Category: prophecy

Posted in bp, end time, prophecy, revelation

The BP spill is not a fulfillment of prophecy

Posted on by elizabethprata

Many people have been asking and wondering if the BP Oil catastrophe in the Gulf is a fulfillment of Revelation 8:8-9 – “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed,” and/or Revelation 16:3 – The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.”

No, it isn’t a fulfillment.

First: the Revelation judgments have not begun. They will not begin until after the Rapture, and Israel is returned to a state of covenant relationship with God (Romans 11:25). We in the church are not appointed to wrath (1 Thess 5:9), and the judgments of Revelation are wrath (Rev 6:16). God is clear on this point. I wrote an explanation with more scriptures, here, if you would like to delve into the subject more deeply.

Secondly, the verses say that the seas became blood and turned into blood. Not oil that looked like blood. John was familiar with the plagues of Egypt and knew that God had the capability of turning large bodies of water into actual blood. In Revelation, when John could not explain what he was seeing, he said things like “Then I heard what sounded like a voice” as described here in Rev 6:6. Other times, when he could exactly describe what was happening, he wrote “He called out in a loud voice” as in Rev 7:2. So writing the seas will be blood means the seas will be blood. Take the literal when it is plain.

Third, the Gulf of Mexico is a small body of water and the amount affected is only 35% of that. Most of the globe is water, 70%. There are approximately 140 million sq miles of ocean on our planet. The Gulf of Mexico is 600,000 square feet, and the amount affected by oil is 200,000 sq feet. So we are a long way from biblical proportions, even though the catastrophe is horrendous.

However, the horrendous catastrophe in the Gulf is an example of how quickly and devastatingly the LORD can and will render pressure on the people to repent, and during the Tribulation, to render wrath to punish. If we think this is bad now, then imagine how VERY bad it will be when a third of the earth’s seas are dead, and later, all of them. I think the BP spill is the beginning of an ongoing event that can turn into a judgment during the Tribulation. But as of right now, it is not a fulfillment, it is merely a localized catastrophe of the kind we are told would be brought to bear on an unrepentant people.

In Haggai, the LORD told prophet Haggai to ask the people if they noticed the pressure He had brought to bear on them in His plan to make them aware of the need to return to Him. He had put a drought on the land, caused the rain not to fall, made their purses like sieves (the more they spent the more they wanted), made their exports decline, He put a drought on labor…He pressured them. Squeezed them. The LORD could be doing that now with the oil spill, pressuring America to return to Him and repent. The Lord is patient and long-suffering, pressuring His people increasingly to give them an opportunity to return to Him. When they don’t, then He starts the judgments.

That said, though, the BP oil catastrophe is gut-wrenching to watch and experience as a nation.

Tar balls washing up on all five Gulf states now: More than two months after oil from BP’s blown-out seafloor well first reached Louisiana, a bucket’s worth of tar balls that washed onto a Texas beach means the crude has arrived in every Gulf state. In a development potentially related to the BP oil spill, a recent news report stated,“two baby sperm whales died [on June 23, 2010] after beaching themselves on Florida’s East Coast; ‘Infections and toxins are going to be the big killers of these animals’ says pathologist.” Christian Science Monitor reports that a dead sperm whale was found floating and decomposed. Forty-five dolphins have beached themselves on the Gulf shores as well.

This is beyond heartbreaking, but imagine when a third of the sea creatures die. Or ALL of them. I simply cannot imagine. You do not have to be here when those judgments come down, though. You can confess your sins to the Lord and ask Him to forgive. He will! And then you can be dining with saints at a heavenly banquet, and then rejoice with praise and shouts when the Lord remakes the earth and restores all the animals to perfect environments.

Posted in end time, haggai, prophecy

Blessings come from the Lord

Posted on by elizabethprata

In the time of King Cyrus, the Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity in joy, relief, and thankful to God for their deliverance. They immediately set about re-building the Temple, the place of God’s presence so they could honor Him. However, they also set about building their own homes, so they could live. They planted their vineyards and olive groves, which were important money crops and exports. Soon – heartbreakingly soon – the Israelites’ focus shifted to personal home enhancement and the Temple was left unfinished and eventually no one was working on it. The LORD started pressuring the Israelites to remind them to return to their first priority. This has similarities to the US now. More on that in a moment.

After 15 years of the Jews failing to work on the Temple despite increasing pressure from the LORD, the pressure the LORD had brought to bear on them had had no effect. So the Word came to Haggai on what to tell them. Haggai urged the Israelites to resume work.

“Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways! “You havesown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways! “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the LORD. You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. “Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. “I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.” (Haggai 1:4-11)

Haggai’s encouragement shamed them into resuming work on the Temple, shamed them so much they began again with alacrity, only 23 days later! Would that all convictions from the Spirit resulted in such immediate action! Good for them.

Haggai said the LORD asked the Israelites, in effect, hadn’t they felt the difference in blessings? Haven’t they noticed that things had been getting more difficult? He said that He saw they had been increasingly consumed with material goods to the neglect of their spiritual life. They ate but were not full. They drank but still thirsted. Their purse was full of holes, indicting mis-spending and little saving. Sounds like America now.

The LORD continued, saying that He had brought a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil (which was a drought on local agricultural production and exports). Sounds like America now.

The LORD called for drought on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands. A drought on labor. Sounds like America now. The LORD pressures a people to remind them of whence their blessings come. Sounds like America. As we go forward on this day remembering our origins and celebrating our future, let us remember Who holds the country’s future in His hands.

Posted in crust, earthquake, end time, malaysia chasm, prophecy

Earth crustal changes continue, Malaysia chasm opens in highway

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’ve been looking into the pattern of crustal collapses lately that evidence themselves in sinkholes, chasms, and explosions. I reported on them May 25 here, May 31 here, June 10 here, June 13 here, including the famous Guatemala sinkhole and the fear-inducing spate in China. For end time connections, I like to work from the firmly known and described from the Tribulation, and work backwards. I proposed the theory that the floods, quakes, volcanic action around the world was a precursor to the shifts in earth’s crust that will later, during the tribulation, be catastrophic.

A five metre wide chasm has mysteriously opened in a busy road. The enormous crevice tore through the ground late last night, causing traffic chaos in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Miraculously no one was killed, although one truck was overturned by the force of the collapse. Officials have no explanation for why the giant hole has appeared but confirmed they were looking into it.

“Lucky escape: No one was killed, although this truck was overturned by the force of the collapse.”

Another report stated “Most motorists were simply bemused at the sight, taking photos of the geological menace – but the fact the road collapsed in the middle of the night caused trouble for others. June tends to be the wettest time for this part of the country, with the southwest monsoon dumping nearly a fifth of the annual rainfall during the month. But since no one has yet come up with a definitive explanation as to the appearance of the hole, officials continue to look into it.”

It’s interesting to think that the road “mysteriously” cracked, and that “officials have no explanation.” These kind of words are repeatedly and often in news stories these days about why the ground is simply not solid anymore beneath our feet. The red mud bubbling up from underneath a Chinese thoroughfare puzzled officials too, as well as the road that cracked unexpectedly from which the bubbling mud oozed. New first-ever airborne radar images of the deformation in Earth’s surface caused by a major earthquake show that in the April 2010 Calexico 7.2 mag quake just south of San Diego, the earth moved substantially, in some places 2 1/2 feet, it shifted 6-10 feet in Mexico. The quake broke San Diego’s Crust and at Mexico’s border, and the new space imaging shows where Earth’s crust shifted 10 feet.

As this age comes to a close, major shifts of all kinds, not just earth crustal shifts, are evident. These changes will become worse as time goes on, until the full-fledged Great Tribulation begins and nothing is the same. For now, though, the shifts may seem distant and unconnected, but they are as bright as neon for the aware Christian watchmen, because “you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” (1 Thess. 5:4-6)

Posted in end time, fossil doscivered peru, job, prophecy

Leviathan discovered and it ain’t a crocodile

Posted on by elizabethprata

The bible mentions “leviathan.” That is a word that means “a very large creature.” The verses that discusses leviathan are in Job 41 and they are extensive. The discussion between God and Job is a comparison of Job the puny man to the mightiest of earthly creatures at that time, Leviathan. Read the description of this creature below, it seems fierce indeed.

In biblical circles, the actual animal Leviathan describes was always in dispute. It has variously been called a crocodile or a whale, but even then, scholars acknowledged that neither animal seems to match the mightiness of the animal God is talking about.

Job 41
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?” Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he keep begging you for mercy?Will he speak to you with gentle words? Will he make an agreement with you for you to take him as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his hide with harpoonsor his head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on him,you will remember the struggle and never do it again! Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering.”

“No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me. “I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form. Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle? Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth? His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.”

“His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn. Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth. Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him. The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing. The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him. A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance. His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair. Nothing on earth is his equal— a creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.”

Wow. That’s some creature.

Matthew Henry wrote — “The description of the Leviathan, is yet further to convince Job of his own weakness, and of God’s almighty power. Whether this Leviathan be a whale or a crocodile, is disputed. The Lord, having showed Job how unable he was to deal with the Leviathan, sets forth his own power in that mighty creature.”

Scientists have unearthed a fossil that is fairly complete and illustrates the skeletal attributes of the disputed but firmly described creature in Job. And guess what? They named him “Leviathan.” [The sea creature is not 12M years old, as a literal creationist I believe that the creature is no older than 6000 years old]

‘Sea monster’ whale fossil unearthed

Researchers have discovered the fossilised remains of an ancient whale with huge, fearsome teeth. Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists have dubbed the 12 million-year-old creature “Leviathan”. It is thought to have been more than 17m (56ft) long, and might have engaged in fierce battles with other giant sea creatures from the time. Leviathan was much like the modern sperm whale in terms of size and appearance. But that is where the similarity ends. While the sperm whale is a relatively passive animal, sucking in squid from the depths of the ocean, Leviathan was an aggressive predator. According to Dr Christian de Muizon, director of the Natural History Museum in Paris, Leviathan could have hunted out and fed on large sea creatures such as dolphins, seals and even other whales. “It was a kind of a sea monster,” he said. “And it’s interesting to note that at the same time in the same waters was another monster, which was a giant shark about 15m long. It’s possible that they might have fought each other”. The researchers speculate that Leviathan was able to feed on very large prey up to 8m long. It would catch the prey in its huge jaws and tear it apart quickly and effectively with its giant teeth.  Now, the discovery of the skull means that the Leviathan is not merely the stuff of myth and legend. “Finally we found it,” said Dr Lambert. ” It was a very exciting moment”.

It is an exciting moment for many Christians too, who know that the bible is always right, all along! Please read the rest of the article at the headline-link. Good stuff!

Posted in end time, god loves you, prophecy

I’m taking the day off

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m working on a couple of blog entries, but I don’t know if I will get them done today or not…I have prayer meeting with my partner and after that I might just want to start reading a new novel. Now there’s something rare, recreation!!

I am also working on the next issue of my prophecy newsletter. It is in a digest-form sent by subscribers via e-mail. (No charge). I match the scriptures to the latest news in subject clusters such as “Israel”, “Wars and Rumors of Wars”, “Natural Disasters”, “Days of Lot” etc. and I also offer explanations and encouragement. It’s meant to be a quick read for people who like to browse. Let me know if you want to be included, email me at elizabethprata at gmail dot com

We are celebrating the Fourth of July here in the US, a holiday that means much to American patriots, especially since we have men and women actively serving in two wars at the moment. Freedom means liberty to pursue happiness among other things, but realize that our freedoms are slowly being strangled and the first one to go will be religious freedom. Even then, as Jack Kelley eloquently wrote, in his essay “Don’t Pray for America“:

“The Religious Right and other well intended American Christians frequently send out eMails urging everyone to pray for America. But where in the Bible did God to say to pray for any place on Earth other than Jerusalem? God’s will would be much better served if the Church would pray for itself, that it would finally adopt the Biblical world view it was intended to have, and become what it was intended to be, the body of Christ. It’s an indication of what a secular world view the American Church has when more of us are praying that God will restore the good old days in our country than are praying for the Lord’s speedy return to take us away from here. Prayers for America are fine as far as they go, but they’re motivated more by a love for what our country has been than by a desire to see God’s will done on Earth. And when you get right down to it, praying that God will restore America could be seen as an admission that we’re really not ready to see God’s will done on Earth yet.”

Pray for the lost to hear the Gospel, pray for God’s will to be done in hearts that have heard the Gospel, pray for His soon return. Pray to love your neighbors as yourselves on this patriotic holiday that comes at a time when divisions among Americans are their widest ever. I hope you have a wonderful day and remember that God is bigger than any problem, issue, or heartache we may have individually, and He is bigger than any Federal boondoggle or national downturn. And though He is so big, He holds you in the palm of His hand and He loves you.

Posted in end time, hitler, nazi, prophecy

There’s a global love affair with Hitler, can Antichrist be far behind?

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Tribulation’s second half is a period of intense persecution of Jews (and of Christians). Jesus Himself said that it was a time of persecution that never has been and never will be again. It is hard to imagine what could be worse than the Jewish Holocaust of WWII.

There are still people alive today who bear the Nazi concentration camp number tattooed on their arm, and will tell you that was a period of intense persecution. Any student of history will remember textbook photographs of emaciated internees lying in bunks, too weak to even arise and celebrate Allied deliverance. No one can forget the horrible and cruel tortures and ways the Nazis invented for the Jews to die. Millions of millions were herded into cattle cars and were killed. The cry “Never again!” is the motto of the Jewish Defense League. The Great Tribulation will make that time of Holocaust look like a picnic.

The great Tribulation will be worse than THIS!

The bible tells us that in the end time Israel will be alone. She will have no friends and all will be her enemy. The bible says ALL. (Zech 12:3; Zech 14:2). Her land will have been divided (Joel 3:2). The nation of Israel will have withstood many indignities but soon, real killing persecution is going to be upon them. And Jesus says when they see it coming, RUN.

We see the advance to that time now. Israel is globally condemned for protecting herself. She is pressured to concede land. She is haughtily ordered to allow or not allow apartment complex construction here or there, within their own borders. Helen Thomas was only one of the many who believe the Jews should “go back to where they came from: Germany and Poland” where they were killed by the millions not so coincidentally.

Coinciding with AntiSemitism, is the rise in Nazism worldwide. Yes. Hitler’s back, and he’s back by invitation. These are but a few of the articles I found published within the last week:

London: Pair jailed over racist messages
Two white supremacists have been jailed after being convicted of posting violent and vicious racist messages on the internet. Michael Heaton, 42, and Trevor Hannington, 58, described Jews as “scum” and called for them to be “destroyed”. The “proud neo-Nazis” were unanimously cleared of soliciting murder at Liverpool Crown Court but Heaton was jailed on Friday for 30 months after being convicted of four counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to stir up racial hatred.

Pakistan: The Führer Cult: Germans Cringe at Hitler’s Popularity
Germans are popular in India and Pakistan, but not always for the right reasons. Many in South Asia have nothing but admiration for Adolf Hitler and still associate Germany with the Third Reich. Everyday encounters with the love of all things Nazi makes German visitors cringe.

Latvia: Parade celebrates Nazi invasion
A parade to commemorate the day Nazi troops marched into Latvia during World War II is set to proceed on Thursday after a court on Tuesday overturned an earlier ban on the event. Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Foreign Minister Aivars Ronis said Wednesday in a joint statement that they were “puzzled and upset” by the decision of the district court, which reversed a ban on the event imposed by Riga city council. Nazi-hunter Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem called for “saner minds” to prevail. “To celebrate the anniversary of the Nazi invasion is to celebrate the mass murder of all those victimized by the Nazis in Latvia – primarily Jews, but also communists, Gypsies and the mentally ill,” Zuroff said in a statement.

UK: Man jailed for Hitler ringtone
The man had programmed his Nokia telephone to play a speech in which the Nazi leader pledged the “destruction of world Jewry” if Germany was “dragged” into war, according to a story in the Daily Telegraph.

Hitler film exposes India’s interest in dictator
Here, Hitler is not viewed as the personification of evil, but with an attitude of morally ambiguous fascination. He is seen as a management guru — akin to Machiavelli or Sun Tzu — by business students, and an object of wonder by people craving order amid the chaos of India.

The last sentence captures it. Hitler is an object of wonder by people craving order amid chaos. And things are not even chaotic now, like they will be when the conditions are set that will allow for Antichrist’s rise. If Antiochus IV Epiphanes was an antichrist-type, if Emperor Nero was an antichrist-type, if Hitler was an antichrist-type, then the real Antichrist will arise and become an object of wonder to those who will be (by then) desperate to make order of the global chaos. The world will cling to his flatteries and promises. They will trust him to bring order to a chaotic world.

The world will have undergone earthquakes, famines, signs in the sun, moon, and stars. They will have endured at least three wars in rapid succession, and possibly more. They will be struck with terror at the loss of millions who had suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye: including their children. This loss likely will have caused a global economic meltdown, which is underway now but cannot survive the loss of millions in the workplace or the economy and will topple world economic regimes. The globe will be in chaos. The nations will crave peace and calm. This current longing for Hitler will increase into an insane clamor for someone, anyone, who can bring order among the chaos. Antichrist will promise it. They will love him for it. And they will be deceived.

Posted in end time, large hadron collider, prophecy, sonify, sound

The Sound of Blasphemy, or Symphony?

Posted on by elizabethprata

We are told that in the end times, man will liken himself to God but deny God, being selfish and unholy (2 Timothy 3:1-5). They will always be learning but never able to come to knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7-8). The Tower of Babel incident in Genesis shows man’s earliest attempt to reach God by his own efforts and then in the process, setting God aside completely to celebrate his own accomplishment. In my opinion, the Large Hadron Collider experiment under the Alps in France-Swiss border is another Tower of Babel. This multi-million dollar experiment searches for the glue that holds the universe together, the Higgs-Boson particle that scientists think exists, and are trying to prove it. We Christians know that they only need search as far as Colossians 1:17, which says “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”Jesus is the glue that holds the universe together.

The LHC experiment re-creates the Big Bang, the theory that there was a bang at the start of time that exploded the material that contained the entire universe into the expanded universe we see today, rather than the literal creation account in Gen 1. (Ahem, no one has ever explained the two fatal flaws in the Big Bang theory: 1. Where did the material come from that was a tiny ball before it exploded, and 2. What exploded it? Something to ask a scientist next time you have a cocktail party conversation.)

A series of interesting and unique events hampered the long road to the Collider’s initial start up, which I wrote about here. Anyway, the latest hubris to come out of the 17-mile ring of particle smashing big bang experiment under the Alps, is that the scientists got the notion to set the Higgs-Boson particle smash-moment to sound. They are making recordings of “the sound of God.”

God particle signal is simulated as sound
Scientists have simulated the sounds set to be made by sub-atomic particles such as the Higgs boson when they are produced at the Large Hadron Collider. Their aim is to develop a means for physicists at Cern to “listen to the data” and pick out the Higgs particle if and when they finally detect it.

This article was more irreverent:

Large Hadron Collider: What does the ‘God particle’ sound like?
Who would have thought that the sound of God would be so whiney?
Scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland say they have simulated the noise that might be made when a Higgs boson particle – nicknamed the “God particle” – comes into being. And to the untrained ear it sounds a little bit like a bunch of coins spinning in a wine glass.

No it doesn’t. It sounds like blasphemy. Anyway, if you want to listen, you can go here. It takes a while to load. There are several sound files and a blog explaining what they are.

It is good to explore the things of His creation, but not to the irreverent exclusion of Him who made it.

Below, the Large Hadron Collider:

Below, the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Explanation: Is beauty in the eye of this beholder? Earlier this month, over Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, a playful photographer with an eye for the sky took eight images and composed the above intriguing picture. The full fisheye frame shows everything above the horizon, including a lamp-illuminated landscape around the edges, and the zenith of the sky directly overhead. The image, however, may be more than beautiful — it may also be a scavenger hunt. Can you find the photographer’s tent, the slope of a volcano (active Piton de la Fournaise), a picturesque shoreline, and the lights of the nearby town (Saint Philippe)? One remarkable feature of the above image is that its center contains the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Below, 2007 Crop Circle “Metatron” in wheat, UK, Sugar Hill:

Below: GOD:

Posted in end time, lightning, parthenon, prophecy

A little more about lightning

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’d written about how lightning is part of God’s vocabulary to a fallen world, here and here. Lightning is a fascinating natural event, and a highly dangerous one. This is the season for lightning strikes, as we have seen dramatically with the bolt hitting the Touchdown Jesus in Ohio

and the triple bolts that hit three skyscrapers simultaneously in Chicago the other day:

and last night’s hit on the Parthenon in Greece:

Of course, the caption doesn’t help matters any: “Hammer of Zeus: A flash of lightning illuminates the sky over the 2,500-year-old Ancient Parthenon temple, at the Acropolis hill during a heavy rainfall in Athens early this morning.”

“Hammer of Zeus” indeed. The article below talks about lightning’s power, and it is a powerful phenomenon on earth, more powerful than hurricanes and tornadoes, because of the contained energy inside a bolt. And to think, “He covers His hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the mark.” (Job 36:32)

“A Striking Presence”
“It’s five times hotter than the surface of the sun, and it travels about 93,000 miles per second. Perhaps surprising to some, lightning is the second leading cause of storm-related deaths in the U.S. – exceeded only by floods. Right now is the most dangerous time, as June and July often have the highest frequency of lightning-related deaths, according to data from the National Weather Service.”

Here is a chart of fatalities thus far in 2010 from the National Weather Service. It may seem counter-intuitive, but seeking safety from lighting outdoors you are better off in the open, rather than under a tree. One of the ten deaths so far this year was a gentleman in Indiana sheltering under a tree. And it goes without saying that if you are on a golf course, dispense with metal clubs or gardening tools. Squatting on the balls of your feet is best, because it minimizes your contact with the ground and reduces your height. This link brings you to other outdoor risk reduction tips.

The Tribulation ends with lightning. At the last bowl the angel pours out the bowl containing lightning, thunder, rumblings, and a tremendous earthquake.

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. (Rev 16:17-18)

Lightning accompanied the giving of the Ten Commandments…

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” (Exodus 20: 18-19)

This speaks to something that is missing today: listening. God is and was and always will be the same. Lightning is used as a description of His appearance. He also sends lightning as a sign, as in the Exodus passage, and the people understand it. They acknowledge it as a sign of His awesome and fear-inducing presence and beg to have Moses speak for God to them instead of enduring the holy and incredible voice themselves. We don’t listen to Him in that way any more in this day and age. One reason, of course, is that we have the Holy Spirit in us, and we have the bible to listen to. But He still speaks to the lost in these ancient ways, and declared it so:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

A “bolt from the blue” means no one expects lighting when there is blue sky. It is a complete surprise. At least it was to this man, who was outside, there was no thunder and no rain, yet a bolt from the blue hit his arm as he worked on a fence. The earliest citation of this phrase is Thomas Carlyle, in The French Revolution, 1837:

“Arrestment, sudden reality as a bolt out of the Blue, has hit strange victims.”

Cinematic depictions of lighting bolts notwithstanding, when you see lightning, see God’s power. I hope that when you see lightning, the suddenness of the knowledge of God’s presence on earth and His power to love hits you and hits you hard. But also see within that power, an infinite love. He loves you, He knows you, and He wants you.

Posted in 400 sick, bp oil spill, end time, pensacola beach, prophecy

Pensacola Beach greed

Posted on by elizabethprata

The end time is a time when regard for human life is at an almost all-time low. The lowest point will be the Tribulation, but Paul explained that these end times would be perilous times, too, including overriding greed. The greed would be so pervasive that employers would cheat their workers and withhold pay. Millionaires would pile up treasure for themselves while millions can’t afford bread. Jesus warned in several parables about clinging to riches of this earth at the expense of the poor. In 2 Tim 3:2, Paul exclaims about perilous times and one of the perils is loving money:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money. Tim 3:1-2a)

Here is more than one verse about those who succumb to the perils of loving money:

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him … (Luke 16:14)
not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. (1 Tim 3:3)
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Tim 6:10)

Having money is not a problem. Money itself is not a problem. Loving money is a problem. A man cannot have two masters. With that in mind, I notice the issue of the BP oil spill and the wrestling match over Pensacola Beach. On June 23, the Escambia County Florida Sheriff’s Department flew over Pensacola Beaches and the scope of the spill washing up on popular tourist-shores hit home. Here is but one screen shot, the video is at the link above:

On June 25, a quarter mile of Pensacola Beach was closed, marking the first time a beach was officially closed due to oil washing up.

“But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Tim 3:13). From bad to worse. And on June 26, the beach was re-opened, on the advice of a beach official, and against the advice of Federal Authorities.

On June 27, 400 people who had visited the beach sought emergency health care, citing respiratory ailments, headaches, nausea, and eye irritation.

On June 28, videographer Diana Stephens noted that though the water may look fine, it is not. Placing a porous fish filter in the rushing surf, it came away clogged with oil. She said that the filter is porous, like our skin, indicating that such oil toxins will penetrate our own metabolic system in short order if submerging any part of our bodies for even a short time. Children are especially at risk.

That these beaches are open is unconscionable. But the tourism industry is taking a hammering and apparently the beach official, schooled in science, health, and marine sciences, (not) was persuasive. They want the money. Tourism contributes 57 billion to Florida’s economy. That’s billion with a B.

From Knoxville News: “While the media have been heavily focused on the serious water pollution issue, not much coverage has been given to the air pollution issue. Journalists visiting the site have reported headaches and nausea from their trips covering the site. While many workers cleaning up the beach have gear to protect them from skin contact with the tar balls, I have yet to see any of them wearing respirators, and when reports of many sickened workers surfaced, BP’s response was that they were suffering from a bout of food poisoning.”

These children play on an oil soaked beach in Destin, FL.

 They playfully run back and forth from the water to their mother:

 Through this toxic oil minefield:

When the children realized how much oil they have on their skin, this little girl starts to cry and scream. “MOMMY, GET IT OFF! I DON’T WANT IT! I DON’T WANT THE OIL!!” The 4-min video is here.

Jesus thinks highly of children, and issues special warning about their ill-treatment. I wish that the first priority of the officials was the protection of our society’s most vulnerable. But it isn’t. It’s money. They store up money…at the expense of the lives and the health of their brothers and sisters on this earth. Perilous times indeed.

Posted in earthquakes, end time, prophecy

The language of God: earthquakes

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata
This is an updated version of an essay I published in June 2010.

In looking at ways God has spoken to us in the past and of the ways He has promised to speak to us in the future, we discover God’s vocabulary. Among other ways that He has spoken to us, part of His language included fire and brimstone, hail, lightning, and earthquakes. The writer of Hebrews wrote in verses 1:1-2, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

God has promised to speak to us again via earthquakes and this article explores the ways the LORD shakes us when He wants our attention.

Here is Ray Comfort’s response during a 7.1 quake that shook California this week:

Please consider liking and sharing this video so that people may be awakened to the reality of their death and turn to Christ. Make sure to also pray for those who are injured and possibly even killed from this earthquake.

The Church Age is coming to an end. The trumpet will sound and believing Christians will disappear from the earth in the blink of an eye. The Tribulation will begin, signaling the last 7 years of this earth’s history will conclude. The Apostles asked Jesus three questions about this particular time in history. First, they asked when the Temple will be thrown down (something Jesus had made reference to immediately prior to the Apostles’ question.) They also asked what will be the sign of His coming and the signs of the end of the age. Jesus’ answer to these three questions is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Note that the Apostles asked three questions, and though the main answer is considered to be in Matthew, that each of the other two Gospels offer slightly different information to complete the picture. Jesus’ response is called “The Olivet Discourse” because the conversation was held on the Mt. of Olives and Jesus spent quite a bit of time explaining, Therefore, we spent quite a bit of time asking the Spirit to lead us into understanding.

One sign Jesus said will occur is that there will be “earthquakes in diverse places.” Other translations spell it divers, or use the word various places. Jesus did not explicitly say that the number of earthquakes will rise in advance of the end. However, right after stating that there will be earthquakes, He said that the period of time the earthquakes & other signs will be occurring will be like birth pangs. Birth pangs increase in intensity and frequency as the new life approaches. This is a symbol that is easily understood and readily identifiable, therefore we can feel confident that the number of earthquakes will rise in number as the end comes near. So, let’s look at types of earthquakes.

 

Earthquakes are a sign of the end of the age, and not just numerical increase, but unusual locations, swarms, and impacts are part of God’s lexicon. We need not turn to USGS to prove or disprove God’s word. There will be earthquakes in diverse places. And today, there are earthquakes of different types and in different places. It is as simple as that.

God has used earthquakes to speak to His people in the past and will again in the future. In Acts 16:26, He used a quake to release Paul from prison. When Jesus died on the cross, a quake occurred, recorded in Matthew 27:54, “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

The quake was God speaking to humans … and they understood.

A few days later as Jesus rises from the grave there is another earthquake. Matthew 28:2 records it. “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.”

In Ezekiel 38:19 God promises to show Himself through an earthquake (among other things). “In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.”

During the Tribulation, an earthquake will occur in Jerusalem as described in Rev 11:13 where 7000 people will be killed. Later, in Rev 16:18, “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.” Every mountain will crumble and every island will flee away.

God speaks in various ways. He spoke to Elijah when Elijah was fleeing Jezebel. God told Elijah to listen for Him. He sent the wind, but He was not in the wind (that time). He sent the fire, but He was not in the fire (that time). He sent the earthquakes, but He was not in the earthquake (that time). God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice, and it was that voice that awed Elijah more that the demonstrable ways God had usually spoken.

God demonstrates His anger through earthquakes: Isaiah 13:13 says,

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.

Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. This verse from Psalm 18:7 directly tells us that the earthquake was a sign that God was angry

And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic. (1 Samuel 14:15).

That particular earthquake affirmed the fact of divine intervention during this battle and that it aided Joshua and his armor-bearer. (John MacArthur Study Bible note).

It was a quake that let Peter out of Jail. God spoke that Peter should be let out and used an earthquake to say it. (Acts 16:26)

We read in Hebrews 12:25-29 the echo of the promise in Haggai 2:

“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”

Though earthquakes were used by God and understood by the Old Testament people and early New Testament folks alike as a display of divine wrath, and it still assuredly could be in general, there is danger in assigning divine displeasure to this earthquake or that earthquake. Unless one is living through the prophesied earthquake of Revelation where 7000 die and a tenth of the city collapse (Revelation 11:13), or the temblor where every island flees away  (Revelation 16:20), then we don’t know for sure Gods’ intent for every quake.  

Spurgeon called earthquakes “creation’s groans”, which is a good place to leave it. (Romans 8:22-23). Meanwhile, God’s language these days is through His Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2).

I pray that you are in a place of spiritual acceptance to God, so that YOU cannot be shaken loose when the time comes.

Further Resources:

The World in Conflict and Distress

Spurgeon Creation’s Groans