitutional rights of parties who have the misfortune of appearing in their courts.”

“Windsor has now tossed the hot potato right square in the laps of the justices of the Supreme Court. By filing mandamus petitions rather than an appeal, The Supreme Court is forced to deal with Windsor’s allegations of corruption in the federal courts.”

“Grandfather Windsor hopes for the best but fears for the worst: “I hope The Supreme Court is decent, honest, and cares about the Constitution and the citizens of the United States. However, I am sorry to say that at this point, I suspect the corruption goes all the way to the top. My charges have been totally ignored by the United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and Congress. I have said to The Supreme Court that the issues can all be boiled down to one question: Is The United States Supreme Court prepared to stop the federal judges in Atlanta, Georgia from functioning like common criminals?”

“Windsor says: “If The Supreme Court fails to act against these federal judges, the citizens of the United States need to know that there is not a shred of decency, honesty, or Constitutional rights in our federal courts. Corruption has consumed the federal court system, and we now live in a police state. Judges are free to do absolutely anything they want. Our laws are meaningless. Your life savings can be stolen by a federal judge, and they have no risk in violating every law in the books.”

“The Supreme Court may render its decision before the end of the year. It’s one retired grandpa against the United States government.”

For more information, see http://www.LawlessAmerica.com. SOURCE William M. Windsor. On November 23 from 5 to 6 pm EST, Windsor will be interviewed on Katherine Albrecht‘s nationally-syndicated radio program.  Hear it at www.katherinealbrecht.com.

Posted in Bryan Fischer, end time, plague of animals, prophecy

Otters stalk walkers in FL, bite their ankles, attack a dog

Posted on by elizabethprata

PLAGUE OF ANIMALS

In Rev 6:8 Jesus opens the Fourth Seal and the Horseman on a pale horse rides. “And I looked and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth.” (the Greek word for “pale” is Chloros, pale, a sickly green as in bleach. It is where we get our word ‘Chlorophyll,’ Chloros being green and phyllon being “leaf”. This horseman is allowed to unleash death in the four severe plagues of the Lord, including death by wild beasts.

I know I’ve been posting a lot lately on this one, but it’s fascinating. Remember Jaws, the shark movie that came out in 1975? Its success sparked a national debate on the psychological terrors of being hunted by animals, speaking to our darkest fears. We are so used to being at the top of the food chain, we cannot cope with suddenly being thrust to the bottom, and being hunted ourselves. Imagine the psychological trauma that would cause if occurring on a widespread basis, as it will be in the Plague of Animals. The success of the movie Jaws was not in depicting the attacks themselves, few as they were and hardly shown. It was the music, speaking to the psychological fear of what lurks.

I’ve reported recently of bats attacking 3500 Peruvian villagers, NYC Staten Island dwellers battling turkeys, foxes and raccoons that enter homes and attack children, 6000 feral camels terrorizing Australian outback villages, a bull that killed a British rambler, a Swedish woman walking her dog on a road was trampled by an elk, fishers in Boston streets, Mountain lions have been sighted at the Denver Bus terminal and a Los Angeles community is gating their community against coyotes that attack in broad daylight, the monkeys who refuse to leave a vineyard in So Africa and hurl objects at people and who enter homes with impunity….the list goes on.

Most scientists who look into this conclude that habitation pressure has caused the conflict. As humans encroach into what was previously animal territory, they attack either to defend their resources or to get our food. Undoubtedly much of this is a cause of the noticeable worldwide animal attacks, that, plus stupid behavior such as unsafe camping practices or baiting them unnecessarily is at the root of some of these attacks. However, in many of these stories, the unusual behavior of the animal is noted, and not because it is rabid. Animals don’t usually enter homes, or attack sleeping people who pose no threat…

Here we have aggressive otters attacking people in Boca Raton FL. Authorities are searching for an aggressive otter that attacked two people and a dog near Boca Raton.  An alert was issued Monday by the Animal Care & Control and the Palm Beach County Health Department for the possibly rabid otter. A dog was attacked on Thursday, while two people were attacked Sunday morning. The community where the attacks occurred has several bodies of water where the otter – a species indigenous to Florida – could have come from. Animal control is trying to catch the animal with traps baited with tuna fish. Fliers are also being distributed in the neighborhoods.  In March, another otter attacked and wounded an elderly man in Venice along Florida’s Gulf coast.”

Another article states that the otter attacked two people separately as they walked on a sidewalk. In addition, a Golden Retriever as attacked by an otter as the dog lay inside a screened-in porch!

Kashmir is Northern India-

Greater Kashmir: Altaf concerned, directs urgent steps to prevent loss of lives
In Kashmir, 56 die, 638 hurt in wild attacks. Concerned over the frequent attacks on humans by wild animals, minister for forests and ecology Mian Altaf Ahmad on Monday said the government is initiating more steps to strengthen the Wild Life department with latest technology and equipment for the protection of human lives. Altaf told the meeting of the officers, which he convened, to discuss threadbare the man-animal conflict.

Whittlesea-Eden Park is southern Australia in Victoria State

Whittlesea Leader: Dog attacks sheep in Eden Park
N Eden Park couple have been left shaken by a dog attack that led to the death of their pet sheep and goat.  Garry Hicks and his wife Belinda Lagane, heard an “unfamiliar” bark about 6.45pm on Friday, November 12, and Mr Hicks went outside to check what was happening. The sheep was found with its throat torn out and caught in a paddock fence, while the goat was attacked twice and its ears bitten off. “My next door neighbour, who has lived here for more than 30 years, said he has never heard of any animal attacks like this in the whole time they have been here.

Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association noted earlier this year about animal attacks, particularly analyzing the Yellowstone increase in Grizzly attacks on humans and the Orca whale who killed its trainer. Fischer said “God makes it clear in Scripture that deaths of people and livestock at the hands of savage beasts is a sign that the land is under a curse. The tragic thing here is that we are bringing this curse upon ourselves.” Fischer said these things are occurring because it’s part of the “ongoing failure of the West to take counsel on practical matters from the Scripture.” [Fischer unfortunately does not include the scriptures he uses for his basis, but I think we can agree in premise where he is going with this…] Mother Jones magazine and Right Wing Watch blog promptly mocked Fischer for his views:

“As the director of issues analysis at the American Family Association, Bryan Fischer has issued some rather interesting “analysis” over the past year. He has said that Muslims should be banned from serving in the military; that a whale at Sea World should have been stoned to death for killing its trainer; that inbreeding makes Muslims stupid and violent; and that gay sex is a form of domestic terrorism. So naturally, he has been invited to speak to a huge gathering of conservative political activists this weekend, alongside such GOP luminaries as Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).”

It is that legitimacy that drives the liberals crazy. That fundamental Christians are not marginalized (or stoned ourselves) makes them nuts. Later in the article, they say so:

By sharing a stage with Fischer, public figures like Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Mike Pence, Bob McDonnell, and Michele Bachmann don’t necessarily endorse Fischer’s shameless anti-Muslim and anti-gay propaganda—but they do acknowledge its credibility.

I understand that for secular people, acknowledging some of the more seemingly outlandish plagues and prophesied events to come are hard to understand, let alone accept as credible. But the root of it is that God is always credible. He isn’t bound by what man deems as the limits of science and reality. He created the world, and He created the animals within them. All of creation is under His control. He used ravens to bring food to Elijah (1 Kings 17:4). He sent quail to the Wandering Jews in the desert (Ex 16:13). He sent all of the animals two by two into the Ark. (Gen 6:20). He put the fear and dread of man into the animals, and He will release the fear and dread of man to kill us, then make them peaceable again. (Gen 9:2; Rev 6:8; Isaiah 11:6-9). He will cause severe plagues to kill a quarter of the world’s population, prophesied to begin in the early part of the Tribulation.

He gives us a choice. We can prefer man’s carnality and sinfulness, or we can repent of our sins and ask the only One from Whom it is possible to receive forgiveness to cleanse us. Jesus died for our sins, becoming sin Himself for a moment in order to pay the price God demands for lawlessness. He is holding out to you a get out of jail free card. TAKE IT! The time of deciding is closing in, and our Redemption draweth nigh.
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Posted in china, end time, prophecy, Russia quit dollar

Russia, China quit dollar

Posted on by elizabethprata

The China People’s Daily published a major announcement yesterday late afternoon: China and Russia agreed to quit using the dollar for bilateral trade. Bilateral Trade Agreements are between on two nations at a time. They are fairly easy to negotiate, and give those two nations favored trading status between each other. I waited until today to find a source other than the State Newspaper of China, and the financial news markets are rife with articles about this important event in world trade and economy. I don’t know all the implications of this, but it can’t be good —

China, Russia quit dollar on bilateral trade
China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday in St. Petersburg Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies “About trade settlement, we have decided to use our own currencies,” Putin said at a joint news conference with Wen in St. Petersburg.

The Russian ruble already trading on the Chinese exchange, and China’s yuan trade in Moscow is expected to begin in early December. Which is only a week away. The bilateral trade between the two countries is estimated to reach above $50 billion by the end of 2010, according to the Russian government. A major chunk of the trade is transacted in US dollars currently. So again…this cannot be good.

I wonder how this will affect the next biggest economies, the up-and-coming economic powerhouses, India and Brazil.
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Posted in end time, north korea, prophecy

NKorea fires on SKorea in fierce artillery attack; jets scrambled

Posted on by elizabethprata

Closed-circuit television images broadcast on Korean television show the impacts of several artillery shells fired by North Korea Tuesday afternoon.

N. Korea fires artillery towards S. Korean island, official says 
North Korea on Tuesday fired several rounds of artillery towards South Korean waters and an island near the tense west sea border, the South’s military said. The North’s artillery shells fell at 2:34 p.m. in the South’s waters off the island of Yeonpyeong, some of them landing directly on the island, said Col. Lee Bung-woo, spokesman at the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South’s military responded with its artillery firing.

Island #3 is the one NK fired upon

“North Korea fired scores of artillery shells at a South Korean island on Tuesday, killing two soldiers, in one of the heaviest attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.  North Korea shells South in fiercest barrage in decades:  The barrage — the South fired back and sent a fighter jet to the area — was close to a disputed maritime border on the west of the divided peninsula and the scene of deadly clashes in the past. South Korea was conducting military drills in the area at the time but said it had not been firing at the North. The attack came as the reclusive North, and its ally China, presses regional powers to return to negotiations on its nuclear weapons program and revelations at the weekend Pyongyang is fast developing another source of material to make atomic bombs.”

Still is from S Korean news footage

AF chief Schwartz: Latest North Korea “provocation” means that the US government should discuss reintroduction of nukes to Korean peninsula. However, “The United States says it is not moving additional military power into South Korea following artillery attack by North Korea.” Obama said it is “too soon to tell.” I really would like to know what the Pentagon recommended, though.

Other nations are spooked by the sudden attack. “Indonesia has expressed deep concern over the armed clash between North Korea and South Korea on Yeonpyeong island that has claimed lives. The term “WWIII” has come up more than once this morning from many quarters on various forums. It is indicative of the tensions we feel these days. As Bonnie Tyler said in her 80’s song, “We’re living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.”
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Posted in end time, prophecy

The Goodness of the Lord

Posted on by elizabethprata

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?” (Ps 27:1)

There’s nothing like the Psalms for comfort. I first met the Lord as Light, and I gravitate to all the metaphors of Him as Light. Though to be sure, He IS the Light, and not just metaphorically on this side of earth. He will soon literally provide the only illumination: “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Rev 21:23)

In Psalm 27, David’s unwavering confidence in the LORD in times of trouble or fear is a good example to us today. I awoke this morning to news that heavy fighting in occurring at the border of North and South Korea, and this on the heels of unexpected and unwelcome news this week that NK has an advanced nuke facility. Jesus told us that the run-up to the Tribulation would be fraught with wars and rumors of wars, and nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. (Mt 24:6-7). These signs are even prior to the Second Seal judgment being unleashed which will take peace from the earth. (Rev 6:3-4)

I awoke to unwelcome news that food inflation is practically runaway. I didn’t make this headline up from Yahoo Finance or rewrite it: “Why You Should Be “Extremely Scared” by China’s Food Price Inflation“. In the US, food stamp usage has climbed 60% since 2007. And this is even prior to the unleashing of the Third Seal Judgment which depicts food inflation (and currency devaluing) (Rev 6:5-6). There is plenty of news to worry about, I post enough of it here and on my emailed prophecy newsletter. But I do not worry.

“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.” (Ps 27:5). We will be hidden in His tabernacle, when the Day of Trouble arises, we will be with Him in heaven. David was possibly referring to the incident in 2 Ki. 11:3 when Athaliah killed all the members of the royal family but Joash was hidden for six years. Even if the mention is David’s literal recollection of how the LORD protects His own, it also has a future meaning. We will be in His tabernacle when the Day of Trouble comes. The Tribulation as it is known to Gentiles is known as The Time of Jacob’s Trouble to the Jews, in Jeremiah 30:7. “Alas! for that Day is Great, so that none is like it: it is even the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, but he shall be Saved out of it.”

I do not worry.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” (Ps 27:13-14).

I am confident. I’m confident of His promises that we are not reserved for wrath (1 Thess 5:9) but are cleansed and righteous in His eyes. (Heb 10:14). I see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, in His creation:

 

 

I see the goodness of the Lord in the quiet companionship of men:

I see the goodness of the Lord in one helping a child:

I see the goodness of the Lord in His warnings to us, because through them, sometimes repentance comes, and salvation:

He is my Light! And because I am in His Light, I can see where I am going. He responds to our cry, “Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path.” Walk in His ways, and you will see the path made straight. You will be lifted up on the Day of Trouble. You will be above and away from your enemies, including that old enemy: sin. The news is dire and the world is ending, yet “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” He soon comes!
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Posted in end time, prophecy, the shadow scholar

The Shadow Scholar speaks: term paper mills are flourishing

Posted on by elizabethprata

You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’ ” (Mark 10:19)

Jesus was speaking to the Rich Young Man who had fallen at Jesus feet and had asked “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer in short is to have faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, and repent of your sins, including cheating, lying, and defrauding. However, today’s ethical climate is one rife with cheating, lying, and defrauding. Here is one example: cheating in the education business.

Above photo from an actual Academic Writing Service ad

The Chronicle Review of Higher education received a query from and then executed an extensive email interview with someone only named The Shadow Scholar. The Chronicle opened their article thus: “Ed Dante is a pseudonym for a writer who lives on the East Coast. Through a literary agent, he approached The Chronicle wanting to tell the story of how he makes a living writing papers for a custom-essay company and to describe the extent of student cheating he has observed. In the course of editing his article, The Chronicle reviewed correspondence Dante had with clients and some of the papers he had been paid to write.”

The Shadow Scholar “Ed Dante” wrote: “I work at an online company that generates tens of thousands of dollars a month by creating original essays based on specific instructions provided by cheating students. I’ve worked there full time since 2004. On any day of the academic year, I am working on upward of 20 assignments. In the midst of this great recession, business is booming. At busy times, during midterms and finals, my company’s staff of roughly 50 writers is not large enough to satisfy the demands of students who will pay for our work and claim it as their own. … I will make roughly $66,000 this year. Not a king’s ransom, but higher than what many actual educators are paid. … Of course, I know you are aware that cheating occurs. But you have no idea how deeply this kind of cheating penetrates the academic system, much less how to stop it. Last summer The New York Times reported that 61 percent of undergraduates have admitted to some form of cheating on assignments and exams. … [P]art of my job is to be whatever my clients want me to be. I say yes when I am asked if I have a Ph.D. in sociology. I say yes when I am asked if I have professional training in industrial/organizational psychology. I say yes when asked if I have ever designed a perpetual-motion-powered time machine and documented my efforts in a peer-reviewed journal.”

This industry of hiring others to complete your work and passing it off as your own, is not limited to higher education. A recent roman a clef titled “Schooled” was written by a NYC upper crust teacher/tutor named Anisha Lakhani. Until 2006 Anisha Lakhani taught English at the Dalton School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side where she also chaired the Middle School English Department. Ms. Lakhani received both her B.A. and her M.A. degrees from Columbia University. In other words she walked the walk and she knew the ropes. In 2006 she quit to write her book, fictionalized, but thinly. The Amazon.com summary states:

Schooled “takes yet another peek into the gilded lives of Manhattan’s über-rich. Schooled is about recent Ivy League graduate Anna Taggert, who lands her dream job teaching at Langdon Hall School, an oh-so-exclusive Upper East Side private school (Ms. Lakhani taught English at Dalton). Anna is disturbed to find out that the majority of her students get by through the use of expensive private tutors—who basically do the work for them—until she’s lured into taking advantage of the lucrative benefits herself.”

In the higher education cheating mill article, The Shadow Scholar said not only that he made his money by defrauding colleges and universities, but that eventually he realized that he had to become a liar himself in order to lure and retain clients, by presenting himself with credentials that he had not earned. He rationalized this by saying at least his work environment was not a cubicle, and that he made decent money.

In the Schooled novel, the author was tempted beyond her ability and unable to withstand the money lure, and eventually succumbed to writing papers for clients herself. She knew it was wrong, but she did it anyway, rationalizing all the way. The interesting thing about this book is the incremental way the author showed her sliding further and further into the evil pit of the sin of defrauding.

As for the educational system, in The Shadow Scholar article, he includes snippets of correspondence with his clients. “did u get the sorce I send please where you are now? Desprit to pass spring projict.”” “where u are can you get my messages? Please I pay a lot and dont have ao to faile I strated to get very worry.”

Note, that this correspondence is from a college business student in which English is her first language.

Paul wrote that in the last days “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

Always learning, yet never able to come to knowledge of the truth. In one regard, these students are always in the cycle of learning yet never end up knowing anything – because they refuse to be ethical and mentally apply themselves. In other regard, they are always seeking the truth but in failing to acknowledge Jesus, will not find it.

The students who cheat and the tutors/ writers who defraud are part of a vicious cycle of end time sinful behavior. Their lives are not profitable for the Kingdom. They pile up treasure but are losing their lives.

And on a personal note, if you have recently been wondering why America is becoming a nation of childish know-nothings, whiners, and lazy butts, now you know.
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