prophecy – Page 42

Prophecy is incredible: biblical proof

Posted on February 8, 2015 by elizabethprata

Last June, I wrote a message to “pan tribbers.” I’d written,

But there is an even worse tribulation position than the denial of the rapture, the partial rapture, the post-tribulation rapture. It is the “Pan-Tribulation” position.

It is the position for some reason that irks me the most. You hear it sometimes from Christians, who, when discussing the rapture and last things, and the rapture’s timing, they say, “I’m a pan-tribulationist. Everything will work out in the end. HAR HAR HAR.” They think this is funny. They think this is clever. They even think this is pious.

It isn’t.

Here is more for the people who believe prophecy, especially second coming prophecies, are an afterthought, an unpalatable subject, or a marginal doctrine.

It isn’t.

Prophecy occupies at least one-fifth of the Scriptures if not more.
The second coming of Christ occupies one-third of that one-fifth.
There are over 660 general prophecies. Half of them are concerning Jesus Christ.
Of these 333 prophecies concerning Christ, 109 of them were fulfilled in His first coming.
224 prophecies are yet to be fulfilled in His second coming.
Of the 46 Old Testament prophets, less than ten of them speak of events in Christ’s first coming
36 Old Testament prophets speak of events connected His second coming.
There are a total of 1,527 Old Testament passages referring to the second coming.
1 out of 25 New Testament verses refer directly to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Next to the subject of faith, the subject of the second coming is the most dominant subject in the New Testament.
For every time in the Bible the first coming is mentioned, the second coming is mentioned eight times.
For every time the atonement is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned twice.
The Lord refers to His return 21 times.
And 50 times plus men are exhorted to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ.
All of the prophecies related to His first coming were literal, then if God is consistent all the ones related to His second coming will also be literal.

Source: John MacArthur

Each day that passes is a day closer either to your own death, or a day closer to when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Being ready for His return is critical for life and eternal life. Are you ready?

ISIS, jesus, jordan, nimrod, prophecy

ISIS, Jordan and prophecy

Posted on February 7, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Jordan is much in the news today, due to the horrific killing of its downed pilot. The world became aware of the pilot’s killing because the Muslim terror group ISIS released a video of it.

ISIS’ brutal killings, march of terror over the interior Middle East, and its famed videotaped beheadings certainly bring back to mind their ancestors, the Assyrians. In this same region several thousand years ago, the mighty kingdom of Assyria had arisen, with its capital, Nineveh. God used this nation to punish Israel.

In 722 BC, the Assyrians conquered Israel. The Assyrians were aggressive and effective; the history of their dominance over the Middle East is a history of constant warfare. In order to assure that conquered territories would remain pacified, the Assyrians would force many of the native inhabitants to relocate to other parts of their empire. They almost always chose the upper and more powerful classes, for they had no reason to fear the general mass of a population. They would then send Assyrians to relocate in the conquered territory.

When they conquered Israel, they forced the ten tribes to scatter throughout their empire. For all practical purposes, you might consider this a proto-Diaspora (“diaspora”=”scattering”), except that these Israelites disappear from history permanently; they are called “the ten lost tribes of Israel.” (Virtual Jewish Library)

One small section of Sennacherib’s Lachish relief. Wikipedia

Assyrian King Sennacherib’s statement inscribed on the relief: “Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment, before (or at the entrance of) the city of Lachish (Lakhisha). I give permission for its slaughter“

The Assyrians were known for their terrible brutality. When Sennacherib defeated Israel’s second most important city, Lachish, he commissioned a 12 foot tall relief commemorating the effort. In the Lachish relief we see the Assyrians flinging Israelites off the ramparts, leading them in a line with meathooks in their jaws, and worse. Just the name of Assyria brought terror to the hearts of its enemies.

In His sovereign plan, God used Assyria as His rod of judgment upon Israel. We read When Assyria was God’s Rod…

In Isaiah 10 our Lord spoke about the coming judgment of Israel through the prophet. He explained in vivid imagery that nothing remained for those who stood condemned, but the coming condemnation. In this case, God was going to rouse Assyria against Israel (Judah). To frame this judgment, the Lord says through Isaiah, that Assyria doesn’t intend to be God’s rod of correction; that they are merely another wicked nation and that this plundering of Israel is merely an expression of their own corruption. Once God has used the Assyrians to judge Israel, He will then judge Assyria.

He did. Assyria’s capital, Nineveh, was so thoroughly destroyed that though its destruction occurred in 612 BC, the city and environs were not re-discovered until 1849AD. God had promised Israel that He’d make an utter devastation to the place, and that the Assyrians would not bother them a second time. (Nahum 1:8-9).

Jordan. National Motto: “God, Country, The King.” But which God?

Now, what of Jordan? Jordan’s history is pretty interesting. When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in 1916, the Sykes–Picot Agreement carved it up between Britain and France, defining much of the common border between Syria and what was to become Jordan, Palestine / Israel and Iraq. Wikipedia has more:

The Emirate of Transjordan, also hyphenated as Trans-Jordan and previously known as Transjordania or Trans-Jordania, was a British protectorate established in April, 1921. The Hashemite dynasty ruled the protectorate, as well as the neighbouring Mandatory Iraq, following the Cairo Conference. The territory was officially under the British Mandate for Palestine, but it had a fully autonomous governing system from Mandatory Palestine. In 1946, the Emirate became an independent state named the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. In April 1949 the name was shortened to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The Emir of Transjordan from 1921–1946 was Abdullah I. The British Representative from Oct 1921 – Nov 1921 was T. E. Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia.” Yes, he was a real man, it wasn’t just a movie.

The Hashemite emir Abdullah, elder son of Britain’s wartime Arab ally Hussein bin Ali was placed on the throne of Transjordan. The king of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today is Abdullah II. Both Abdullahs were/are Sunni Muslim.

After WWI, Abdullah I, alone among the Arab leaders of his generation, was considered a moderate by the West. It is possible that he might have been willing to sign a separate peace agreement with Israel, but for the Arab League’s militant opposition. Because of his dream for a Greater Syria comprising the borders of what was then Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the British Mandate for Palestine under a Hashemite dynasty with “a throne in Damascus,” many Arab countries distrusted Abdullah and saw him as both “a threat to the independence of their countries and they also suspected him of being in cahoots with the enemy” and in return, Abdullah distrusted the leaders of other Arab countries. Source.

King Abdullah I

In 1951, King Abdullah I was assassinated while visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The alleged reason was that his enemies suspected the King of engaging in secret talks to participate in a peace treaty with the new country of Israel. The regional distrust of the dynasty ruling Jordan continues today, partly because the peace treaty Jordan signed with Israel did come about (in 1994), despite pressure as recent as a few months ago to cancel it. We know from prophecy that in the end, no nation will be friends with Israel (Zechariah 12:3) so at some point that one remaining regional pact will disappear.

One last thing before we go to this week’s news. The Abdullah family traces its Hashemite ancestry back to Ishmael, (Abraham’s son by Hagar), and ancestry continuing through the prophet Muhammad and his daughter Fatima.

You might remember Genesis 16:11, where Sarai told Hagar to come to Abram and lay with Abram and Hagar did so. The LORD said the son from that union shall be called Ishmael.

You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen. (Genesis 16:11-12)

The LORD promised blessings to the line of Ishmael, but His covenant would be with Abram’s son Isaac and his line.

As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. (Genesis 17:20)

Ishmael’s half-brother Isaac was born a year later. However due to the laws of primogeniture wherein the first-born son is considered the inheritor, the line from Ishmael never recognized Isaac’s right to inherit and still to this day considers Ishmael the proper heir. That is why King Abdullah traces his line back to “Ismail”. However it was the LORD’S decision that not only will the covenant be through Isaac’s line, but the elder shall serve the younger. This was stated when Jacob and Esau were in the womb-

And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

In addition, the Ishmaelites forget that Esau purposely renounced his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. (Genesis 25:34).

The News: Nothing New Under the Sun

King Abdullah II of Jordan was incensed this week that one of his pilots who crash landed in ~~Assyrian~~ ISIS territory was put in a cage and burned alive. It was a barbaric and brutal event, made worse by its videotaping by conscienceless terrorists. He vowed to crush ISIS and retaliate with everything the nation’s got.

Jordan unleashes wrath on ISIS: ‘This is just the beginning’

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh later stressed to CNN that the airstrikes marked the beginning of his nation’s retaliation over the pilot’s death, but not the start of its fight against terrorism. He vowed to destroy ISIS. “We are upping the ante. We’re going after them wherever they are, with everything that we have. But it’s not the beginning, and it’s certainly not the end,” Judeh said.

Jordanian fighter jets strike hard at ISIS, pay tribute to murdered pilot

Jordanian fighter pilots carried out devastating sorties against ISIS early Thursday, making good on their king’s vow of vengeance for the horrific burning death of a captured airman — whose hometown the jets buzzed triumphantly after the mission. Reports from the Middle East said the latest strikes killed 55 members of ISIS, including a senior commander known as the “Prince of Nineveh.”

You can see by that statement that ISIS purposely identifies with ancient Assyria and with Nineveh itself. Nineveh has a long and terrible history. The city’s history goes back to just after the Flood, to Genesis 10. After Noah was 500 years old, Noah begat three sons, one of them was Ham. (Genesis 5:32). Ham begat Cush, and Cush begat Nimrod. (Genesis 10:8-9). Noah’s great-grandson Nimrod is specifically noted as the first on earth to be a mighty man, AKA a tyrant. Nimrod built Nineveh.

A handshake between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin,
accompanied by Bill Clinton, during the Israel-Jordan peace negotiations,
July 25th, 1994

Assyria was an actual nation and its name also stands for the type of nation which in the future, in all brutality will come against Israel. Another name for this type of nation is “Land of Nimrod.” Jesus will smite them and Israel will be at peace. This is an end-time Tribulation/Millennium prophecy. Some believe Micah refers to the antichrist when he says ‘the Assyrian’, but most commenters believe the Assyrian stands for the type of brutal enemy in general that the former nation of Assyria was. For example, Walvoord and Zuck’s Bible Knowledge Commentary says,

Though Assyria will not exist as a nation in the future, it represents nations who, like Assyria in Micah’s time, will threaten and attack Jerusalem (cf. Zech. 12:9; 14:2–3).

Micah 5:1-6 has the prophecy-.

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;

siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the judge of Israel

on the cheek.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land

and treads in our palaces,

then we will raise against him seven shepherds

and eight princes of men;

they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,

and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;

and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian

when he comes into our land

and treads within our border.

Bible Knowledge Commentary again,

This is one of Messiah’s several accomplishments in bringing peace to Israel (vv. 5–15). He will be Israel’s peace because He will subdue the hostile powers around that nation. … The land of Nimrod (cf. Gen. 10:8–9; 1 Chron. 1:10) was a synonym for Assyria (cf. Assyria as a name for Persia in Ezra 6:22). Christ will enable Israel to defeat her foes, giving the nation a more-than-adequate number of shepherds or leaders (on the formula seven … even eight; cf. comments on “three … even four” in Amos 1:3). Whereas many nations have ruled Israel with the sword, in the Millennium the tables will be turned and Israel will rule over her foes because He, Messiah, will deliver her (cf. Zech. 14:3).

CONCLUSION

All of this to show several things:

1. The Preacher said,

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

and that which is done, is that which shall be done; what is done in the present age, nay, in this year, month, or day, shall be done over again in the next; Gill’s Exposition

War after war in the Middle East, man’s brutality, hatred of Israel, the long struggle between the two nations in Rebekah’s womb, the old Assyrians, the new Assyrians (ISIS) …all known to God and He will bring it to the good for those who love Him and to the justice of those who don’t. Either way, it all will end in glory.

2. God’s sovereignty, majesty, power, and might are demonstrated from the opening letter of the bible to the last amen. What’s happening now goes back to Genesis 10 and even before, to Genesis 3. All that is being done now on earth by men and demons are part of His sovereign plan which will culminate in the visible glory of our risen Christ coming to judge, rule, and reign. Prophecy is mighty in demonstration just Who is in control.

3. Prophecy marches apace. Today is one day closer to the fulfillment of all that is written. Hallelujah!

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A godly face radiates His glory

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

In Adult Bible Study we are going through Acts. I am also listening to John MacArthur preach through Acts. When reading the part where Stephen was dragged in front of the Sanhedrin and about to answer charges of blasphemy, we read the following:

And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:15)

As is the way with the Spirit, he got my attention to focus on the part that said ‘the face of an angel.’

I envisioned Stephen’s face full of serene glory, bright and shining. It reminded me of the verse when Moses had been with God and Moses’ face shone so brightly the people were scared and urged Moses to cover it with a veil. (Exodus 34:30, 35, cf. 2 Corinthians 3:13).

Other incidences of a person’s face shining with glory were also in the New Testament, this time it was Jesus-

There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:2)

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. (Luke 9:29)

Moses, Stephen, Jesus, faces shining with glory. I want that. I want that because when someone sees me I want them to see Jesus. I don’t want them to see my face, but a serenely joyful face, so different from the faces in the crowd. I want people to notice something different about me. The something different, of course, is Jesus.

But how? Moses was with God Himself on Mt Sinai. That was a unique occurrence. Jesus is, well, Jesus, and though He was fully man He was also fully God. So X that off the list. Stephen was filled with the spirit at a moment when supernatural ability was promised God’s people. (Matthew 10:19-20).

Still…if the Spirit’s ministry is to point people to Jesus I want Jesus to be evident in me. I know the fruit the Spirit grows will do that.

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? (2 Corinthians 3:7-8)

What else will do that? I found an answer in Ecclesiastes 8:1

Who is like the wise?

And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,

and the hardness of his face is changed.

Wisdom. The kind of wisdom that emanates and makes a face soften. Here is what the Jamieson-Fausset Commentary explains about the Ecclesiastes verse:

Praise of true wisdom continued (Ec 7:11, &c.). “Who” is to be accounted “equal to the wise man?… Who (like him) knoweth the interpretation” of God’s providences (for example, Ec 7:8, 13, 14), and God’s word (for example, see on Ec 7:29; Pr 1:6)?

face to shine—(Ec 7:14; Ac 6:15). A sunny countenance, the reflection of a tranquil conscience and serene mind. Communion with God gives it (Ex 34:29, 30).

The Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible says of the Ecclesiastes verse,

Wisdom: It beautifies a man in the eyes of his friends: It makes his face to shine, as Moses’s did when he came down from the mount; it puts honour upon a man and a lustre on his whole conversation, makes him to be regarded and taken notice of, and gains him respect (as Job 29:7, etc.); it makes him lovely and amiable, and the darling and blessing of his country. The strength of his face, the sourness and severity of his countenance (so some understand the last clause), shall be changed by it into that which is sweet and obliging. Even those whose natural temper is rough and morose by wisdom are strangely altered; they become mild and gentle, and learn to look pleasant.

The way to softening our countenance is wisdom. We absorb wisdom from above by holding close communion with Christ. We read His word, the best – and only – wisdom. Prayer is close communion with Christ, an intimate privilege that delivers wisdom because in prayer we contemplate Him. Proclaiming His truths, as Stephen did, will increase our wisdom because if what comes out of us defiles us, alternately His truths enliven us with His glory. (Mark 7:20, James 3:6).

NH Old Man of the Mountains,
a granite face. Source

To understand this as a full truth we look at its opposite. If wisdom of God softens our face and makes it serenely radiant, a man with no Godly wisdom will have a hard face. The ultimate example of this is the antichrist. We read in Daniel 8, one of the antichrist’s qualities is that he has a hard face.

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. (Daniel 8:23 KJV)

Friends, the gentle disciplines of reading the bible, prayer, and proclaiming His truth will transform us, and it’s not only the mind that is transformed (Romans 12:2) but when the mind is drenched with wisdom, truth, Jesus, it will alter our very countenance.

The upshot is, close communion with God will alter our face.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18).

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Behold His glory and it will shine upon you today, reflecting back to a dark world that needs to see it.

laver, ocean, prophecy, revelation, sea

Will Heaven Have Oceans? My Take

Posted on January 31, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I wrote this in December 2009 and I edited it and added more scriptures and Commentary excerpts. I am reviving it because there was an article linked to by Tim Challies titled “Will Heaven Have Oceans?” from The Gospel Coalition. (The Gospel Coalition has been publishing very iffy authors and squishy doctrine lately and I don’t recommend them unreservedly, if at all.)

The Gospel Coalition article about Heaven and oceans is from a series which examines difficult verses in the bible. Now, I’m not a trained theologian. There are many people who have interpreted this verse in different ways, so I can’t be dogmatic. But I am nearly so.

Why? One particular verse. If God “placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it” then I need to understand that if there is no sea, what does ‘eternal’ mean? Plus I have several other reasons I believe interpreting the text this way. See what you think. Your contributions or corrections to the discussion welcome.

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Venice FL, Lomo Camera. EPrata photo

Revelation 21:1 says-

“The New Heaven and Earth” – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.“

This disappoints many people, including myself. I love the sea and I hope that Jesus is preparing a place for me near it. Many people can’t conceive of a world without the oceans and their tides, waves, ships, and magnificent animals. Someone recently asked me about this and I agreed that it was a disappointment that the scriptures seemed to say that after the old earth passes away and the new earth is made, that the oceans will be no more. Until…

I started thinking, and remembered that the sea is a biblical symbol for heaving, undulating, rippling discontented people. Scripture interprets scripture, here is sea defined for us:

Isaiah 57:20, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud.” (NASB)

There is a support text in the bible that reinforces the notion that the wicked are like the sea:
Jude 1:11-13, “These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.”

Pulpit Commentary explains the use of the word ‘sea’ in context to Revelation 13:1. The reference is to the beast that rises from the sea. Is the antichrist actually a beast, actually rising from the sea?

The sea, again, is the type of instability, confusion, and commotion, frequently signifying the ungovernable nations of the earth in opposition to the Church of God (cf. Revelation 17:15; Revelation 21:1)

I believe the reference to the sea in Revelation 21:1 could be a symbolic reference just as it was in the Revelation verses and Jude and in Isaiah.

Lubec Maine. EPrata photo

An alternate interpretation could be that reference to the sea as the name for the bronze laver. Here, 1 Kings 7:23 has the verse:

“Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.”

Also the Sea is referenced in 2 Chronicles 4:2, Jeremiah 52:17, 2 Kings 16:17.

In Revelation 21, the reference being to ‘no more sea’ could mean that as in Isaiah’s symbolism, there are no more wicked (sea), they have all been judged and put into outer darkness. Or in 1st Kings, there is no need for a laver (sea) because there is no longer any need to sacrifice and clean up. There is no need to wash before sacrificing since Jesus washed us all, and there are no more wicked people. We are all clean by then.

I thought further. A third reason I believe there will be a sea, is this. If God created a sea and its animals on the third day and declared it “good,” and also created the land and their animals and declared them good, then why would He abandon the sea at the renewal of the earth but not the land? Does that mean it is ‘not-good’ now? God is not inconsistent. It doesn’t make sense.

Nassau Bahamas. EPrata photo

One smaller piece of reasoning, in Revelation 10:4-6, we read of the Angel standing on the sea and on the land, and He swore by the sea and by the land that there would be no more delay in rendering judgment and that the mystery of God would be fulfilled. A promise from heaven made by the Angel swearing an oath on the sea and land…is serious. I highly doubt God would allow an oath to be made with the sea as the witness and then later delete the sea.

In still more reasons, Jesus said in Matthew 19:28

“I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Rev 21:5 repeats the concept ‘at the renewal of all things,’

“And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

All things being made new means all things!

I believe that this means what He created in the 6 days, the first beginning of “all things.”

Finally, The sea’s boundary is eternal.

Jeremiah 5:22–

‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

There exists a decree from the lips of the LORD who said it will stand for all eternity: that there is a sea-sand boundary over which the sea will never cross. For this decree to be in force eternally, there must always be sand and sea.

There are support texts in the bible that reinforces the notion that there is an eternal decree:

Job 38:8-11

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
And I placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

Psalm 104:9

You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.

Proverbs 8:29

When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

Venice FL. Lomo camera. EPrata photo

Finally, Matthew Henry’s commentary explains thus:

“The new heaven and the new earth will not be separate from each other; the earth of the saints, their glorified, bodies, will be heavenly. The old world, with all its troubles and tumults, will have passed away. There will be no sea; this aptly represents freedom from conflicting passions, temptations, troubles, changes, and alarms; from whatever can divide or interrupt the communion of saints.”

My conclusion, based on scripture, is that when John declares, “and there was no longer any sea” that if we substitute Isaiah’s definition for sea, OR the laver being the sea, rely on the promise of the renewal of all things, and know that there is an eternal decree for a sea-sand boundary, and that Jesus swore an oath by the land and the sea, that all things means ALL things, then we can safely propose that in the New Earth, there will likely be an ocean kind of sea. Hallelujah!

atheism, discernment, encouragement, Perry Noble, prophecy

A few good links: ‘One True God’ free download workbook; Meaning of Pastor, Atheism, CT quake swarm, more

Posted on January 17, 2015 by elizabethprata

Here are a few good links.

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One True God

Justin Peters wrote on Facebook this week,

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, download this free Bible study and tear into the Book. For your edification:

One True God – workbook PDF

Written by Paul Washer. I haven’t looked at the content, but I trust Peters and Washer to know good material. Take a look and see it if suits you.

Thank you Pastor, for developing good materials for us. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11)

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What does Pastor mean anymore?

A Pastor friend of mine from Maine posted this. I read it and I thought it was excellent. I don’t know the pastor who wrote it nor his church, but this particular article was very good.

Disembodied Bodies, Mark Driscoll, and How “Pastor” Has Lost All Meaning

With one simple click of the mouse, Christians can be pastored by their favorite pastor. Regardless of the miles between them, open your web browser and in just a few keystrokes, your preferred preacher is pastoring your soul…except, not really.

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. (1 Corinthians 4:1)

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Hail Satan

Tory MP comes out as atheist.
A Minister of Parliament (MP) of the Tory Party ‘came out’ as an atheist. He said that there is much pressure to at least pretend to believe in God. He said he can ‘come out’ now because his term is ending and he will not run again.

The MP was speaking at a debate on a private members bill which calls for prayers to be read at the start of council meetings. At the start of his speech, he noted that,

At a meeting of Lake Worth City Commission last month, the invocation was given by an atheist called Preston Smith. And he began his invocation with the words, ‘May the efforts of this Council blend the righteousness of Allah with the all-knowing wisdom of satan.’ The fact that the effect of the public sector equality duty on this bill is at local authority’s choosing to hold religious observance in their meetings will not then be able lawfully to discriminate against the observances of the religion of Satanism.

What the MP does not realize is that he is in exactly the same camp as the people who worship Allah and satan.

Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (2 Samuel 2:22)

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Earthquakes in Diverse places!

4th straight day of earthquakes in Conn.

A 2.2-magnitude earthquake has rattled eastern Connecticut again. In what’s becoming a daily seismic event, the Weston Observatory of Boston College said the earthquake occurred at about 4:40 a.m. Thursday near Plainfield, where previous earthquakes were recorded. It says two minor earthquakes were recorded on Wednesday and another on Tuesday. Several were recorded on Monday and last week, too.

Connecticut officials coordinate earthquake preparation

After daily earthquakes in eastern Connecticut over the past week, officials have met to discuss ways the state can respond and residents can prepare.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. (Matthew 24:7-8)

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SBC in full-on meltdown?

SBC-affiliated Beth Moore is allowed to speak God’s alleged prophetic word with no rebuke from the allegedly most conservative denomination. Perry Noble of the Southern Baptist Convention’s NewSpring church in SC re-wrote the ten commandments in a Christmas Eve sermon he delivered. As James Duncan at The Pajama Pages wrote,

On Christmas Eve, Perry Noble gifted the world a rewritten Ten Commandments. In so doing, he contradicted Scripture, celebrated his ignorance of the Bible, and ultimately rejected the gospel.

And LifeWay engages in fraud by trading on God’s word in heaven tourism for filthy lucre, causing an outcry and forced to pull one of the heaven tourism books, The Onion weighs in with a (deservedly) mocking opinion:

Publisher Pulls Book after Boy Admits He didn’t Go To Heaven

And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:2)

PS: Phil Johnson has published further statements from Tyndale related to the Heaven book which show demonstrably the publishing house knew the boy had repeatedly said he not gone to heaven and are lying about not knowing.

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

And just in case you ever need it,

How to Give a Pill to a Cat

atlanta, homosexuality, kelvin cochran, prophecy

Atlanta Fire Chief Cochran fired for Christian views on homosexuality

Posted on January 8, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

This is the story of Kelvin Cochran, former Atlanta Fire Chief.

But it’s so much more. It is really the story of how to glorify God when you are being persecuted.

It’s how to publicly express your faith in love when the world hates you.

It’s seeing the miracle of God using for good what they meant for evil.

The beginning of the story is that Kelvin Cochran, family man, Baptist, Sunday School teacher, men’s Bible study leader, and Atlanta Fire Chief, wrote a book in 2013 stemming from his bible study class, entitled “Who Told You That You Are Naked?” The title refers to the moment in Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, and hid from God when they heard Him walking in the garden. God asked the man and woman, “who told you that you were naked?” Throughout his book, Cochran also refers to being naked as being not-covered with the righteousness of Christ.

In Cochran’s book when he refers to naked men, of course he isn’t being literal. It refers to the nakedness unsaved people live in with being exposed to Jesus without the covering of His righteous blood.

Mr Cochran shares his faith, something that he stated in the book that “it’s his first priority within the department “to cultivate its culture to the glory of God.” Chief Cochran has said in many interviews that this job as the Atlanta City Fire Chief is a dream come true. That ever since he was five years old, he has pursued a career as a firefighter. And yet for all that focused intent on pursuing his life’s dream, he puts Jesus first. The purpose of Kelvin Cochran’s life is to glorify God, and the Fire Station is just as good a place as any other on earth in which to be Christ-like and to speak of his faith. Where Chief Cochran loves to be is the Station, where he longs to be is with Jesus. His duty as a Christian is to show people his love for Jesus in heaven while Cochran is still on earth.

Along the way, he published a book. It’s aimed at men, how to be good husbands, leaders, men, based on God’s standards for doctrine and for life. In it, Cochran spelled out exactly what God’s standards for purity are, purity in works, purity in thought, and including sexual purity.

Cochran wrote,

“Uncleanness – whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, all other forms of sexual perversion.”
“Naked men refuse to give in, so they pursue sexual fulfillment through multiple partners, with the opposite sex, the same sex, and sex outside of marriage and many other vile, vulgar and inappropriate ways which defile their body – temple and dishonor God.”

Less than a half a page in the 160-page book mentioned homosexuality.

That doesn’t matter to the homosexual people.

The First Amendment of the United States’ national constitution, part of the United States’ Bill of Rights, says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

Not for Kelvin Cochran. Not for an increasing number of Christians.

The Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transsexual lobby discovered the book’s existence in November of 2014, and raised an outcry. Cochran was suspended with no pay for one month. He was due back to work this week.

Various reasons were given for his suspension.
–he distributed the book on government property without prior consent of the Mayor (his boss)
–he failed to alert the Mayor he was writing the book
–his views likely mean he has in the past, or will in the future, discriminate against LGBT people in hiring practices at the Fire Station
–his book is in violation of the city’s standard of conduct
–his language is so extreme, so belittling of gay and transgender people that he could not effectively lead a diverse workforce

During the one-month suspension, no one heard from Cochran. On Sunday, January 3, he did speak at Atlanta’s First Baptist church during the GA Baptist Convention regarding his testimony. The Times-Herald reported,

Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin J. Cochran spoke to the “blessings of suffering” during his message delivered at First Baptist Church on Sunday. Coming off a one-month suspension because of a passage on homosexuality in a self-published book he wrote, Cochran expressed that his time off allowed him to spend more time with his family and enjoy the Christmas season

“God intended for men and women are to be together to have children and populate the Earth,” Cochran said. “And any sex outside marriage and outside of a man and woman in holy matrimony is against the word of God. For that stand, I have been laid off for 30 days without pay.” However, Cochran emphasized that he is not a victim of his beliefs, nor is he discouraged or disheartened.

I love our city, and honor and respect our mayor and love all the people of the world,” Cochran said. “I took an oath to die for all people, under any circumstance. This is not about me, it’s about the Lord.” Cochran stated that his reputation was not on the line. “I took a stand for Christ, and it’s his reputation that is on the line,” he said. “Jesus never throws us under the bus. He will be glorified and I will be vindicated once all the truth comes out.”

On Monday, the one-month suspension was to be concluded. Mayor Kasim Reed was to have pondered, investigated and come to a decision. He did.

Chief Cochran was fired.

The LGBT members of our community have a right to be able to express their views and convictions about sexuality and deserve to be respected for their position without hate or discrimination,” Cochran told me in an exclusive interview. “But Christians also have a right to express our belief regarding our faith and be respected for our position without hate and without discrimination. In the United States, no one should be vilified, hated or discriminated against for expressing their beliefs.”

Mayor Reed disagrees that it is about religious faith. Reed says it is about judgment. Chief Cochran’s judgment that is, being impaired due to extreme views.

There is some back and forth about Mayor Reed’s knowledge of Cochran’s book. A sort of what did Reed know and when did he know it?

Reed said that he had no knowledge that Cochran was writing a book. However, Cochran said the director of Atlanta’s ethics office had not only given him permission to write the book, but to also mention in his biography that he was the city’s fire chief. Cochran said he gave a copy of the book to Mayor Reed in January 2014 and the mayor told him he planned on reading it during an upcoming trip.

Cochran wants to make clear that he does not hate anyone. “The essence of the Christian faith is a love without condition, sir,” he told me. “I have demonstrated that love in the fire service for 34 years. There’s not any person of any people group that has interacted with me for any measure of time that can say I have hate or disregard or discrimination in my heart for any people group.”

Ex-Chief Cochran says he has no plans to appeal.

What does the bible say about situations like these?

1. They are inevitable. If you’re a witnessing, mature Christian in the world, you will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12). None of this is a surprise to Chief Cochran. None of it should be a surprise to you or me, either. Our response to persecution is key. Cochran said he is not a victim of his beliefs nor is he disheartened or discouraged. I am sure that in addition, Chief Cochran feels blessed in some measure to be sharing the persecution of His king.

The Hatred of the World … “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (John 15:19-20)

2. Turn the other cheek. Chief Cochran demonstrated the values Jesus imposed in Matthew 5:39, when Cochran says he hates no one, loves all people.

But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

John MacArthur said in his blog essay Persecution and Submission,

…when persecution comes to the church, true believers don’t flee. Nor do they fight back against the persecution, or try to protest or legislate it away. Instead, authentic Christians submit to persecution.

3. He honors his boss. Mayor Reed had asked Chief Cochran not to speak to the media during the one-month suspension, and Cochran did not. Prior to that, Cochran said he’d gone to his boss’s Ethics Committee to receive advice on the protocols regarding the book he was writing, and he said he also gave a copy to his boss. Cochran was doing the proper thing with his superior officers. The Chief says he has no plans to appeal. The bible says,

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, (1 Peter 2:13).

4. Remember that the world has an illogical mind when it comes to sin. Mayor Reed said of Cochran:
“His judgment and ability to manage the department was the subject of this inquiry.” Here is Cochran’s bio, and mind you, it’s only an excerpt. There’s more.

Kelvin J. Cochran serves as First Vice President and Director of International Association Of Fire Chiefs Inc. His formal education post High School includes the U.S. Fire Administration National Fire Academy, Wiley College, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management (1999). In 2009, President Obama appointed him as the U.S. fire administrator for the United States Fire Administration. Mr. Cochran holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech (2004). Previously, he was a 26-year-veteran of Shreveport, LA fire department, having joined as firefighter in 1981, progressing through the ranks of training officer and assistant chief training officer before becoming fire chief in 1999.

It seems to me that his ‘ability to lead and manage the department’ would be stellar, and in fact, has been for 6 years. What I ask is, would the same level of scrutiny be present with an LGBT person leading and managing the department? Would they have sound judgment and no bias when it comes to hiring, training, and leading Christian folk they know object to their lifestyle? Of course not. But sin makes the carnal mind illogical, they have a debased mind. That means they don’t think straight. (Romans 1:28). We understand that and simply continue showing the love of Christ, as Chief Cochran has done.

5. Trust the Lord. Chief Cochran ended his message to the Convention gathered at Fist Baptist Church by reciting Psalm 27, which he had memorized,

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations … Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

6. The LORD always uses His people for Good. Chief Cochran knows that good will come from this. It has already. Many people, I’m sure, are encouraged by his response and take inspiration from it. I’m one of them. He is providing a template for how to respond when persecution comes to my door. The bible says,

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20).

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28).

Chief Cochran’s goal was to glorify Christ. He has done so, in an unexpected way. When the time comes, may we do the same.

elijah, enoch, paul, prophecy, rapture, two witnesses

All the raptures in the bible

Posted on January 7, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I was listening to Tommy Ice on pre-Tribulation rapture on a youtube video last week. It was a long video, over an hour, and I only had time to listen to about ten minutes. I figured I’d get back to it.

But I lost it in the flow of the dozens of music videos I subsequently watched while on vacation. Viva vacation.

All this to say I’m sorry I can’t post a link to the video, but here is the part that interested me.

We Christians know about the rapture. We understand that at the moment the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (the full number, Romans 11:25), the rapture will occur and Jesus will descend from heaven. We will vanish from the earth in a moment, a twinkling of an eye. The dead will be no means be left behind, they will also be raised and we’ll all meet in the air. Jesus will lead us to heaven. Then, the final 7 years remaining to complete the Old Testament decree regarding the Jews will resume on earth. It will be a time of Godly wrath, unleashed full force.

It’s fascinating to think about going on our daily business, driving, washing, feeding the dog, and suddenly we will hear the trumpet of God, and the next moment we’ll be airborne! The next moment we’ll be in heaven, where no eye has seen nor any ear has heard the things prepared for us!! It is a singular, unique, momentous event!

However as I listened Dr Ice put something together in my mind. There have been several raptures already.

Enoch.

James Tissot, ~1900

Father of the longest lived man on earth, Methuselah. Enoch was the 7th from Adam. He was a prophet. (Jude 1:14). He lived 365 years, then God took him home. He was the only one in a long line of the genealogical record to not have died. “And then he died…And then he died…And then he was not, for God took him.” Raptured.

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (Genesis 5:24)

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5)

Elijah.

Prophet, servant of God. Slew all the false prophets of Baal by the sword. (1 Kings 18). Mentored Elisha. Raptured.

And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2:11)

Jesus.

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11). Raptured.

Paul, Isaiah.

Paul wrote about “a man” who was caught up to the third heaven. Most scholarly consensus is that Paul is speaking of himself. Note that Paul says “caught up” in some translations it’s “snatched up”. In the Greek it’s the word harpazo. This means snatched up. It is the same word that describes the bride’s snatching up, or of being caught up.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. (2 Corinthians 12:2)

Isaiah- This one is more speculative, but in Isaiah 6:1 Isaiah wrote that he saw the throne room. Whether in the body or not…we can’t be sure. He described the altar, the train of the Lord, the pillars,the seraphim crying HOLY HOLY HOLY. However after Isaiah exclaimed he was undone, he was a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, the seraphim took a coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips. If Isaiah was not in the body then this is metaphorical, however the word for mouth in Hebrew is mouth, the word used here. My personal opinion is that Isaiah was bodily caught up to heaven as Paul was.

Two Witnesses.

In Revelation 11 we are told that there will be Two Witnesses sent by God to preach to the entire world. This will be during the Tribulation

But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. (Revelation 11:11-12).

Many people think, and I include myself, that the Two Witnesses are Enoch and Elijah. Since it is appointed for man to die once then the judgment, and they never did, that this means the Two Witnesses are those two men and their death will occur during the Tribulation. Anyway, The Two Witnesses will be raptured.

Philip.

I wrote about his remarkable instant journey from point A to point B in Gaza: here. I have always been fascinated by the practical moments. After Philip was finished baptizing the Ethiopian Eunuch, he was snatched up and set down 20miles away. He wasn’t raptured to heaven but to two places on earth, but still, the notion of being bodily taken up by the scruff of the neck like a kitten and plunked down some there else with no warning is amazing. In the sense of a harpazo, a catching away, Philip’s experience fills the bill. His snatching up is the same word used on the Bride’s rapture: harpazo.

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:39-40).

We’ve talked about various raptures in the past. They’ve all been one man or at most two. The most startling and eagerly anticipated event of all is no doubt

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

This will occur at an unknown time in the future, and it will happen to a large number of dead and alive believers.

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.(1 Corinthians 15:52-53).

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,d that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

While being raptured is not a usual nor a frequent event, neither is it made-up as some like to claim. As we can see in the bible, it has happened before and will happen again. It isn’t far-fetched and it isn’t an “escape.” A catching up or a snatching away of persons or groups of people is an event that God uses in His plan to accomplish the things He wants to accomplish. Simple as that.

How wonderful He is so sovereign He is able to put us where He wants and to take us up when He wants. How majestic are His ways. What a blessed hope our rapture is.

Come soon Lord Jesus!

bible, clarity, eschatology, last things, macarthur, mohler, perspicuity, prophecy

Why prophecy is important (The world is unraveling)

Posted on December 27, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I love prophecy. To me, it is the clearest identifier of God as sovereign over the universe, the earth, humans, and time. He writes history in advance, because He is king of all, and what He says will come to pass.

I also love studying the bible. I believe it is the highest and best use of time, to get to know the attributes of the LORD, to seek His face through what He has told us. If you want ‘direct revelation’, the bible cannot be beat for informing us of our Lord and King, Jesus.

The bible is knowable and understandable to the Christian. We have the Holy Spirit in us to illuminate His word to us. (Ephesians 1:17-18). The Holy Spirit teaches us spiritual things. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). Of course there are some things in the bible we cannot understand, such as the Trinity, One God in three Persons. We cannot understand the Spirit’s overcoming Mary and producing a child. We do not understand all the ways in which God thinks. However, for the most part, the doctrines upon which He has given to us, are understandable.

One such doctrine is the doctrine of eschatology. This is the doctrine of ‘last things’, or end times. Just because there are many people who won’t or can’t understand the various threads of prophecy does not mean there exists confusion about what He plans to do. The pre-tribulation rapture is one of these understandable doctrines, clearly outlined in the bible to those who care to learn. Some people say Revelation is difficult, I find it easy to understand. I do find Daniel difficult, but that does not stop me from studying it, nor from turning to other scripture to help me interpret Daniel’s book. It can be done, and it has been done. Oliver B. Greene’s commentary on Daniel is wonderful. John MacArthur’s book “Because the Time is Near” is a clear explanation of Revelation.

Even this is a doctrine! It is called the Perspicuity of Scripture. According to the Theopedia, the perspicuity of scripture means,

The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (often called the “perspicuity of Scripture”) teaches that “the meanings of the text can be clear to the ordinary reader, that God uses the text of the Bible to communicate His person and will.”

“The witness of the Church throughout the ages is that ordinary people, who approach it in faith and humility, will be able to understand what the Bible is getting at, even if they meet with particular points of difficulty here and there.”

Yet there are some people who refuse to believe the doctrines of last things, because so many other people are mixed up over them. ‘They can’t be understood, so why try?’ I was told by one man in church. “I’m a pan-tribber, it’ll all work out in the end,” he said.

Illustrator, Chris Koelle, The Book of Revelation

That is a highly offensive statement, and I said so to his face. It is a blight on Jesus, the Spirit, and God who inspired it, and all the Apostles who wrote the inspired word, and all the martyrs who protected it, to be so blatantly dismissive of 30% of God’s holy doctrines. Jesus did not reveal last things to John, nor the angel to Daniel, so God’s people could mock them.

Did you know that every NT book except Philemon mentions last things?

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

So I was so pleased when John MacArthur was asked about eschatology in his latest Q & A session at Grace Community Church. In Q&A session #62 it was stated by the interviewer that they had received more than a dozen questions regarding eschatology.

First, MacArthur noted that a church without a solid understanding of eschatology has got a huge loose end. Here are MacArthur’s words on the importance of the church understanding and teaching last things:

a church without a solid biblical eschatology, meaning understanding of the end of history has got a huge loose end. It’s huge. I said something about that this morning when I was kind of wrapping up. I said, the Jews wanted to force all the prophesies regarding the Messiah into His first coming. We have Christians who want to take all the prophesies concerning Christ and push them back into His first coming. They’re called pretrerists, amillenialists. So they have this theology with this totally open end. It just has no closure. They don’t seem to care particularly. It’s almost like a badge of Reformed loyalty to be unsure about how everything ends.

I am running into this attitude more frequently, the badge of loyalty to uncertainty. “I’m super-spiritually humble because I refuse to state how things will end.” Or, “I’m super tolerant of all the different interpretations, because who am I to say dogmatically? It’s all just beyond little ole me.” Uncertainty is the new loyalty. But is that right? Is that honoring to Jesus? Here’s more from MacArthur.

I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t work well with me. First of all, I don’t think God gave a clear beginning and just kind of lost Himself at the end. I don’t think if Genesis 1 says that God created in six days and there’s no question about it, and He lays out exactly how He did it; and you get to the book of Revelation and you hear about periods of certain weeks and certain months and certain years and a thousand year millennium, and then an eternal state. I don’t think God lost His way at the end. I don’t think He was confused at the end. I think the end is as precise as the beginning. To be honest with you, I am far more concerned about the end than I am the beginning. The beginning is over. I’m glad it was what it was, and it explains why things are the way they are.

This is an important point. God did not state it clearly in the beginning and then back away from clarity for the end. He is just as clear in Revelation as He was in Genesis.

Source

As for the people who say, ‘There are so many interpretations, it’s just best to let go and let God. It’ll all work out in the end, anyhow,’ I say that’s just a bunch of lazy hooey. There are not many views of last things. There is only one view, God’s view, and He has shared it with us.

But I don’t think you can over estimate the value of a church with a clear ecclesiology and a clear eschatology. Clear understanding of the church, and a clear understanding of what the Bible says about how things are going to end. It does say something. It doesn’t say everything, and it doesn’t say whatever you want it to say. It doesn’t have ten views or five views or four views. There’s just one view.

MacArthur went on to describe a wonderful moment in Kazakhstan some years ago. Kazakhstan is east of Mongolia and north of Turkey. It is around the world. He was asked to teach 1600 men at a pastor’s conference. MacArthur taught 8 hours a day for 6 days a week. The men were hungry for the word, to be taught. They had been behind the Iron Curtain and now were released into more freedoms, including the freedom to practice religion, and to gather. They’d been denied a congregation, education, commentaries, access to internet or anything resembling study aids. They had each other, and the bible…and the Holy Spirit. So they wanted to know about all the doctrines, including eschatology.

MacArthur said,

I laid out; I went through the book of Revelation systematically and showed them the end. They said to me after that – I took a day to do that. The end of that day they said, “You believe what we believe.” I said, “I believe what you believe?” Same Bible. Guess what? It’s so clear that people with no training, no seminary, and no commentaries could understand what the book of Revelation said.

The reason I gave you the illustration about Kazakhstan is because that is as alien a place as you could ever be. Thirty-five hours to get there. You step off the plane. I’ve never been there. I don’t know what’s going on. I teach them a whole day on the end times, and they tell me that’s exactly what they believe. How did they come to that? They don’t have seminaries. They don’t have books. They don’t have anything. That’s what the Bible says. You have to go to school and listen to somebody who deceives you to undo that because that’s what’s there.

MacArthur has said before that any believer who landed on a desert island with nothing else except his bible can and would understand eschatology. The 1,600 Kazakhstan men were as close to desert island as you can get in this modern world, and eschatology was made understandable to them- because they studied it.

Source

As a note, what a glory it is that we believers have this unifying thread! What a moment of recognition between a Scottish-descended pastor from Sun Valley CA and Kazakhstani men isolated behind the iron curtain, to know each other as brothers! This unifying thread is the holy word, the Bible.

For men to say, ‘Ack, it’s all too much for me, it’ll all work out in the end, anyway,’ is a direct rejection of the wonder of being able to recognize and commune with brothers via a common and eternal understanding of God’s word, wherever you are on earth.

Rejecting eschatology is also a rejection of the work that the Spirit has done in men that He has raised up. Many resources are out there, as I mentioned, commentaries, sermons, books, timelines…it is all there for us.

To continue what MacArthur said about eschatology,

I think it matters how it all ends. I think God is glorified when we acknowledge Him as the Creator, the beginning; and I think He is glorified when we acknowledge Him as the consummator, the end. I think that’s a huge benefit for Christians looking at the world and wondering where is this going? Where is this going?

In talking to Al Mohler when I was back there a few weeks ago, he said he’s more eschatological than he’s ever been. He’s almost apocalyptic because he sees a world that just there is no way to reverse this. This thing is in a massive free fall, and there is no way to stop this. He’s pretty well-attuned to the way things are, and he says, “I’ve never felt so eschatological, so apocalyptic about the way the world is going.” Well, if you want to understand where the world is going, you can as a believer. That gives us such a powerful confidence that all that is coming is laid out for us on the pages of Scripture. I think that’s a treasure that a church can’t underestimate.

Do not reject the treasure of eschatology. It is just as much a treasure as the Psalms and the Gospels. Do not reject the work we are to do through eschatology. We have the answer to how it will all end. Lost people are confused and frightened about where this world is headed. We know it. Do not be afraid to study, and then to share.

What message does it send when a mature man of the faith in church makes a public statement dismissing eschatology? It tells the next generation that it is not worth studying, and bible illiteracy increases, just at the time when the next generation may be the very generation to see these things come to pass and could have been more fervent and diligent about sharing the truth with lost and confused people.

John MacArthur is a unique individual and is in a unique position. It was common in the old days for a pastor to stay for decades. Not so any more, where the average pastoral stay is 5 years or less. MacArthur has been at Grace Church for 46 years. He is 75 years old. He has seen history unfold, prophecy fulfilled and apostasy rise. He said,

I’m seeing this world unravel. There doesn’t seem to be any way back. I mean this is totally out of control. This is a free fall down a black hole. So, you can’t just say, “Well, eschatology doesn’t matter.” That is not helpful. People want answers. Where is this thing going? It’s not fair to God, it’s a dishonor to God to say, “Well, the Bible is not clear.” It is clear. It is absolutely clear.

Yes, it is sad and offensive that there are so many people who refuse to study last things. Those who dismiss the Spirit’s work in inspiring that portion of the bible are simply missing out on so much glory. It is also sad that so many brethren have unfortunately come to different understandings of what God clearly laid out. But does that mean we reject it all? Does that mean that is is useless for us individually to study it? No.

I just wish that the church was unified on what the Bible says. I don’t like it that there are Christians who don’t believe in Creation, but believe in some form of evolution. I think that dishonors God and confuses people. I don’t like it that there are Christians who don’t accept what the Bible says about the end either. But I think it’s wonderful that we do, and the answers are there.

God’s word has all the answers, including last things. Please do not be afraid to jump in and read, learn, pray, and receive illumination from the Spirit. Do not be afraid to seek credible, quality study aids. Always remember the perspicuity of scripture. The bible is clear.

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Even the pots will be holy

Posted on December 27, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar.

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And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.

~Zechariah 14:20-21

EPrata photo

Pastor Steve Hadley once said while preaching through Zechariah, that pound for pound, Zechariah contains more prophecy than any other book of the bible, including Revelation. It is an astounding book, magnificent in its history, prophecy, and terrible beauty.

Here, we see the very end of Zechariah’s book, the last verse. Zechariah is speaking of the Day when Jesus (the coming Messiah, the Lord) will rule on earth during the Millennial kingdom. John Walvoord explains the verse in his commentary:

In that day holiness will characterize millennial life (cf. 8:3) whether it be in public life (the bells of the horses), religious life (the cooking pots in the LORD‘s house, the millennial temple, Ezek. 40–43), or private life (every pot in Jerusalem and Judah). Perhaps the general thought is the removal of a dichotomy between secular and sacred. In the Old Testament a Canaanite had become symbolic of anything ceremonially unclean and ungodly (the dishonest “merchant” in Hosea 12:7 is lit., “the Canaanite”). In the millennial temple no such defilement will occur. Thus Zechariah’s prophetic book which began with a call to repentance (Zech. 1:2–6) concludes with an affirmation that all will be holy to the LORD (14:20–21). Because He is the LORD Almighty and the Holy One, He will establish holiness throughout the glorious Millennium!

Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Zechariah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1571–1572). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

I like even better Gill’s Exposition. What a joyous time it will be, when ALL is holy!

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts,…. Such will be the number of sacrifices and sacrificers, that the pots in the Lord’s house will not be sufficient; wherefore every pot, in city or country, shall be sanctified and devoted to holy uses:

and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein; this denotes, as before, the general holiness of the professors of religion in those times; and that there will be no difference in the vessels of the Lord’s house, or any distinction of Jew and Gentile; but they will be all spiritual worshippers, and offer up the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise to the Lord

christmas, incarnation, prophecy, shiloh, simeon

Simeon’s Song

Posted on December 22, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Rembrandt: Simeon’s Song

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas Story of Jesus’ Incarnation is Simeon’s Song.

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” (Luke 2:25).

Of those verses, Charles Spurgeon said it best:

WHAT a biography of a man! How short and yet how complete! We have seen biographies so wordy, full one half is nonsense and much of the other half too dull to be worth reading. We have seen large volumes spun out of men’s letters. Writing desks have been broken open and private diaries exposed to the world. Nowadays if a man is a little celebrated, his signature, the house in which be was born, the place where he dines and everything else is thought worthy of public notice.

Short biographies, which give a concise and exact account of the whole man, are the best. What do we care about what Simeon did—where he was born, where he was married, what street he used to walk through, or what colored coat he wore? We have a very concise account of his history and that is enough. His “name was Simeon.” He lived “in Jerusalem.” “The same man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” Beloved, that is enough of a biography for any one of us. If, when we die, so much as this can be said of us—our name. Our business, “waiting for the Consolation of Israel.” Our character, “just and devout.” Our companionship, having the Holy Spirit upon us—that will be sufficient to hand us down, not to time, but to eternity memorable among the just and estimable among all them that are sanctified!

At the time in Israel, faith was in short supply. Of course, Christianity didn’t exist yet, it would fully flower in their generation, but not yet. Judaism, which was supposed to have brought the light to the world, had become dark and corrupt- unrecognizable to the One it was supposed to point to. (Jeremiah 7:11). This was a time when what was supposed to bring the Light was at its darkest and most corrupt. Where was faith? Where was a right heart? Where was a mind with a right understanding of the promise of Israel? In a few people, and as we see here, it was in Simeon.

Simeon’s character was enumerated in Luke 2:25 gloriously and concisely. Note that his entire being was laying in hopeful wait for the Messiah. His old body tottered up to the temple each day, waiting and waiting, for what? To be with the Messiah that was promised, maybe even to say (as Spurgeon proposed) “Perhaps He will come today.”

We can learn from Simeon’s example. Despite the corruption ongoing all around him, despite national occupation and oppression by a hostile regime, despite widespread apostasy, despite greed, pride, and the blackened hearts of the priests, scribes and Pharisees who were supposed to shepherd the people, Simeon persevered in joyful expectation and faith.

He had the Spirit with him, but we have the Spirit IN us! We have the New Testament, knowing the second advent will occur, that the rectification of all that is evil will happen. We know that Jesus will return to take His place on HIS earth as rightful owner, finally and blessedly crushing the head of the serpent. (Genesis 2:15).

Upon seeing the Babe presented at the Temple, Simeon “took him up in his arms and blessed God”… Let us take Jesus up into our hearts and minds with all our strength and soul, and let us bless God for Him, Shiloh.

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10).