Category: jesus

Posted in doomsday, end time, jesus, Mayans, prophecy

What is the opposite of a Mayan doomsday? Jesus’s Peaceday

Posted on by elizabethprata

Mayan doomsday hysteria is overtaking people, towns, whole nations. According to an incorrect interpretation of the long count Mayan calendar, (Baktun) the world is supposed to end tomorrow. The fascination with this calendar and its prediction of global doom has apparently affected many, many people. Crimes are being committed. Deaths are occurring. Government decisions are being made.

O, would that they would do the same by taking the bible seriously! If people changed their lives, thought of their mortality, made decisions based on the truth and fact of a REAL doomsday that will come for every human who ever lived…what a world this would be. Alas, it is not.

But be that as it may, the troubles of the mind are bubbling to the surface. The intuitive fear that every human has is giving rise to actions that are caused by those fears.

And what are those fears? Follow me on the progressive thought: The bible says eternity is set in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11). It says that we are influenced by the general revelation of God in nature, (Romans 1:20; more here) and also that we have been influenced by special revelation which is the spoken Word, miracles, visions, dreams, and Jesus. And if we are influenced by God in those ways, we also intuitively feel the weight of our sins, (2 Timothy 3:6; Isaiah 1:4). Therefore we understand deep in the recesses of the darkest corner of our minds, that we are accountable for them. Each individual in the world at some point before their death, unless they were a babe or cognitively impaired, have pondered the eternal question- what happens after death? Is this all there is?

Not knowing the answer to that question bothers people. Of a mundane day to day living, the issue doesn’t come up so often. However if a person is confronted with a horrific event, such as the Newtown School massacre, they think about it. Or if they receive a dread diagnosis, they think about it. Or if they approach old age, they think about it. It’s natural to wonder.

Not having the answer, some people go more crazy and frantic when faced with a looming appointment with mortality. For many today, that looming appointment seems to them to be the Mayan end date and alleged pagan Apocalypse. People really are going crazy. See this news from around the world:

Almost 1,000 doomsday cult members arrested in China
Police in China have carried out further arrests of members of a doomsday cult for spreading rumours about the imminent end of the world, state media say.
State media terms Almighty God an “evil cult” – the same description it applies to the banned Falun Gong group.

As ‘Doomsday’ Looms, Serbs Cash In On Mystical Mountain
If doomsday really falls on Friday, the residents of this Serbian mountain region are cashing in while they can.  “We’re booked out December 20-23. We have a New Age convention and guests are coming because of the end of the world,” said Nebojsa Gajic, manager of the 160-bed, Communist-era Millennium Hotel on the slopes of Mount Rtanj.  The region is selling itself as the best place to survive the looming apocalypse–which will fall on December 21, according to mystics whose calculations depend on the ending of an era in the 5,125-year-old Mayan calendar.

Dec. 21, 2012: Fearful ‘end of world’ callers flood NASA
If there’s one government agency really looking forward to Dec. 22, it’s NASA.  The space agency said it has been flooded with calls and emails from people asking about the purported end of the world — which, as the doomsday myth goes, is apparently set to take place on Dec. 21, 2012. … NASA decided to do “everything in our power” to set the facts straight.  That effort included interviews with scientists posted online and a web page Brown said has drawn more than 4.6 million views. [italics mine]

School Districts Cancel Class Due To Doomsday Talk, Potential Threats
Thousands of students will have an extra long holiday break after school administrators in at least two Michigan counties decided to cancel classes because of talk surrounding the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and rumors connected to the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world.  Five districts in Lapeer County and 20 districts in Genesee County posted announcements Wednesday evening cancelling classes Thursday and Friday. … Additionally, rumors connected to the Mayan calendar predicted end of the world on Friday have also surfaced,” a letter from Matt Wandrie, Superintendent of Lapeer Community Schools said.

Chinese police suspect man who stabbed 23 kids ‘influenced’ by doomsday rumor 
Chinese police said Monday that the man who stabbed 23 children in a rural Chinese elementary school just hours before the Newtown, Conn., massacre may have been “influenced” by doomsday predictions. A belief that the Mayan calendar predicts an apocalypse this Friday, Dec. 21, has gained peculiar currency here. And the knifing spree is the darkest manifestation yet of how end-of-the-world rumors have taken hold in China.

People are taking this thing seriously. Too bad they are all wrong. They are going crazy. And they do not need to.

Oh, the Lord may rapture His believers any day, and the last 7 years of doom on earth may begin. That last 7 years does include days of darkness as the Mayans “predict”, and asteroids and comets and other doomish happenings. But if it does occur it will not be because the Mayans said so, it will be because GOD said so.

However, the heartbreaking concepts in all this are two-fold. First, that people and governments are making decisions based on a false prediction from a lost cult of the Mayans. Their religion means nothing and it came to nothing. Chances are that naught untoward will happen tomorrow. Sadly, many people who have either committed suicide, or killed someone or went underground or sold all their stuff will sheepishly understand they made an eternal mistake based on false intel.

Secondly, what we’re seeing with all the hullabaloo is the roiling of usually placid waters of apparent unconcern with their eternal destiny. People hide or suppress the turmoil of fear and uncertainty underneath. (Romans 1:18). We don’t usually see a person’s turmoil. Big events stir up that inner turmoil. That is what we’re seeing today.

In this case it is the specter of doom in the form of an ancient pagan prediction. However, even the Newtown massacre prompted full churches and candlelight vigils in the search for meaning among the face-off with death and its eternal question.

Source

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“Oh, the raging of many nations–they rage like the raging sea! Oh, the uproar of the peoples–they roar like the roaring of great waters!” (Isaiah 17:12) Isaiah likened the turmoil of nations with its endlessly raging peoples to the roaring seas. So did Luke:

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,” (Luke 21:25)

Isaiah’s use of roaring is from a Hebrew word hamah that means to ‘murmur, growl, roar, be boisterous’ and that is exactly what we see when a great many people across the world at once are forced to face mortality and confront their conscience with the question of “what happens after death?” Like a Mayan apocalypse. They murmur, growl, become boisterous, just like the raging sea.

One can be peaceful, placid, and avoid the roiling of waters by being in Jesus. HE brings peace, and only HE brings peace. Without Him, there is no peace. And no answers.

“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;” (Ephesians 2:14-15)

“To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79).

The Apocalypse is coming. It is not the Mayan apocalypse, but the Jesus Apocalypse. Apocalypse literally is from the Greek word apokalýptō and Strong’s concordance defines it as:

“properly, uncover, revealing what is hidden (veiled, obstructed), especially its inner make-up; (figuratively) to make plain (manifest), particularly what is immaterial (invisible).”

The last book of the bible is Revelation and it reveals the things of the last days. It reveals to one and all the terrible wrath of God leveled upon the world for their sins. He reveals what He will do.

In Amos 3:7 it is written, “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets”

and in this case He revealed His intentions to John, who was also instructed to write it down and thereby it becomes instructive to us in this generation.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. … Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:1-3, 11)

We are meant to read the book and to understand the price that pride and sin and rejection of Jesus brings. Surely the LORD does nothing without revealing it…and He has. The Mayans have not.

You have been warned, as every generation has been warned since the generation of John and the closing of the bible with the words of Revelation He ordained John to write.

Wrath is coming. But the Peace that passes all understanding is also revealed. (Philippians 4:7). That also, is yours for the choosing. I beg and plead with you who do not believe, I entreat and urge those who do believe but are falling away. I am not so proud that I would not beg you in abject tears to heed the words of Jesus the Christ who is and who was and who is to come again.

It may be today. It may be tomorrow. It may be next month. Or your very death may cause you to slide in due time toward the eternal destiny He has set before us. (Deuteronomy 32:35). There are only two destines for every person who ever lives: eternity in hell away from Him, and eternity in heaven with Him.

As Paul wrote in the great book of Romans,

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”. (Romans 12:1-2).

What is the will of God, you ask?

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)

Believe on Jesus, the resurrected God-man who was slain for the sins of the world, and who took YOUR wrath as the substitute. Repent and believe. And then you will no longer wonder about your appointment with mortality. You will KNOW.  You will never worry about anything so foolish as a Mayan apocalypse again. It is His delighted pleasure to reveal to you your destiny which is peace and glory and perfection and joy. His peace is amazing. Jesus is amazing. Come join us in His peace, I beg you.


Posted in children, jesus, newtown

Jesus and children (thoughts of Newtown)

Posted on by elizabethprata

On Thursday, the day before the Newton Elementary School shootings, in which an entire kindergarten class of five years olds was massacred by a 20 year old boy, the Lord was preparing me to write about children. He was bringing to mind two precious incidents that had occurred in my life regarding children and the purity of their belief in Jesus. I prayed,  I cherished the memories, and I wrote the draft. Then I waited. Little did I know that a horrible massacre would punctuate and underscore these memories, imbuing their specialness by the heartbreaking loss of innocent life in Connecticut. I wrote more about it yesterday, the day it happened, and used scripture, here.

Jesus loves the children. They are precious to Him. Unlike in many societies where the children are not even named until age five because of the death rate, or in other societies where they are chattel, or still in others where the girls are left exposed to elements because they are an undesirable gender, Jesus cared for them uniquely as precious members of society and urged His believers to do the same.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)

God personally makes every child that ever was or is to be:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16).

The LORD sends angels to minister to the little ones:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)

There is a place Jesus is preparing where all the children will be safe from dangers:

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6).

At times like these, many Christians wonder if children who have not professed Jesus go to heaven upon their death. The biblical evidence, though implicit and not explicit, seems to say yes. In Deuteronomy and other places in the Old Testament, the word innocent is applied to children. Not that they are not guilty of sin, because we emerge from the womb as such. But that their guilt has not yet been applied to them because they cannot cognitively understand their sin via two revelations God gives us: conscience and His holiness and our sinfulness as revealed in nature. Here is an essay about it-

Do babies and others incapable of professing faith in Christ automatically go to heaven?

Two incidents in my life with children after I’d come to know Jesus stand out to me. Rather than the world’s claim that children are browbeaten and brainwashed into believing in Jesus, it is actually the adults who are brainwashed and browbeaten into NOT believing in Jesus. Belief in Jesus is intuitive and pure in the children who do profess.

I work in a kindergarten as a teacher’s aide. A few years ago at Christmastime, the teacher was teaching a unit on the customs of Christmas from around the world. There were two five-year-olds who had professed Christ and any believer could immediately see the difference in their behavior and their spirit compared to the kids who had not professed. Anyway, they were sitting on the rug watching a short video on the Nativity. The kids saw the part where the angel led the three wise men to the boy Jesus, and some kids began a quiet but fervent discussion about what the light actually was. Some said a star. Others said a comet. Others said a planet. The two saved children said,

“It was an angel. The angel had the light from heaven wrapped around him and the light led the wise men.” All discussion stopped cold for a good ten seconds. Then it resumed, with denials of the angel idea from all the unsaved kids. The two saved kids just looked at each other from across the carpet, smiled peacefully, and put a thumbs up, nodding their belief to each other.

How many times are we told in the bible to act just that way? To tell the truth in love, gently and with meekness, fellowship with each other, not to argue, and to share the love of Jesus in peace and goodwill to men? They did, and in addition, their perception was amazing. An angel?! Why didn’t I think of that? And a little child shall lead them…

In another case, I was teaching bible study to 6-to-8-year-olds at church. I always encouraged the kids to bring their bible with them. When I taught the passage we always opened the bible and read from the bible and not just the curriculum. I wanted them to get into a habit of being responsible for handling their bible in church, and in reading the actual verses for themselves (mini-Bereans).

LOL, they were young and it took a long time for us three teachers in the room to get them all opened to the same page. It was hard for them at first to find the verse and then to not lose their place while the other kids found it. But you would not believe how much zeal they exhibited in wanting to bring their bible and delighting in reading the verses for themselves. The eight year olds had an easier time of it than the six year olds. This particular evening we were studying Psalm 100.

There was one 8 year old boy sitting in front of me on the floor. He had opened verse Psalm 100:1 and he began reading it while the others were getting settled. He whispered,

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.”

He stopped reading. He looked aside, and paused. Then he whispered to himself, “I like that. I don’t know why I like it, but I do.”

This is a miracle.

We don’t get to see Jesus create fish and bread for thousands. We don’t see Him restoring sight and making the lame to walk. We do not see Him walk on the raging sea or change water to wine. But nowadays we have the Holy Spirit. The miracle in this day and age is regeneration. The Holy Spirit is invisible, but His work is not. Seeing and hearing a boy apply truth to his heart is a wondrous thing. Watching the joy he received from reading truth in beauty while acknowledging it and honoring it, is a visible evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in a person.

Do we eagerly read, then pause? Ponder and consider? Understand and accept the Word’s beauty without first having to construct intellectual reasons why? Do we accept the Spirit’s work in us and proclaim it aloud? Do we accept the miracle of His living word into our hearts with peace and joy?

And a little child shall lead them.

I believe the children killed in Newtown CT are in heaven right now. As John MacArthur says, “instant heaven.” As we mourn them on earth, what is Jesus saying to those children in heaven? I don’t know, but perhaps the scene looks like this-

Children Coming to Jesus, by John Lautermilch
“Come my children! You must have been so scared. You’re safe now. I have so much to show you!”
Posted in jesus

The Light is here and His brightness is coming

Posted on by elizabethprata

Jesus is the Light.

“he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.” (2 Samuel 23:4)

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

The light we see now is but a pale flicker compared to His coming glory!

“For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

At the end, all will be bright —

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,” (Revelation 21:22-24).

Keep your eyes on the Light, not the darkness in between the light. And soon, we will be in glory, where there is no darkness at all, and everything we see will be JESUS!

Posted in frankenflies, jesus, key west, mutant mosquitoes, pestilence, prophecy

Unleash the Frankenflies!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Dengue Fever is back, and it is causing a fever among health officials. Outbreaks worldwide are increasing, and the Florida Keys are one of the places American officials are especially concerned about. World Health Organization (WHO) said in recent years it has become a major international public health concern. In 2010, Puerto Rico had the largest outbreak in history, reported health officials at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.

“The first native cases of dengue fever in Florida in more than 70 years began appearing in Key West in 2009, and they’re becoming more common…It’s not clear why the mosquito has become more abundant, reported Time Magazine in 2011. 2010 was a watershed year, with 2009 having had 22 locally acquired cases and the next year that number leaped to 66.

As of 2010 dengue fever is believed to infect 50 to 100 million people worldwide a year with 1/2 million life threatening infections. It has dramatically increased in frequency between 1960 and 2010 by 30 fold.

Dengue is a fever brought by “the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, dengue infects an estimated 220 million people a year — 2 million of whom develop a severe form called dengue haemorrhagic fever, which has no known cure. And it can be extremely painful,” reported the Time Magazine article. Quoting NPR, Time’s article continued,

“Dengue is considered a serious public health threat in Key West, Hawaii, south Texas and other Florida counties where it has been reported. But compared with its resurgence in Latin America, the outbreak in Key West is relatively minor.”

It is serious nonetheless, because officials do not know why it is happening. “The state’s public health veterinarian said in 2010, “We do know that we used to have dengue in Florida,” … “Why we’re currently experiencing an outbreak, I can’t answer that question.”

The FL Department of Health web page today states, “The number of dengue cases in Florida travelers returning from the Caribbean, Central and South America is higher than normal. If you are traveling to a tropical or sub-tropical area, you can protect yourself from dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases by following the suggestions on our Prevention page, including using insect repellent. You can get more information about Traveler’s Health at http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/travelOutbreaks/index.html”

So both locally acquired cases and foreign returnee-cases are on the rise.

In order to combat this disease, Florida officials are about to, as the Russia Today article wittily states, “Unleash the Frankenflies.”

Hundreds of thousands of mutated mosquitoes could soon be unleashed in Florida, but don’t worry: scientists say they have a plan. It might sound like something out of a low-budget horror film, but the US Food and Drug Administration really is considering whether or not they should allow scientists to send thousands upon thousands of genetically altered insects into the wild. If all goes as planned, mosquitos modified by some serious Frankenstein treatment will be introduced into the Florida Keys and ideally mate with skeeters that carry the deadly dengue fever, passing along in the process a fatal birth defect that will hopefully eradicate the offspring before birth. From there, scientists say they expect the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the dangerous disease will be decimated in only a few generations without causing any major implications for the native ecosystem. “The science of it, I think, looks fine. It’s straight from setting up experiments and collecting data,” Michael Doyle of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District tells the Associated Press.

This will not end well. Even the guy they interviewed seemed to be saying that on paper it should all work out. He thinks.

But we know that when you start monkeying around with the natural order of things, it doesn’t work out. God told Adam to name the animals, not remake the animals. (Genesis 2:19-20). When man accepted the fallen angels’ ways and human-angel mutations happened, God shut it down. (Genesis 6). When man tried to re-make his own little world, at the Tower of Babel, God shut it down. (Genesis 11).

I the late 1800s, kudzu was imported from Japan as a shade foliage, and now we call kudzu “the weed that ate the south.” When sugar-cane beetles began overrunning the cane fields in Australia, they brought in cane toads to eat them. Now Aussies have a much bigger problem on their hands.

“The much maligned venomous cane toads earned their bad reputation shortly after being released into the Australian ecology in 1935 with the hope that they would control the destructive cane beetle population. They turned out to be failures at controlling beetles, but remarkably successful at reproducing and spreading themselves. About 3,000 cane toads were released in the sugarcane plantations of north Queensland in 1935. They now number well into the millions, and their still expanding range covers thousands of square miles in northeastern Australia.” (source NatGeo).

So this unleashing of genetically modified mosquitos has me skeptical just on the basis of past failures.

In addition, look at the end of history as prophesied in God’s word. Luke 21:11 Jesus promised there will be pestilences at the end of days. Revelation 6:8 again states the same, and gives specifics: a fourth of the world will die by sword, famine, pestilence and beasts. Death by beasts could include animals losing the fear of man and stalking them in their own attempts to get food, or the prophecy could mean rats,  fleas, ticks, mosquitos, and other dirty animals that traditionally have unleashed massive plagues on man.

Either way, the end time is a time when God is showing us through repeated warnings that He is in control. At some point the issues of today will increase beyond man’s ability to solve and control them. Science will fail. Governments will fail. God will strip away all man-made reliance on anything except upon HIM. It will be painful and it will mean death for many. Turn to Jesus now in reliance on His holy name and His good and great plan for your life. It is not painful, but blissful. Don’t wait. There are worse things coming for the unbeliever than mutant mosquitos, and there are wonderful things coming for the believer.

To become a believer you should repent of your sins, being sorry for these crimes against God, and pray to Jesus to forgive you. He was sent as the substitutionary sacrifice to pay God’s penalty for your sins, (the penalty is wrath) and God has accepted Jesus as the sacrifice, proving this by raising Him from the dead after three days. Jesus is in heaven now but He is coming back to judge the living and the dead. Believers will already be in heaven, safely dwelling in glorified bodies with Him. Sound good? It is! It is the GOOD NEWS of JESUS CHRIST!

Posted in israel, jerusalem, jesus, syria

Israel wants to bomb Syria’s chemical sites

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel has repeatedly asked Jordan for permission to bomb Syria’s WMD sites. Apparently some of the sites are very close to the Jordanian border. Up until today, Jordan has repeatedly answered “the time is not yet right.” But that all may change. Here are two news articles for you:

‘Israel sought Jordan’s permission to bomb Syria‘
‘The Atlantic’ reports Jordan rebuffed Israeli requests to hit chemical stockpiles; Israel: We reserve right to preemptive action.
“Israel asked Jordan on a number of occasions “permission” to bomb Syrian chemical weapons sites, The Atlantic reported Monday, citing intelligence sources in both countries. According to the report, Jordan turned down requests a number of times in the past two months, saying “the time was not right.” Jordan is reportedly wary of allowing Israel to bomb the sites in Syria, fearing a military response on Jordanian territory. “A number of sites are not far from the border,” the report quoted a foreign source as saying.”

The subhead above says Israel reserves the right to take preemptive action:

“The source said Israel has been saying for months that it was concerned about the possible transfer of Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons – the third largest in the world – to “unsavory actors” such as Hezbollah, Hamas or al-Qaida. He said Israel “reserves the right to preempt” if this is done.”

This article from Haaretz says the same as the Jerusalem Post article, except that the Jordanian foreign minister is talking with other neighbors in the region-

Report: Israel requested Jordan’s ‘permission’ to attack Syria chemical weapons sites
“Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh declined to comment on the report that Israel had sought Jordanian permission to strike Syrian WMD sites, but did say his country was monitoring the situation closely and that his government was talking to countries in the region. “We have to be prepared for different scenarios,” he said at a press conference Monday, adding that the Syrian regime is currently in control of these weapons and understands that using them would be a “game changer.” The New York Times reported Sunday that western intelligence officials said they have been seeing new signs of activity at Syrian sites used to hold chemical weapons.”

The concern is huge. Syria is unstable, and getting worse by the day. The statehood given to the PA by the United Nations emboldened them, and it emboldened Hezbollah in Lebanon as well. The entire “epicenter” as Joel Rosenberg says, is one big tinderbox. Near-use of chemical weapons may be the fuse to the final Armageddon. Remember, Damascus will be destroyed… (Isaiah 17:1).

Posted in jesus, jews, nazi, prophecy

Hungarian politician’s call for a "Jew-list" sparks protests

Posted on by elizabethprata

Thousands of Hungarians protest against compiling lists of Jews posing ‘security risk’
Over 10,000 have come out to an anti-Nazi rally in Budapest to demonstrate against a proposal of a far-right leader to draft lists of Hungarian Jews who may represent a “security risk”. The government and opposition parties both joined the protest.
It all started when Marton Gyongyosi of the of the Hungarian Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), the country’s largest far-right party, stated that it was time to determine “how many people of Jewish origin there are here, especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk.”
Gyongyosi argued that this was needed because of the tensions after an eight-day attack on Gaza. He also said that Hungary’s Foreign Ministry had “rushed to make an oath of allegiance to Israel.”
After the statement, Gyongyosi issued an apology, but still reaffirmed that Hungary needs to be cautious of “Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here.”

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The hatred that satan has fomented in them, the LORD will push forward to its inevitable conclusion. Just as Pharaoh was given an opportunity to let the Israelites go, his heart hardened and he refused. As 1 Samuel 6:6 says, “Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed?”

Matthew Henry says of the Samuel verse, “Sinners lengthen out their own miseries by refusing to part with their sins.” At a point God deems perfect, He ends the argument and decides for them, rendering the judgment He sees they need. Sometimes this includes pushing forward what is already in their hearts to a conclusion. The entire Tribulation will be a time when humanity’s God-hating, sin-loving choices will be brought forward to fill the cup of wrath to the top. After Revelation 13, humanity’s choices will displayed in black and white, (take the Mark of the Beast, or not), their hearts will be set like concrete, and there will be no going back.

Some examples of how God pushes forward what is already in their hearts can be found in Isaiah 19:14-
“The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.”

And Ezekiel 38:21,
“I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.”

And Zechariah 12:2a,
“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.”

It seems that the protests in Hungary fit the prophecy above. Once again, Jerusalem makes the surrounding peoples reel, as in this headline too, when Palestinian Authority’s Abbas said that their flag will wave in East Jerusalem.

The hatred of Jews we see rising so fast is not a personal one. It is all a spiritual battle. Always remember, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Now is the time to remember that Ephesians verse each and every day.

The Hungarian politician did not ask for the “Jew-list” because he suddenly decided to become suspicious of Jews, it was satan’s influence which put that on his heart. The protests by the Hungarians were not against the politician who had asked for the “Jew-list” but were organized by Jewish and civic groups

The leader of one of the political parties in Hungary who participated in the protest said, “He added that “genocide is always preceded by lists,” arguing that it was unacceptable that “people should fail to learn the lessons of the past 100 years.”

It is unacceptable. But they will still fail to learn, because satan will continue to foment hatred of God’s people. And the lists, I imagine that in the Tribulation the lists will be voluminous. Who can buy or sell, who is a Christian or a Jew…

God is long-suffering. “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” (Exodus 34:6)

But He has appointed a Day when His wrath will take over from His long-suffering. When we read of events like that protest in Hungary and the increasing call for rounding up the Jews, we can practically see the evil spirit being poured out by satan. God’s  plan is advancing and that means our prayers should become more fervent too.

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” (Psalms 5:3)

Posted in idolatry, jamie foxx, jesus

Jamie Foxx proclaims Obama as Lord and Savior

Posted on by elizabethprata

I am sure by now that you have heard the comedian and actor Jamie Foxx has claimed Obama as Lord and Savior. Much is being made of this, as well it should be. First, the context.

At the Soul Train Awards today Mr Foxx said the following:

“It’s like church over here. It’s like church in here. First of all, give an honor to God and our Lord and Savior Barack Obama. Barack Obama,” to a cheering audience.”

He said this idolatrous statement in a church context, while mentioning honor to God, and made Barak Obama into an idol. Mr Foxx’s intent was clear. His remark is not a mistake. It is not a misunderstanding. It was not hyperbole. It is not a “joke,” which Salon.com already is posturing. He was clearly stating that he believes Obama is a Jesus-like savior, and not just in a political context but a spiritual one as well. More on this below.

This is not the first time allusions were made between Obama and a messiah or savior. I wrote about the increase in this blasphemy earlier in November when, after the presidential election, many people revived the messianic message. I wrote about it in June of this year too. And when Obama was first running for President in 2008 many comparisons were made about Obama being a deliverer. At that time, the messianic photography and allusions just abounded.

My opinion is that this has several different prophetic meanings. First, it shows how at some level, we all know we need a savior. Instinctively, we look for someone to come riding in on a white horse (sound familiar? Rev 19:11) and make everything perfect. Women who read romance novels feel the inexorable pull of the ‘rightness’ of the man in his natural role as leader and problem solver coming to protect and/or save the woman.

In addition to culturally feeling we need a savior, spiritually we feel eternity set in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We look for something bigger than us to look up to and exalt, something or someone who will make things right and clear out the craziness of the world. Mr Foxx is to be pitied and prayed for. He is seeking salvation from the world and he will never find it there. Salvation, deliverance, even comfort is to be found in Jesus only.

Secondly, his blasphemous statement shows how bad things have gotten in the world and how primed they all are for a deliverer. The world’s problems are unsolvable. Only God can and will solve them. In the past He has been generous to send men He raised up set up in governments and kingdoms who have solved their nation’s seemingly unsolvable issues. Joseph, Daniel, the Judges … Washington, Lincoln, Reagan, Churchill …  Hitler, Muhammad, Mao … all men he gave kingdoms to for a time and all who seemed to solve the problems of war, the economy, culture. Some really solved them for a time. God is gracious, He delivered wisdom to these leaders. But the ones like Hitler, Muhammad, Mao, Stalin, Xerxes…even Solomon and Saul squandered their gift and left their kingdoms the greater for it in some cases, but with different problems than when they began.

Yet the nations still clamor for The One. In 2007 Oprah thought Obama was The One for the US. She still does. They all want someone to tell them a bedtime story, tuck them into bed, and they wake up the next day to a perfect world. That is what they want. But the day after election day is always just the same as the day before: cloudy with chance of economic depression and advancing cultural decay.

Third, statements like Mr Foxx’s are not just idolatrous but are high blasphemy. But their mind is so blinded they don’t know what they do. They are in darkness. (Matthew 6:23). The Holy God of Glory would forgive them and bring light into their mind and heart if they repent. He is that good. (Matthew 12:31).

The Tribulation will bring on problems that are piled so high the world cannot solve them. Men will have gone about in perplexity for quite a while. Luke 21:25 speaks to this:

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,”

“in perplexity’ here in the Greek is interpreted thus by Barnes Notes:

“Upon the earth distress of nations – The word translated “distress” denotes anxiety of mind – such an anxiety as people have when they do not know what to do to free themselves from calamities; and it means here that the calamities would be so great and overwhelming that they would not know what to do to escape. There would be a want of counsel, and deep anxiety at the impending evils.”

The deeper the anxiety the more they will cling to the one who brings relief from it. That will be the antichrist.

He will be fierce and mighty and have power. (Daniel 8:23-25). He will speak great things- but the great things will be slanders and blasphemies against God. (Revelation 13:5). The world will love this. They already do.

Joel Rosenberg said in an interview at CNN in 2008 that “the antichrist will be “somebody who understands the economy and the global sphere and wins people, a winsome character. Rosenberg went on to say, “No commerce can be done without his approval. He will be … seen as an economic genius, a foreign policy genius.”

The world will be so weary that when antichrist comes along with a seemingly great solution, they will accept him.

“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” (John 5:43)

So no, Obama is not the Lord and Savior. But is is certainly the time of blasphemy, idolatry, and deceit.

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deut 4:24; Exodus 34:14).

This means God is jealous of his honour in matters of worship, and will not suffer his glory to be given to another, nor his praise to graven images, without resenting it or punishing for it. (Gills’ Exposition).

Jamie Foxx’s remark will not be left untouched. God will not allow it to pass.

“The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD” (Jeremiah 25:37)

How then, shall we react?

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” (2 Corinthians 5:11)

Only Jesus is Lord and Savior. Don’t be shy about saying that in the public square. Mr Foxx certainly wasn’t afraid to proclaim his god.

Posted in iron dome, israel, jesus, prophecy

Israel successfully tests ‘David’s Sling’, another missile deterrent system

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel demonstrated about an 83% 90% success in stopping rockets that were launched at them in the week-long Gaza battle named Pillar of Cloud. This success was due to a new technology, a missile deterrent system they named Iron Dome. It stopped many of the rockets launched by Hamas from the southern part of Israel in the Gaza Strip.

But Israel still has the northern enemy to worry about- Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a terrorist group, a Shi’a Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon. It receives financial and political support from Iran and Syria, and its paramilitary wing is regarded as a resistance movement throughout much of the Arab and Muslim worlds. The Western world calls it a terrorist group.

Well, Israel is one of the most sophisticated and advanced military nations in the world. They are alone in the middle of a hostile sea of angry Muslims. So they made a missile deterrent system called David’s Sling.

New air defense system shoots down missile in first test
David’s Sling weapon system, with range of 70-200 kilometers, complements Iron Dome and will provide shield against Hezbollah’s arsenal
… “The Iron Dome system became the darling of Israel last week as it shot down hundreds of rockets, often in quick succession, during the country’s eight-day engagement with the Gaza Strip. The David’s Sling system, designed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Raytheon, is to be capable of taking down missiles with warheads of up to half a ton.”

These technological and military advances will aid Israel to be successful in the upcoming wars and battles which will likely take place in rapid succession. After each sin, Israel will gain land … and confidence. However, The Holy God is Israel is and always will be her protector and there will come a point at which Israel’s confidence in herself as a stand-alone nation will be misplaced. The Gog Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39 will show her that. After one of these wars, Israel will feel secure enough to let down her guard, and then BOOM, she gets slammed as Ezekiel prophesies. He wrote-

“Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth.” (Ezekiel 38:11-13).

This will be the Gog Magog war. It will consist of Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Libya, Sudan, etc surprise attacking Israel. Something had to have happened to make Israel feel like she could dwell securely and take down her famous security walls. Scholars believe that will be because she has been successful in the Psalm 83 battle, Isaiah 17 and 19 have been fulfilled, and she signed the covenant with the antichrist and others (“And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week” Daniel 9:27a) and begun her sacrifices in the Temple, that she is relaxed. When the enemy comes like a cloud, she is completely taken by surprise when these further-away neighbors attack her. God supernaturally protects Israel by earthquake and pestilence and brimstone and rain and hail.

It will be a dramatic moment in the history of humankind. God will part the veil between this dimension and His, and He will personally protect Israel. And everyone on earth will KNOW it will have been Him. Read Ezekiel 38 and 39, they are short but very clear.  God says at least five times,

“And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:7b)

So it is with some amount of conflict inside my spirit when at the one hand I applaud Israel for being so technologically advanced that she would set about protecting herself from her enemies so well while at the same time mourn that she does not rely or even acknowledge on the Holy God who has never left her.

But God’s glory is that she will. Oh, she will.

“The Lord Will Restore Israel”

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”” (Ezekiel 39:25-29)

Posted in 2012 prophecy, jesus, maya

The 2012 Mayan Apocalypse ate my Twinkie

Posted on by elizabethprata

This year opened with a bang. The long known and feared doomsday prophecy which the Mayans had carved in stone way back in 669 sparked a frenzy of movies, television commercials, articles, and discussions about the precision of their ‘prophecy’ that the world would end on December 21, 2012.

Though last January was 11 months away from the prophecy, the world had finally entered the threshold of the year in which the prophecy was due to occur. So, we endured silliness like this Hollywood movie:

As an aside, I think that no matter how much the US proclaims that “We Love LA“, we nevertheless gleefully insert a clip of LA sliding into the sea at every chance possible. I think we secretly hate LA 🙂

And this commercial from the Superbowl:

In which only the men owning a Chevy Silverado survived the Mayan Apocalypse.
“Where’s Dave?”
“He drove a Ford…”
[moment of respectful silence for the poor car shopper Dave]
“Want a Twinkie?”

Who would have thought 11 months ago that Twinkies would be no more?? The Mayans certainly didn’t. I mean, if they couldn’t predict the end of the Twinkie, I think that destroys their credibility for making other predictions, like, say, the end of the world. Just sayin’.

I drive a 20 year old Ford by the way. Super truck! I say BAH! to Chevy.

But the specter of the Mayan Apocalypse still survives to frighten another day. Or not…

Tourists are flocking to Mexico’s Maya Riviera and Guatemalan resorts ahead of next month’s fateful date, as this article reports. The funny thing is, the Mayans did not prophecy the end of the world. Their stone merely marks one cycle ending and another one beginning. “So no need to build giant arks, because the terrible floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster 2012 were not prophesied by the Mayas,” say the experts. The title of the article in the Sydney Morning Herald is certain in its comfort:

Relax, the world won’t end next month: expert
“The final date represents the end of a cycle in the Mayan long count calendar that began in the year 3114 before Christ. It is the completion of 13 baak t’uunes, a unit of time equivalent to 144,000 days. “It is not the end of the Mayan long count calendar, which is endless. It’s the beginning of a new cycle, that’s all,” said Mexican historian Erick Velasquez.”

Well, that’s a relief. All that joshing about the end of the world and the vicarious adrenaline pumping thrills they got from watching movies and ads about the ultimate disaster are hitting a little close to home now that it isn’t 11 months away – but mere weeks.

Well, the Mayans may have had a good handle on the new math and zodiacal astronomy but only God gives prophecies. Only HE declares things. (Despite what Joel Osteen says)

“Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.” (Isaiah 45:21)

Now that the world is approaching the Mayan deadline for doom, people aren’t so pumped up about it. Weird, you’d think they would be even more excited than they were at the beginning of the year now that we are so close to the Mayans’ date. Huh.

The ‘reassuring’ articles are coming out. But don’t be reassured by “experts.” They don’t know what they are talking about.

The world will end. We just don’t know when. (Matthew24:36). If you want end of the world prophecies, just look to the bible. Christ’s Second Coming and His uncreation of the world at that time is mentioned over 200 times. His Second Coming is the most prominent theme in the NT after faith/salvation. There are 1,845 verses in the bible referring to His Second Coming. Every NT author mentions the Second Coming. We are repeatedly told to study all of scripture, and this does not exclude the prophetic passages. (source: “Christ’s Prophetic Plans” pp 14-15, MacArthur& Mayhue)

Genesis records an orderly creation and Revelation 6 records an orderly UNcreation. In the seven-year Tribulation, Jesus strips away all man’s infrastructures, all of man’s institutions, and all of the landforms and changes the face of the earth to prepare for His 1000-year ‘Millennial’ Kingdom. The earth at the end of the Tribulation will be renewed but sin will still be present.

After the 1000 years is over, He will melt the earth in a fervent heat and a great WHOOSH and create a new one, and this time there will be no sin forever. (2 Peter 3:13, Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:1-4)

The way to escape the end of the world (as we know it according to Revelation 6) is to appeal to Jesus as Savior to forgive you of your sins and accept Him as Lord of your life. Jesus as Savior and Lord over you will declare you righteous and accept you as a citizen of heaven. The only entry ticket you need is Jesus. He paid your entry fee, by dying on the cross as God’s substitute sacrifice for sins and He poured out His wrath upon Him. The debt is paid and anyone who wants to claim a seat on the rapture flight can do so, without fee. All you need to do is repent.

This is the promise of the Holy God:

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.” (Romans 2:6-11).

So seek Him and not self.

The doom is not anticipating a Mayan end of the world. It is not enduring the uncreation of the world via Jesus’s wrath at the end of the age as revelation reveals. The doom is your glorified body and soul enduring God’s wrath forever in the Lake of Fire. I daresay that no Mayan prophecy could imagine the agony of that doom as well as the bible records it. Jonathan Edwards preached it:

“Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment; for you are a burden to it…”

Now that is doom. But in Jesus is life. Here is 12 minutes that may change your life.

The Gospel: The most terrifying truth of scripture

Posted in jesus, life of pi, movie review, satan

Life of Pi: A Christian review

Posted on by elizabethprata

A new movie by Ang Lee is hitting theaters and the movie-appreciating audience is making a buzz over it. Ang Lee was the man who directed Brokeback Mountain (an ode to homosexuality) and the beautiful and absorbing fairy tale Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Lee is considered one of contemporary filmmaking’s best directors. He has been nominated for Oscars and has won Oscars. He is well regarded and has a unique visual style that he brings to the screen which immediately identifies his work.

The movie that’s making so much buzz Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. It won the Booker Prize, garnered other prizes and went on to become a best-seller. This is a story that Hollywood initially sought to bring to the screen because the book was so well-written, unique, and salable.

However, Hollywood soon dropped the idea of making the book into a movie due to the inherently exquisite difficulties of bringing the otherworldly narrative to film. Eventually, most producers thought that it would be too hard to relate the mystical beauty of the tale to film in a way that would hold audience attention.

Ang Lee’s incredible talent was brought to the fore and he surmounted those difficulties. The film was released yesterday. By all accounts it is a visual triumph and a stand-out, unique film compared to the fodder and tripe that usually permeates the theaters at this time of year.

Wikipedia reports, “In a letter directly to Martel, Barack Obama described Life of Pi as “an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling”. Brian Bethune of Maclean’s describes Life of Pi as “[a] head-scratching combination of dense religious allegory, zoological lore and enthralling adventure tale, written with warmth and grace”. Master Plots suggested the “[c]entral themes of Life of Pi concern religion and human faith in God”.

Apparently not only is the story well-told on film, not only is it a feast for the eyes in lyrical beauty and lauded its ability to transport the viewer to another place of peace and transcendence. Not only is it a box-office triumph, but many Christian reviewers are rating it highly also.

This fact has piqued the interest of a usually under-served Christian segment of the movie-going population, and so Christian families are streaming to the movie in droves. This essay is to determine if the movie is good food for Christian families to absorb.

We long for family movies that honor God and exalt Jesus. We are thirsty for some good food to take in, where we can relax in our seats and know that nothing we that we’re presented on the film will assault the eyes or offend God.

Life of Pi is NOT THAT MOVIE.

I have not seen it. Yet I am reviewing it. How can this be? Well, sometimes one can read an outline of the plot and know immediately that it is not worthy of attention. Do I need to watch Scorsese’s Last Temptation of Christ to know that it is not something I want to enter my mind? No. I don’t have to watch Jesus repudiate God’s plan and descend from the cross to live a fleshly life with Mary to understand it wasn’t something that God wants us to entertain.

One part of Wikipedia’s synopsis caught my attention.

“Pi is raised a Hindu, but as a fourteen-year-old he is introduced to Christianity and Islam, and starts to follow all three religions as he “just wants to love God.” He tries to understand God through the lens of each religion and comes to recognize benefits in each one.”

Right away I know this is not a movie for me. Anything that competes with or elevates anther god to equal status with the One True God is not worthy of my money, time, or attention. Pi, who is born a Hindu, at his mother’s behest to embrace plurality in everything, praises Jesus for bearing our sins while reciting the Quran? No thanks.

But that’s one person’s synopsis, what do others say?

CBN is Christian Broadcasting Network. CBN’s Movie Review says-

“While Christian audiences will be thrilled with the amount of onscreen time devoted to the cause of Christ and what it means to believe, they will also be quite disappointed as Islam and Hinduism receive equal representation. However, when viewed through the eyes of evangelical Christianity, you can’t help but be encouraged by the flickers of faith being projected onscreen. … Filled with thought-provoking moments of self-discovery, redemption and God’s unrequited grace, Life of Pi is an exploration into whether a person truly believes what they say they believe. For Christians, that is whether Jesus Christ went to the Cross as the ultimate sacrifice for sinners to be saved by grace. Unfortunately, this quest is played out for the other three religions as well.”

Are we so desperate for crumbs of a true holiness presented on screen that we are willing to eat the crumb off the corner of satan’s lip after having spewed Allah, Vishnu, and Catholic gods? Why do we settle for “flickers”? And lying flickers at that? Is that what encouragement has diluted down to? Apparently.

Christian Science Monitor wrote:
“Young Pi, raised in a not-very-strict Hindu household, tries his hand at Christianity and Islam as well. He’s an ecumenical free spirit who sees all religions as equally affirming.”

They called it a “sane movie” and gave it a B rating. That’s insane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christian Cinema gave it ‘five doves’ and referred to the fact that the movie is ‘Dove Family Approved’ by the Dove Foundation several times in its review. So let’s see what they wrote:

“Pi’s agnostic father taught him, “Faith is a house with many rooms.” Pi himself is a religious person, but without a specific doctrine. He often prays to the God he learned about from a Catholic priest, but occasionally sends up an appeal to Allah, Vishnu, and Krishna. One desperate prayer Pi cries out when he’s nearly lost all hope is, “God, I give myself to you, a vessel.” The cinematography is spectacular, and the CGI and 3D effects rival those in “Avatar.” The movie is rated PG, however, there are several tragic events that are better taken in by older audiences. Therefore, we are pleased to award this profoundly moving story on film the Dove “Family-Approved” Seal for audiences over age 12.”

How can this be a Christian-approved movie when it is blatantly stated that the main protagonist prays to false gods, and when all his hope is lost, gives himself to one of them? Which one? The Catholic false god? The Hindu false God? The Muslim false god? And the Dove Foundation calls this “profoundly moving?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~
Crosswalk is the only Christian review I’ve read that calls it what it is, ‘full of wonder but a poison pill’. They write-

“English theologian Ronald Knox once quipped, “Comparative religion is an admirable recipe for making people comparatively religious.” The current spirit of our age is to embrace many faiths as leading to the same god, not a philosophy that works with orthodox Christianity. The Bible practically screams warnings against such thinking, such as in 1 John 4, 2 John 1, 1 Timothy 4, 2 Corinthians 11—the list goes on.”

“Life of Pi“, the new film from director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and based on the bestselling book from Yann Martel, has, at its core, a message that Christians reject. But—can there be a “but” after that?—the filmmaking in Life of Pi is often nothing short of spectacular. It has images of beauty and power that won’t be matched by any other film this year. Visually, it’s marvelous—it literally contains one marvel after another. But sandwiched in between those thrills is a message that’s contrary to the Gospel.”

That is how satan works. Sinuously. Beautifully. He comes as a beautiful angel of light but he brings death.

You will be tempted to view the film for its vaunted visuals. In 3D I hear it is even prettier. But do you want to violate the scripture that says–

“Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.” (Proverbs 23:31-32)

Gill’s Exposition says
“when it moveth itself aright; sparkles in the glass, or goes down the throat pleasantly; or rather looks well to the eye, and appears right and good, and promises a great deal of satisfaction and delight.”

You say, ‘But that is a prohibition against drinking too much wine! It has nothing to do with a movie!”

The principle is the same. It sparkles… you’re attracted to it… you drink it in… it poisons you.

Listen to what Psalm 101:3-4 says- “I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.” (NLT)

I would rather you go to see Brokeback Mountain, because it is honest in its lies and perversity. At least it is what it is. Life of Pi is what it isn’t. Mixing our Holy God with other gods and equalizing them is a worse blasphemy. Why would a Hindu or a Catholic think he needs Jesus after seeing this film, and especially if you are sitting next to him enthusiastically affirming the movie’s premise? Why would a recently saved youth or a weaker Christian brother see the need to repent of his Oprah-Osteen “many paths” apostasy when he sees you taking in the same lies, and liking it?

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21). An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God. Or competes with Him.

Read this from 1 Samuel 5:1-5:
“When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.”

God tolerates no others in His house. Now your body is His house.

GotQuestions asks, “Should a Christian go to movies?“
“The Bible tells us that many things are permitted, but not all things are beneficial or constructive (1 Corinthians 10:23). It also says that whatever we say or do (or watch) should be done to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are to set our minds on things that are noble and pure (Philippians 4:8). If—and this is a big if—we can watch a movie or TV program that contains questionable content AND still be in agreement with these commands from the Bible, then it’s hard to see a wrong in this. The danger lies in (1) how what we are watching affects our heart and (2) how it affects others.”

It IS a danger, especially in this day of the last days when satan’s encroachment into everything is so pervasive. MacArthur said in his sermon, The Danger of Being a Friend of the World, “The evil impulses of man’s heart draw him toward worldliness and a worldly life brings one into a conflict with God.”

This movie will draw you, beautifully, but it is a draw toward compromise nonetheless. I take a hard line, as you know. I believe I could watch that movie and enjoy its visuals and its reported life-affirming message without compromise to my faith. I believe that my watching it would not present a stumbling block to weaker ones in my sphere. I believe my faith is very strong and that it would not be a problem. However, I will not watch it. Why?

Because my faith is so strong! It pains me to see other gods given equal time. It hurts to see others fall under satan’s lie that there are many paths to ‘life’. I mourn over the lies satan so easily sends out in tendrils that choke a heart. Unless the movie clearly identifies Jesus as the only way by the end of the film, it is not life-affirming. It is death affirming. My faith won’t let me spend two hours in a death-affirming event, no matter how prettily it’s presented.

Proverbs 26:23 says it best, “Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart.” The heart of Life of Pi is evil. I reject the crumb satan offers from his lips and I will stay away.