prophecy – Page 40

The four sin-restraining mechanisms presently operating in the world (not too well, obviously)

Posted on May 1, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I was listening to a sermon from John MacArthur, delivered this past February 2015, apparently to a group of law enforcement officers. It’s called How God Restrains Evil in Society. To sum up the main points, there are four ways God restrains evil:

1. The conscience. Everyone has the law written on their heats. “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” (Romans 2:15). This means that intrinsically, people intuit right from wrong. Their conscience tells them when they’ve drifted into the ‘wrong’ side of the street.

2. The Family.

While conscience is a personal restraint, family is a relational restraint. Family is the building block of society. Family is the building block of civilization. God has established the family to be a loving, truthful, exemplary place that restrains evil in the next generation.

3. The Civil Authority (including law enforcement).

This is a societal restraint. Biblically, the prime duty of civil authority – if you look at the Bible, the Old Testament and New Testament – it’s not charity, it’s not economics. The primary duty of civil authority is the moral well-being of its citizens. It is restraining sinners and rewarding those who do good so that we can be civilized; enjoy a measure of peace and joy in life and God’s creation.

4. The Holy Spirit through the church

The final restraint is the church; the church. That is a spiritual restraint. And when I talk about the church, I’m talking about the organized church because there are a lot of false churches and a lot of phony religion as you all know very well. I’m talking about true Christians, true believers. What makes us a restraint is because God has done a work in us that is internal. (2 Thessalonians 2:7)

A little side trip regarding the Holy Spirit as Restrainer-

The Holy Spirit of God is the only Person with sufficient (supernatural) power to do this restraining. … How does He do it? Through Christians, whom He indwells and through whom He works in society to hold back the swelling tide of lawless living. How will He be taken out of the way? When the church leaves the earth in the Rapture, the Holy Spirit will be taken out of the way in the sense that His unique lawlessness-restraining ministry through God’s people will be removed (cf. Gen. 6:3). The removal of the Restrainer at the time of the Rapture must obviously precede the day of the Lord. Paul’s reasoning is thus a strong argument for the pretribulational Rapture: the Thessalonians were not in the Great Tribulation because the Rapture had not yet occurred.

Constable, T. L. (1985). 2 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 719). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

It is so saddening to see the restraints lift. In each case I believe it is plain to see that sin is advancing beyond the previous beachheads.

1. The Conscience
There is force and fervor in the declarations of the individual who suppresses the truth in unrighteousness, searing their conscience. Gay pride, (a monstrous reversal where sodomy was against the law until recently but is now celebrated ‘proudly’) polygamous marriage, (“what’s one more? It doesn’t change the definition of marriage”) child molestation (“it’s how I show love”), pornography (“it doesn’t hurt anyone”) are but a few examples of how the sinner is attempting to normalize sin to the expense of their conscience- and eternal destiny.

2. The Family
As for the family, we saw a stark example of a mom restraining sin in her son this week. In Baltimore as the riots were ongoing over the muddy circumstances of the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, a mom spotted her son throwing bricks with the rioters and she marched in and smacked him down and boxed his ears and took him by the proverbial earlobe to home.

www.abc2news.com

The NY Post opinion piece stated:

Parents have authority that a badge cannot confer. Son realized the person who knows him best, and is more interested than anyone else in his well-being, was right. So he submitted to her superior authority. Crime, conviction and punishment all happened without the criminal justice system getting involved.

What’s interesting is the fact that so many people are hailing the Baltimore mom for…doing her job. This is because society infrequently sees strong parenting, or parenting with authority. Parents long ago capitulated their jurisdiction and ceded their ground to the children. It’s most exhibited in the parent who constantly asks their child for permission to do such and such. “Do you want to go home now?” “Can you please put down the screwdriver?” “Do you need a nap?” The questions should be “Why are we thrilled a mom hunted down her son and prevented him from wrong doing? Where is his dad? Why did the mom have to wade into a dangerous situation to extract her son? And…where were all the other parents of the teens out there in the riot and why didn’t they come get their kids?

3. Civil Authority
I believe anyone who has eyes can see the difficulty in being a law enforcement officer in these days. The law is little regarded and sinful behavior is increasing. Flash mobs (pleasant public pop-up groups of people who sing in harmony to surprised and happy spectators) have shifted to angry mobs lobbing bricks and beating police. The Baltimore Police lost control and were overwhelmed with the fierceness of the reaction to Freddie Gray’s death, circumstances which are still being investigated by the way.

But in very recent years the Baltimore incident is not alone in showing the suddenness of fierce rioting and police losing control. London (2011), Vancouver (2011), Egypt (2012), Ferguson MO (2014) are all top-of-the mind examples of rioting where civil authority was not strong enough to restrain sin, i.e. where police lost control.

Communities are responding with ever-increasing heavy-handed tactics. Rolling out the SWAT team as a first-pass instead of a last resort for example. Purchasing military-grade equipment, is another example. Showy drills and practices is yet another example of the show of force the civil authority is forced to make in response to increasing lawlessness of both the legal and spiritual kind.

There is some push-back to the military intrusiveness into civil authority. One Texas town was concerned enough with troops drilling with military grade equipment they sent the State Guard to monitor them so martial law would not be instilled.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot ordered the Texas State Guard to monitor federal troops as they conduct Jade Helm 15 military exercises later this year that some fear are a prelude to declaring martial law. … Operation Jade Helm 15 is a massive training exercise involving 1,200 special operations troops operating clandestinely in several southwest states, including Texas, which, for the duration of the exercise, has been designated a hostile country.

The Governor is being made fun of and called paranoid, but martial law was put in place in Boston after the terrorist bombing at the Marathon, and again in Baltimore as the riots erupted. The problem is not martial law, when it’s temporary until a riot or terrorist situation is under control. It’s forgetting to lift martial law afterwards.

Not many towns like the one in Texas resist the heavier handed displays of force to combat rising lawlessness. It’s a circle the drain situation because the more citizens disobey the law the fiercer the law enforcement gets, the harder the lawless ones push, and so on. The bottom line is that civil authority such as laws, police, and jails are beachheads that have been penentrated and are presently being overrun.

4. The church
This is a sad one too. It is ‘organized religion’ that is the restrainer at present (energized by the Spirit) but organized religion is under attack- from inside. “Christians” decry organized religion and want only a “relationship with Jesus”, but the Church is a restraining force Jesus instituted for the benefit of society through one-on-one evangelizing and for making disciples. Change occurs on the inside of a person by Jesus making a new creation. The soul-by-soul salvation and protection and growth of the new babes in Christ takes place in the church through the mechanism of organized religion. When religion is organized it is easier to submit to those in authority because you actually know who they are. It is easier for the pastor to hold those who are part of the organization accountable because he actually knows who they are. But many liberals want to do away with the organized religion part, making ‘Jesus followers’ like free-floating amoebas occasionally bumping into one another and then drifting around in a primordial soup of feel good platitudes that passes for purity.

This attitude is a direct attack on the force that Christians have in restraining sin. Combine that attack with apostasy and many tares infiltrating the church and you have a visible ‘church’ that can’t, won’t, or doesn’t know how to restrain sin.

One example of this is the decree that famous pastors have signed announcing they will not follow the law if the Supreme Court institutes gay marriage for all the land. Many, many of the signatories are not of the faith. Signatories include Orthodox priests, Catholic priests, James Robison, Rick Joyner, Rod Parsley, Sid Roth, John Hagee, Franklin Graham, Johnathan Cahn, female pastors, self-styled prophets, false; all of them. It is nice to politically stand for marriage but it is not biblical to partner with darkness to do it. We change people from the inside by giving the Gospel and the Spirit birthing them again.

Yet the world is reporting that the ‘church’ and ‘pastors’ are objecting to the pending decision by SCOTUS. Yet those above are not the church. They are tares. Sin isn’t being restrained, not with that crowd.

If these 4 vanguards of sin-restraint, (conscience, family, civil authority and the church) are weakening to such a degree, how much closer would the rapture be when the Church is totally taken out of the way and he who has been restrained (antichrist) is let loose? How long until the man of sin is released onto a world that wants to ‘be free’? How long until no one will tell anyone else that what they are doing is wrong, and which offends a holy God? Sinners, be careful what you ask for.

As for us, we continue to be holy as He is holy, relying on the Spirit to continue in the faith. Shine brightly, the light of holiness and purity will be a beacon to those who are either being drawn to Him or are being repelled and want to shield their eyes.

What should we do in these times? Protect our restraining mechanisms.

1. Conscience
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)

2. The Family
The strong, biblical family is a stepping stone to keeping the church pure-
For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? (1 Timothy 3:5).

3. Civil Authority.
Rome was a brutal and evil empire in many respects. The first century saints were told to submit to it. (1 Peter 2:12, Romans 13:5). We do the same. Unless we are forced by law to directly contradict God’s law, we submit to civil authority. And don’t let your kids throw bricks at police.

4. The Church
Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20-22)

Keep the church pure by being pure yourself. Also, respect doctrine and keep it pure. Speak up in humility when errant doctrine infiltrates your church. And pastors, practice rightly biblical church discipline so the church will remain strong. We need the church to restrain sin in the world. Pray.

children, justice, prophecy

To those who harm children:

Posted on April 28, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Sin is ramping up so much and families are just disintegrating. It all falls on the children. They take the brunt.

Just as Cain killed Abel and the LORD said,

“And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10

Parents, Adults, what have you done? The children’s tears cry out from the ground!

Just as Abel’s blood cried out from the ground, the children of the world and our county who are neglected, abused, trafficked, homeless, hungry, aborted…their pain slips out of them at night when they cry, their tears seep into the ground.

The flood of tears is saturating the ground that the ground cries out to God for justice. The agony of the world’s sin is painful enough, but the children are suffering terribly, horribly and their tears wet the earth and the earth gives up its strength and weeps with the children.

arm, good shepherd, prophecy, the worthless shepherd, zechariah

The strong arm of Jehovah and the antichrist’s withered arm

Posted on April 27, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There are many symbols in the bible. Many of those symbols refer to an aspect of God, the Spirit, or Jesus. In the case of God, his ability to reach into the doings of humankind is shown in a symbol of His mighty Arm, or His right hand. I focus on His arm.

I was listening to a sermon by RC Sproul on Mary’s Magnificat, and in Luke 1:51, Mary extols the strength of the LORD by His arm in saying,

He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; (Luke 1:51)

Here are other verses which do the same:

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1)

You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. (Psalms 89:10)

“Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” (Exodus 6:6)

Dr Henry Morris at The Institute for Creation Research wrote,

“The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” (Isaiah 52:10)

The human arm is often used in the Bible to symbolize spiritual strength or power. The word is first used in Jacob’s dying prophecy concerning His beloved son Joseph: “But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24).

The source of all true strength is in the mighty God, so it is not surprising to find at least 40 biblical references to the Lord’s powerful “arm” or “arms.” One of the most striking is our text, promising that when God “bares His arm” for His great work of delivering the lost world from its bondage to Satan and sin and death, then the whole world will see His salvation (literally, His “Jesus”).

It is an interesting article, please feel free to click the link and read the rest.

The arm of the LORD symbolizes many aspects of Himself, but for now we focus on the strength. How much more can we see the lack of strength when we contrast the following verse,

He stomps the earth but his arm is withered!

“Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!” (Zechariah 11:17)

That powerful chapter of Zechariah depicts a several-fold prophecy over the course of time. Zechariah is prophesying about Israel’s future rejection of Christ. Here is an outline of the verses’ meanings by Roy Gingrich:

3. The coming of a false shepherd (11:15–17)
(Because Israel rejected Her true Shepherd, God will chasten her by giving her a false shepherd. There is already a time gap of more than 1900 years between verses 11:14 and 11:15.)
a. His character—He will be “a foolish, (wicked) shepherd.” The Old Testament writers often associated foolishness and wickedness. See Psa. 14:1.
b. His identity—He is: (1) The “little horn,” Dan. 7:8; (2) “the desolator,” Dan. 9:27; (3) “the willful king,” Dan. 11:36; (4) “the man of sin,” 2 Thes. 2:3; and (5) the “Antichrist,” 1 John 2:18.
c. His origin—God will indirectly raise him up to punish His people, 11:16. Satan will directly raise him up to promote his end-time total rebellion against God, 2 Thes. 2:4; Rev. 19:19.
d. His ruthless ministry—He will not feed, but will fleece, the flock. He will not tend, but will tear, the flock. He will not edify, but will eat, the flock. He will not feed, but will feed on, the flock.
e. His punishment (his end)—He will receive woe. His right arm (with which he slew the sheep) will be completely dried up and his right eye (with which he looked upon the sheep for evil) will be completely blinded. These things mean he will be utterly destroyed, Dan. 9:27; 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 19:20. God will first use and then punish this masterpiece of Satan.

Gingrich, R. E. (1999). The Books of Haggai and Zechariah (p. 52). Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing.

The worthless shepherd will strike the sheep, but the LORD will wither his arm.
EPrata photo

This foolish and wicked shepherd Zechariah speaks of is the prophesied antichrist, also spoken of in the book of Daniel. John MacArthur writes of the Zechariah verse,

With the removal of the true shepherd, the drama called for the prophet to play a foolish shepherd, who depicted the antichrist of Daniel’s 70th week. (cf. 2 Thess 2:3; John 5:43; Dan 9:27). Zechariah’s prophecy jumped from the first century A.D. to the last days before the second coming, omitting the present mystery of the church age.

This foolish (wicked) shepherd had a broken staff or club that he used to beat stubborn sheep into submission, something clearly inappropriate for a shepherd who thoughtfully and carefully cared for his sheep. Because they did not choose the good shepherd, Israel will do a foolish one who will do absolutely the opposite of what is expected of shepherds. He will destroy the sheep (11:16). This is exactly what the antichrist does. (cf. Dan 9:27, Matthew 24:15-22). Source: MacArthur Study Bible: Note on Zech 11:17

In returning to the symbolism of the arm, we have a great God whose arm is stretched out to perform mighty deeds, the mightiest is that Jesus is God’s arm. Christ is the power of God unto salvation (cf Isaiah 53:1, 52:10)

Thus the foolish shepherd is also a worthless shepherd who rightfully deserves the condemnation pronounced (Woe). The arm indicates his strength and the eye his intelligence. The foolish plottings of the worthless shepherd will be annulled when the True Shepherd returns (cf. 12:10; Rev. 19:19–20).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.)

We can ponder the mightiness of the arm of the LORD in giving His Son to us. Whether one meets the Messiah Redeemer as friend or foe, His mighty arm will be extended to perform wonders and holy perfections. He will wither the arm of the worthless shepherd. He will strengthen His saints. He will direct His angels. He will cast the rebels into the Lake of Fire. His arm does wonders, forever!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let Us Reason Ministries: The Arm and Right Hand of the LORD

Alexander MacLaren, The Arm of the Lord from his Expositions of Isaiah and Jeremiah

earthquake, God, mighty, nepal, prophecy

Nepal’s large quake: a tragedy and an opportunity

Posted on April 25, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The large earthquake in Nepal is saddening to the extreme. As of 1:00 today there have been over 27 aftershocks. It is shocking and upsetting to see a headline like “Everest shaken.” Our earth’s tallest mountain, solid, strong, stalwart against all storms, it is shaken like a toy in a moment of time. Yet we know in the Tribulation, all the mountains will be thrown down.

The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. (Revelation 6:14)

O, Nepal, your dead idols cannot help you now! Turn from them and repent to the True and Living God!

Source

And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!” And he answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground.” (Isaiah 21:9)

This warning given in Isaiah regarding the fall of Babylon was fulfilled in 689BC when Babylon fell to the Assyrians, and again in 539BC to the Persians. Yet there is one fulfillment left, the future when by Revelation 18 Babylon the city, the spiritual Babylon and Economic Babylon all fall at the mighty arm of God. No more idols! No more prayers to dead Vishnus or Ganeshas or Shivas.

Our Lord God is alive. Every single person on earth has a “relationship” with Jesus. Either they are His enemy or they are His friend. The difference is repentance. Have you turned from your sin and appealed to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, acknowledging the resurrected King as the only One who can forgive? He is perfect, holy, and just, and He will demand an account of every life lived.

The tragedy is that with a thousand dead and more to be discovered, hell is receiving many who worshiped the dead gods of Hinduism and not the Living God of all. (81% of Nepal is Hindu, second is 9% Buddhist). May those who are in Nepal and those who are watching Nepal’s tragedy unfold, give glory to God in heaven. Is now the time to press for honor and glory to God, with so much death and strife? Yes. Look what happens in the future Tribulation when there is a great quake:

And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Revelation 11:13)

The God who can shake Mount Everest is the God who holds in His hand life and death of all who dwell on the earth. You can have everlasting life in Him, by repenting and giving Him glory.

I pray that those who are affected repent and understand the might and patience of the True and Holy God. I pray that those who by going there to participate in humanitarian aid bring with them the TRUE Gospel to share with those who are homeless, hurt, and spiritually lost.

Pray for Nepal

contend for the faith, encouragement, greed, moms, prophecy

America’s decay is speeding up, and more links to edifying essays

Posted on April 22, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Here are some interesting links for you.

I don’t think anyone would disagree with this first article-

America’s Decay is Speeding Up

As one who loves America — not only because I am American, but even more so because I know (not believe, know) that the American experiment in forming a decent society has been the most successful in history — I write the following words in sadness: With few exceptions, every aspect of American life is in decline. “Decay” is the word.

Yup.

I’m not a huge fan of the magazine below but this article is good-

7 Unbiblical Statements Christians Believe

We don’t often stop to consider the magnitude of what the Bible represents. It is literally God revealing Himself and communicating Himself to mankind in written word. Orthodox Christianity teaches that the Bible was inspired and authored by the Holy Spirit of God using human instruments. And many Christians believe that—in its original languages of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic—it is without error and fault. However, there are many things that Jesus-following, Church-going, Bible-believing Christians believe that are completely unbiblical. How does this happen? Often, we’ll hear someone quote a statement that sounds nice to us, and we’ll begin repeating it as though it’s biblical truth without ever researching it in Scripture.

You’re a theologian, OK?

3 Reasons Why You Aren’t Allowed to Be Theologically Dumb

The Christian cannot be a passive theologian who has idle thoughts about God here and there. Christians are called to be active theologians who are constantly trying to learn more about the God we worship. … It’s about time Millennial evangelicals start loving the God who created them more than a god they’ve created.

I love Dr Robin Schumacher’s articles. His blog at The Christian Post is titled The Confident Christian-

Predestination and God’s Sovereign Choice

Dan Delzell’s Christianpost article, Predestination and God’s Desire to Save Everyone, reminded me of a statement made by theologian Loraine Boettner in his classic book on predestination: “The doctrine of Predestination has been made the subject of almost endless discussion, much of which, it must be admitted, was for the purpose of softening its outlines or of explaining it away.”[1] I mean no disrespect at all to Mr. Delzell when I say that, only that his article – written from the Arminian point of view – is definitely something crafted to take the punch and sting out of what I believe the Biblical doctrine of predestination truly means.

Ugh, it sickens me to see what is being sold in Jesus’ name-

The Marketing And Exploitation Of The Cross: Commercializing Christianity

The gospel in America has been hijacked, replaced with another gospel, a gospel of greed. When news broke regarding Creflo Dollar’s plea for Christians (namely those who follow him) to donate to the purchase of a 65-million dollar jet, it not only raised eyebrows, it settled within the hearts and minds of the faith’s leading accusers that Christianity has become nothing but an ends to gaining great wealth at the expense of its followers. And they would be right, to a degree.

Re-posting a testimony, but deliberately deleting references to Jesus-

His Absence Changes Everything

… I battled against that bottle for hours – finally flinging it aside, not from a place of faith that things would get better in life, but from one of fear that I would fail in my attempt and find myself in even worse straits than the current moment contained.

Moms…

These Aren’t The Best Years of Your Life

A friend with a stroller was walking through town when an older woman stopped her to see the baby. After admiring her, the granny said, “These are the best years of your life; too bad you’re too tired to enjoy them!” Mothers with small children often hear this–at least the first part.

Truth in the church is so yesterday-

Contend Mondays: Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies
As I’ve mentioned, not only is the world a mission field, but the visible church is as well. The battle is for truth through rightly divided scripture and sound doctrine. If you’ve tried to correct a brother or sister in Christ, you are familiar with the desire to set them free from lies. … Exposing error seems to have no place in the church these days despite what scripture says (Ephesians 5:11).

full number, fullness of the Gentiles, God, prophecy

The precision of prophecy

Posted on April 21, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The lord God is great. His Son Jesus, Immanuel, God With Us, is great. His Spirit is great. I praise Him and all His ways!

He set for a plan since before the foundation of the world. He is the architect of history. He elects people to salvation according to His plan, in the fulness of time He sent His Son, (Galatians 4:4) and now He is drawing to a close this era of history as we or the next generation prepares to go through the next phase of His perfect prophetic plan.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:11)

We all know the marvelousness of the Scriptures being fulfilled in Jesus. For example, He was praised as He entered the holy city on a colt. (Mark 11:3, Zechariah 9:9). We know the precise amount Judas was paid to betray Jesus, for that was prophesied (Zechariah 11:12). We know the scriptures were fulfilled when Jesus cried out, “I thirst”. (John 19:28).

And many more.

I particularly enjoy these following two prophecies. They have not been fulfilled yet, but they will be.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, (Romans 11:25, NIV)

Other translations say the “fullness of the Gentiles”. The word fullness according to Strong’s is from the Greek plḗrōma meaning “sum total”.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:9-11)

Again, the Greek word is from pleroo, meaning fulfilled or completed.

Since before the universe was even created, the LORD our God had a perfect number in mind of those who will fulfill the number or quota of people who will be part of His Bride, the church (Romans 11:25). And He also had a perfect number in mind of the number of Tribulation saints who will be martyred. Nothing is out of control with God. He isn’t looking down and thinking, “Yah, the church looks big enough, let’s cut it off here.” Or He is not looking down at the people being beheaded during the Tribulation and saying “Whoo, we better put a stop to this.” Nothing is a surprise to Him because He planned it down to the very last inch…the very last dust mote…even down to the last person.

The Church will be full when His number is reached. Only He knows what that number is. For the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Not only because He loves His children but because He knows the certain, exact, precise number of martyrs He will allow. When that number is reached, He will return and end it at Armageddon.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that He has everything so meticulously mapped out? Not that it absolves us of doing our duty, of working diligently among the brethren and for the lost, and studying His word. But whatever happens, He is in control, and so precisely, that when the 5 billionth, 3 hundred millionth, 6 hundred thousandth, and third person is saved, (or whatever His number is) we will be raptured. He knows what the number is, who will fulfill that number and when that number will be reached. He is worthy to be worshiped! His mind, His plan, and His ability to manage all things in heaven and earth makes Him worthy.

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’” (Isaiah 44:7-8)

economy, mark of the beast, one world economy, prophecy, revelation

Thoughts on Economic Collapse and Tribulation economy

Posted on April 20, 2015 by elizabethprata

Someone asked me about the economy in the Tribulation, and wondered if the global and American economy will collapse prior to the Tribulation or not.

It’s speculation, because the Bible doesn’t specifically say how we will get from here to there, only what will be. I do like to be aware of what the bible says about the seemingly near event on the prophetic timeline, the 7 years of Tribulation. (The rapture is the very next event. I also enjoy thinking about the Millennium which will occur after the Tribulation such as the peaceable kingdom, and the temple and the King’s Highway, and New Jerusalem, etc).

As for the economy, it’s an interesting question because the Bible prophesies that during the Tribulation, the antichrist’s right hand man, the False Prophet, will enforce a mark on people. The mark is one of worship. No one will be fooled, they will know it is a mark of allegiance to and worship of the Beast. (Revelation 14:9). The enticement to take the mark is that one may then participate in the economy, buying and selling. If one refuses the mark, they may not buy or sell. (Revelation 13:16-17). Further, they will be identified as an enemy of the state and be killed (Revelation 6:9-11, Matthew 24:9).

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it, about financial collapse. The collapse of ’07-’08 was incredible, and the subsequent years even more so. I had read a Christian economist who said recently that with the derivatives bubble, college loan bubble, fiat currency and massive outstanding debt, it is OBVIOUS that America, and most nations in fact, are being held up by the supernatural power of God. Nothing in traditional economics makes sense enough to explain how we are going on as we are for so long.

As for the Tribulation economy, that’s interesting too. There IS an economy during the Tribulation. The global economy does not collapse until Revelation 18. Or, at least, it might have partially collapsed prior to then and been rebuilt according to Antichrist specs, with a one world economy and mark of the beast currency. Yes, Revelation 6:6 shows that currency is so inflated that it costs a day’s wage to buy one loaf of bread. But Rev 18 shows a highly advanced trade in luxuries. I believe this shows that the wealth gap will widen so much that many poor starve to death and the love of the rich grows cold in not caring. If Jesus emphasized compassion on the poor and generosity toward same in both the OT and the NT to the degree He did, the antichrist will emphasize the opposite. So there will be an economy, it just won’t look like it does now.

As a brief rabbit trail, you might already know that the sex trafficking and slave trade is growing all across the world. Poverty adds to this sad fact. Many daughters are being sold because people are so poor they cannot afford to feed kids. In Greece a few years ago when their economy nearly failed (before the EU bailout) the problem of abandoned kids was huge. You note in Rev 18:13 one of the luxuries being traded will be slaves. I believe that when the poor become utterly destitute in the Tribulation economy, slavery will blossom massively and that will be the reason why. No food, and in order to get money, they will sell anyone, even their mother. After all, love will wax cold. (Mt 24:12)

I read a prophecy minister’s essay once who thinks that it will be the event of the rapture itself that will trigger the collapse. The sudden removal of thousands or millions of Christians from the economy will certainly put a dent in it. However I’m not so sure the rapture will collapse it completely. Jesus said the way was narrow and few find it. I think there are way fewer Christians who will be taken in the rapture than people think. I think the loss of workers will dent the economy, maybe enough to re-structure it, but not collapse totally. After all, the antichrist only has 7 years, 3.5 actually, to make the Mark of the Beast economy prophesied in Revelation 13:16-17 come about and healthy enough to see such massive collapse as we do in Rev 18. He has to have something to work with to begin with in order to revive the economy.

And think on this, right now gargantuan amounts of money go toward social programs to help the sick, the poor, the disadvantaged. When the Christians are removed, and the Spirit withdraws His restraining ministry, (2 Thessalonians 2:7) then compassion, generosity, and love will cease (2 Timothy 3:1-5). All that money being poured into cancer research and orphanages and welfare and social justice programs will be re-diverted. There will be no compassion, (Matthew 24:12) therefore no money needed to help anyone at any time through any compassion program. It will be the end of philanthropy, effectively freeing up trillions of dollars.

It has been interesting (but sad) to see the drought bloom in CA, and all the while we in GA received 5-6 inches of rain this week alone. Drought has a slow-moving but ultimately devastating impact to economies. CA’s economy is the largest in the US, much of it from agriculture. Personally I think it will be drought that does us in here in America.

You remember the American Dustbowl here in the US during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It sparked one of the most massive internal migrations we have ever experienced in the US

Historians have since clarified some of the dimensions of the misnamed migration. Numbers are elusive but it is safe to say that 300-400,000 Oklahomans, Texans, Arkansans, and Missourians moved to California and settled there during the 1930s. This would have been a significant population transfer in any era but was particularly momentous in the context of the depression when internal migration rates for other parts of the country were low and when high unemployment made any kind of relocation risky. (Source)

Look at this interesting article about drought’s economic impact.

Drought produces a complex web of impacts that spans many sectors of the economy and reaches well beyond the area experiencing physical drought. This complexity exists because water is integral to society’s ability to produce goods and provide services. Impacts are commonly referred to as direct and indirect. Direct impacts include reduced crop, rangeland, and forest productivity, increased fire hazard, reduced water levels, increased livestock and wildlife mortality rates, and damage to wildlife and fish habitat. The consequences of these direct impacts illustrate indirect impacts. For example, a reduction in crop, rangeland, and forest productivity may result in reduced income for farmers and agribusiness, increased prices for food and timber, unemployment, reduced tax revenues because of reduced expenditures, foreclosures on bank loans to farmers and businesses, migration, and disaster relief programs.

In short, the entire economic situation is a myriad of intertwined causes and effects. They go back a long time and they are set in motion through the sovereignty of the Lord. It brings praise for the Lord to mind when I realize how precise He is to have developed all these events together to draw us ever closer to the Tribulation hour. He raises up kings and sets them down. He raises up nations and strikes them down. He thrives economies and He impoverishes them. He will perform what He has decreed.

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (James 5:1-5)

The only economy is the one in Jesus: repentance, faith, belief, and being doers of the word. This economy will always thrive, never become impoverished, and sustain itself at the magnificent Hand of God.

facebook, facial recognition, mark of the beast, prophecy

One app’s facial recognition outstrips the CIA’s, you will never guess which it is

Posted on April 15, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

One of the most mysterious segments of prophetic scripture are the verses telling us about the Mark of the Beast. We read about it in Revelation 13:11-18. The Second Beast is the false prophet. It’s actually the false prophet who causes all to have the mark, or be excluded from the economy. The mark is an identification of allegiance to and worship of the Beast. The penalty for not taking it is that no man may buy or sell. But the reason to take it is to worship the antichrist. Here is the passage.

The Second Beast
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

Part of being entranced by the verses is the fact that there are so many questions that arise from reading them. How does one person cause all on earth to receive a mark? How will they know if someone doesn’t take the mark? If someone gos to buy something without the mark, what will happen? How long will it take until someone in authority comes to grab the person who doesn’t have the mark? Most interesting of all, much of this buying and selling and grabbing and beheading has to do with technology.

Prior to today’s technology, such massive, global tracking and marking would never have been possible. I’m only 54 years old and I clearly remember when bar codes were invented and came into ubiquitous use. Never mind laptops, internet, and now quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence, bitcoin and its ilk, iris scanning, robotics, and nanotechnology. It’s dizzying. It reminds me of the prophecy in Daniel 12:4,

“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.”

As a rabbit trail for just a moment, the Lord sends an angel to fly at mid-heaven and warn the people of the world NOT to take the mark. See below:

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” (Revelation 14:9-1)

The mark of the beast is definitely a mark of worship and allegiance to the antichrist, which means the person has declared for satan. That’s why taking it incurs so much wrath. But back to the technology of today. Managing the buying and selling of all peoples in earth via this mark is just an astounding concept to me. There is no such thing as privacy any more, tracking and hacking are things the youth of today are used to, though I’ll never get used to it. There are undoubtedly many different kinds of technologies that will merge into the one that will allow the mark of the beast to be implemented and global economic tracking to such a specific degree occur. But consider this, I’ll run it past you…

It’s from Extremetech, published last March:

Facebook’s New ‘DeepFace’ Program Is Just As Creepy As It Sounds

Facebook owns the world’s largest photo library, and it now has the technology to match almost all the faces within it. Yes, even the ones you don’t tag. Facebook announced last week that it has developed a program called “DeepFace,” which researchers say can determine whether two photographed faces are of the same person with 97.25 percent accuracy. According to Facebook, humans put to the same test answer correctly 97.53 percent of the time — only a quarter of a percent better than Facebook’s software. The takeaway: Facebook has essentially caught up to humans when it comes to remembering a face.

Facebook’s facial recognition software is now as accurate as the human brain, but what now?

It would also be irresponsible if we didn’t mention the true power of facial recognition, which Facebook is surely investigating: Tracking your face across the entirety of the web, and in real life, as you move from shop to shop, producing some very lucrative behavioral tracking data indeed.

As we move from shop to shop? 97% accuracy?

Facebook will soon be able to ID you in any photo

“we’ve been able to detect faces in images for about 2 decades,” LeCun says. Even the puny computers in cheap consumer cameras have long been able to detect and focus on faces.

But “identifying a face is a much harder problem than detecting it,” LeCun says. Your face uniquely identifies you. But unlike your fingerprints, it is constantly changing. Just smile and your face is transformed. The corners of your eyes wrinkle, your nostrils flare, and your teeth show. Throw your head back with laughter and the apparent shape of your face contorts. Even when you wear the same expression, your hair varies from photo to photo, all the more so after a visit to the hairdresser. And yet most people can spot you effortlessly in a series of photos, even if they’ve seen you in just one.

In terms of perceiving the world around us, facial recognition may be “the single most impressive thing that the human brain can do,” says Erik Learned-Miller, a computer scientist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. By contrast, computers struggle with what researchers call the problem of A-PIE: aging, pose, illumination, and expression. These sources of noise drown out the subtle differences that distinguish one person’s face from another.

Thanks to an approach called deep learning, computers are gaining ground fast.

Now, I am not saying that Facebook is the Mark of the Beast, for heaven’s sake don’t misunderstand. However, I’m intrigued that all along as we watch technology grow to an excessively intrusive point in our lives, that quietly, unassumingly, Facebook has amassed the data and know-how to put into place a large part of the puzzle that may become part of the technology involved with the Mark of the Beast.

I’m one of the last generation to have grown up technology-free. I played outside after school, roaming the neighborhood on my book, coming home when the streetlights turned on. I’m one of a generation who loves the internet but remember a time when I read books and went skating and built snowmen and played hopscotch- outside. I remember.

Reading that Facebook has amassed the world’s largest facial recognition data dropped the penny. Facebook has my birthdate, photo, locations where I’ve lived, friends, employment, education…in short, an online profile. And I gave it to them.

It is an amazing, dizzying time, this new millnnium. Meanwhile, knowledge is increasing and technology is rapidly heading to its ultimate destination. I feel like Thumbelina on a leaf going down the rapids. But the leaf is really the hand of Jesus and I’m safe and secure. I’m not worried or scared or depressed. I’m amazed. Every day we make technological advances that enhance the lives of humanity but one day will be turned to evil use by the antichrist and false prophet. Amazing, stunning time. I want to see what happens next. Hopefully the Lord’s return to collect His Bride in the rapture!

Because, you see, we will be raptured before any of this comes to pass. We won’t have to worry about the mark of the beast, the false prophet, the antichrist, being excluded from the economy, starvation, or beheading. He will rescue us from the wrath to come, (1 Thess 1:10) and spare us His indignation poured out. (Isaiah 26:20). If you have repented of your sins, and confessed to Jesus as Lord and Savior, and know He is resurrected and reigning from heaven, soon to return as the Bible says, you are saved. (Romans 10:9). We rest securely in His arms and seek to become weak in the flesh so the Spirit will use us strongly. (2 Cor 12:9-10).

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go check my Facebook status…

genesis 3, prophecy, satan