prophecy – Page 120

A follow-up to essay "It’s open season on humans"

Posted on February 15, 2010 by elizabethprata

Two days ago I wrote about the increase in shootings, and that Paul’s perilous times seems to include an open season on humans. An addendum to that essay is below.

Two Hurt In Richmond Church Shooting
RICHMOND, Calif. (CBS13)

“A shooting at a Richmond church has left two teenagers wounded, according to authorities. KCBS radio in San Francisco is reporting that three suspects entered the New Gethsemane Church on Roosevelt Avenue while about 100 people were inside and opened fire.”

Pray ceaselessly for peace!And pray for His soon return.

brain spirituality, end time, prophecy

Scientists Find ‘Spirituality’ Center of Brain

Posted on February 15, 2010May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I came to the Lord on December 3, 2003. There were many reasons for my accepting the Truth, but one of them was a long-time curiosity with how the world got started and a dissatisfaction with the secular answer of evolution, Big Bang and simple chance. During this time of my peak curiosity, I was fortunate to be able to travel the world for ten years. I saw many sunsets, the majestic Alps, active volcanoes, the Northern Lights, myriad exotic animals, the ocean at peace and in turmoil, and I would think, ‘there HAS to be more to it than a Bang…this is all so beautiful and delicately complex.’ In this, the scripture in Romans 1:20 comes into play, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” Eventually, I clearly saw, and I understood. More important, I believed.

I had another question too, for example, why does every culture in the world worship something? I’d learned in my twenties that every culture that ever existed worshiped something greater than themselves in some way, from the beginning of recorded time to this moment. Why is that, I’d wonder, and why is is that of all the animals on earth, that none others ever attained that transcendence of self, and looked up to a God?

Could it be…because God designed it that way?

In 2001 scientists began to delve into that question with more advanced technology. The brain is SO complex, that it still remains a mystery to them today, but is being better understood bit by bit.

Tracing the Synapses of Our Spirituality
What creates that transcendental feeling of being one with the universe? It could be the decreased activity in the brain’s parietal lobe, which helps regulate the sense of self and physical orientation, research suggests.

In 2008 another study focused on the parietal lobe further, separating that part of the brain into synapses that define ‘me’ and ‘not-me’:

Spirituality Spot Found in Brain
The area in question — the right parietal lobe — is responsible for defining “Me,” said researcher Brick Johnstone of Missouri University. It generates self-criticism, he said, and guides us through physical and social terrains by constantly updating our self-knowledge: my hand, my cocktail, my witty conversation skills, my new love interest …People with less active Me-Definers are more likely to lead spiritual lives, reports the study in the current issue of the journal Zygon.

Now, “spirituality” is not Jesus, the blood and the cross, but it is progress. By 2010 scientists were studying the brain interior itself again rather than external behavioral impulses, responses, and self-reporting. They found in brain-damaged patients that some areas in the brain lead to a greater spirituality.

Scientists Find ‘Spirituality’ Center of Brain
Scientists have identified areas of the brain that, when damaged, lead to greater spirituality. The findings hint at the roots of spiritual and religious attitudes, the researchers say. Previous neuroimaging studies had linked activity within a large network in the brain that connects the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortexes with spiritual experiences, “but information on the causative link between such a network and spirituality is lacking,” explains lead study author, Urgesi said.

The fact of the matter is, whether a person believes in God or not, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:4) All of Ecclesiastes reminds us that life without God is empty and vain. Every person ever created has the opportunity to see the world and His invisible attributes within. Every person has the opportunity to seek the fulfillment of that empty place inside us where we groan and discover what it is we groan for. The Lord made us with sinews and blood and DNA and a place in our brains (it seems) where the seat of heavenly longing waits for the Holy Spirit to connect with it and AWAKE our soul unto Jesus. The key is receptivity. Will you harden your heart to the questions that arise in you? Will you push out of your mind the unanswerable that is before your eyes? Or will you accept the Holy Spirit’s conviction and seek until blessed belief overwhelms you with love and grace?

Though the brain research into the parietal lobe is intellectual and “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) it is still a matter of pondering the miracle that we are spiritual beings. If we evolved, why is that spirituality absent from 100% of the rest of the animal kingdom? Could it be because “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”? (Gen 1:27)

I urge all of us to ponder these things. His creation has His signature on it. His formation of humans has in us implanted longing for His Magnificent self. If you have ever looked at the beauty of the world and wondered Who made it, or felt within yourself a longing and unfulfillment, a seeking for something more, it is the Spirit knocking on the door of your heart ready to reveal the kingdom to you. If you only believe, and ask. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

[Hardwired for God, another essay I wrote exploring this subject, is here]

end time, prophecy, snow

Does God have a sense of humor? I think so!

Posted on February 12, 2010May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A friend and I were discussing global warming. Just when it looked like global warming was going to take root in governments around the world, the momentum stopped dead in its tracks. Climategate was like a two-by-four to the knees and killed its momentum. Copenhagen pushed it further down, with a foot on its neck so to speak. And now this snow. My, there’s a lot of snow. Two blizzards in one week caused Blizzard Rearranges Climate Change Announcement. And this – Global warming congressional hearing cancelled due to blizzard. And still the snow marches on. There’s rare snow down in the deep south, and a nor’east clipper to the New England states predicted for Monday. That about covers the whole US.

As a matter of fact, right now, 49 states dusted with snow; Hawaii’s the holdout
By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer

“— Forget red and blue — color America white. There was snow on the ground in 49 states Friday. Hawaii was the holdout. It was the United States of Snow, thanks to an unusual combination of weather patterns that dusted the U.S., including the skyscrapers of Dallas, the peach trees of Atlanta and the Florida Panhandle, where hurricanes are more common than snowflakes. More than two-thirds of the nation’s land mass had snow on the ground when the day dawned, and then it snowed ever so slightly in Florida to make it 49 states out of 50. At the same time, those weird weather forces are turning Canada’s Winter Olympics into the bring-your-own-snow games.”

“Who’s the Great White North now? “I’m calling it the upside-down winter,” said David Robinson, head of the Global Snow Lab at Rutgers University in New Jersey.”

“Snow paralyzed and fascinated the Deep South on Friday. Snowball fights broke out at Southern Mississippi University, snow delayed flights at the busy Atlanta airport, and Louisiana hardware stores ran out of snow supplies. Andalusia, Ala., shut down its streets because of snow. And yet, Portland, Maine, where snow is usually a given, had to cancel its winter festival for lack of the stuff. Weather geeks turned their eyes to Hawaii. In that tropical paradise, where a ski club strangely exists, observers were looking closely at the islands’ mountain peaks to see if they could find a trace of white to make it a rare 50-for-50 states with snow.”

“The idea of 50 states with snow is so strange that the federal office that collects weather statistics doesn’t keep track of that number and can’t say whether it has ever happened. The office can’t even say whether 49 out of 50 has ever taken place before.”

There’s more at the headline link. It’s an interesting article.

And still it comes. We have Record snow in Dallas. There’s Rare snowflakes start falling from Miss. to Fla. Rome getting heaviest snow in 25 years. Heavy snow brings travel chaos in Germany. Aw, rats, let’s just say there’s Heavy snow across the world. “From the Eastern USA, to Scotland, Scandinavia and the Alps there are some great skiing and snowboarding conditions. The only place it seems to be lacking is at one of the venues for the Olympics where a giant helicopter is flying it in.”

So, does God have a sense of humor? Oh, yeah. I think so.

(Image source, my front yard in Georgia. And it’s still coming down.)

end time, great tribulation, prophecy

The plague of beasts

Posted on February 11, 2010January 26, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Gustave Dore, Vision of Death. 1865. public domain

I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8).

Consider those words for a moment…we are all familiar with plagues such as THE Plague, as in bubonic, Swine Flu and Dengue Fever and Malaria and all the other diseases and plagues throughout the centuries as well as biblical plagues of locusts and the ten plagues of Egypt. But one of the plagues loosed in Revelation 6 as the 4th seal is opened will be wild beasts.

Before we explore further, let’s go back to the beginning, in Genesis1:28 and Genesis 9:2. In Gen 9, God said “The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.” In this verse, after the flood, God is making a promise to Noah and his descendants. God grants them power over the inferior creatures for their use and benefit. Man would have dominion over them. In Gen 1:28 God gave dominion over the animals but it was in harmonic governance. By Gen 9, the change is that He will now instill a fear into the animals, and fallen man shall rule over them through their fear and dread of man. “Those creatures that are any way hurtful to us are restrained; so that tho’ now and then man may be hurt by some of them, yet they do not combine together to rise up in rebellion against man” writes Wesley.

Have you ever pondered the thought that we can ride a horse and make it do our bidding using only our heels and a bridle? Or that we can cause a bull to do our will, or an elephant to prance around on two legs? Or train a lion using a chair? Or ride Killer whales at Sea World? These are huge animals who could stomp us in a second, yet they don’t (as a rule). Why? They are restrained because of their fear and dread of us.

By the time Revelation 6:8 comes, the LORD will have taken away that fear and dread and the animals will rise up. Animals are already being abandoned in great number, and not just the small animals of dogs and cats, horrifying enough as that is, but also horses and zoo animals. We read more and more of sharks attacking in closer waters, mountain lions poaching humans in the backyard suburbs, wolf attacks are increasing, even raccoons attacking daily in DE and FL.

Imagine what it will be like when the LORD removes the restraint completely and allows animals to willfully rise up and attack. Remember how Wesley interpreted it: “Those creatures that are any way hurtful to us are restrained; so that tho’ now and then man may be hurt by some of them, yet they do not combine together to rise up in rebellion against man.” In Revelation 6 they will do exactly that!

God has cursed man with the plague of wild beasts before. In Lev. 26:22 “God said ‘I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted,” and in Ez 14:21 “For thus says the Lord GOD, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it!”

Matthew Henry commentary -“Hurtful beasts, noisome and noxious, either as poisonous or as ravenous. God can make these to pass through the land (v. 15), to increase in all parts of it, and to bereave it, not only of the tame cattle, preying upon their flocks and herds, but of their people, devouring men, women, and children, so that no man may pass through because of the beasts; none dare travel even in the high roads for fear of being pulled in pieces by lions, or other beasts of prey, as the children of Beth-el by two bears. Note, When men revolt from their allegiance to God, and rebel against him, it is just with God that the inferior creatures should rise up in arms against men.”

How horrifying that the wild beasts should hunt us, attack, and do so in great number! You, Dear reader, do not have to be among the number killed by claws and teeth. Jesus made a way. If you feel saddened and upset over your misdeeds, called ‘sins’ in the bible, then ask Jesus to forgive them. Sinners cannot attain heaven, God hates sin and always judges it. That’s what the Tribulation is about: judging Israel and punishing national and individual sin through His wrath. If you pray to Jesus to forgive your sins and do so with sincere heart, believing He and only he can forgive them because of His work on the cross, then you are saved! Saved from the plague of beasts sure to come upon the world and then a worse fate of an eternity without Jesus in heaven. It will happen soon, do not delay.

illustration source

end time, iran, nuclear, prophecy

Iran is a nuclear nation

Posted on February 11, 2010May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The most important news of the day has got to be Iran’s announcement that they are now a nuclear state. I don’t know why this surprises the power-brokers, it has been widely touted that Iran would have a nuke by 2010. It’s now 2010. You do the math, lol. I wonder what Israel will do?!

I believe the bible foretells nuclear war. In Isaiah 17:1 it says “An Oracle concerning Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.” Only nukes could obliterate a city thoroughly enough for the city to be uninhabitable and unrecognizable. Even the massive and continual German bombing of London in WWII didn’t raze the city.

The nuclear issue is hugely important. Though nukes have only been used twice since their invention (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) I believe the bible foretells their use in quantity during the Tribulation. There are many verses that could be interpreted that way, but here are a few:

In Matthew 24:29 it states “The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky.” Joel 3:14-15 and Mark 13:24 say the same. Nuclear winter effects are similar. When Mt. Tambora erupted in 1815 it produced a volcanic winter known as “Eighteen Hundred and froze to death” (1816). Severe summer climate abnormalities destroyed crops in Northern Europe, the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Famine was the result. Sunsets were spectacular, brown and red snow fell all over the globe, the skies were dark and the cold persisted for two years. That was just one eruption. Imagine the effects on a globe where nukes are falling in number.

Revelation 6:15 – “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.” Why do they hide in caves in mountains? To shield themselves from the effects of nuclear blasts and fallout? Otherwise they would hide in homes and buildings, no? Mount Weather is the underground bunker to which the President and Congress is evacuated in the event of an emergency, such as when copters flew them to the facility on 9/11. Also, Cheyenne Mountain is another cave-like bunker facility to which the military would continue operations in case of nuclear exchanges.

Rev 6:14 “And the sky receded as a scroll…” 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.

Rev. 9:18 “A third part of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur.” Sulfur also known as brimstone, is a by-product smell of bitter fallout.

Revelation 8:7 we see that “A third of trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” Joel 2:30 says, “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.”

Revelation 8:10-11 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Zech 14:12 “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.” John Hagee mentioned that this scenario is a perfect example of the effects of a nuclear blast on the human body.

It seems likely that nukes will be used liberally during the Tribulation…pray now to receive Jesus as savior and forgiver of your sins, and you will dine with Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb rather than hide in caves shivering from nuclear winter.

Prophecy note: The rise of Iran, Russia, and China in these articles below coincides with the players that the book of Revelation says will be belligerent, powerful war-mongers in the Tribulation. Iran and Russia being the leaders of the Gog-Magog war and China being the land of the Kings of the East (Rev 16:12) mounting a 200 million man army.

President Ahmadinejad declares Iran a nuclear state
Iran is now a nuclear state, President Ahmadinejad told a huge rally of supporters on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that Iran had produced a first batch of uranium enriched to a level of 20 percent and that it was capable of achieving much higher levels of purity – up to 80 per cent.

Iran: Destroy Israel if it strikes
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel “must be resisted” and finished off “once and for all” if it launches a military operation in the Middle East, Reuters cited an Iranian report on Thursday.

China threatens to dump US Treasuries over Taiwan arms sale
Majors General Zhu Chenghu and Luo Yuan and Colonel Ke Chungqio of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army were quoted in an official Chinese publication calling for the Chinese government to retaliate against the United States economically for the recent decision to sell $6.4 billion of arms to Taiwan. China has already announced unspecified sanctions against U.S. companies that participate in the sale.

Twitter diplomacy: Envoy says Russia will ‘kick ass’ of US
Russia’s ambassador to NATO said Wednesday in a post on his Twitter feed that the proverbial Russian bear would “kick the ass” of the United States and its allies if cornered by a new US missile shield.

Nations are rising, as the bible said they would be!

end time, iran punch, prophecy

What will Iran’s ‘punch’ be?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by elizabethprata

For a little under two weeks now, Iran’s top leaders, either Khamenei or Achmadinejad, have been threatening the west with a blow and a punch on Feb. 11 that will leave us stunned. Feb. 11 is the anniversary of their revolution. Though hot air always emits from those quarters, it is unusual to have a date assigned. Though they usually posture, they rarely issue empty threats. Speculation as to what this punch may consist of was slow to begin but is now rampant along the fringes of the internet conspiracy groups.

George Ure at urbansurvival.com thinks that Iran will launch a missile from a satellite and blow an electro-magnetic pulse over America, immediately throwing us back to the stone age as all electricity and anything with a chip in it becomes immediately fried. Though that scenario sounds outlandish, the fact that America is not mentioned as a nation participating in any end time or tribulation war seems to indicate our country is incapacitated throughout. An EMP would do it. Couple that with the fact that the UK recently increased their threat level to severe, the second highest level, indicating a terrorist attack is “highly likely”. Joel Rosenberg postulated this scenario of sorts in his last book, Dead Heat, where a rogue nation lobs nukes at us from container ships anchored close to shore. So a terrorist act is not out of the question, given Rosenberg’s track record with fictional end time political thrillers that come true, the UK threat level elevation, and America’s absence from world stage in the end time/Tribulation.

Another scenario is making the rounds that I personally think is more likely. Speculation is Iran will announce they will pull out of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. Though opinions run the gamut that Iran is expected to announce another Shahab-3 missile launch, a series of drones they’ve built, bought a nuke from Pakistan (who is not in the NPT), or even a nuke test itself, announcing they would withdraw from the NPT does the most good for Iran and the most damage to the west. It would come on the heels of their announcement they are enriching uranium to 20%. That enrichment frenzy indicates without a doubt that their intentions with nuclear power are not peaceful. They know that the West has reached the end of their rope with Iran, and more nations are calling for harsh sanctions, even war, so the announcement they are withdrawing from the NPT would put them out of reach of the west. They could even blame the west and/or Israel for ‘forcing’ them to withdraw. Iran has spent six fruitful years developing nuclear power and ICBMs all the while keeping the West dancing to their tune, it had to end sometime. Withdrawing from the NPT is one way to keep the west dancing and free Iran to pursue what is universally acknowledged as a near end to their goal of a nuke.

Whether it’s only hot air, posturing, a let-down, or a real punch, we only have another day to see which prophecy (if any) would be fulfilled on Thursday with this threatened punch. Meanwhile, the end time is fraught with deception and attendant anxiety in attempting determining what is real and what is a lie. Angst and perplexity over the violence and ugliness happening in the world are very real results when the god of the age is running wild against all humanity. The Texas A&M newspaper says it well:

Iran’s threat elevates world anxiety
“Scholars, government officials and military officers worldwide call Iran and its nuclear operations a ticking time bomb. Iran may have hinted how much time is left before 00:00.”

end time, prophecy, psalm 83

Eerie; Psalm 83 language comes alive in today’s political rhetoric

Posted on February 9, 2010 by elizabethprata

I think the language in the Psalm 83 prophetic prayer is remarkably similar to the language Achmadinejad and Khamenei are using today!

For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more.” Psalm 83:2-5

‘Israel’s obliteration is certain’
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday the destruction of Israel was assured, while pledging to “defend Palestinians due to their heartfelt beliefs.” ”Israel is going downhill toward decline and fall and God willing its obliteration is certain,” Khamenei said…

And Iran conspires against its enemies…

Iran will punch West, leave them stunned
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a “punch” that will stun world powers during this week’s 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. “The Iranian nation, with its unity and God’s grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,” Khamenei, who is also Iran’s commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

end time, iran, prophecy, punch

The punch heard round the world?

Posted on February 8, 2010 by elizabethprata

Iran is a huge end times player in prophecy: Persia is prophesied to surprise attack Israel in the last days in a coalition of nations that seem as though they will prevail. At the time Persia/Iran attacks, Israel is surprised because ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— to take plunder and to take booty…” (Ez 38:11-12.) At the time of the propesuied attack, Israel is dwelling securely. Israel is not dwelling securely at this moment in time, but the point is, Persia/Iran is shown to be sneaky and belligerent in their hatred against Israel. They will attack.

That prophesied dastardly belligerence is on display now. On Feb. 1st, Iranian President Achmadinejad said that Iran is prepared to deliver a “telling blow” to the Western arrogant powers. He did not elaborate. Today, a new statement of the same kind: this time from the Muslim Clerical Supreme leader, who said “Iran anniversary ‘punch’ will stun West: Khamenei” “Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a “punch” that will stun world powers during this week’s 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.” Khameni did not elaborate. “The Iranian nation, with its unity and God’s grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,” Khamenei, who is also Iran’s commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.”

This threat comes at the time when Iran again rejected Western pressure to cooperate in the nuclear issue and instead defiantly said they would ramp up their uranium enrichment to 20%. And for the first time in many decades the heated exchanges between Lebanon/Syria and Israel were pointed and nearing a flashpoint. Todd Strandberg at Rapture Ready said, “I’ve been following prophecy for thirty years, and I’ve never seen a time when so many hostile statements have been made between Israel and Syria.”

Things are very tense. With the prophecies of the Isaiah 17:1 statement of Damascus being destroyed and the Psalm 83 war looming, praying for peace right about now seems like a good idea…

end time, prophecy

"He told me all that I ever did"

Posted on February 8, 2010 by elizabethprata

The “Woman at the well” passage always blesses me when I read it. The verses in John 4:1-42 are rich with lessons of all kinds. Dwelling on each one could be enough sermons for a year. However, today the phrase the woman uttered “He told me everything I ever did” stays with me and it is the focus of this essay.

The woman went to the well at midday, instead of early morning and late afternoon with all the other women, likely because she was a known sinner and shunned from respectable company. When Christ asked her for water, she said as much, “the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (verse 9). She had had five husbands and the man she was living with then was not her husband. Six husbands/lovers in even a mid-sized city is a lot of men.

Thus began their conversation that rings through the ages. During the conversation, the woman’s spiritual awareness grew and grew, until she realized just Who it is that she was talking to, which Jesus confirmed. The woman marveled, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”(verse 28)