Category: prophecy

Posted in end time, flood, prophecy, rhode island, sandstorm india

It swallowed the city

Posted on by elizabethprata

This google translated article from Norwegian is of a sandstorm in India. The headline is “It swallowed the city”

“If you think the Easter weather in Norway is bad, you can be glad that you did not spend Good Friday in the state of Rajasthan in India. Associated Press. News agency Associated Press secured the current shot, when the massive sand storm in the picture above captured the town of Bikaner and got it to look like a backdrop in a disaster movie. “I’ve never seen sand storms that are so bad, “said meteorologist Börje Johansson at Meteoroligisk Department told Dagbladet.” Sand storms are common in many places, such as the Canary Islands, where people might have seen them, but usually only half a meter above the ground, “said Johansson. Beyond the spectacular image has so far not been any information from India about the consequences of sand storm ravages. For a week ago, from 20 March, swept a giant sandstorm that started in Mongolia through large parts of China. The storm was so extensive that even Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea had deteriorated visibility and air quality.”

In another instance of earth rearing up to swallow the city, Peru has suffered massive mudslides. One entire village disappeared. There had been torrential rains in the Andes that caused the earth to loosen and the mud to flow.

“A massive avalanche of mud and rock in northeastern Peru has buried a small village killing at least 25 people and leaving 25 others missing.Officials say the rock and mudslide was triggered by a small lake higher up a mountain that overflowed into a ravine. The village of Ambo in the Huanuco region with a population of some 400 people is reported to have completely disappeared, although it is unclear how many people were in the village late Thursday when heavy rains sparked the disaster. The rockslide also damaged or destroyed over 100 homes in the area. Rescuers have plucked some of the victims from the swollen Huallanga River downstream from Ambo while other have been dug out of the mud. Emergency aid has arrived for hundreds of people who evacuated their homes including tents, blankets and food supplies. This is the second fatal mudslide to hit the area this week. On Thursday five people were killed in a similar disaster in the town of Cancejos.”

Speaking of torrential rains, Rhode Island was suddenly inundated with massive amounts of rain, which sparked flooding on a scale never before seen in that tiny state.

“Flood levels not seen in Rhode Island since record-keeping began in the 1870s have damaged sewage treatment plants, flooded industrial parks and created an environmental catastrophe as raw sewage flows into Narragansett Bay, officials said. “This has set us back a century in wastewater treatment here in the city of Warwick,” said Janine Burke, executive director of the Warwick Sewer Authority. “It makes you want to cry.”

All three articles highlight something unique about the End Time. In the first article the meteorologist makes the point that though the desert is near to Rajasthan, India, sandstorms of this magnitude rarely if ever occur. And then he mentions another massive sandstorm that affected six countries the week before. The RI floods were unprecedented, never before seen, words that are getting trite from overuse in these end times. The earth events are getting larger and more widespread across the globe, just as Jesus said they would be in the birth pangs.

Secondly, the mudslide was sudden as well as the RI floods. No one foresaw that the rains would keep coming and coming and coming. The end time is characterized by sudden, constant, yet intermittent, painful events.

Birth pangs…an event that though spread out over time, are connected by pulsing painful events with shorter and shorter periods of quiet in between. With each labor pang you rest uneasily, knowing that another one is around the corner, but you don’t know exactly when. Such a perfect and apt description of what is happening across the globe now. The three events depicted above occurred within a four day span, from one side of the globe to the other; India, Eastern US, Peru.

Of the Director of the Sewer authority that said “It makes you want to cry” I agree. It does. More important though, I hope it makes you want to pray.

Posted in end time, gog magog, iran, israel, nuclear, prophecy

The dark time of nukes

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’ve often used the Ezekiel 39:9 verse to show that the Gog-Magog battle described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 must occur at the start of the Tribulation.

“Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up–the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.”

For the Israelites to burn the weapons as fuel for 7 years, there must be 7 years of time on earth left to burn them. But a question on Jack Kelley’s site made me think more deeply about the verse besides just timing. Here is the exchange:

Q. “I was reading an article on the Bible Prophecy Today website titled, “Israel Considers Nuclear Power.” And as I’m reading, it pops in my head that during the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 the Lord specifically says the people of Israel will use the weapons of the Horde that will be coming against them and burn them into fuel and for 7 years the energy needs of Israel will be met. Israel has been looking into ways to produce more electricity to meet the country’s growing energy need. Now they use coal, but its not efficient enough. I really think this shows just how in control God is that he not only is going to destroy Israel enemies but at the same time meet this need! What do you think? Am I reaching to much?”

A. “No, I don’t think you’re reaching. And when you stop to think about it, what other source of energy is there that could begin as a weapon and be converted into enough energy to supply the entire nation’s needs for 7 years? I once calculated that in 2002 it would have taken over 120,000 tons of combustible material to meet Israel’s energy needs for one day. It pretty much has to be nuclear.”

This interpretation makes sense to me. The precursors to Iran’s achieving nuclear weapons are astounding. It would not take much to see that Obama’s dragging his feet on sanctions, his hostility toward Israel, and his misplaced friendliness toward the Palestinians would embolden the Iranians enough and give them the window of time to succeed in their nuclear goals. So how close are they?

The Australian reports bluntly:

“US allows Iran its nuclear vision”
“US President Barack Obama has decided to abandon any serious effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He is determined instead to live with a nuclear Iran, by containment and, if possible, negotiation. This is the shifting tectonic plate in the Middle East. This is the giant story of the past few weeks which the world has largely missed, distracted by the theatre of the absurd of Obama’s contrived and mock confrontation with Israel over 1600 apartments to be built in three years’ time in a Jewish suburb in East Jerusalem.”

The lack of concerted effort to halt Iran’s nukes in in the face of the facts of the recent advances of “Iran’s missile program, which has no conceivable military use except to carry nuclear weapons, and which can now reach Europe and in due course will have a longer range…” That Iran has likely passed the tipping point and in actuality is near to their goal is widely understood by viewing their very public successes in their nuclear programme. NY Times reported a few days ago that: “Six months after the revelation of a secret nuclear enrichment site in Iran, international inspectors and Western intelligence agencies say they suspect that Tehran is preparing to build more sites in defiance of United Nations demands.” (image source)

Of course they are. They have repeatedly said they are stopping at nothing and that nothing will deter them. They said it again yesterday.

The American Thinker site gives us some more information on that Iranian nuclear scientist who defected to the US: “The Washington Times is reporting this morning that the CIA believes Iran already has the capability to build a bomb if they chose to do so. This was self evident after the Iranians announced they were going to enrich their uranium hex from 4% to 20%. If you can enrich to 20% you can certainly enrich to the 85-90% level necessary to build a bomb.” Of course they can.

What does all this add up to? A few things. First, the nuclear genie, who left the bottle in 1945 but remained tethered to the bottle, has broken loose. The notion of actually using nuclear weapons as a means of fighting nation against nation is now floating about and gaining tenability. The idea no longer engenders the immediate reflex reaction of recoil and repugnance as it has in the past.

Secondly, a close reading of the scriptures shows us that nuclear use will come to pass. Not only do the verses referring to Israel’s burning of the (nuclear) fuel for 7 years as stated above, but Zechariah 14:12 paints a picture of what happens to the human body during a nuke strike: “Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.” Isaiah 17:1 pronounces that Damascus will cease from being a city, it will be a heap of ruins, no longer recognizable as even being a city. Only nuclear weapons can do that. Isaiah 34:4 shows us “All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll;” and that image is repeated in Rev 6:14 “The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” This effect actually occurs during a nuclear blast. The continuing force of a nuclear blast wave drives everything away from its super-heated center, with winds up to 400 miles per hour. After a few seconds the winds rush back to fill the partial vacuum left from the blast. And of course, nukes can make the mountains move from their place. (I wrote more about the likely use of nuclear weapons here.)

Third, things are occurring exactly as the Lord intended and told us ahead of time. What a blessing it is to have a Sovereign God who wants a personal relationship with us! What a blessing that He gave us his Word to study, so we can know these things and take comfort in His promises! There is also something else we can know, and that is that any person who has appealed to Jesus for forgiveness of his sins and repented, claiming Him as Lord and Savior, will NOT BE HERE when the nukes fly.

In due time, the world will be dark, literally dark “The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” (Is 13:10). No light! The world will be spiritually dark too- “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11) No Light! You can know that you will be part of the blessed Church safely sequestered in heaven during the Tribulation, if you are sorry for your sins and ask Him to forgive. If you have done so, you will receive the Holy Spirit sealed inside you to educate you and guide you on His paths. For now,

“While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” (John 12:36)

Posted in end time, israel, palestinian state, prophecy

New philosophy on Middle East Peace: "Just Force It!"

Posted on by elizabethprata

Last November, I reported on a troubling new thought inserted into the Middle East peace negotiation process put forth by then- EU High Diplomat Javier Solana; “just force it.” I wrote, “Solana essentially said, let’s cut through the red tape, quit the talk, and walk the walk. How about creating a Palestinian State!”The United Nations Security Council should “proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution.” (image source and explanation here)

Obama has taken that thought and has been running with it ever since. In the background, massive pressure has been brought to bear on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to divide Jerusalem and give the Palestinians their own state. Lately, that ‘background’ pressure erupted in a very public fight between Israel and the US, reported here, and here. Now the Asia Times reported yesterday that “Obama imposing a Palestinian state”

“Last December, American officials spoke of a timeframe of two years until the creation of a Palestinian state. At that point, it seemed like an unrealistic hope, but so did the healthcare overhaul until recently. A bilateral compromise among Israelis and Palestinians appears now less likely than ever; however, Obama’s head-on collision with the Israeli government, coupled with his open support of a new, moderate and more efficient Palestinian leadership (that of the technocrat Prime Minister Salam Fayyad), has increased the likelihood of another scenario. The Obama administration might try to use Israel’s dependence on the US (especially in the UN Security Council) to force the Israelis to agree on a version of the Arab Peace Initiative, and lead a chorus of condemnation against whoever drops the towel. Such a public relations sleight of hand is characteristic of Obama and has been extremely effective on the domestic front.”

Obama’s relationship with Palestinian Fayyad was remarked on here, in Haaretz: PM heads to U.S. under threat of Palestinian statehood declaration. The private diplomatic skirmishes have not only become very public battles but it is now becoming obvious to all that alliances are shifting. Even the Liberal, Obama-worshiping Huffington Post is noticing. “Israeli government actions since Vice President Biden’s visit have thrust Jerusalem into the forefront of the Obama administration’s efforts to revive the peace process. They have brought US-Israel relations to their lowest point since the first Bush presidency. How did we get there? How can we get out?”

We don’t get out, that’s what. God is handling things, not us. As mournful as it is to see us abandon Israel, it is a praise to the LORD to see these things are coming to pass exactly as prophesied in the bible. Israel will have no friends and Jerusalem will be attacked by all nations in the last days. Zechariah 12:3 and 14:2 tells us that.

Perhaps God is forcing Israel’s friends away from her so that in the end she will have nowhere else to turn except to Himself. Perhaps He is preparing Israel for her judgment. Perhaps He is preparing us for our judgment. We may not know why all these things happen at any given moment, but we do know He knows why, and we know they will happen.

God promised to bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel, and we as a nation may be under imminent judgment because we are forcing her to divide God’s land, (Joel 3:2), but we as individual people can and should still show unconditional love and support for the Jewish people. We can pray for them as a people and as a nation. We are told in Psalm 122 that we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem, because we know that doing so is in effect a prayer for the Millennial Reign when God’s promise to His people of the Kingdom Age is fulfilled. (Ezekiel 40-48)

Will you join me in prayer for the nation of Israel, the people of Israel, the Jews still in Diaspora, and the Leaders of Israel? May YHWH bless them and hear our prayers.

Posted in end time, invisibility cloak, morality center, prophecy, restrainer

Three bad things: a Godless universe, a switched off morality center, and an invisibility cloak

Posted on by elizabethprata

I bring to your attention three science stories that add up to very big trouble for humankind. They do not initially seem as though they are connected, but they are. Read on.

First is the news I wrote of yesterday, that the Large Hadron Collider was about to be fired up, and it was. It fired up successfully this morning in Switzerland (after three tries). The scientists have ramped up the machine to its intended speed and smashed particles in an attempt to confirm the theory of dark matter, and learn how mass holds the universe together. They believe there is a particle called the “Higgs-Boson” that is the universe’s glue but they have nicknamed it the “God Particle.” The scientists who search for the fabric of the universe so they can make a name for themselves, dare to nickname it after the Almighty, while denying His existence are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” It is as exactly Paul warned Timothy of godlessness in the last days (2 Tim 3:7). It is and always has been a dangerous thing to ignore God. To actively try to remove God from the Universe is even worse.

Second, Scientists discover how to ‘turn off’ brain’s morality center. Man, being sinful, needs whatever restraint he can cling to, to keep from falling into a state of total evil. As the report describes, “People’s moral judgment can be altered by disrupting part of the brain, a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows.” The experiments to learn of what happens when the moral center is switched off are even more heinous. We read,

“In one scenario, a person called Grace and her friend are taking a tour of a chemical plant when Grace stops at the coffee machine. Grace’s friend asks her to get her a coffee with sugar. A container by the coffee machine is marked ‘toxic’ but contains plain old sugar — but Grace doesn’t know that. She believes the white powder in the container is toxic but puts it in her friend’s coffee anyway. Her friend is unharmed because the substance was sugar. Participants in the study were asked to judge on a scale of one to seven, with one being “absolutely forbidden” and seven “absolutely permissible,” if they thought what Grace and other protagonists in other scenarios did was morally acceptable.” Of course, we would not be reading this as news unless the experiment proved that the participants’ judged the toxic sugar as “morally acceptable.”

Calvin wrote, “There is within the human mind, and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity.” I believe that is what Romans 2:14-15 is telling us. “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”. (Commentary on that verse here). I also believe that Romans 1:18-20 tells us that there exists a variety of environmental circumstances which can trigger this human tendency to believe in God, including the beauty of the natural world. Further, that our sin nature suppresses the tendency, naturally at first, later, purposely and actively. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” You can’t suppress what you do not have within you. [Note: Others do not believe that there is within us a Divine Spark within us. It is a heated theological argument.]

However, if believing that a divine spark resides within us, purposely turning it off as indicated by the experiment, is a deep rebellion against God. It is evil to think that we can knowingly offer a deadly substance to a fellow human and judge it as morally appropriate.

Third, we read that “Scientists in Germany invent ‘invisibility cloak.'” “The creation of Harry Potter-style invisibility cloaks may be closer than you think. German scientists have found a way to make an object vanish from view in three dimensions for the first time, according to a study published in the journal “Science.”

Do you see the downward trajectory of the human condition soon to be upon us (if left unchecked)? Of how these three events are connected? The aforementioned items are a reality in the lab, but how long will it be before the technology is widely disseminated to the mainstream for man’s fun and sinful games? If history is any indicator, not long. Can you not see how soon man will run rampant over his fellow humans if he is released from knowledge of the Divine Judge, suppresses the Divine Spark, puts on a cloak that renders him invisible, and is free to sin without being seen?? Burglars, pedophiles, adulterers, thieves … running rampant, secure in their invisibility. Total evil would reign. And it will reign, it will be a horrible event for non-believers when the Restrainer is taken away! (2 Thess 2:7)

These three recent scientific breakthroughs, taken together, spell upcoming evil. Will man forgo turning off his morality center if he has an option? No. Can man be counted on not to use an invisibility cloak for evil purposes? No. Does proving Higgs-Boson exists mean people on the fence people will still accept that God holds the universe together? No.

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Gen 6:5. God sent the flood soon after, and Jesus tells us that the time of the end will be like the “Days of Noe” (Mt 24:37). It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that the Days of Noah are upon us but also that the days can get a lot worse.

Thankfully, our Jesus the Savior is merciful. Thankfully, our God the Sovereign King is perfect in His timing.  He knows just how far to let things go. And then Jesus will sound the trump of God and He will call us up to Him! It will be a blessed event for Christians, a tremendous fulfillment of Jesus’ promise! He reigns! And we with Him!

Posted in cern, end time, lhc, prophecy

LHC scheduled to smash particles tomorrow

Posted on by elizabethprata

My interest in the Large Hadron Collider has not waned, but only has grown. I feel that this machine and its imminent search to find the God Particle, is indicative of the kind of mindset that God pronounced would permeate the end of days, a replica of an attitude that permeated the beginning of days when He decided to send the Flood. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen 6:5-8). We are told that the end of days would be like the time of Noah, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37).

To me, the LHC is a situation as in the time of Nimrod when he disobeyed God, made a city, and endeavored to build a tower so he could make a name for himself. The big bang machine under the Alps is not a flashy sign of the times like a volcano eruption or earthquake, nor is it a stressful one like a slow economic crash, but it is like the oil light on your car. It is a small light, easy to overlook, but failure to heed its warning results in total destruction of the car. The scientists who search for the fabric of the universe so they can make a name for themselves, dare to nickname it after the Almighty, while denying His existence are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” It is as exactly Paul warned Timothy of godlessness in the last days (2 Tim 3:7).

I4U News humorously reports:

“The CERN just tweeted that the LHC is ready to finally do what it is built for after a long series of delays. Tomorrow, March 30th, 8:30am, the LHC will start to colliding particles. The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is set to generate collisions at 7 TeV (3.5 TeV per beam). TeV stands for Tera electron volt and is a measure of energy. An eV unit of energy equal to approximately 1.602×10−19 J. More details on Wikipedia. CERN does not know when exactly they will actually detect a collision. As soon as it happens they will hold a media event and offer a live webcast. I am not sure if still some Earthlings believe that this will be the end of the world, but in any case we had a fun ride.”

LOL. Of course, the world will not end, but it will be re-created by God, and that will happen in His timing. The Large Hadron Collider particle smashing machine will close down for a lengthy period at the end of next year, but it looks like despite the many delays (signs) they are bulling ahead with their notion that they can (safely) recreate the Big Bang and find the “God particle.” I think at some point they will be surprised to actually find God, and He will not be pleased.

Under the Alps, CERN is all a-twitter at their upcoming moment. They have built it, tested, it, overcome delays, and now they are on the verge of the big bang. The scientists are excited at this near-culmination of a long-held dream. I am excited because I can’t wait to see what God will do. Either way, it is interesting times!

Posted in end time, prophecy, rapture

Some eschatological art

Posted on by elizabethprata

Something to think about:

This is what will become of the earth and happen to those under God’s judgment.
“And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.” Isaiah 34:11

Something to look forward to!

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess 4:16-18

The Bride is going up!

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

Peace among rumors of wars

Posted on by elizabethprata

The disciples asked Jesus about the end of times in Matthew 24:3, “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus gave a lengthy and specific answer. One of the signs He told the disciples to look for were “wars and rumors of wars.” The rumors of wars is often overlooked in light of the upcoming fact of the wars of Isaiah 17:1, Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38-39, and the war at Armageddon in Rev. 16:14, plus other wars that have not been described specifically but will occur as per Rev. 6:4.

The news today is sobering. On one side of the Atlantic, we read that The “Special Relationship” between US and UK is over, MP’s say. Also on that side of the Atlantic, we read that even as tanks roll into Gaza, “Israel will have to end Hamas regime.” On the other side of the world, a South Korean ship was sunk in the Yellow Sea with all hands on board. North Korea is suspected. At home, massive FBI – DHS raids were carried out in three states, militias are the suspected targets, as reported here, and here, and other places. In this report, the raids were against militia groups with Christian ties, specifically with end time orientation and philosophy.

Note that none of the prophesied wars have occurred yet. However, Jesus said in the same breath, ‘wars and rumors of wars.’ Wars are something we can wrap our minds around. There are concrete terms that we associate with wars. ‘Win,’ ‘lose,’ ‘enemy,’ ‘advance’, ‘retreat,’ ‘victory’, ‘defeat.’ We can understand what is required and take action. However, with rumors, there is nothing concrete. Truth could be anything and anything could be a lie. Nothing is certain. Rumors are quicksand. And rumors of wars are the worst kind of rumors because they keep a population on such edge and anxiety. Looking at the news today from east to west, north to south, we never quite can predict where or when the next blow will come. That is the nature of rumors.

Gary Alan Fine is a premier academic who has made a career of studying the social impact of rumor and legend. In his book “Rumor Mills,” Fine says that a rumor’s “major ideological function is to bridge over the cognitive gaps tearing the tissue of normative beliefs and standards.” In other words, as belief systems are shaken, people knit the few facts available into tales that satisfy the gaps in their understanding, an understanding that is being shaken ever more vigorously, and as it is shaken more vigorously, the tales increase to cover the gaps. The end time is certainly a time when belief systems are being shaken. People who believed whole-heartedly in the concepts of money, tenure, career, home, capitalism,  retirement, and security are concepts that no longer have the same meaning as they did even two years ago.

Rumors put you on edge. The search for truth often proves fruitless. Anxiety grows. Rumors draw energy away from our culture, life, society. The promote a general unbalancing. This is what rumors do and rumors of war are the worst. However, Jesus, being perfect, and intentional with every word He speaks, said in the same sentence as the promise of wars and rumors of wars, “but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” (Mt 24:6 NIV)

Jesus knows the effect that a time of prolonged rumor has upon a psyche, and He admonishes us not to be afraid! Do not be a slave to fears. There is nothing more tarnishing to a Christian testimony than a life of hand-wringing. Nothing is more detrimental to the Light of the Holy Spirit inside us than giving in to the fear that rumors of war brings.

UK and US may go their separate ways. North Korea may have sunk a South Korean ship. Israel may occupy Gaza. FBI may have busted up American militia groups. These are all potentialities. Look past the rumors of what MAY happen, to the certainty of what will happen. The Lord will come rapture us away. The Holy Spirit will draw multitudes to salvation during the Tribulation. God will re-create the earth. Of all people, Christians should exhibit the peace that passes all understanding. Others may fear and cry. Others may let rumors permeate their soul and dim their light. This time, above all times, should be the time when we heed the Lord’s admonishment and fear not! We can look past the time of uncertainty toward the time of certainty – when Jesus rules. We have the blessed Hope. Be bright with hope for others who are in the dark. Rumors come and go. They float up into a nation’s consciousness, and they they dissolve just as ephemerally. Jesus is solid. He never fades. And that’s a fact!

Posted in beat your swords into plowshares, end time, prophecy

The cycle of war will soon be broken

Posted on by elizabethprata

The LORD makes us some promises that are fear-inducing. Other promises He makes are awe-inspiring. Some are both at once. They are bookends of man’s folly and His glory.

In Joel’s prophetic book, at chapter 3 verse 10, it is written: “Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.” (Left, the Arming of the Nations)

Most of us have heard the line that we will beat our plowshares into swords. That verse is located at Isaiah 2:4 – “And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” Did you know that there were opposite prophecies concerning the plowshares? God is great and His Word is great.

A plowshare is the pointed part of the homemade plow that digs into the ground. (Image source, University at Buffalo). The cutting point was often laced with bronze or (later) iron. This advance was introduced by the Greeks. In those days as it often as now, metal was expensive. In times of war it was reused by melting it down or forging to make weapons. In WWII America scrap metal drives were held to accumulate metal to be used in munitions. One scrap metal drive accumulated over 5 million tons of metal in just three weeks. It was common or people to strip the metal from their plowshare and beat them into swords when war loomed on the horizon. When the war was over, the reversed the process and beat them into plowshares again. (Left, Nebraska Boy Scouts in WWII scrap metal drive). Life on earth has been a never-ending cycle of war-peace, war-peace; plowshares into swords-swords into plowshares…

The Joel verse about the plowshares in context describes war that occurred, war that is ongoing, and also speaks of a (near) future war. It will be a time when God will gather all the people to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Valley of Decision) and render unto them His wrath, because “you have divided my land.” Currently Obama is directly pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to divide Jerusalem. According to the Ma’An News Agency, Obama asked the PM two direct questions in the recent meeting at the Oval Office. The meeting was shrouded in unprecedented secrecy and the Prime Minister was met with Obama nearly holding his nose. For the ensuing meeting Netanyahu was treated like a Third World Dictator. The two questions Obama reportedly asked were: “The first question, it seems, was “to what extent are you ready to divide Jerusalem?” and the second, “in what timeframe do you want to accomplish the process of reconciliation with the Palestinians?” Joel Rosenberg, a more credible source than Ma’An in my opinion, reported on Netanyahu’s appearance at the AIPAC meeting, saying that the main point Netanyahu brought out was “Stop Iran or Israel Will”. It is a great essay, I recommend it.

War is coming. Not only does Joel describe the last war when all nations are gathered, the horrendous WWIII, but war will occur prior to that ultimate war as prophesied in Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39. Scrap drives like no other scrap drives will be taking place at all corners of the world. Plows and other items will be stripped of any and all metal, so that soldiers can come up, so that war against God can be ignited.

However, the good news is that there is a glorious ending to the story. The never-ending cycle will be broken! Isaiah prophesies that “they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” Oh, merciful Lord! No more war. Plowshares forever. Can you imagine a time or a place where war is never rumored, never occurs, where the earth never requires reconstruction nor cleanup? A place where a peaceful, loving, agrarian society quietly lives and loves other nations? It will happen. You can be part of it. All you need to do is recognize you are a sinner, and feeling sorry that you sinned, ask Jesus to forgive you. If you accept Him as savior and Lord, (meaning He is the only one Who can and will forgive all your sins) you will be forgiven and live forever in a place where there is no war. Hallelujah! The Lord is victorious!

Posted in end time, judgment, point of no return, prophecy

Has America’s point of no return been reached?

Posted on by elizabethprata

God has a limit, you know. God is love but He is no doormat. He doesn’t overlook sin, patting you on the head, saying, Aww, that’s all right. He does not accept rebellion lightly. He will not accept war against Him under any circumstance.

Did you know that when an individual is so hardened to the truth, He gives them over to it? There IS a point of no return. “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,” (Rom 1:25-26). “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.”(Exodus 8:15) so the LORD finished the hardening Pharaoh had started, and hardened Pharaoh’s heart completely. (Exodus 10:20). God gives people over to their rebellion after a certain point.

After a certain point God gives nations over, too.

First, remember that He always judges sin. Even if the nation is not at the point where He will judge it, but only discipline it, sin is dealt with. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Rev 3:19). Haiti repented after the earthquake and that is a praise to our Lord!

But in addition to reproving and disciplining, He judges. Nineveh is the example here. Jonah preached and they repented, from the top to the bottom. The King got up after hearing Jonah and he set aside his robe and he put on sackcloth and the nation fasted and prayed. God was satisfied and stayed their judgment for over 100 years. God had promised that judgment would come, but because of their repentance, an entire generation had been spared it. (Jonah 3:5-9) When the nation had fallen back to their wicked ways – brutality, plunder, idolatry, and after 150 years, they were judged. (Nahum)

He waits a long time before judging. He waited 120 years before sending the Flood. In Genesis 15:13-16 God told Abraham He would judge the Amorites after 400 years, “until their iniquity was complete.” Sincere repentance can delay judgment, as we have seen with the example of Nineveh, but if God deems the nation incurable, judgment WILL come.

God judges a nation for a variety of reasons. He judged Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin of homosexuality. “Genesis 18:20 – “And the Lord said, ‘The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.'” He destroyed the city. There are many, many other examples of God judging the nations for their actions. He judged Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Judah, Moab, and Israel (Amos 1, Judgment of Nations) for idolatry, brutality, oppression, plunder, for not keeping the Commandments of God, for despising God.

When does He judge? First He warns, then He disciplines. If repentance is absent or if the nation worsens their actions in spite of His obvious discipline, then at a certain point after long-suffering compassion, He deems their sins “incurable” and He judges. “There is no relief for your breakdown, Your wound is incurable.” (Nahum 3:19) Usually the judgment is devastating. Nineveh’s was so complete, the city was obliterated and never found until 1845, after almost a thousand years. If you look up “incurable” in a good concordance, or here, you will see He spoke to Jeremiah, Micah, and Isaiah as well as Nahum about the point at which various nations were deemed to be given over to incurable sin.

In aviation, there is a term called the “point of no return.” Wikipedia defines it as “the point on a flight at which, due to fuel consumption, a plane is no longer capable of returning to its airfield of original takeoff. After passing the point of no return, the plane has no option but to continue to some other destination. In this sense, the phrase implies an irrevocable commitment.” The irrevocable commitment…

Is America irrevocably committed to sin? It would seem so. If we are, then we are in danger of God deeming America “incurable” and passing the point of no return. We are the number one national exporter of child porn, abortion ( child murder), gambling, and violence. We are legalizing homosexual marriages, drugs, and making divorce very easy. And not only are we rebellious against God in persisting in these sins, we deliberately fight against Him through deliberate dismantling of His presence in our society. We have removed His commandments from the schools and from public life, government, and speech. We have banned prayer in schools and at public functions. One Supreme Court suit today upheld a ban on the song “Ave Maria” being played at a graduation – the instrumental version, no lyrics, even! It was still banned for being “too religious.” We have ignored His Word in our churches, watering it down to match with the culture. All the nations above were judged for less.

Since our judgment is a surety, all we need to wonder about is “when?” My opinion is “now” or “soon.” The current health care bill that pays for child murder at the taxpayer dime is a heinous crime in God’s eyes. Leviticus 20:3 describes God’s anger against those who sacrificed their children to the god Molech “And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.” Child-sacrifice profanes God. He is serious about His children, the littlest among the little. When we as a nation wantonly kill them it is bad enough. But when that murder is supported from the government levels as a taxpayer funded activity, it becomes a profane that defiles His very sanctuary. Worst, we are cursing the land that He blessed, pushing Israel to divide it, thus straining our relationship with His blessed nation. Will He stand that for all this sin much longer? I do not think so. People get ready!

Posted in end time, korban pesach, prophecy

Korban Pesach inching closer to reality?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Several days ago INN published a piece titled “Temple Mount Institute wants to offer biblical Passover sacrifice.”
The Temple Mount Institute has filed suit in its fight for the right to sacrifice a sheep on the Temple Mount prior to Passover, as commanded in the Torah. “The command to perform a Paschal [Passover] sacrifice is a positive commandment; the punishment for failing to perform it is ‘karet’ [lit. — ‘cut off’, meaning that a person is cut off from the Nation of Israel], and it can be performed only on the day before Passover and only on the Temple Mount,” the organization explained in a petition to the Supreme Court. Fighting the group’s request are the Israel Police, who argue that the sacrifice would lead to Muslim riots and thus threaten public safety.”

“Jews have the right to offer animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount under Israeli law, the organization claimed. Israelis are guaranteed the right to freedom of worship, and Israel prides itself in allowing members of all faiths to access their holy sites. In previous years, the court has ruled that the right to freedom of worship is outweighed by the consideration of public safety, and has forbidden the Paschal sacrifice. The Temple Mount Institute also took the opportunity to take police to task for barring Jews and Christians from the Temple Mount following Muslim riots. “The Israel Police is giving rioters a ‘prize’ and encouraging them to hold violent riots and disturb the peace, on the one hand, and is discriminating against Jews and members of other faiths and trampling their human rights – the right to freedom of movement and freedom of worship – on the other,” the organization accused. The Institute asked the court to order police to explain why Jews are barred from the mount when Muslims riot.”

The sacrifice is called Korban Pesach and it is explained here: “What is Korban Pesach?”

Yesterday The Temple Mount organizations petitioning for the right to sacrifice on Passover at the Temple Mount received word that their request was passed on to the Government. This represents the furthest progress they have ever made in petitioning for the right to make a Temple Mount offering. See article below from Temple Mount Faithful website:

“Excitement growing for Passover Offering 2010“
“According to reports from activists in the field unprecedented number of people are signing up to take part in the Passover Offering. According to biblical law the Paschal Lamb must be eaten on Passover night in a group of no less than 10, known as a “Chabura”.  To great surprise many individuals even in the Haredi (ultra orthodox) sector are also signing up and getting their lambs ready to slaughter for this special and important Offering to Almighty One. The Supreme Court has required the Government of Israel to respond to a petition presented by the Temple Mount Movements by Sunday. According to a representative of the Temple Mount Movements this morning, the trial over the Passover Offering may take place as soon as Monday! We will keep you updated with any new developments regarding the Passover Offering 2010.”

The folks at the Rosh Pina Project blog, a Messianic Jewish blog, state:
“There is lots of messianic fervour currently in Israel surrounding the year 5770, as it corresponds numerically with 770 Eastern Parkway – the New York address of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, whom many Chabadniks believe is the Moshiach, and believe he will arrive before the year is out. But it is not just Chabad hasidim who believe that Moshiach and Geula will come before the end of 5770. The reality is these views are prevalent across the spectrum of haredi Judaism. Orthodox Jewish news site Matzav reports that many leading Litvak poskim are supporting a project which teaches that Moshiach and Geula are coming at Pesach this year.”

The folks at matzov.com, a page devoted to “The Online Voice of Torah Jewry ” say, “A new effort to prepare Yidden for the coming of Moshiach in time for Pesach 5770 has received the approval from gedolim. The project is aimed at having Yidden organized in chaburos, with animals inspected and ready to be used for the korban Pesach upon Moshiach’s arrival prior to the Chag Hamatzos this year.”

Messianic fervour…an interesting phrase. We do know that immediately after the Gog-Magog war in which God shows Himself to His people and demonstrates His power in winning that war for them, He will then call ALL the Jews to the land, “not leaving any behind.” When they all come back He “pours out His spirit on the House of Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:28-29) We can now see the start of this yearning for their LORD. The Temple Mount and the sacrifices petition could be representative of a drumbeat in more and more Jews’ hearts as they begin to give voice the call that the Spirit is rising in them.