Category: prophecy

Posted in bible, husband, marriage, prophecy, wife

What marriage is really all about

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Bible begins with a marriage and ends with a marriage. The marriage motif is laced throughout scripture in progressively obvious ways. As BibleGateway explains,

“Marriage is used to describe the relationship between God and Israel in the OT and between Jesus Christ and the church in the NT. Contemplating marriage deepens understanding of God’s love for his people; examining God’s covenant love for his people similarly enriches an understanding of marriage.” (BibleGateway)

It begins in Genesis 2, where God unites Eve and Adam as one flesh. He made Eve from Adam, as a helper fit for him.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)

As we progress through the Old Testament, we see God declare He is “married” to Israel. God’s marriage covenant with Israel is seen in Ezekiel 16:8-14, below. The covenant at Sinai was seen as a form of marriage. See also Jeremiah 31:32; Ezekiel 16:59-60.

God as Israel’s husband is also seen in Isaiah 54:5 and also Hosea 2:7; Joel 1:8.

8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.[a] 11 And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 16:8-14)

In the New Testament, we see frequent symbolism of Jesus as the Groom and the Church as His bride.

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2)

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, (Matthew 22:2)

The Marriage supper is likely one of the most eagerly anticipated events…by Jesus! Since before time began when names were written down, Jesus has been promised a wife, one who will adore Him and with whom He will be the groom, lovingly guiding her all the rest of eternity. The day which He knows not, the day when the Father will say, “Son, go get your Bride”, (cf Matthew 22:2) and brings His church triumphant to heaven for glorification (consummation) will be a tremendous, tremendous moment. It hardly bears mental sensibility to even imagine such an event!

We’ve seen the marriage theme in Adam and Eve, in Hosea, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel, and Jeremiah. In the New Testament we see the marriage theme in Matthew, 2 Corinthians, and other books, and now in Revelation.

“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:7)

We Christians long for the day when we are the wife, the glorified, perfected church, able to worship properly and perfectly, walking in true harmony with the Groom. As for the Bible, the marriage metaphor is sewn into the very heartbeat of scripture. It begins with a marriage, scripture showing that all marriages are the picture of Jesus and His redeemed and perfected bride, and the Bible ends with a marriage. The kingdom itself is a wedding feast!

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:9)

John MacArthur explains in his commentary that in Revelation 21:9 the church is referred to as the wife because the marriage has taken place in Rev 19:7. Oh what a day that will be.

The most important thing to remember is this: earthly marriage is a picture of the Church’s marriage to Jesus. He as Head, lovingly guiding, shepherding, teaching, taking responsibility even though He never makes a problem. The Church as bride, loving her Groom, helping, submitting. Submission is a joyful following. As was stated in our sermon Sunday, a woman said regarding submission (which men are to submit also), “If submission to the Father did not ruin Jesus’ dignity I don’t suppose it will ruin mine.”

Marriage does not exist to make you happy. Being happy has nothing to do with it. I’ts to love a married life (if you’re called to it) in mutual submission, sacrificing for each other, and persevering for the long term. It is a picture of Jesus and His bide and personal happiness has nothing to do with it.  Of course, if you’re happy in your marriage, GREAT! But God did not design marriage for your personal happiness.

Since marriage on earth is a picture of Jesus and His spotless bride, then THAT is why satan works so hard to interfere with marriage. That’s why it’s under assault. It’s why feminism arose, so the wife would be rebellious. It’s why homosexuality arose, so men would not marry women and lead solid homes. And in case someone does not believe that marriage is ‘one man, one woman, forever’, think of this. When the Pharisees asked Jesus about marriage, Jesus explained it by going back to the Old testament and stood firm on Genesis 2:24, which says,

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

When the Pharisees tested Jesus on marriage, Matthew 19:4-6 says, He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

So Jesus stood on the OT picture of marriage and that has not changed. Satan tries his best but don’t let him interfere with you wives by allowing your flesh to rise up and usurp the husband, or tempt you to a career choice that sacrifices the children.

The Bible begins with a marriage and it ends with one. Marriage is important.

PS: There are some women and men He has set aside (consecrated) for singleness. Apostle Paul calls this a gift. (1 Corinthians 7:6) For example, there will be 144,000 virgin men who will become super-evangelists during the Tribulation. Jeremiah never married, it’s probable that John the Baptist never did either. In modern times, the famous preacher John Stott never married. Neither did missionary Gladys Aylward. If God has chosen you for singleness, it is a gift and He will sustain you throughout your celibate life for the ministry or task He has consecrated you to. Take heart! You’re in good company!

Posted in barnhouse, prophecy, rapture, second coming, tribulation

Expecting God

Posted on by elizabethprata

Dr Donald Gray Barnhouse preached a great 22 minute message called “Expecting God”. In it, he ties together prophecy from Matthew and Malachi, regarding the Tribulation and the removal of the Church prior to that Great Day of the Lord. He teaches this so clearly and concisely but so insightfully that I wanted to share.

One thing Dr Barnhouse said was that the coming of Jesus we are eagerly expecting will be in several stages. This is a notion that even recently in one particular comment stream on this blog, people have a hard time understanding. It is an obstacle which often makes them want to deny the literality of the coming 1000-Year Kingdom, AKA the Millennium Kingdom.

Just as Jesus came the first time over 33 years, Barnhouse said, His second coming will be 7 years plus 1000 years. (Tribulation plus Millennium).

I can only link to the sermon, it is not on Youtube to embed. When you go to this link, the screen shot below is what you’ll see. Just click on “Expecting God” and enjoy!

Posted in esther, heirs, herod, prophecy, salome

Of two kings, their women, and death on a platter

Posted on by elizabethprata

What the unconverted heart wants is so different from what the converted heart wants. As James Smith said in 1859, the state of the unconverted is-

They are in a state of misery. They do not enjoy the favor of God, nor taste the sweetness of his blessing. Have what they may, they are never satisfied, for their immortal nature is always craving for something higher and better. … They are in opposition to God.

As John Murray said of the converted heart,

It is the Holy Spirit working directly, efficaciously and irresistibly upon man’s heart and mind, making the man over again, and creating him anew after the image of Christ in holiness and righteousness of the truth. A revolution, a reconstruction takes place at the center of man’s moral and spiritual being: sin and pollution are dethroned in the citadel of man’s being, and righteousness takes its place. (source)

Our desires align with God’s, our desire is for hatred of sin, pursuit of holiness, our neighbor’s good, service, forgiveness, mercy, righteousness and more.

The two hearts (converted vs. unconverted) were never more starkly contrasted as in Salome and Esther’s.

Esther Before King Ahasuerus with Haman Being Sent to the Gallows,1577
(studio of) Claeissens, Anthuenis (1536-1613)

According to Mark 6:21-29 a daughter of Herodias danced before Herod and her mother Herodias at the occasion of his birthday, and in doing so gave her mother the opportunity to obtain the head of John the Baptist. Even though the New Testament accounts do not mention a name for the girl, this daughter of Herodias is often identified with Salome. According to Mark’s gospel Herodias bore a grudge against John for stating that Herod’s marriage to her was unlawful; she encouraged her daughter to demand that John be executed. (source)

and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” 24And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” (Mark 6:22-25).

Deadly desire: Aubrey Beardsley’s illustration
for Wilde’s play (Getty Images) Source

Why does the unconverted heart want death on a platter? Because John the Baptist had spoken against the King’s unlawful marriage. Nobody likes it when their sin is pointed out, least of all the one with an unconverted heart. The daughter, which through history we know is named Salome, sided with her mother in wanting the burr in their side dead. Silencing the voice of God used through His people never silences the conscience though, nor does it destroy coming judgment for their sins. The sinner may gain temporary relief, but it is only temporary.

King Ahasuerus of Persia ruled from Ethiopia to Iran, over 127 districts. When he saw kind and gentle Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her.

Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” (Esther 5:2b-4)

Both kings had asked the women in their lives what request they had and promised to fulfill it up to half their respective kingdoms. What power! What an important moment! If you were given such a powerful promise, what would you ask for? Each woman instantly knew what she wanted.

Esther famously was concerned with doing God’s will, even to the risk of her own life. She spoke up on behalf of her people, who were under threat of genocide. Esther wanted life for her people because they were God’s people, Salome wanted death to John the Baptist to silence the convicting voice. The two hearts could not be more starkly different.

Pray to the Spirit to continue softening your heart so that given an opportunity to ask a favor the King of Kings, you will ask in a way that is aligned with His will. What tragedy it was for Salome to ask for something so fleeting so as to gain temporary relief from the conviction of her sin, only to discover in the end that punishment is forever. Even more so is the tragedy when they have available the gracious and eternal relief from sin’s burden of guilt and shame through Jesus Christ- and spurn it.

“Up to half my kingdom” the promise was even more ironic. Those with a converted heart will share as co-heirs the entire kingdom, wealth beyond imagining, peace and joy and treasure of the highest kind: Jesus. (Galatians 4:7).

Posted in holy, judgment, prophecy, tongue

"The Tape Recorder Judgment"

Posted on by elizabethprata

Every human will be judged. There are two kinds of judgment. One is for the lost, judgment for their sin. God will judge them and then cast them into hell for all eternity to endure the punishment of His wrath. (Revelation 20:11-15). This is known as the Great White Throne Judgment.

The other judgment is not really a judgment, more of an evaluation. All believers will stand before Christ after the rapture, and He will evaluate their lives based on what they did for Him, and what their motivation was. Christ will judge our works. We aren’t under wrath because as believers we entered heaven through the Door of Jesus, and He already exhausted God’s wrath for us by absorbing our punishment for sins when He was on the cross. So, God is not angry with us like He is with the unbelievers, but we can lose rewards that we would have otherwise earned. This is known as the Bema Seat. (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Hebrews 10:31 says “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Though we have nothing to fear, just thinking about standing before Jesus and having all my works and secrets of the heart exposed is cringe-worthy. To add fuel to the fire, so to speak, our pastor said the following last Sunday. I’ll paraphrase.

He was in a court situation observing a woman who was about to be sentenced for her DUI charge. As the court came together and the judge was preparing to speak the verdict, our pastor said that he could see the defendant begin to shake. Her arm quivered visibly, then her leg. She soon was shaking uncontrollably. A human judge was about the render a verdict in her crime, and she knew she was guilty. Her shaking increased. It is a fearful thing to be publicly judged for our crimes.

Now imagine this.

Imagine that God put a tape recorder around your neck. For the next year, He recorded everything you said. At the end of the year, He took off the tape recorder and played it back. Imagine then, He uses the same level of judgment that you used when talking to other people or about other people…on you.

It makes us cringe, doesn’t it? And if we think that our own words used against us as the benchmark of judgment is harsh, a human standard, what then of God’s holy and perfect standard? One cannot even conceive of being able to stand before Him.

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3)

And yet those who are in Christ, will be able to stand.

The Psalm verse goes on to show the glorious reason why,

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. (Psalm 130:4)

If in thinking of the tape recorded judgments you utter make you shrink back in fear of having those same levels of judgment thrown back at you… if thinking of that human standard makes you fear of their exposure before Jesus’ much higher Godly standard, that is the fear of the Lord. It is a good fear. It is a Godly fear. It is the kind of fear that keeps our behavior and our sins in perspective. God’s holy standard of judgment are perfect and unimaginable, and thinking of them rendered upon the lost makes me feel more compassion for them, instead of irritation. Thinking of my own words used against me to judge me, keeps me more honest about my conversations.
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. (James 3:6).
Posted in encouragement, false prophets, millennium, prophecy, temple

False prophets will be stabbed

Posted on by elizabethprata

False teachers and false prophets are a scourge. They always have been. Ever since the beginning, satan has been lying to humans, and as prince of the power of the air he has sent his demon horde to influence false teachers and make them prophesy falsely. (Deuteronomy 13:6–10; 18:20; Matthew 24:11). Gullible Christians and the lost have believed these false prophecies and untrue teachings ever since.

Probably today’s false teachers are aren’t more numerous than they were in the first century, though it feels like they are. Apologist James R. White said today

there are not more heretics today, there is just more availability of making your heresy known. 

However any Christian with a modicum of faith or any grain of loyalty to Jesus will be aggrieved when coming up against a false prophet or hearing about a heretical teaching. I am. I am a lot.

Like ants at a picnic, these false teachers are everywhere, and more are popping up every day. Jesus is in control and has ordained each and every one. As He does with everything, He has a purpose for false teaching.

What Is God’s Purpose With False Teaching? asks and answers John Piper.

Or this, from Dr. Paul M. Elliott, “Why Does God Permit False Teachers in the Church?“

God uses the response to false teaching on the part of the members of the visible church, individually and corporately, to demonstrate who is true to Him and to His Word, and who is not. To put it another way, God is building a record that Christ will use at the Last Judgment, when many will come before Him and claim to have done many wonders in His name, but Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).

The main reasons God permits false teachers is that first, sin exists in the world. False teaching is sin. Secondly, it’s used to test His people. So though it’s a grief, a burden, and a scourge, God has His purposes for allowing it.

And then sweet relief will come! There will come a day when false prophets will not be allowed!

After the rapture, and after the conclusion of the Tribulation, in that order, a Kingdom on earth will be established. It will last for 1000 years. It is colloquially called the Millennium Kingdom. It will be an actual kingdom whereupon incarnated Jesus walks among His people, rules from Jerusalem, (Revelation 2:27) administers affairs of the nations, and receives worship (including sacrifices) in the Temple. (Isaiah 56:6-8; Zechariah 14:16; Jeremiah 33:15-18, Ezekiel 43:18-46:24)

Satan will be bound in the pit along with his demon horde. (Revelation 20:1-3). The people occupying the Kingdom will have relief from satan, finally! However, sin will still be present. Some of the people who survived the Tribulation will be mortal, and thy will enter the Kingdom along with us (glorified at the rapture) and the Old Testament saints (resurrected at the end of the Tribulation) and Tribulation martyrs (resurrected at the end of the Tribulation). These mortals will repopulate the earth through procreation, and their children will do the same and so on, for 1000 years. These mortals will still have a sin nature, which will express itself at the end of the 1000 year kingdom when satan is released from the pit and gathers the secretly sinful like sands upon the sea to rebel against Jesus. (Revelation 20:7-8).

But meanwhile during the blissful 1000 year Kingdom, there will be no false teaching, no false teachers, no false prophecies!

“And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.” (Zechariah 13:3)

False prophets will be immediately stabbed. Even by his parents.

The form of phraseology here is drawn from De 13:6–10; 18:20. The substantial truth expressed is that false prophecy shall be utterly abolished. If it were possible for it again to start up, the very parents of the false prophet would not let parental affection interfere, but would be the first to thrust him through. Love to Christ must be paramount to the tenderest of natural ties (Mt 10:37). Much as the godly love their children, they love God and His honor more. (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible) 

The dance between false prophets and demons will end. Matthew Henry:

False prophecy shall also be brought to an end: I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit, the prophets that are under the influence of the unclean spirit, to pass out of the land. The devil is an unclean spirit; sin and uncleanness are from him; he has his prophets, that serve his interests and receive their instructions from him. Take away the unclean spirit, and the prophets would not deceive as they do; take away the false prophets that produce sham commissions, and the unclean spirit could not do the mischief he does. When God designs the silencing of the false prophets he banishes the unclean spirit out of the land, that wrought in them, and was a rival with him for the throne in the heart. Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible

Of the Zechariah 13:3 verse, John MacArthur comments:

Because of the salvation of God that has cleansed God’s people and made them love Him and His truth, hatred of false prophecy will overrule normal human feelings, causing even a mother or father to put their apostate child to death. This is a stern reminder of hos God feels about and will eventually treat those preaches who misrepresent the truth.

Contrast the Zechariah verse of Millennium parents killing their own child because he speaks false prophecy, to the verse in Matthew 10:21 when in the last days parents will kill their offspring for speaking the Truth.

What a time that will be! When love for Jesus and His truth is the worldwide global attitude! For all my brethren who read this, it’s an essay about prophecy, obviously. It is also encouragement. Jesus IS in control. He has a plan, and that plan includes the [hopefully soon] day when He will rule and reign personally and false prophets will not be tolerated. What a day that will be.

Posted in Obama, one world government, prophecy, un secretary general, United Nations

Is Obama campaigning for Secretary-General of the United Nations?

Posted on by elizabethprata
AP, explaining the “halo effect“.

When a man is elected President of the United States of America, he has reached the pinnacle of his career in America. It is the top, the Everest, the highest and most visible point a man can reach. Where is there for him to go, afterward? What other fulfilling employment or charitable service can he then enjoy after the let-down of leaving office?

Bill Clinton gives speeches, makes money. CNN reported two years ago, ex-President Clinton

“earned $75.6 million giving speeches to corporations and organizations around the world, according to the latest financial disclosure required of his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”

–Washington and Jefferson retired to their plantations
–John Quincy Adams ran for Congress in 1830, the year after he left the White House, and served in the House of Representatives until he died in 1848.
–Benjamin Harrison returned to his law career.
–William Howard Taft, left the White House to become a law professor at Yale and was later appointed to the Supreme Court.

The question back then was “What was the young nation to do with these men who had held such immense power?”

And there’s the rub. Just because one descends from the highest office, it does not mean they give up their power. They have accumulated wisdom and experience that only 43 predecessors have ever accumulated, and given the fact that most ex-presidents are elected at a relatively aged point in their careers and die soon after, any ex-president living still has much to offer. He is a unique person.

Current (ex) Presidents, l-r:
George HW Bush, Obama, George Bush Jr, Clinton, Carter

When life spans were shorter, ex-Presidents usually died within a decade of their post-presidency. Teddy Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson did. But now that life spans have lengthened we’re giddy with ex-Presidents. In 1850 only 10% of men lived to age 70 and only 6% of men lived past age 80. Today we have five Presidents/ex-Presidents living. Jimmy Carter is 91 years old, as is George H.W. Bush. Bill Clinton is 69, as is George Bush Jr.

When Obama leaves office, he will be only 55 years old. Given his youth, one may expect him to live a long time. So what will he do…after?

It is commonly observed that President Obama never started governing because he never stopped campaigning. (source)

Obama has never seemed to enjoy being out of the political limelight. He was elected to his first political office in 1996 at age 35. He has never left the political arena. One surmises he is not planning a quiet retirement, as George Bush Jr has done.

Breaking Israel News published what is admittedly a rumor, that Obama is quietly campaigning for his next position: Secretary-General of the United Nations. Here is Breaking Israel News, reporting from the Arabic Kuwait News Al –Jarida:

Al –Jarida, an Arabic language Kuwaiti magazine, published an article on Friday claiming that US President Barack Obama has set his sights on becoming the next Secretary General of the United Nations when he leaves the Oval Office in one year.
If true, and if he succeeds in this endeavor, Obama would be replacing the present Secretary General, South Korea’s Ban Ki-Moon, who is serving his second five-year term in the position. Ban’s term as Secretary General is set to end December 31, 2016, coincidentally 21 days before Obama’s second term as President ends. Al-Jarida attributed the rumor to “informed sources” (source)

But it’s a rumor that makes sense, given a man who enjoys political power and the limelight as much as Obama does. Leading the United Nations is the one place that wields more power than leading the United States does. The UN is in NY, and though Obama is from Hawaii and has also lived in Chicago for many years, he has recently expressed interest in moving to NY City.

Obama eyeing New York City

With just a year and change left of his final term in office, President Barack Obama is beginning to make plans for his post-presidency years. It’s looking like his official presidential library will be in Chicago, close to the Hyde Park home that he and First Lady have lived in for years. But recently, the President has apparently expressed interest in moving to New York City after the First Family leaves the White House…

Though the Kuwait News report is just a rumor, not a report, the Jerusalem Post did pick up on the notion that Obama is angling for the global position- AND that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly unhappy with the idea. Significantly, the Netanyahu Administration source did not deny the Prime Minister’s intent to oppose such an appointment.

Netanyahu remembers well just how US President Barack Obama brushed aside Israeli objections and went ahead with the P5+1 nuclear agreement with Iran. Now, Netanyahu is reportedly planning some personal payback. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Netanyahu will make common cause with moderate Arab governments in order to sabotage Obama’s plan to succeed Ban Ki-moon when the South Korean diplomat ends his term as United Nations secretary-general on December 31 of this year. 

A source close to Netanyahu did not deny to Al-Jarida that the premier is aiming to “torpedo the Obama project,” noting that “his presidency was characterized by [Washington’s] moving closer to the Muslim Brotherhood, toppling the regime of Hosni Mubarak, and attempts to ally itself with political Islam.”

That relations between an Obama-led America and a Netanyahu-led Israel are frayed is an understatement. That the United Nations is a bastion of Israel-hating politicos pumping out poisonously biased and damaging resolutions against Israel is also well-known. An Obama-led UN would be a nightmare for tiny Israel.

The rumor has some credibility. Even back in 2014 the Investor’s Business Daily Editorial noted that even at that point, Obama seemed to be angling for UN Secretary-General.

The president obviously agrees; his address to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday sounded much like the launch of a campaign for still-higher office: presiding over the hopelessly corrupt, tyrant-dominated United Nations.

The UN Secretary-General is the UN’s top diplomat. Though the post’s qualifications are loose and general, Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize, bestowing credibility to Obama in his apparent skill to negotiate between international parties. In 2008, Newsweek noted that “Obama can turn a disjointed screed into reasoned consensus”. Obama already has experience at the UN, being the first-ever U.S. president to chair the United Nations’ 15-member Security Council. And of course his 8 years as leader of the free world is weighty experience the UN diplomats would consider.

The IBD Editorial continued,

Now the U.N., acting similarly, can make him “president of the world.” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s term expires in early 2017. If Obama were his successor, the U.S., even under a Republican administration, might not veto an ex-U.S. president in the Security Council. 

Who would the U.N. like better as secretary-general than an American who wants the world’s lone superpower placed firmly under the rules made by the U.N. General Assembly, the vast majority of whose members are undemocratic and pine for redistributed U.S. wealth? A secretary-general who can get the U.S. to accept U.N. rule.

Obama’s past pattern of actions indicate anything from a bias against to a virulent hatred for Israel (depending on whom one consults). Certainly it is reasonable to say that Obama’s decisions have not favored God’s Country. Given the UN’s past behavior, at the United Nations he can do even more damage to that tiny country. It is also true that he can accrue more power and influence, something he has been an expert at doing his entire adult life.

Official flag of the UN. World with olive branches, symbolizing peace

What the future holds is something that Christians can read in the Bible, which is God’s word. We know that at some point in the future, the rapture will occur and true Christians representing the Bride (AKA the Church) will be removed from the earth. The resulting chaos will give rise to ten global leaders, one of which will soon dominate the other nine, and emerge as the sole tyrant of earth. He will initially seem to befriend Israel by making a covenant with them, only to tear it up at the covenant’s mid-point, sparking the Great Tribulation. There will be a one world power and one tyrant ruling the earth. This ruler is known as the Antichrist, the Man of Perdition, who will martyr the Tribulation Saints and cause a genocide for Israel. (Daniel 8, Daniel 11, Revelation 13)

How the United Nations fits into the coming biblical promise of a one world government is anybody’s guess. The fact that the UN is already a global governing body seems like it would fit in well to a coming prophesied larger global governing body. Did you know that the UN has a standing army of “peacekeepers” 97,000 strong?

The United States has been in a status quo for the last 8 years. Wikipedia defines Status quo as a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regards to social or political issues. Even though the Obama Presidency has not seemed to live up to the glowing expectations of the giddy campaign, even a gloomy and unhappy but relatively stable status quo is better than what many other nations have endured during the same time period. However, as James Michener famously wrote in his novel Hawaii, “It is difficult to be king when the gods are changing.”

————————–

Further Reading

UN Secretary-General, qualifications and election

I wrote in 2011: Obama for UN Secretary General?

I wrote in 2009: Obama taking over presidency of UN Security Council

Posted in encouragement, jesus, prophecy, spiritual warfare

The names of Satan

Posted on by elizabethprata

Spiritual warfare is very real. Even pagans are in a constant state of war. To be a pagan is to be at war- against God. To be a Christian is to be at war- against the flesh, the world and the devil. Life on earth is a battle.

EPrata art

God did not leave us unequipped. He gave us armor.

“Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”—Ephesians 6:17.

TO BE A CHRISTIAN is to be a warrior. The good soldier of Jesus Christ must not expect to find ease in this world: it is a battle-field. Neither must he reckon upon the friendship of the world; for that would be enmity against God. His occupation is war. As he puts on piece by piece of the panoply provided for him, he may wisely say to himself, “This warns me of danger; this prepares me for warfare; this prophesies opposition.” 

Difficulties meet us even in standing our ground; for the apostle, two or three times, bids us “Stand.” In the rush of the fight, men are apt to be carried off their legs. If they can keep their footing, they will be victorious; but if they are borne down by the rush of their adversaries, everything is lost. You are to put on the heavenly armor in order that you may stand; and you will need it to maintain the position in which your Captain has placed you. If even to stand requires all this care, judge ye what the warfare must be! 

~Charles Spurgeon, The Sword of the Spirit

By the words in the Bible, we are given to understand that our life is a fight. Here is the enemy:

He is a formidable enemy. Left to our own devices, warring against Satan would be as a mosquito to an atom bomb. However God’s power so far exceeds the atom bomb that when facing Him, this seemingly formidable enemy, the devil, becomes the mosquito! Our Holy Father is the all powerful God, and He has won the victory already. He has overcome the world. (John 16:33).

What we must do is put on our armor, pray always, and stir one another up to good works. Confessing our sin and repenting of it, we gain more strength in wielding the sword of the Lord which is His word, we have ample military support to stand against the world, the devil, and the flesh.

Our Jesus has fulfilled the prophecy:

He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8 )

Posted in daniel, prophecy, revelation, scroll, seal

Seal up the book…Do not seal up the book: Prophecy in Daniel and Revelation

Posted on by elizabethprata
“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. (Revelation 22:10)

Seal up…do not seal up. What can it mean?

Many have gone over the prophecy in Daniel 12 and many have admitted there is difficulty in interpreting the words.

Does seal up in Daniel mean hide the words? No, because the words are included in the canon and have been available for any person to read since the beginning.

The words seal up are also used in Revelation referring to the Seven Thunders. In that case, seal up meant do not write the words down. The words themselves have been sealed up within the confines of the Holy Heavenly Temple, and we do not even know what was said at all.

And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” (Revelation 10:4)

Therefore in Daniel’s case, since he was told to write the words down and those words were subsequently preserved, it seems that seal up meant write, but that God would conceal the understanding of the words from us until an appointed time.

Now, in the 4th verse the prophet goes on to speak about the final part of the book. He says, “But it’s for you Daniel. Conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time, many will go back and forth and knowledge will increase.” What an interesting text this is. He says seal up the book and what does that mean? Does that mean preserve it, when we seal something, we often seal it to preserve it. Well it probably does not mean that, notice the 9th verse, go your way Daniel for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. So, probably this is seal up in the sense of conceal, so as for you Daniel conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time, many will go back in forth and knowledge will increase, and so what he seems to be saying is, Daniel, this book is to be an enigma until the end of time. 

And do you know that is exactly what the Book of Daniel has been? It has been largely an enigma until modern times. With the revival of the study of the prophetic word in the 19th Century, the Book of Daniel has begun to come into its own, and the book now as a result of the revival of prophetic understanding of Scripture has become a very significant book and the prophecy has it would seem to me at least been partially fulfilled. S. Lewis Johnson, Tribulation, Resurrection, Testimony in Daniel’s Conclusion

We compare the command to seal up the prophetic words to Daniel with the words to John NOT to seal up the prophetic words.

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. (Revelation 22:10)

John MacArthur on what it means to not seal up the book: Believer’s Immediate Response to Christ’s Imminent Return

That reminds me again that we’re not looking into this book for some kind of secretive meanings hidden behind what is obvious. If the truth is not in the words, then this command is nonsense. But the truth is in the words and we are not to seal up these words, we are to make them known. Way back in chapter 1 verse 11, John was told to write in a book what you see and send it to the churches. Spread it, spread this word, Jesus is coming and with Him comes blessing for His own and with Him comes horrifying judgment on the ungodly. To fail to preach revelation, to fail to proclaim revelation is not only foolish, because back in chapter 1 verse 3 it says, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things written in it for the time is near.” Not only will you forfeit that blessing, it is not just foolish but it is sinful. 

If ever there was a day to proclaim its truths, it is now. And tomorrow will be a more important day and the day after that a more important day, and next month, more important, and next year, more important as the coming of Christ becomes even nearer. Any Christian who fails to learn the truths of this book and to understand the words of this book which are not at all incomprehensible, as we have learned, is forfeiting blessing and any preacher who fails to preach this book of the glorious realities to come in the return of Jesus Christ is sinfully unfaithful to his mandate. 

And yet it is common, I suppose it is even normal in the church today to have this book completely ignored. As wonderful as the gospel record is, which tells us the story of the first coming of Christ, as marvelous as the epistles are which gives us the theology that comes out of His work, this is the book that exalts Him most. Not to preach the book of Revelation is to fall short of exalting the Lord Jesus Christ with that exaltation due to Him. It is not just a failure to teach the whole counsel of God and to give His people the love of His appearing, it is outright disobedience. The time is near. It is imminent. It is soon. This must be preached, don’t seal it up.

The true prophetic words of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and Daniel apply to us today, and they should spur us to fervency and love and witness and holy living. The words have been released to speak for understanding. God is gracious and all prophecy progresses in an orderly fashion, in His timing.

Posted in discernment, new year, prophecy, spiritual gifts

Happy New Year of the Rapture!

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was saved in 2004 and then moved to GA in 2006 and the Lord put a heart for prophecy in me. I was firmly convinced in 2006 that 2006 would be the year of the rapture. I was convinced of it in 2007 and 2008 and 2009 and 2010 and 2011 and 2012 and 2013 and 2014 and 2015 and I say now, that 2016 will be the year of the rapture. Am I discouraged that these years have passed with no trumpet calling me bodily home? Not at all! I am MORE excited than ever! It just means that for ten times I’ve had the privilege of waiting and hoping expectantly for my Lord! It’s going to happen. It could happen any second! The Doctrine of Imminence is true. More on that below.

The New Testament is consistent in its anticipation that the return of Christ might occur at any moment. That pervading perspective of imminence prompts three questions. The first question pertains to whether the Tribulation will precede Christ’s coming for the church. The answer to that question is that it will not because the church is never asked to look forward to the tribulation, but they are asked to look forward to Christ’s coming. 

The second question revolves around how the return of Christ could have been imminent in the early church. The answer here is that no one but the Father knows when the coming will occur, so that Christians including the early church must always be ready. 

The third question asks why Christ’s imminent return is so important. This answer relates to the motivation it supplies for believers to purify their lives and thereby progress toward the goal of sanctification and Christlikeness. The threefold call of the imminence doctrine is to wake up and obey right now, to throw off the works of darkness, and to put on the garments of holy living. ~John MacArthur, Is Christ’s Return Imminent?

1. Wake up and obey
2. Throw off the works of darkness
3. Put on the garments of holy living

Could be good New Year’s Resolutions, couldn’t they! They could be resolutions for each of us, every year.

Our faith is one that knows it’s a body, with Christ as Head. He is the Head of the church and our membership means we individually have been uniquely placed within the body for the purpose of edifying other members and for worshiping the Head. The Doctrine of Imminence demands we retain a fervency and urgency in our walk and our witness. One way to retain that fervency is to live with the very present knowledge that whatever we are doing this moment could be completed in heaven the next. I could be facing Jesus any second. How can I honor him and His blood He shed? By living with Him and for Him, rousingly.

Moreover, I NEED the Doctrine of Imminence. I am a sinful woman. It would be easy for me to slip back to sinful ways I’d lived for four decades before salvation. In the daily and weekly grind of living, ministry can become tame, dull, routine. Though the word “fresh” is often misused these days, the fact is, living as a Christian can become a dull rut. Ministry can become a drudge. Being vigilant to stand guard against the enemy can become wearying. Diligence in spiritual disciplines can wane. I could click on auto-pilot very easily because that is what my flesh wants. And once on autopilot, I could then drift to peeking over the fortress wall to the sinful side, then soon enough I’m walking there. No! Let it not be so! Therefore I need to keep the Lord present in my mind and His soon appearing as a glorious promise and a dread threat. Though Christians are not under wrath or judgment, I would be devastated to disappoint Him and wind up throwing away any glory that could have been gained for Him just because I slacked off.

So, I keep the Doctrine of Imminence fresh and the knowledge that my Savior will come to get me any second in the forefront of my mind as both a heavenly hope and a sin-slowing brake.

In practical terms, as the New Year and a fresh start awaits, HOW can we retain that diligence, vigilance and purpose for the glory of Christ? By also remembering we are part of a BODY. My friend Pastor James Bell wrote,

The New Testament teaches us that Christ is THE HEAD of the church and we are members in vital union with vital ministry to each other– 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11-16. But reading something in the Bible does not mean “experiencing” it. For the most part, churches today do not function as bodies in which all the members are connected to the Head and to one another in vital union and ministry. Frankly, I’m glad my own PHYSICAL body is not in the shape many churches are in— if it were: My mouth might start talking against my ears. My feet might stop listening to my head, My hands might run off and ‘join’ another body, etc! ~James Bell

I liked that phrase, “vital union”. The Lord may return any moment, but until then, we are in a vital union with other true members of the Body. How can I do my part? Here, Jack Graham wrote this devotional:

How to maximize your Kingdom impact in 2016December 30, 2015 

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. (1 Corinthians 12:18-20). 

Several years ago, I got suckered into buying one of those pocket knives that has everything on it you could imagine. It has a can opener, about five different sized blades, tweezers, a toothpick, a nail file, and screwdriver heads. If there was something you could use a pocket knife for, this one claimed it could do the job. 

But here was the problem: none of the tools on the knife worked very well. The blades were dull, the tweezers and toothpick fell out and got lost, and the screwdriver heads were so small that I couldn’t use them to turn a screw. 

The tool was so versatile, but didn’t do anything well. And as I look at a lot of Christians today, they’re a lot like that knife. So many are multi-talented and well-rounded, but they rarely commit to doing one thing really well. They’re spread so thin that their impact is minimized. 

As you step into 2016 this week, put your focus on one thing you want to do well in the coming year. Resolve to make a deep impact in one place. Do what you do well, and you’ll make a tremendous difference for the Kingdom in the coming year! 

CONCENTRATE ON ONE AREA OF KINGDOM IMPACT IN THE COMING YEAR AND WATCH GOD WORK THROUGH YOU IN A POWERFUL WAY!
– Jack Graham

God makes it known what your gifts are and what ministries He wants you in. It’s not a secret and you don’t need a decoder ring to find out. Where does your mind drift when you think about serving? To the children? To the music? To the facility maintenance? To the women? To the homeless? To deaconship or teaching?

What have other people said to you? “You have a heart for the little ones, all right.” “You seem to connect with the youth very well.” “The church looks fantastic, thanks for cleaning/mowing.” Just as men anoint the leaders, by having observed and can see what perhaps it takes our own selves longer to see, others will guide you, prompt you, and tell you where your gifts are and suggest ministry & service opportunities.

What are your God-given talents? Not spiritual gifts, talents, you’ve had all your life? Mine is writing. It was natural that once I was saved He would include me in ministries that involved research, promotional writing, web maintenance, exhortation in print, blogging, discernment papers answering questions the ladies ask, outlines, etc. I’ve been able to write all my life, now in ministry it was a no-brainer to use the talent as the foundation for the gifts of teaching, discernment, and encouragement.

Finally, though don’t do this last do it first, pray. Open your heart and mind in obedience to want to be used. Ask the Holy Spirit to place you. He will. He WILL, I promise, because He promised! (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

Happy New Year of the Rapture to you all! He is coming soon!

EPrata photo