prophecy – Page 53

arab spring, middle east, ottomans, prophecy, turkey

What’s going on in Turkey and how does it figure into prophecy?

Posted on June 7, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Can you believe the Arab Spring in Syria has been going on since January 2011 (or Dec 2010 depending on which source). For two and a half years, the Arab world has experienced unrest like it never has before. Dictators, Parliaments or Presidents fell in rapid succession. The civil war in Syria is taking a tens of thousands of lives and going on its third year. And now Turkey seems to be the latest victim of the unrest that now characterizes the region. The BBC reports on the latest nation’s uprising,

“[T]housands of anti-government protesters have rallied again in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. Earlier, Mr Erdogan vowed to press ahead with a controversial proposal to redevelop a park in Istanbul. A local protest against the plan turned into political unrest in Istanbul, Ankara and across Turkey. The original sit-in at Gezi Park last Friday mushroomed after police cracked down on activists defending the green space near Taksim Square from developers. For days, demonstrators in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities have called for the three-term prime minister to quit.”

Turkey? The one nation that had seemed calm in the face of constant teargas, bullets, and fists in the air? Yes. And it was inevitable.

Recep Erdogan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003. Initially he brought stability and a westernization to this country. He was part of the negotiations to enter the European Union. He was allied with Israel. He brought inflation under control. He ended internal conflict amongst factions. He stabilized the party and thus, Parliament. The west loved him.

However as time went on, “On his second and third terms in office, despite the improvements brought about as a result of the first term, the government mostly gave up on the European Union backed democratization process and became increasingly authoritarian on press freedom, [more journalists are in jail in Turkey than in China!] restrictive on Kurdish minority rights and dismissive and authoritative on formerly dominant political powers in Ankara. Democratic initiative on Kurdish minority rights, led by Erdoğan, stalled.” (source).

After all, Erdogan “once called democracy a train from which you get off once you reach the station.”

Like Hitler did?

Source

Of late, the nation’s ranking for press freedom slipped. Erdogan began censoring internet access, he broke ties with Israel, and most recently, severely tightened restrictions on use and sale of alcohol due to religious reasons.

Erdogan is Sunni Muslim, remember.

In February 2013, Erdoğan called Zionism a “crime against humanity“, comparing it to Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and fascism.

Uh-oh.

And in June of 2013 for the first time in ten years in Turkey, an uprising occurred. “June 2013 saw protests against the perceived authoritarianism of Erdogan and his policies, starting from a small sit-in in Istanbul in defense of a city park. After the police’s intense reaction with tear gas, the protests grew each day for the next seven days. Faced by the largest mass protest in a decade, Erdogan made this controversial remark in a televised speech: “The police were there yesterday, they are there today, and they will be there tomorrow. Taksim Square cannot be allowed to be a place where marginal groups can freely roam”. (source)

Of these uprisings, The Economist explains in an article interestingly titled, Democrat or sultan? and he is illustrated as a sultan on a rug holding a modern teargas mask, “The protests are a sign of rising dissatisfaction with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s most important leader since Ataturk. The rioting spread like wildfire across the country. Over 4,000 people have been hurt and over 900 were arrested; three have died.”

Unlike the previously mentioned Arab Spring and the protests in Egypt, for example, the protests in Taksim Square in Istanbul have not been FOR Islamism in Turkey, they have been protests against Erdogan’s (perceived) increasing Islamization of the nation. (source, source). Or, at least against his continued authoritarian constriction of previously enjoyed freedoms.

In a truly democratic nation, there is tolerance for dissent. What the world witnessed this past week was extreme intolerance and further, that the go-to position from its nation’s duly elected leader is violence and heavy-handedness.

There is much debate among the world political watchdogs as to whether this is an Arab Spring for Turkey or not. Some say it the exact opposite- a Turkish Autumn, if you will. (source, source). Others

Source

say it is the first crack that will lead to a return of the Caliphate. But let’s look at what prophecy says.

“The Arab Spring is the media term for the revolutionary wave of nonviolent and violent demonstrations, violent and nonviolent protests, riots, and civil wars in the Arab world that began on 18 December 2010. To date, rulers have been forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen; civil uprisings have erupted in Bahrain and Syria; major protests have broken out in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Sudan; and minor protests have occurred in Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, and Western Sahara.”

This Arab Spring occurred within a region known as the 10/40 window. The Joshua Project describes the importance of the 10/40 Window this way-

“The 10/40 Window has several important considerations: first, the historical and Biblical significance; second, the least evangelized countries; third, the unreached people groups and cities; fourth, the dominance of three religious blocs; fifth, the preponderance of the poor; sixth, the strongholds of Satan within the 10/40 Window.”

Here is the 10/40 window on a map:

“The 10/40 Window is a term coined by Christian missionary strategist Luis Bush in 1990 to refer those regions of the eastern hemisphere, plus the European and African part of the western hemisphere, located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator, a general area that in 1990 was purported to have the highest level of socioeconomic challenges and least access to the Christian message and Christian resources on the planet.” Wikipedia list of 10/40 nations is below.

What is interesting is that many of these nations participated in the Arab Spring, and are further predicted in prophecy to be part of the major wars of the coming Tribulation times (Psalm 83, Isaiah 19, Isaiah 17, Revelation 16:12, Obadiah 1:15-18, Ezekiel 38-39, etc). One huge exception to this is that Russia is not in the 10/40 window, but is a major player in Ezekiel 38-39’s Gog Magog war.

Turkey is interesting not only because of her past part in history and her future part in history (more on these below) but her present condition as a perhaps-secretly Muslim nation with a Democratic overlay. Soon, I believe, this overlay will be ripped off as the nation’s true position will be revealed.

Turkey’s past is important to bible history and future prophecy. For example,

–Turkey was home to all seven of the churches Jesus had John write to in the book of Revelation.

–Turkey was home to half the Roman Empire. The eastern capital of the Roman Empire was Istanbul (renamed Constantinople in 330AD). Many scholars believe that because the Roman Empire was split into two halves, or two legs, that this is the reason for the imagery in Daniel 2 of the statue that represented kingdoms to come. (Daniel 2:32-35). This means that in all likelihood when the Roman Empire is revived it will carry with it the ancient eastern half, Turkey. (Daniel 2:40-41)

–Turkey was the home to the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1922. The Ottoman Caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924 when the Empire collapsed and the Caliphate’s authority and properties were transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. But Revelation speaks mysteriously of another empire, the seventh king who is also and eighth but belongs to the seventh (Revelation 17:9-11). In some way, it seems, the Ottoman Empire may be included, represented, or seen in the seven mountains and kings. (More here).

–Finally, the past Caliphate of Turkey is not to be overlooked.

“For the last 400 years of its existence, the Caliphate was claimed by the Turkish Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Though the Ottomans actively used the title only sporadically, from 1517 onwards the Ottoman Sultan came to be viewed as the de facto leader and representative of the Islamic world. From Constantinople (now Istanbul), the Ottomans ruled over an empire that, at its peak, covered Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and extended deep into Eastern Europe.” (source)

There are many calls to revive the Caliphate, even to this very week.

PA Arabs Fete ‘New Mahdi,” Establishment of Calpihate
“Thousands of PA Arabs participated in a mass rally in Ramallah earlier this week calling for the establishment of the Muslim Caliphate – the worldwide Islamist government that will “bring the coming of the Mahdi.” the Muslim messiah. The Caliphate is essentially a union of Muslim countries under the spiritual and political leadership of a single individual, the Caliph. It has been an Islamic concept since the days of Muhammad, when it was established by several of his disciples.

The last official Caliph was Abdülmecid II, who lost the office in the aftermath of the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in World War I. The best-known Caliph in the West was Suleiman the Great, an early Ottoman sultan who, in the 16th century, conquered most of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, even conquering parts of Europe, until he was stopped at “the Gates of Vienna.” With many Muslim states politically and religiously divided, and dependent on the West for support, radical Islamists have been pushing for the reestablishment of the Caliphate – this time to be led by the all-powerful Mahdi, who will unite all Muslims and establish Islam as the dominant religion in the world, ruling for several years before the “Day of Judgment”. Although the identity of the Mahdi is a secret, many Islamists believe that he is alive now…”

That Turkey is now folded into the world troubles is not a surprise. Turkey figures prominently in past and future history. Keep your eyes on Turkey, as as well as all developments in the Middle East, even as you also keep looking up. (Luke 21:28)

anti-semitism, israel, jerusalem, prophecy

Jerusalem! part 2, The Nation. "Israel to define itself as ‘national state of Jewish people’ "

Posted on May 25, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Jerusalem! Introduction

Jerusalem! Part 1, The Land

Jerusalem! Part 3, Its Glorious Spiritual Future

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Jerusalem! It is the eternal city, (Psalm 46:4, Revelation 3:12) God’s city where He has set His name, (1 Kings 11:36, 2 Chronicles 12:13) and is the city in which Immanuel (Matthew 1:23) will dwell in all His glory, (Zechariah 8:3) calling it Jehovah Shammah, The Lord is There.(Ezekiel 48:35). It is the nickname He uses when he calls His people. (Zechariah 3:2). It is a place that it figures solely as the most important land, city, and people in the history of the earth. All of history is dwindling down to one focal point: Jerusalem. So let’s take a look at this incredible place.

God chose a people and a land to bring unto Himself. These are the Israelites and His land is Israel. Its city is Jerusalem. He made this promise to Abram in Genesis 12. God was actually delivering three distinct promises to Abram, later re-named Abraham. God made a land promise, a national promise, and a spiritual promise. In part 1 we looked at the land promise. Here is the verse–

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Is Israel a great nation? Well, yes. It has developed some of the world’s most wonderful technology. It has changed an arid place into a garden, and now most of the world’s fruit is exported from there. It is a military nation, strong and mighty. It is a tiny nation, having given away land during successive political parliaments. It is only the size of Massachusetts, but it is incredible in that it simply did not exist for 1900 years and then one day it did!

NatGeo

However as much as Christians bless the nation, and pray for its deliverance, we have to be realistic. This is from a sermon titled “The Cleansing of Israel,” delivered by John MacArthur in 1977. Not much has changed since then-

“Israel is not a religious nation. I would have to say that I doubt whether been in a more irreligious nation in my life than Israel. It’s an irreligious nation. Their god is the god of armies, the god of strength, the god of surprise, the god of might, the god of racial identity, which is the big thing, but not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and not the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Jerusalem is referred to as Salem in Genesis 14:18, when Abram honored Melchizedek, King of Salem and priest of the God Most High (unusual that this one is King AND Priest, something banned later in Israel’s history. Priests always came from the tribe of Levi and Kings from the tribe of Judah).

The meeting of Abraham with Melchizedek

Ezekiel 21:25-27 prophesied the end of the kings and there has been no king rightfully officiating over Israel since King Jehoiachin in about 600BC, shortly after Ezekiel’s pronouncement. There has been no priest in Israel since the last High Priest serving when the Roman army came and overthrew the Temple in 70AD since Phannias ben Samuel and he wasn’t even from a priestly family, he was just a revolutionary. he died during the Roman overthrow.

There is still no king or priest over Israel today. And of course, no prophet since John The Baptist and then Jesus prophesied there. There was not even any nation Israel between 70Ad and 1948. By this standard, the Israel of today is merely a political entity, led by a Prime Minister, a President, and a Parliament (Knesset).

Even during the period between May 1948 and June 1967, Jerusalem was not in Israel’s hands. They won East Jerusalem back during the Six Day War of June 1967, wresting it from the Jordanians who were occupying it. Later that month the Israeli Knesset declared Jerusalem unified. On July 30, 1980, the Knesset passed a law declaring the City of Jerusalem to be ‘eternal and indivisible.’” The United Nations promptly condemned the action.

There is still contention today. For example, what are the city’s borders? You can search for that answer online and you’ll come up with millions of maps with dotted lines, position papers, and news articles, but no borders.

Why won’t the world declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel? No country in the world has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Many do not recognize it as a city that is even belonging to Israel! When others proclaim that Jerusalem shall be their capital, not a murmur is heard from the world.

Why won’t America declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel? We won’t even place an embassy there. The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999. This law was never enacted, due to opposition from Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. (source). The US position is aligned with the United Nations- to ‘internationalize” Jerusalem, make it be an international city.

Source Times of Israel

Why are there maps emerging one after one that not only fail to draw correct boundaries to Israel, but fail to list it in any way as even existing? This has happened over and over, including just a few days ago. Times of Israel reports, “Official UN workers in Lebanon posed with a map in which Israel did not exist, and the entire area from the Jordan to the sea was titled ”Arab Palestine.” At the launch of German-funded projects in Lebanon earlier in May, Ann Dismorr, director of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) affairs in Lebanon, held the map, which mentioned Jordan, Syria and the other neighboring countries by name — but neglected to name Israel.”

Why does the world insist on calling Israel a state, and not a nation? Or a nation and not a state? Or a nation-state? The roots of the political conflict with Jerusalem and Israel lay in the fact that the Arab world refuses to declare it a national state for the Jewish people. Israel is set to define itself, “Israel’s new government plans to pass a controversial new law defining the country as a “national state of the Jewish people” despite the presence of 1.5 million Arabs within its borders. It will be enshrined in Israel’s Basic Law – the country’s equivalent of a constitution – and lay down that The State of Israel is the National State of the Jewish People,” as the UK Telegraph reports.

Think about it. Since 1990 there have been 34 new countries to enter the world stage. A bunch of them came about as the Soviet Union dissolved. One of them was Armenia. The rest are listed below. The most recent is Sudan splitting into (Islamic) north Sudan and (Christian) South Sudan. (source)

March 21, 1990 – Namibia became independent of South Africa.
May 22, 1990 – North and South Yemen merged to form a unified Yemen.
October 3, 1990 – East Germany and West Germany merged to form a unified Germany after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
September 17, 1991 – The Marshall Islands was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony.
September 17, 1991 – Micronesia, previously known as the Caroline Islands, became independent from the United States.
January 1, 1993 – The Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent nations when Czechoslovakia dissolved.
May 25, 1993 – Eritrea was a part of Ethiopia but seceded and gained independence.
October 1, 1994 – Palau was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony.
May 20, 2002 – East Timor (Timor-Leste) declared independence from Portugal in 1975 but did not became independent from Indonesia until 2002.
June 3, 2006 – Montenegro was part of Serbia and Montenegro (also known as Yugoslavia) but gained independence after a referendum.
June 5, 2006 – Serbia became its own entity after Montenegro split.
February 17, 2008 – Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia.
July 9, 2011 – South Sudan peacefully seceded from Sudan following a January 2011 referendum. Sudan itself was the first to recognize South Sudan and did so one day early, on July 8, 2011.

Have there been successive UN Resolutions condemning their actions? Declaring where they may or may not build apartments? Fighting over which city is allowed to be their capital? Talks and endless talks over unifying territory, or splitting territory? Other nations managing as guardian large swathes of certain other nation’s’ lands? Wars? Of course not.

Only Israel sparks such attention, focus, and hatred.

Though there was a push several years ago for the vaunted ‘two-state solution’ to end the armed conflict over Israel, it subsided in 2008. I watched for years but we heard crickets on the Palestinian-Israeli peace plan. Until now. All of a sudden it revived big time. Secretary of State has rushed to Israel and environs to re-start the talks.

Yesterday the Guardian UK reported, “The British foreign secretary, William Hague, has warned of the risks of failure of the US-sponsored mission to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, suggesting that it was the last attempt possible at reaching a two-state solution to the conflict and there was no realistic “plan B”. Hague spoke in Jerusalem shortly before US secretary of state John Kerry departed at the end of his fourth visit to the area, saying the time was approaching when “hard decisions” needed to be made.”

This current iteration of the two state solution talks is like a cat. A cat will doze for hours, slumbering quietly in the sun. Little snuffles emit from its nose, convincing you it is asleep. Then all of a sudden for no reason it will jump up and RUN LIKE A MANIAC INTO THE NEXT ROOM! It’s like it all of a sudden says “I need to be in there, right now.” That is what the US Secretary of State is like. For at least five years, not a word was said about the Israeli peace talks. Now it is hectic activity as if we’re approaching a cliff. And maybe we are.

The upshot is that Israel, and Jerusalem, is a political entity. It surely is a great nation, but it is without paying homage to her God. God is still with her, and will protect her to the end. She will be ravaged, for it has been the times of the Gentiles since the failure of the last king. Only gentile Kings ruled Israel, such as Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, etc. Even now she is without a king, only a Prime Minister.

These are the questions. This is today’s Jerusalem, today’s Israel, a politically buffeted nation without a king or a priest or world regard. The world is against it.

Anti-Semitism widespread among European Muslims
“Anti-Semitism in the Muslim World has always been problematic. After all, a 2008 Pew Research Center study shows that almost 100 percent of people in the Arab countries surrounding Israel hold anti-Semitic views. But what is even more problematic is how this anti-Semitism among Muslims has spread to the Western World, especially to children and teenagers. Anti-Semitism is rapidly spreading and becoming mainstream among young Muslims in Europe …”

Source

Last week a Italian journalist Giulio Meotti asked in an Op-Ed,

How Did 150,000,000 Europeans Come to Hate Israel?
The Jewish religion is under attack in Europe”, declared the Conference of European Rabbis president Pinchas Goldschmidt. Many polls (such as the study on behalf of the German Social Democratic Friedrich Ebert Foundation) bring an iconic number measuring the disaster: 150,000,000 Europeans have a delegitimizing and demonizing view of the State of Israel and its citizens. For a large sector of Europe, the cities, skyscrapers, hospitals, cinemas, and schools on that tiny sliver of land named “Israel” are merely real estate that will be restored to Islam once this malefic Jewish form is swept away. This is a popular mobilization against Israel in the “Raus mit Uns” spirit. 150,000,000 Western citizens believe that Zionism is a misconceived project to be brought to an end as soon as possible.”

He ended his piece this way, “Europe’s public opinion has been persuaded to believe that Israel is a state that ought to be dismantled forthwith. Europe’s population count today is 730,000, 000 citizens. What would happen if the anti-Semitic worm infected the mind of all of them? Can Israel really remain immune from that eruption of psychotic anti-Jewish illness?”

Yes. and No. Political Israel’s days are numbered. The world is coming against it as Zechariah showed in the prophecy. The psychotic illness that is Israel hate is satan’s contribution to his plan to thwart God’ The world will gather against Israel and surround Jerusalem. In this regard, the Italian journalist’s questions is consistent with prophecy.

““Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.” (Revelation 12:13)

“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ” (Zechariah 14:2).

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.” (Luke 21:20).

Things do not look good for the nation Israel and the city Jerusalem. And they aren’t. But the Lord will come and save His nation, His people, and His city. The third part of the series on Jerusalem will look at its glorious future! And it IS glorious! They will go through a dark time, but then things become very bright, as bright as the glory of the LORD himself!

source

earthquake, prophecy

Powerful 8.3 earthquake felt 4,400 miles away

Posted on May 24, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There have been some powerful earthquakes in the last day or so.

USGS

Near the south Pacific Island of Tonga, there was a 7.4 earthquake, followed by a 6. aftershock. There were no tsunami warnings. The newspaper the Indian Express reports.

“A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck 255 kilometres (158 miles) southwest of Tonga today, according to the US Geological Survey, but there were no reports of damage. The quake hit at 5.19 am local time (2249 IST yesterday), and was centred 282 kilometres southwest of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa and 171 kilometres deep. It was followed four hours later by a second powerful 6.6 tremor 84 kilometres northwest of the town and 103 kilometres deep. “A destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said of each quake. The Matangi Tonga website said the quakes “shook homes and rattled windows” in Nuku’alofa but reported no damage. The powerful tremors also caused false alarms in New Zealand where the official GNS Science monitoring system reported tremors of 6.1 and 5.9 magnitude off the east coast of the North Island.”

A powerful 8.3 quake struck in Russia’s Sea of Okhostk early this morning. It was felt in Moscow, 4,400 miles away!

Source

Russia Earthquake: Powerful temblor hits
“A powerful earthquake on Friday hit Russia’s Far East with tremors felt as far away as Moscow, about 7,000 kilometers (4,400 miles) west of the epicenter. Marina Kolomiyets, spokeswoman for Obninsk’s seismic station of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told The Associated Press the epicenter was in the Sea of Okhotsk, east of the Russian coast and north of Japan. She said the quake registered 8.0 on the Richter scale. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 8.3. The epicenter was in the Kuril-Kamchatka arc, one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Emergency agencies in the Far East issued a tsunami warning for Sakhalin and the Kuril islands, but lifted it soon afterwards.”

According to USGS, the average number of quakes in the 7.0-7.9 range per year is 15. So far this year we have had 8.

According to USGS, the average number of quakes in the 8.0-8.9 range per year is 1. So far we have had two, one on February 6, 2013 and the other one today, May 24, 2013.

There was a strong quake in northern California today. There have been about 20 aftershocks in the location.

“An earthquake in far northeastern California was felt by thousands of people as far away as San Francisco and in two other states, but there have been no reports of injury or serious damage. The magnitude-5.7 quake broke dishes and shook mirrors when it struck at 8:47 p.m. Thursday, officials said. It was centered near Greenville, about 25 miles southwest of Susanville in far northeastern California, said Rafael Abreu, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colo. There have been several aftershocks, including a magnitude 4.9 that struck early Friday morning. Slight damage has been reported including objects falling from shelves and dishes rattled or broken, according to a report from the National Weather Service.”

“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19)
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Jerusalem! A Three-part Series

Posted on May 23, 2013 by elizabethprata

Jerusalem! Part 1, The Land

Jerusalem! Part 2, The Nation

Jerusalem! Part 3, Its glorious spiritual future

I’m listening to John MacArthur preach through Zechariah. Pound for pound, there is more prophecy in Zechariah than any other book in the bible, including Revelation. The book is at turns comforting, inspiring, and difficult to interpret. Overall, I’m fascinated!

When MacArthur got to Zechariah 2, the sermon titled “The Future Glory of Jerusalem”, I became fascinated even further. Jerusalem, and by definition, Israel, is a hugely important topic for every Christian to seek understanding of and wisdom about. Israel is the fulcrum of history, God’s nation, the apple of His eye, and future home of Jesus the King. Christians will be living in New Jerusalem. Thus it is our focus as Christians to understand His plans for this city, as well.

When the LORD dwells in Jerusalem the name of the city shall be Jehovah-Shammah, meaning, “The Lord is there.” (Ezekiel48:35). It never fails to move me to even think of the Lord being there, physically and eternally. Jeremiah 30 is a chapter describing the future restoration of Israel. See here verses 18-22,

“Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins and the palace shall stand where it used to be. 19 Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small. 20 Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them. 21 Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the Lord. 22 And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”,

The Lord is there, Jehovah Shammah!

I decided to write a three part series on Jerusalem and Israel. The first part will be about Jerusalem geographically and its natural history. It is not a dry desert with swirling sands as most people superficially believe and as I once believed. Jerusalem and environs is a fascinating place, with lush animal and bird life, an interesting climate, and is the crux of three continents. It is the belly button of the world.

The second part will look at Jerusalem politically. I’ll look at what prophecy says about it during this time of the last days, what the Times of the Gentiles means, and what is happening now with Secretary of State Kerry and the revived push for “peace and safety.”

Last, will be the best part in the series of all. What of Jerusalem spiritually? What of the future glory of Israel? What does the bible say Jerusalem will look like and what are God’s plans for it?

Stay tuned! This will be exciting look at our spiritual home, Jerusalem, the City of David, the Holy City, Jehovah Shammah!

bible, end of days, prophecy, quantum leap, rapture

Make a quantum leap with me

Posted on May 18, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I published this almost two years ago to the day. I have been thinking about quantum leaps again, a lot, so I thought I’d re-post this.

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I love learning how the bible is a book of science. If true and honest science were to be considered, scientists would accept that the earth is a young earth. Science shows it, but they “believed the lie” – the lie being (in my opinion) that God didn’t create the universe. And if He is not Creator, therefore maybe He is not Redeemer either. Hey, that lie works for satan.

In any case, I learned about quantum leaps this week.

The heavens and the earth (Hebrew phraseology for the universe) will disappear. That is a fact. But how? And where will we be? My question regarding the first was answered to my satisfaction this week. It involves quantum physics. LOL, stay with me!

If you make a fist and bump your fist from below with your other hand, your fist moves up from the bump. Keep that in mind as I explain. A quantum leap happens when a photon strikes an atom, it boosts an electron into a higher orbit. And when that occurs the electron moves from the lower to the upper orbit simultaneously without having traversed the intervening space. That’s a quantum leap. (Definition from John MacArthur). Or this, “A quantum leap is a leap from A to B, without passing through any of the points between A and B. Imagine that you enter a train in A-ville. You sit in your seat, and the train is instantly transported to your destination of B-ville. You just made a quantum leap.”

Amazing! The electron blinks out and then blinks back into a higher state of being – instantaneously! This makes sense to me when thinking of two biblical events prophesied to come: the Rapture and the New Heavens/New Earth.

Rapture: “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 will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52). When Jesus calls us with the last trump and the voice of an archangel, we will be translated instantaneously from fleshly human with sin nature to glorified eternal person with no sin nature. This will happen in the blink of an eye, which is said to be 150 milliseconds. The how of it seems to me to be a good definition of a quantum leap. We are translated from a lower state of being to a higher state of being, instantly.

At the end of time when Jesus makes a new heavens and a new earth, it appears to me also that it could happen as in the definition of a quantum leap. The earth is translated from a lower state of being to a higher state of being, instantly.

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10) … “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (Verse 12-13)

“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.” (Revelation 21:1)

When I read things like this and I ponder the enormity of the unified system that is the universe, (yes I believe string theory is correct) it makes me feel a great sense of awe for Him and I love the Creator all the more. That we polluted his perfect creation with sin and He redeems us anyway makes me feel humbled and I love Him all the more. It’s all good!
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last days, missile, prophecy, russia, syria

Russia plans to go ahead with Syrian missile transfer, ignoring Israel’s warnings

Posted on May 17, 2013 by elizabethprata

Russia and Syria are in the midst of completing a deal for Syria to receive a ‘new shipment of anti-ship missiles are equipped with advanced radar that makes them more potent’ reports Haaretz. Obviously this does not make Israel happy. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu met in an emergency meeting with Russia’s President Putin, and Netanyahu urged Russia to abandon the deal with Syria. He said that continuing it might just trigger a larger regional war.

Israel does not make idle threats.

The missiles that Russia is sending to Syria “Unlike the long-range surface-to-surface missiles that stand at the Assad regime’s disposal, the Yakhont anti-ship missile system allows the Syrian military to stand against potential efforts by international forces to impose a naval embargo or a no-fly zone on the country, or to carry out limited airstrikes in support of the Syrian opposition,” according to the report in Haaretz.

This is a significant increase in military capability, and seriously hinders Israel’s ability to carry out strikes in and around Syria, such as taking out forays that Hezbollah make or destroy supply convoys of Hamas.

Russia is unswayed by Netanyahu’s exhortations, and is continuing to send the anti-ship missiles to Assad. This signals a commitment to Assad. The NY Times says “Russia has sent advanced antiship cruise missiles to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said Thursday. “

Interestingly this is exactly what the bible says the alignments wold be in the last days. We also know from the bible that there will be regional wars, such as the one described in Psalm 83 where all of Israel’s abutting neighbors and the terrorist groups existing in those nations attack Israel. Or the Gog Magog war described in Ezekiel 37-38 where Russia, Turkey, Iran and others also attack Israel. Or the one in Isaiah 17 where Damascus is destroyed and Syria’s environs are made a waste. Or the LORD’S promise to Israel/Judah that they will finally possess Jordan in the last days just before He comes back to establish His kingdom. (Obadiah 15–21).

But back to today. Times of Israel reports, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in an emergency face-to-face meeting on Tuesday that Moscow’s sale of the S-300 missile defense system to Assad could push the Middle East into war. But Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, evidently unmoved by the dramatic Israeli warning, declared on Thursday that while Moscow was “not signing any new deals,” it would honor existing contracts with Syria, including for the air-defense systems. “We’ve already carried out some of the deal,” Lavrov said, “and we will carry the rest of it out in full.””

This antiship missile, with its described impacts on widening a military capability of chaotic Syria, does seem to be a tipping point.The Times of Israel article explains,

“An Israeli source was quoted as saying that Netanyahu had told Putin the S-300s represent a weapons system that “shatters [Israel’s] qualitative edge,” presumably since it would greatly constrain the Israeli air force’s freedom of movement above Syria and neighboring Lebanon.”

“An Israeli source was quoted as saying that Netanyahu had told Putin the S-300s represent a weapons system that “shatters [Israel’s] qualitative edge,” presumably since it would greatly constrain the Israeli air force’s freedom of movement above Syria and neighboring Lebanon.”

We will wait to see what Israel does. Perhaps the final destruction of Damascus is on the horizon, (Isaiah 17) not that I’m happy about that. Please pray for the millions of Muslims in these areas who do not know Christ and are unaware, or who disbelieve, the eternally final plans that the Lord has for them unless thay beleive on the precious name of Christ.

last days, perilous times, prophecy

Is the "Day of the Lord" the same thing as "The Last Days"? part 2

Posted on May 15, 2013 by elizabethprata

In two parts, I’m examining a last days prophecy Paul delivered to Timothy. Paul’s warning to Timothy is in 2 Timothy 3, 1-9, and it concerns “perilous times”, or “Godlessness in the last days.” Paul warned Timothy that in the last days perilous times would come, and Paul went on to describe the characteristics of people’s behavior in those last days. Paul begins his warning to Timothy by saying that the prophesied times of difficulty will come in the “last days.” In part 1, I looked at what the “last days” are, and how they are different from the Day of the Lord. In this part 2, I will look at the passage closely and show that how it is commonly interpreted may need a second look.

Here is the passage- It is in the ESV.

Godlessness in the Last Days
1But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

People usually interpret this passage as pertaining to the world. As when “in the last days, perilous times in the world will come.” That, perilous times from the world will come. That when sin in the world heightens to monstrous levels, it will be a sign of the perilous times Paul spoke of.

I used to think this way also, and in a way it is still true. Sin gets worse and worse. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 that “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” and that shows us that sin gets worse and because of it, people’s love gets colder and colder (that is the meaning of grow cold, ‘to breathe, blow, to make cool’). Later in this same chapter of Timothy I’m looking at today, 2 Timothy 3:13, it says “while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” They go from bad to worse. Sin always gets worse.

But though sin in the world will get worse and worse, the passage specifically isn’t talking of the world here. It is speaking of people in the church. People in the body of Christ. How do we know this? There are several clues.

If you read 1 Corinthians 2:14 in it surrounding context, the passage there is saying in essence, don’t be angry with unbelievers when they act like unbelievers. The world has always been brutal. The world has always presented difficulty to the church.

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, it was around 67 AD and shortly before Paul was martyred. It was no surprise to Timothy that people in the world were brutal, Christian martyrdoms had been going on since Stephen, our faith’s first martyr. Stephen was killed for the name of Jesus barely a year after Jesus rose to heaven. Killings had been ongoing ever since. Nero’s wave of particularly vicious killings began in 64AD. Why would Paul need to warn Timothy that the world will treat us brutally? Jesus even said so (Matthew 10:22).

The surprise is that the people claiming to be Christian who dwell inside the body of believers will act in the ways Paul outlined. We need to guard ourselves from people on the inside.

The second clue is that Paul warned such folks will have adopted an “appearance of Godliness.” Pagans who hate Christians and treat them brutally do not stop to pretend they are Godly. They just hate.

A third clue that this passage relates to how people inside the church will act is that they are “lovers of self.” Those in the world, pagans, already love themselves. This is not news to Christians and certainly would not have been necessary to warn Timothy about people such as those.

No, I’m afraid this passage sadly tells us to watch out for those who are brutal, false, hating, greedy, treacherous, conceited, etc and will be people who sit alongside you in the pew. Or preach to you from the pulpit. Or teach you in Sunday School class. Now that is a warning worthy of taking heed of!

In case you have difficulty interpreting that the passage from verse 1-9 relates to the church, think on this. First:

Some say that the current evil in the world surely matches the passage and must be a harbinger of Jesus’s soon appearing. Well, the evil in the world is surely awful. They cite the present escalation of evil and say that the events of today are frequent as opposed to evil event that used to be rare and isolated. But are they so rare? They cite the Gosnell baby abortion murders, or the kindergarten massacre at Sandy Hook school. But haven’t people always sacrificed children to Molech? (Leviticus 18:21). Children have always been at risk as society’s most vulnerable targets. Or they cite the New Orleans Mother’s Day Parade shooting, or the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing. Yet enemies have always come by stealth or deceit to kill (Joshua 9). They say that the Benghazi terror attack and coverup, and the current government abuse against citizens with IRS spying or tapping phones, is surely evidence of the world’s descent into evil. But look no farther than today’s North Korea and Eritrea as most oppressive regimes full of abuse and hate against their own citizens, or Egypt and its treatment of millions of Jews in Pharoah’s day. Or they say that today’s shock video of victorious Syrians eating the dead hearts of their enemies is definitely evidence of how far the world has fallen. But the ancient Aztecs and the ancient Chinese of the Tang Dynasty ate the hearts of their enemies.

Eve and Adam rebelled against God, Cain killed Abel, and not long after, Nimrod was the first world dictator. The world IS brutal. Always has been since the fall.

The evidence of the evil in the world is how far it has crept into the church. Jesus said there would be tares sown in with the wheat and that He wanted it kept so until the harvest. (Matthew 13:24-30). Tares (darnel) and wheat look the same until just before harvest when it only then becomes possible to tell one from another. The field of the church is filled with those who are just as Paul warned Timothy about. They infiltrated then (Simon the Magician) and they infiltrate now, but since the last days have progressed so long, the progression of the behaviors Paul warned Timothy against have grown too and now the church is overgrown with infiltrators.

We have our greedy ones, pitching Jesus at you to make money for themselves so they can fly around on their private jets to one of their many homes. We have the unholy, heartless false pastors spiritually abusing their people and tossing them under the bus. We have the slanderous and unappeasable litigating against their own family members over their television station ownership. And boy, the name it and claim it crowd sure do love themselves. The way they preach by inserting themselves into every passage surely is disgusting.

No, the warnings about those to look out for is a warning to us in the last days to look out for infiltrators (traitors to Jesus) who have an appearance of Godliness but deny the power thereof.

The glorious part is that those who are in Jesus have the Holy Spirit in them to help spot these who would make a shipwreck of their faith (1 Timothy 1:19). He cares for His sheep, and cares for His church. After all, didn’t he warn us that these things would happen?

Recently I noted that our pastor was asked to resign because the sermons he was giving for the last many years were word for word someone else’s. He was a plagiarizer. It is a heartbreaking thing to discover you have been worshiping through a veil of untruth. But I was truly grateful to the Lord also, not only because by the Spirit He had revealed this to us, giving us the opportunity to address it in a God-honoring way, but also because He already told us these things would happen. Therefore was I shocked? Yes. Was I surprised? No. Through the pain we were feeling, I praised Him because of His many warnings about false prophets and false teachers and disqualifying behavior throughout the Old Testament and the New. Even right at the end of verse 8 in the passage we are studying today, did the Spirit not inspire Paul to write, “men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith” ?? It made me love the Lord all the more for His care in showing us these things, and for giving us His comfort when when they do happen to us.

If you are in a church worshiping body and are reeling because you’ve experienced deception or brutality by one of the kind of people mentioned in the passage, take heart. The Lord warned us because He loves us! And if you have not been affected by the behavior of any of the church-fakers mentioned in the passage, take heart, because you will! (2 Timothy 3:12). Take heart because He will use your experience for the good to those who love Him, and you will be polished as a jewel of faith in His trophy case. He is equipping you for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17).

In my opinion, that is our highest calling- service to a holy Lord who loves His own.

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

Is the “Day of the Lord” the same thing as “The Last Days”? part 1

Rare Ice tsunami rises up and crushes lakeside homes in moment

Posted on May 14, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Interesting weather we’re having eh? It’s the hottest spring on record! The next year it’s the coldest spring on record! The most tornadoes ever! The least tornadoes ever! Rare phenomena becoming common. Common phenomena (like rain) becoming rare. It is a wildly swinging pendulum, and this ice tsunami adds to the pot.

This occurred 188 miles north of Winnipeg, Canada a few days ago.

Massive wall of ice rises out of lake and destroys a dozen homes as residents watch helplessly from the shore
“Massive ice floes rose out of a lake in Canada over the weekend, destroying a dozen homes and damaging fifteen others. Within mere moments, strong winds drove piles of ice onto the shore from Dauphin Lake on Friday, inundating homes and giving residents only minutes to flee. 55-mile-per hour winds drove masses of ice from the thawing lake in a phenomenon that is commonly witnessed but rarely seen with such intensity and size. Authorities told the Winnipeg Free Press that seven of the destroyed homes were ‘literally crushed by the ice that rose up within minutes from Lake Dauphin. Twenty-seven homes were affected in total as the frozen wall to plowed through everything in its way along Ochre Beach.”

Source Daily Mail

There are lots more pictures at the Mail. The same thing happened in Minnesota this week. Here is raw video showing it. At about 30 seconds in, the mom explains to the daughter what is happening. I was struck by how loud the phenomenon is. You can hear it on the video. Also in the video, the adult daughter is videotaping the event and remarking on how crazy it is, how loud it is, questioned ‘how are we going to stop it’, but doesn’t seem to apprehend the danger until the ice crept to the front of the house and busted into their front door. Then she ran in a panic.

Raw: Ice Wave Comes Ashore in Minnesota

Todd Strandberg at Rapture Ready posted his weekly essay Monday, and the topic was “Unusual Weather We’re Having.” He ended it this way- and please overlook his reference to “mother nature”.

“I think Bible prophecy is the only way to account for the oddities of Mother Nature. God warned that the calling card of the Tribulation hour would be an increase in weather anomalies. The on-and-off pattern may be God trying to get Man’s attention. Since that doesn’t seem to be working, I look for the warning signs to be replaced by judgment.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:25-26).”

day of the lord, prophecy, the last days

Is the "Day of the Lord" the same thing as "The Last Days"?

Posted on May 13, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Part 2 is here

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

I’d like to examine a last days prophecy Paul delivered to Timothy. It is in 2 Timothy 3, 1-9, and it concerns “perilous times”, or “Godlessness in the last days.” Paul warned Timothy that in the last days perilous times would come, and Paul went on to describe the characteristics of people’s behavior in those last days.

There is a common misconception regarding the passage though, and I’ll be addressing the verses and the misconception in part 2.

But before we look at perilous times in the last days, I want to define last days, and show its distinction from the phrase we read about in the Old testament and the New, “The Day of the Lord”.

The Day of the Lord is mentioned 4 times in the New Testament. (Acts 2:20; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:2; and 2 Pet 3:10). The Old Testament prophets mentioned it much more often, 19 times in fact. The prominent theme of every Day of the LORD prophecy is God’s judgment of sin. (source)

“Now what is the day of the Lord? Well, the day of the Lord as a term, mark it in your mind, refers to not one day but a period of time. We use the word “day” in the same way. We say this is the day of…this is the day of space travel, or this is the day of existentialism, or this is the day of alcoholism, or this is the day of marital breakup, or this is the day of whatever. We use it in that sense and that’s the way it’s used in this reference. This is the day of the Lord. In other words, man has had his day, man has had his fling and now it’s God’s time. And the Lord is going to begin to do some things. And so the day of the Lord is a period of time beginning with the rapture of the church and extending through the millennial kingdom. It covers all kinds of events. It covers the Tribulation time when the Lord takes back the earth. It covers the conquering of the nations at Armageddon. It covers the judgment of the nations. It covers the establishment of the Kingdom. It covers the reign of Jesus Christ on earth for a thousand years. It covers the vanquishing of Satan. It covers this whole great eschatological time block from the Rapture to the end of the Kingdom. That whole era of the end of history is the day of the Lord. ” (source)

Source

Of 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “Paul here reminds us of this significant important climactic cataclysmic day to come in human history. Frankly, it is not at all popular to talk about God’s fury. It is not popular to talk about God’s anger, God’s vengeance. In fact, seldom do you hear a sermon on the day of the Lord, on the time when Jesus comes back to judge those who have rejected Him. Everything today needs to be positive and affirming and comforting. And very few preachers really want to deal with this particular topic. Rarely does someone preach on the vengeance of God.” (source)

Last year, Paul Lopez in Crosswalk.com, wrote an essay titled, “Seven ‘Last Days’ Passages You’ll Rarely Hear Pastors Preach On”. He said, “When was the last time you heard a “last days” sermon from the Old Testament? When most pastors preach a sermon on the end times they usually start with the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21) or the Book of Revelation. For years the focus on end times discussions has remained in the New Testament. Unfortunately that results in our teachers only giving us the end of the story.”

Mr Lopez’s assessment includes a dearth of preaching on the following topics (verses and summary included in the link)

1. Jacob’s Prediction of the Last Days
2. Moses’ Warning to the Israelites
3. Jeremiah’s Prediction of the Last Days.
4. Prediction of the New Covenant That Would Come
5. Jesus Was Born in the ‘Last Days’
6. Isaiah’s Prediction of judgment on Old Covenant Israel in the Last Days
7. Joel’s Prediction that the Holy Spirit Would be Poured Out in the Last Days

Is the Day of the Lord one day, or more than one day? BiblicalTraining.org defines it this way,

DAY OF THE LORD. An eschatological term referring to the consummation of God’s kingdom and triumph over his foes and deliverance of his people. It begins at the Second Coming and will include the final judgment. It will remove class distinction (Isa. 2:12-Isa. 2:21), abolish sins (2 Pet. 3:11-2 Pet. 3:13), and will be accompanied by social calamities and physical cataclysms (Matt. 24:1-Matt. 24:51; Luke 21:7-Luke 21:33). It will include the millennial judgment (Rev 4:1-Rev 19:6) and culminate in the new heaven and the new earth (Isa. 65:17; Isa. 66:22; Rev. 21:1).”

Some scholars include the actual Millennial Reign in the Day of the Lord, such as John Walvoord and John MacArthur, others such as Professor Richard Mayhue of The Master’s Seminary, for example, simply include the judgment at the outset of it and the end of it (Sheep & Goats judgment and Great White Throne Judgment) and not the reign.

So when are “the last days”? Most scholars acknowledge that it is the Messianic Age. Some of them agree that the last days began with the birth of Jesus, through the rapture. Others say that the last days began when John the Baptist began preaching in advance of Jesus. Still others hold the last days began when Jesus was baptized and began preaching. A very few believe the last days began in 1948 when Israel was re-formed into a nation as the major end times sign. In any case, the last days are the Messianic Age. After the rapture, the Day of the Lord will begin, the judgment period of time when sin will be addressed through God’s vengeance and wrath.

My position is the last days began at the birth of Jesus, and will end when the rapture occurs. The Day of the Lord will then begin.

Now the verse about Godlessness in the Last Days

Godlessness in the Last Days 1But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Can you really live casually knowing that there comes a day of wrath and vengeance? The LORD never, ever, EVER lets sin go unaddressed. He will address it- He is angry at the sin in the world and the sin in you. Jesus is your ark, your shelter, your safety. He is the refuge for your very soul. He died on the cross for the LORD, as the sacrifice upon which God exhausted His wrath. If you are in Jesus, He will not pour out His wrath on you, because He already poured it out on Jesus. If you are not in Jesus, you will be in the middle of the world’s largest storm of heavenly wrath ever seen by man, and shall ever be. (Matthew 24:21). Pray to Jesus now for Him to forgive your sins. If you are sincere, claiming Him as risen Lord and Savior able to forgive, then you are saved. Confess and believe. (Romans 10:9). The Day of the LORD is at hand! (Isaiah 13:6).

Part 2 will take a closer look at Godlessness in the last days, and whether Paul was referring in those verses to the world or the church.

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

Is the “Day of the Lord” the same thing as “The Last Days”? Part 2

marriage supper of God, prophecy, woman eaten by vultures

Woman who fell to her death eaten by vultures in 45 minutes

Posted on May 10, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

This week I’ve posted on several different topics. I posted an academic kind of essay called “What we need around here is some apocalyptic journalism.” I posted a sweet essay and a simple one about creation, called “Birds make me laugh.” I posted one about discernment and contemplative prayer, and a political one about the Middle East. I think what we are missing to round out the week is something of the weird!

It is reported that a woman who was hiking in France fell 980 feet off a cliff to her death. Before rescue workers could extract her body, vultures had eaten the body within 45 minutes.

“The body of a woman who died after falling off a cliff in France was devoured by vultures in just 45 minutes, before rescue workers were able to reach the body. The 52-year-old woman was hiking with two friends in the French Pyrenees on April 14 when she fell off a cliff and plunged more than 980 feet to her death, according to France’s TF1. The woman’s body was eaten by vultures in minutes. “There were only bones, clothes and shoes left on the ground,” Major Didier Pericou told The Times of London. “They took 45 to 50 minutes to eat the body.” Adding, “When we first went out in the helicopter looking for the body, we saw numerous vultures without realizing what they were doing.””

Spooooky!

Vultures are carrion birds and the bible declared them unclean, in the Old Testament. The Lord will use vultures after the Tribulation to eat the bodies of those who fell at Armageddon.

The Lord organized the world and he made several different avian migration routes. The largest goes over Israel. Three continents funnel their birds over Israel twice a year, as they migrate north to south or south to north, depending on the season. 500 Million birds funnel over that tiny nation, as they avoid the Mediterranean and Caspian seas and fly over Israel. It presents quite a hazard to flight navigation, a problem Israel has recently made advances in solving. I wrote about the bird migration over Israel, here in this essay titled Bird Watching in Israel, and The Great Supper of God

As far as prophecy goes, there is this verse-

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” (Rev 19:17-18).

This moment occurs after Jesus bursts back onto earth on a white horse with His saints following, and He slays all those hundreds of millions assembled at the battle of Armageddon. The angel then calls to the birds “which fly directly overhead” to come eat the dead. I’d often wondered about the hundreds of millions of dead and how or where the birds will come from to be able to match the numbers indicated in the verse of how many dead there will be to eat.But the LORD has that covered, with having set the migratory routes and the great numbers of birds already traveling over that region.

Also Ezekiel 39:17 at the end of the Gog-Magog war: “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.”

In that previous essay, I’d shown that because of the bird migration routes going over Israel, and how the Lord has already trained them, the numbers of birds available to attend the Great Supper of God are already set. Now with this article about the woman hiker in France, you can see how, once the birds arrive, how efficient the carrion birds are in dispatching corpses.

There will be two great suppers. One will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. All those who believe on the name of Jesus as Savior and Lord, having repented of sins and believed in His work on the cross, and in His resurrection, will be attending. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). It is going to be great!!

“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God. (Revelation 19:7-9).

The other supper will be the Great Supper of God.

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,e both small and great.” (Revelation 19:17-18).

Only two suppers. You will either eat with the Lord in glory, or be eaten as carrion by vultures. The difference is repentance or rebellion, salvation or sin. The difference is eternal. Pray to Jesus now for salvation and be blessed of those invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

Told you this was a weird essay! Praising the Lord for carrion birds! Yes! He already has everything organized and in His timing, all will be performed excellently- just as the bible says!

You might also be interested in this:
Where the vultures gather