Category: prophecy

Posted in prophecy, rapture, rosh hashanah

Rosh Hashanah begins tomorrow

Posted on by elizabethprata

Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday at sundown (6:43PM Jerusalem time). For many years, people have been saying that the rapture will likely (or as some have said, definitely) occur during the Feast of Trumpets, also known as the Jewish high holiday of Rosh Hashanah. I do not think the Jewish feasts are tied to the Times of the Gentiles because the two are distinct and mutually exclusive. (more here). However the rapture could happen at any time, so this weekend is as good a time as any. Only the Lord knows.

What IS Rosh Hashanah?

From Chabad.org:

“The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world.”

“The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance, for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to G‑d; we evoke Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity.”

The Feast of Trumpets, along with the other six festivals of the LORD, foreshadowed certain aspects of the ministry of Jesus Christ. The shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah may or may not be the trumpet blown to capture the Church up to heaven in the rapture. I do believe the rapture is incredibly close, though.

History Channel explains, “The sounding of the shofar—a trumpet made from a ram’s horn—is an essential and emblematic part of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The ancient instrument’s plaintive cry serves as a call to repentance and a reminder to Jews that God is their king. Tradition requires the shofar blower to play four sets of notes on Rosh Hashanah: tekiah, a long blast; shevarim, three short blasts; teruah, nine staccato blasts; and tekiah gedolah, a very long blast. Because of this ritual’s close association with Rosh Hashanah, the holiday is also known as Yom Teruah—the day of the sounding of the shofar.”

The last note for Rosh Hashanah is the Teki’ah Gedolah (very long sound) Exodus 19:16,19. It sounds like this-

Friends, the last sound we will hear on earth will be the tekia gedolah, and the first sound we hear as glorified children of Jesus will be His call, probably something like, “Come up here!” (Revelation 4:1)

“For 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. Then 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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!!AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!!

Posted in demons, israel, lebanon, prophecy, us

Lebanon protesters burn US, Israeli flags

Posted on by elizabethprata

Lebanon is getting in on the act…

We awake this morning to see that the world’s most hated nation, Israel, is under vicious demonic attack- again. And the most feared nation on earth, The United States, is now ripe for the picking, mocking, and likely attack. Muslims see Israel as Little Satan and the US as Great Satan. They are quite serious about wanting to wipe Israel off the map.(Psalm 83:4)

Lebanese Muslim demonstrators burn the US (R) and Israeli flags during a protest against a film mocking Islam in Abra, east of Sidon, on September 13, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mahmoud Zayyat)

“Several hundred people have rallied in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, burning American and Israeli flags in outrage over an American-made film mocking Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. ­The streets of Tripoli saw a heavy police presence on Thursday despite the fact that only around 200 people took part in the demonstration. There were no reports of violence or clashes during the demonstration.”

“Protesters carried black banners bearing the traditional Islamic message, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.” Several protesters burned American and Israeli flags while chanting “God is great!” Another demonstration took place in the southern city of Sidon, on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast. Offended men and women showed posters containing slogans like “freedom does not mean insults to religion” and “who are you, you lowlifes, to insult what is good for people.”

Isaiah 28:20-24 has a prophecy against Sidon:

Prophecy Against Sidon

20The word of the Lord came to me: 21“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her 22and say, Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
and I will manifest my glory in your midst.
And they shall know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments in her
and manifest my holiness in her;
23 for I will send pestilence into her,
and blood into her streets;
and the slain shall fall in her midst,
by the sword that is against her on every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24“And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

This prophecy tells us not only about the nation of what is now Lebanon, but also that the demonic forces are behind many kings, including the King of Tyre which is the ancient name of Lebanon, as described in verses 11-19.

Much of this prophecy has already come to pass. Tyre and Sidon were vanquished when Alexander the Great came to town. Yet the last parts of are still to come: Lebanon will be completely neutralized and of no threat to Israel any more. Since there are at this moment thousands of rockets stations on Lebanese soil aimed at Israel, and the Lebanese do not know the LORD, we can expect the last verses of the prophecy to come to pass. Matthew Henry says of this prophecy,

“The Sidonians were borderers upon the land of Israel, and they might have learned to glorify the Lord; but, instead of that, they seduced Israel to the worship of their idols. War and pestilence are God’s messengers; but he will be glorified in the restoring his people to their former safety and prosperity.”

I’d said in comments last night on another blog entry that I believe the killing of the Ambassador and the attacks on the Cairo and Libyan embassies were the dam breaking. I wrote that when I heard about the embassies I got a knot in my stomach. When I heard it was planned and coordinated ahead of time, the knot deepened. When I read that Obama knew 48 hours ahead that it was likely to happen- AND DID NOTHING- I felt that this was truly the Franz Ferdinand moment (the Bosnian King who was assassinated, sparking WWI). I think the embassy violence is the dam breaking. The dam has broken open. As Obama does nothing, the Muslims become emboldened. There will be no stopping them.

“House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) warned Thursday that escalating attacks on American embassies in the Middle East could develop into “real trouble” and said that the United States needed to clearly signal the ramifications of future attempts to breach diplomatic missions abroad.”

John McTernan wrote that ‘the violence in the Embassies is the fuse lit to Armageddon.‘ I am inclined to agree. The downward slope is slippery and the momentum is beyond catchable now.

I think we should expect an attack on our soil in the coming weeks. My opinion. Why do I think this? The US used to be the world’s policeman. It stands to reason, because this nation has the most Christians, and was used mightily to further the kingdom. Just as a town or a city needs policemen, so does the world. And that role fell to the US. We were used mightily not only to further His kingdom by sending missionaries He raised up, but to hold back the hellish kingdom by policing the evil men. In the first case, missionaries were used to bring the Gospel and thus, to break the spiritual demonic strongholds in a nation person by person. In the second case, the US was used to police a nation, and thus break an evilly controlled man’s strongholds on a country.

What we’re seeing is the diminishing of our role as policeman and the result is the criminals are running wild. The Middle East’s violence is not human excitation, it is demonic fervor. In Revelation 16:16 we read that it is the demonic spirits that gather the armies to Armageddon. The demons so hate Jesus, His people the Jews, and their children the Christians, that they whip up ALL the world’s armies into a frenzy and gather them there to fight Jesus.

What we see today on earth is the beginning of that demonic fervor being unleashed to what will soon be Revelation’s final filling at Armageddon. It is not rational. It is not logical. It is demonic hatred from the pit of hell. There is no reasoning with it. There is no diplomacy with it. By this point in the prophetic agenda, it is my belief that only prayer and appeal to Jesus, individual by individual, for unbeliever’s salvation and for believer’s sanctification will suffice. The Gospel is more important than ever because it is the only rescue and the only refuge. It only ever was, but by now while we are on the cusp of the rapture and the unleashing of hell on earth, repeating that people need to repent because Jesus saves, is the only message that matters.

Posted in beth moore, bill hybels, gnosticism, gnostics, neo-gnosticism, prophecy, rick warren

Gnosticism Part 4: Ceremonies & Rituals

Posted on by elizabethprata

If you read Colossians, you quickly become aware that Paul was busy refuting some false teachings that had begun to affect the church at Colossae. Epahras had sent Paul a letter about this, and Colossians was Paul’s response. Though Paul never mentioned “Gnosticism” by name, it becomes obvious that’s what he was referring to, because of his use of certain words and phrases.

Gnosticism is less a religion than a loose patchwork of philosophies and doctrines from other religions and disciplines, blended into an amorphous set of beliefs that taint the true faith as delivered by Jesus. There never was a church of Gnostics, or a firm set of Gnostic tenets, just beliefs certain people promoted as a subtle blend of Christianity and good-sounding religious practices from elsewhere, mostly the Eastern mystical religions. But in general, we can list six elements contained in most Gnostic teachings, courtesy of the Zondervan NIV bible, which in turn is based on Paul’s mention of them in Colossians.

1. secret knowledge, (refuted in Col 1:27; 2:3)
2. asceticism, (Col 2:18)
3. depreciation of Christ (lowering Him in name and in glory), (Col 2:18b)
4. strict rule-keeping, ceremonies, or rituals ( Col 2:23)
5. worship of angels, ( Col 2:18)
6. and reliance on human wisdom and traditions (Col 2:20b-22)

When we come through the door of justification, and before we exit life through the door of glorification, we engage in a life-long process of sanctification. This is the work of the Holy Spirit upon us to make us more Christlike and to consecrate us for holy work on earth. “There are many false paradigms of sanctification, and there always have been. The problem is, there is only one method of sanctification and that is through the Spirit. The false paradigms of sanctification cannot restrain the flesh. Though some paradigms or strategies of sanctification purport to restrain the flesh and make one holy, they don’t do that, any more than a false Gospel could save. … [Gnostic/Mysticism] “is the notion that there is within a person a mystical, intuitive capability that causes, if manipulated correctly, a person to rise in spiritual formation”, said John MacArthur, in his new blog series addressing mysticism/gnosticism and spiritual formation, in his part 2 called “Spiritual Formation and Biblical Sanctification.”

BibleGateway summarizes Gnosticism, “The heresy taking root in Colossae was a form of gnosticism, which taught (among other things) that humans could transcend evil and the corruptions of the world through asceticism and their own strength of will. …”

The early church was much plagued by Gnostics throughout the first through third centuries. Colossians and 1 John are the most pointed refutations of this false doctrine, but several other New Testament books dealt with it too, including 1 Timothy 6, Titus, and other books as well.

Gnosticism is a self-centered, and not a Jesus centered doctrine, meaning, they attempt to attain sanctification themselves. They also believe in a progressive sanctification. It was through completion of rituals and participation in ceremonies that Gnostics believed progressed one’s sanctification ever upward. Mormonism, Scientology, and many of the ‘secret societies’ like Odd Fellows, Red Men and Freemasonry have steps for the devotee to attain. Sometimes these steps are called “degrees”, as in Freemasonry. In Scientology they are called “levels”.

Gnostics brought a teaching, but their rituals varied widely, that is, until Aleister Crowley wrote one. Crowley was a British mystic and occultist who, when in Egypt in 1904, “received” a text known as The Book of the Law from what he believed was a divine source. From this basis Crowley built a theology of Gnosticism called Thelema. In 1913, he wrote a Gnostic Mass. The mass contained Crowley’s scripted rituals. Crowley was also a pansexual and a recreational drug user, which may explain his crazy eyes.

Left, Aleister Crowley in ceremonial garb. Wiki source

Crowley explained why he undertook to codify Gnostic teachings into spiritual practices expressed through a ‘mass’. He said in his Confessions, “Human nature demands (in the case of most people) the satisfaction of the religious instinct, and, to very many, this may best be done by ceremonial means. I wished therefore to construct a ritual through which people might enter into ecstasy as they have always done under the influence of appropriate ritual.”

But Paul said, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” (Colossians 2:16).

As for ecstasies, “Some charismatic Christians practice ecstatic states (called e.g. “being slain in the Spirit”) and interpret these as given by the Holy Spirit.” 

Since Gnostics deny the sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross in His flesh, and they deny the Spirit’s work in sanctification, they need these rituals to make themselves thing they are accomplishing their own sanctification. All false religions, including Gnostics, focus on what the individual can do to attain heaven, or a higher consciousness, or transcendence, or any other phrase they claim will be the result of performing a certain ritual. In other words, I can do it, no God needed, thanks.

In Colossians 2:20, Paul exhorted, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—”

The above verse is explained, “‘Your union with Christ in his death has caused you to die to the rudiments of the world’, meaning, your union with Christ in his death has caused you to be separated from human religion, and human reli­gion is based in legalism and mysticism and self denial and all those works kind of things. But he says the redeemed are set free from self-styled, man made rules designed to make you holy.” (source)

For a pagan, including Gnostics, “salvation is not brought from above to below by divine visitations, but rather occurs through the Gnostic’s contemplative ascent through ever higher levels of the divine realm.”

“One version of a Gnostic ritual or ceremony was marking the various stages of a visionary ascent with certain baptisms, sealings, washings in various “waters.” Another ritual was utilizing a self-performable technique of successive stages of mental detachment from the world of multiplicity, and a corresponding assimilation of the self to the evermore refined levels of being.” You’ll find this is in Roman Catholic asceticism and Buddhism.”

“Other rituals and ceremonies included sexual sacramentalism, verbal performances through ritual speech, which can include glossalalia, traditional verbal formulae, spells, oaths, conjuration, invocations, evocations, voces mysticae, and prayers of various sorts addressed to transcendent powers, good and evil alike, and/or symbolic actions such as a ritual handshake. (source, University Nebraska-Lincoln)

You will note the incipient Gnosticism inherent in the Pentecostal ‘language of tongues’ (glossolalia) and levels of spiritual maturity through having had a “baptism of the Spirit.”

As you read the examples above, perhaps the modern re-emergence of these old Gnostic practices will have already been brought to your mind. The current evangelical craze for contemplative prayer, Lectio Divina, meditation, “Christian yoga“, expressive praise dance & mime performance, labyrinth walking, and becoming detached from the world to await a small voice in which conversations are held with the ‘Divine,’ are now apparent to you in the Gnostic teachings of Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp, Sarah Young, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Mark Driscoll, and many others.

The devilish influence of these practices are collectively known as “spiritual formation” and I mentioned them in part 2 four days ago. Since then, John MacArthur has also begun a blog series on spiritual formation and he is defining these false practices, blog by blog, so that the believer can be aware of their evil influence.

In 1932 the Polish cracked the Germans’ war codes. Just weeks before WWII broke out in 1939, they gave the information to the Allies. We called it “The Enigma Machine“. “The intelligence gleaned from this source, codenamed “Ultra” by the British, was a substantial aid to the Allied war effort. The exact influence of Ultra on the course of the war is debated; an oft-repeated assessment is that decryption of German ciphers hastened the end of the European war by two years. Winston Churchill told the United Kingdom’s King George VI after World War II: “It was thanks to Ultra that we won the war.”

You know, Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Every false religion can be traced back to the Garden of Eden. Satan’s first words in the bible are recorded as ones which question the sufficiency and accuracy of the information God delivered to humans. He went on to imply that God was holding out on Adam and Eve, (God is a liar) that if Eve performed an action (eat the fruit) she would know as much as God, and that we can be like God. Gnosticism can be traced to those very words. There is no new false doctrine. They are all recycled bits from old satanic lies.

We do not need an enigma machine! We do not need to decipher our enemy’s plans! Why? Because we are not unaware of his schemes! (2 Cor 2:11). God has generously given us His word, inside of which is everything profitable for us (2 Timothy 3:16) to live and work out our salvation in fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12). He laid out for us that satan is a liar and the father of lies. Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the bible is replete with examples of the lies of satan, warnings that he seeks someone to devour, (Luke 22:31; 1 Peter 5:8). He shows us what kind of lies he perpetrates (Genesis 3:1-5, Colossians 1-2; and many other NT books).

If we read the bible diligently we will be solidly infused with His word. Saturate yourself in Truth! When you come across falsity, for example if your church wants to institute contemplative prayer, build a labyrinth,  send you to a yoga workshop, or start a praise dance ministry…you will be able to detect it.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13). “He shall not speak of himself means He shall teach nothing contrary to what I have taught you:” we read in Clarke’s Commentary.

Just to reinforce for a moment that there is no new doctrine under the sun, here is the culminating prayer from the 1913 Liber XV Mass that Crowley wrote, which adheres to a position that Gnostics of earlier centuries believed, right down to Paul’s time:

“Lord most secret, bless this spiritual food unto our bodies, bestowing upon us health and wealth and strength and joy and peace, and that fulfilment of will and of love under will that is perpetual happiness.”

It is the Prosperity Gospel!

I am against Expressive, Choreographed Dance in Worship. I do not believe it to be an acceptable form of worship in a service. With that in mind, here is Stephen Colbert in “Just Say No to Liturgical Dance”. He provided his own liturgical dance version of the hymn “King of Glory” on the show Strangers with Candy. I think this shows the ridiculousness of praise dancing. I do not doubt the sincerity of many who perform this kind of dance in church, and I applaud them for wanting to serve Him, but I think it detracts from the fact that we must always keep Jesus as the focus, especially in these Gnostic days.

Gnosticism series:
Introduction
Part 1: Secret Knowledge
Part 2: Asceticism
Part 3: Depreciation of Jesus
Part 4: Ceremonies & Rituals
Part 5: Worship of Angels
Part 6: Human Traditions 
Conclusion 

Posted in gnosticism, gnostics, prophecy, secret knowledge

Gnosticism is alive and well…and gaining. Introduction

Posted on by elizabethprata

In studying Colossians it occurred to me that an exploration of Gnosticism would be a good idea. We started studying the book last night at church, and I get so worked up over the Gnostic doctrines that influenced and polluted the church at Colossae, and affect us today, that I became almost inarticulate with anger. I hate Gnosticism. HATE. IT.

I get very upset because I see so much Gnosticism in this day coming in through many of the most popular teachers, and I’m not talking about the slick, money-grubber false preachers we can easily identify on TV as cranks, but teachers and preachers even in the Southern Baptist Convention who have huge followings. It hurts me so much to see precious brethren drawn away, because it is all so unnecessary.

In his essay, “Gospels, Gospels Everywhere? Gnosticism and the New Testament Canon”, Mark A. Pierson wrote, “For once Christians fail to defend their faith effectively, the new Gnosticism pounces, equipped with convoluted responses that many lay people are incapable of dismantling.”

Irenaeus wrote in “Against Heresies, Book 1, which was a detailed attack on Gnosticism: “Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than the truth itself.”

So true! Gnosticism is difficult to dismantle it because it is so subtle, it sounds Christianese because scriptures are used (though not correctly), and there is no one smoking gun statement or creed one can point to and say ‘AHA! False!” If it was so easy to dismantle, I suppose the first century Christians at Colossae under Epahras and Paul’s preaching would have spotted it!

So I decided to write a 7-part series. The first part is this one, the introduction. I’ll define Gnosticism and list 6 elements that comprise this false doctrine. Then each succeeding part will individually explore each of the 6 elements in more detail. I’ll also name names, share book titles, and provide quotes from modern day Gnostics, so you know who they are and we can uncover their works of darkness.

So, in Colossians Paul wrote from jail to the believers at Colossae about man-made doctrines that were taking them away from their sure foundation of the faith: Jesus alone. Colossians 1-2 are especially poignant. Paul dealt with Gnosticism again in Galatians, and it is believed 1 John 4 was addressing the problem of Gnosticism, also. There is another mention in 2 Timothy 3 and again in 1 Timothy 6. It was a huge problem for the first-century church. It is a huge problem for us today.

What is Gnosticism?

Strong’s Concordance defines Gnosticism as “Gnosticism” is literally, “the cult based on having special, personal knowledge”.

It is seeking of knowledge apart from God, secret knowledge that will provide salvation to those few who found the secret. Gnosticism (the ‘g’ is silent), is from the word Gnosis. Wikipedia defines “Gnosis as the common Greek noun for knowledge. In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word’s meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies ‘spiritual knowledge’ in the sense of mystical enlightenment.”

In other words, Gnostics seek spiritual enlightenment apart from God’s word. Gnostics seek enlightenment from visions, dreams, experiences, traditions of men, rituals, and philosophies. (Col 2:8). They believe they have the power or insight or luck to find and draw out mysterious knowledge that will put them on a better path or a higher path or a more spiritual path to heaven, and thus get closer to God.

They could not be more wrong.

Gnosticism has been around since the Garden, and is directly one of the reasons for the Fall from grace. Genesis 3:1-6 has the story.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Satan said, ‘if you eat the fruit, you will KNOW’ (be wise, have insights, Gen 3:4-5). Yet Eve already had the word of God as delivered through Adam. She had the direct Presence of God as she walked and talked with Him. But people fall for satan’s trick every day; saying, if you do this – read this – listen to this, you will KNOW.

Satan melded the truth and lies when he conversed with Eve. He said that if she ate, she would not die. He was right- she did not die … physically. But she did die spiritually. Satan said to Eve that she would know good and evil, and this was true, but not profitable for her. He omitted the penalty for disobedience. And the entire conversation was one where satan intimated that God was holding out on the humans, but satan had the key to the good stuff.

Gnostics in Pauls’ day used the same tactics to draw away the Colossians. Gnostics use the same tactics today. Gnostics will mention scriptures, refer to scriptures, twist scriptures, but Gnosticism’s foundation is not ON scriptures. The Forerunner Commentary explains, “more than what was contained in Scripture, Gnostics valued what they experienced, what elders told them, or what they learned from “angels,” astrology, or chemistry (alchemy).”

In Colossians 1:9, Paul wrote:

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”

His use of the word ‘knowledge’ is “epígnōsis (from Strong’s 1909 /epí, “on, fitting” which intensifies 1108 /gnosis, “knowledge gained through first-hand relationship.”

An intense first-hand relationship is where the knowledge comes, and that relationship between the penitent/disciple/ servant of Christ and Christ is the foundation of Christianity. Christianity is not an institution, it is a relationship.

A first-hand relationship with Jesus is such a wonderful basis for knowledge. That word ‘know’ in Colossians 1:9 is different from the word “know” (gnosis) as applied to Gnostics. Strong’s again-

1108 /gnṓsis (“applied-knowledge”) is only as accurate (reliable) as the relationship it derives from. For example, the Gnostics boasted of their “applied knowledge” gained by their personal spiritual experiences – and it was (is) disastrous!”

In 1 Timothy 6:20, Paul wrote, “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”’ and Paul here used the word pseudōnumou gnoseos, meaning, what is falsely called knowledge.

Not all knowledge is good. Just knowing stuff doesn’t make a person more spiritual or better than the next guy, if the knowledge is from personal experience, man-made doctrines, or other sources apart from God’s revelation to us through the bible and His creation. (Special revelation, and general revelation.)

Another major part of Gnosticism is the Gnostics’ abhorrence of flesh, or actually, matter. They hated the material so much they disbelieved Jesus came in the flesh, was not actual matter. Forerunner Commentary explains, “Gnostic Christians borrowed the idea of redemption through Christ, but rather than believing that He redeemed them from sin, they believed that He would redeem them from matter – that is, from the flesh, which they considered to be inherently evil. At the core of Gnosticism is the belief that knowledge, typically secret knowledge – knowledge from angels, from the stars and planets, from the ancients – was the path to holiness and salvation. They believed that the path of redemption was through knowledge, and that the worst evil was ignorance. Thus, they did not endeavor to overcome sin, but ignorance.”

Zondervan’s NIV bible lists 6 elements that comprise Gnosticism. They are:

1. secret knowledge,
2. asceticism,
3. depreciation of Christ (lowering Him in name and in glory),
4. strict rule-keeping, ceremonies, or rituals
5. worship of angels,
6. and reliance on human wisdom and tradition.

Tomorrow, God willing, I’ll write on the secret knowledge, a main element of Gnosticism, and who among those teachers and preachers and writers today is promoting it.

The best knowledge is from God. As Proverbs 2:5-7 tells us

“then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,”

Blessings!

Gnosticism series
Introduction
Part 1: Secret Knowledge
Part 2: Asceticism
Part 3: Depreciation of Jesus
Part 4: Ceremonies & Rituals
Part 5: Worship of Angels
Part 6: Human traditions
Conclusion 

Posted in god-given, hate speech, jesus, prophecy

A time of encouragement

Posted on by elizabethprata

What a day. There was a 7.9 earthquake at Costa Rica (later reduced to a 7.6) which sparked a Caribbean-wide tsunami warning for a while.

There is a report of propaganda artwork from street vendors at the Democratic National Convention directly likening Obama to Jesus.

There is the DNC’s floor fight using God as a political football to keep the term God-given in their party platform and to keep pro-Jerusalem language in it too.

There is a report of 100 Muslim delegates at the DNC, a quadrupling in number since 2004.

There is a video of a FL DNC Jewish Chairman who says any friendship with Christians is a false friendship, because the fundamentalist Christians only want Jews converted and slaughtered so the Second Coming can be ushered in.

I would include links but I really want to personally avoid this news and I don’t want to promote it. If you’re interested, google the terms and you’ll find plenty. These news items were from today.

I find this news sickening, upsetting, and an omen of how close we are to the rapture. So rather than go into detail about the news, which should be obvious in its import, I’ll go straight to the blessed Hope, which is Jesus, His Spirit who inspired the Word, and our Holy Father who providentially holds us in His hand.

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ (Isaiah 41:10).

Is there any better place to be than His righteous right hand?? No.

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Is there any better way to act than that? No. And the best part is that acting that way is not up to us, but we have the Spirit to help us in His power be loving and self-controlled!

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

If you are in Jesus, the Lord God loves you! Did your read that verse slowly? He is in our midst! He saves! He rejoices over His children! He calms and quiets us by His love! And He sings exultantly over His people. I have a hard time visualizing God singing loudly over His people but the bible says He does, so there ya go. This is not because we are so great, but before the foundation of the world He loves us whilst we were still sinners. His glory is shown through His salvation to sinners.

Be encouraged. God, Jesus, The Spirit who are our Triune God is at work in every corner of the earth and every point of heaven. And in that work, He is mindful of you and me, down to the hairs on our head and our innermost thoughts. His Day will right all wrongs. Meanwhile, all we have to do is love Him and walk in His  ways, praying ceaselessly for strength and love, and He will give it.

Posted in jordan, molech, prophecy

Jordan has a great role to play in the end times

Posted on by elizabethprata

Jordan has a very interesting and important role to play in end times prophecy. We often focus on Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, etc because of they’re always in the secular news and because their prophetic ends are easier to determine, being for the most part contained in one book of the bible. The prophecies about Jordan are scattered between the Old Testament and the New, and piecing together what is in store for them is takes more study. But it is worth it.

Now, I know I will not do it justice here, there is a lot and I’ve only scratched the surface. But isn’t that the great thing about the bible? There are always more pieces to study! New revelations the Spirit will deliver and more wisdom of the word He will supply. And as always, be sure to study these things yourself, to see if they are true.

Jordan is a pretty new country. It was created in 1922 as a UK protectorate after WW1 when the British carved up parts of the Middle East as spoils of war from the losing Ottoman Empire. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 decreed that the UK recognized the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. However at the last moment, Britain reneged on their promise and only a fraction of the bounded land that was supposed to go to a new Zionist state actually went to it, most of it going to create the new state of Trans-jordan in 1922. And it was 31 years later and after a bunch of Arab uprisings that Israel finally declared herself a state in 1948. After capturing the West Bank area of Trans-jordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah took the title King of Jordan, and he officially changed the country’s name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949. The following year he annexed the West Bank.

The Jordan of today can be said to be three biblical nations. From north to south we have Ammon, Moab, and Edom. If you remember, in Genesis 19 when Sodom was smote with brimstone for its homosexuality, and Lot and his two daughters fled to Zoar, the daughters thought the three of them were the only living beings left in the world. They got their father drunk and lay with him, incestuously and wrongfully. They each got pregnant, and the result was Ben-Ammi, the father of the Ammonites, and Moab. (Gen 19:37-38). Esau is Edom (Genesis 36:1). Edom also became known as Idumea in the Greek.

Amman is the capital of Jordan and is the largest city. Like Damascus, it is considered one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. That is why, when we read Jeremiah 49:2 the prophecy calling for Amman to become a desolate heap, we know it is a prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled.

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.” [note that the ancient name for Amman was Rabbah]

Ezekiel 25:1-7 also contains a prophecy against Ammon-

“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord. For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

The prophecy continues with a judgment against Moab, and a judgment against Edom. So from north (Ammon) to central (Moab) to the south (Edom) the nation that is currently called Jordan will be no more, and given to Israel. This is re-stated in Jeremiah 49:1-3:

“Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities? Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, says the Lord. Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth, lament, and run to and fro among the hedges! For Milcom shall go into exile, with his priests and his officials.”

This prophecy is especially exciting. First, note that the King of Jordan and the Hashemite Kingdom is Abdullah, who is a 41st generation direct descendant of Mohammad. Jordan is 92% Muslim,  and with the King claiming to be direct descendant of the false “prophet” Mohammad, it is false god central! Secondly, note the the mention of Milcom in the Jeremiah 49:3 verse. Milcom is another name for the false god the people worshiped at that time, AKA Molech. Molech is the false god the people sacrificed their children to, the one whom God called the “detestable god of the Ammonites” (1 Kings 11:7). The child sacrifice of Molech-Allah continues- Are not Muslim boys trained as suicide bombers? Are not Muslim girls sacrificed into marriages while still children? Molech-Allah is still claiming his children in this day and age, isn’t he?!

Verse 3 of the Jeremiah verse contains a promise from God that when Ammon is reduced to a heap (Jeremiah 49:2) Molech (Milcom) “will go into captivity with all his priests and officials”. Does that mean we can interpret that Allah will be defeated and Islam come to an end in the last days before Jesus returns? I hope so!! In any case, it is exciting to think of the day when God will be acknowledged as the only God!

Another interesting prophetic piece is that Jordan is prophesied to be the only nation to escape the conquering of the antichrist. (Daniel 11:41-42). Perhaps this is because when the abomination of desolation comes upon the Jews, and Jesus had told them to flee, He said to flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:16). The mountains near to Judea are the mountains at Petra, the rock city where the Jewish remnant will be nourished for the remaining three and a half years of the Tribulation.

Revelation 12:14 tell us that “the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.”

Scholars believe that place the remnant will flee to over the mountains and in the wilderness is Petra, the practically impregnable fortress at the southern end of Jordan, in old Edom. (See map). They believe this because at the last day, when Jesus finally returns, He comes from Bozrah. Bozrah means sheep fold. Bozrah is mentioned in this verse from Isaiah 63:1 as being in Edom:

“Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”

When the Lord returns, He lands at the Mount of Olives. His feet touch down and the mount is split in two. (Zech 14:4). He also goes to the Valley of Har Megiddo, where the battle of Armageddon is taking place. (Rev 16:16; Rev 19:19). But He also goes to Bozrah to rescue His remnant. I don’t know where He goes first and second and third, but by the time He comes from Bozrah, His clothes are stained red with blood. (Isaiah 63:1)

Barnes Notes says of the Isaiah-Bozrah verse:

“Who is this – The language of the people who see Yahweh returning as a triumphant conqueror from Idumea. Struck with his stately bearing as a warrior; with his gorgeous apparel; and with the blood on his raiment, they ask who he could be? This is a striking instance of the bold and abrupt manner of Isaiah. He does not describe him as going forth to war nor the preparation for battle; nor the battle itself, nor the conquests of cities and armies; but he introduces at once the returning conqueror having gained the victory – here represented as a solitary warrior, moving along with majestic gait from Idumea to his own capital, Jerusalem.”

Our Jesus is a solitary warrior, solitary because there is no other! He returns victorious to conquer the enemies and restore His remnant to their place! He has been aiming toward this moment since before the foundation of the world! And Jordan is one nation that He uses mightily, first as a judgment for the sin of cursing His people and their land, second as a place saved out of the antichrist’s hand so that Israel will no longer have a malicious neighbor pricking them as thorns (Ez 28:24), third as the place where He will finally dispense with Molech, the “detestable god of the Ammonites” and his clerics and priests, and fourth as the nestling place where His people are nourished and saved during the holocaust of the Great Tribulation!

Keep your eyes on Jordan. That nation figures prominently in God’s glorious plan!

Posted in prophecy, sovereignty

Back to Basics: The Importance of Prophecy

Posted on by elizabethprata

As the time draws nigh, people less and less look to prophecy as a legitimate study of the bible. They dismiss the prophetic, are skeptical of it, or simply ignore it. The silence of the pulpits is resounding, and the ignorance of the people is disheartening.

I’d like to spend a bit of time in encouraging us all to study the word, and not to ignore the prophetic. Lambert Dolphin wrote,

“A major portion of both the Old and New Testament is devoted to prophecy- nearly one third of the Scripture. Only four of the 66 books of the Bible are without prophecy-Ruth, the Song of Solomon, Philemon, and 3 John. Even the shortest book of the Bible mentions prophecy (Jude 14, 17-18, which refers to Enoch and the second coming of the Lord). Out of the Old Testament’s 23,210 verses, 6,641 contain predictive material, over twenty eight percent. Out of the New Testament’s 7,914 verses, 1,711 contain predictive material, over 21 percent.”

Joel C. Rosenberg wrote an essay this weekend titled Rediscovering The Power and Purpose of Prophecy. He makes four main points,

“Unfortunately, many pastors, priests and ministry leaders here in the U.S. and around the world are not teaching Bible prophecy — as I see it, there are four major reasons for this.”

–First, many pastors don’t teach prophecy because they have a lack of belief in the power of God’s Word.
–Second, many pastors don’t teach prophecy because they have a lack of knowledge of — and sound training in — Bible prophecy.
–Third, many pastors don’t teach prophecy because they have a fear of being lumped in with “prophecy nuts” and those who peddle sensationalism.
–Fourth, many pastors don’t teach prophecy because they have a lack of understanding of the times in which we live and the increasingly close return of Christ.

Illustration above, “God judging Adam” Genesis 3, William Blake, C. 1795

Rosenberg fleshes out each of the points, and promises that a second part to the essay will be posted soon.

Prophecy is the very Word of God, spoken by His mouth to His servants. (Revelation 1:1, Luke 1:70). Before the Word was written, He spoke it. The first prophecy was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden as He related to them the curse of the Fall from Grace, but promised a Messiah. (Genesis 3:15).

Then the Prophets came, as they had since the beginning, (Luke 1:70), and God told them to write down the words. (Habakkuk 2:2, Exodus 17:14, Jeremiah 30:1 & 2 for example).

Poor Jeremiah. God spoke to Him and Jeremiah spoke to the people. Then God told Jeremiah to write the words down. Jeremiah did. However, Jeremiah’s words from God were so ill-received that King Jehoiakim burned the scroll of everything that had been written. The King burned it bit by bit as Baruch read it. The LORD then told Jeremiah to write it all over again, a monumental work, and this time God added words that cursed the king. (Jeremiah 30). God’s word will not be denied.

So prophecy was and is the word of the Lord, whether spoken as it was in the Old Testament or written as it was then and it is now. It will be spoken again, in the Tribulation, when God sends His Two Witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days. (Revelation 11:3). Illustration, James Shaw Crompton, of Habakkuk 2:2, “I will stand upon my watch”

Prophecy is extremely important, we are told many times. 1 Thessalonians 5:20 warns us not to despise prophesyings. For example, in 2 Peter 1:19 we are told it is “a sure word.” This is because almost nothing else illustrates His sovereignty more than prophecy. How so?

“And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” (Numbers 11:23). He delivers His word and tells us to test it, watch for it. This is because His Word is sure and God knows it will come true.

Pastor Jim McClarty discussed the Irresistibility of God in his 2009 sermon delivered at the Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. He made several wonderful points during his exciting 1 hour sermon, but his second point is the one I’d like to bring to you now. He said,

“God’s irrestibility is demonstrated in prophecy. Prophecy is a risky venture. There are no other major religious pieces of literature in the world that contain the amount of prophecy that the bible does. It’s one of the most unique characteristics of the bible, and it is chock full of prophecy. The reason it’s risky is, you can check it.” (Numbers 11:23, Deuteronomy 18:22).

People often think that the Old Testament times were heavily prophetic all the time. They believe that miracles happened every day and that God talked to the prophets every minute. It is not so. The miracles we read about in the Old Testament were spaced far apart, years, decades, centuries, even. After Micah, there were no prophets for 400 years, until John the Baptist came, and John performed no miracles as Elijah or Moses did. For most of the generations in the OT, they read the scrolls, listened to the priests, and lived lives in submission to Holy God and were waiting for their Messiah to come.

Illustration, Jeremiah, “The Lord’s word came to me again” Annie Vallotton.

In our day, we read the pages of the bible, listen to the pastors, and live lives in submission to the Messiah who has come- and will soon come again!

I love prophecy. The LORD put me here during one of the most heavily prophetic times in the history of the world, to be part of the generation that will be raptured. I see it unrolling before my eyes. Now, people can get carried away. Mr Rosenberg was right that there are nuts who run away with prophecy predictions and claim to hear a word from the Lord as Jeremiah or Elijah did. Fortunately, as Jim McClarty said, we can check the prophecies in the bible. We can rejoice that our Holy God not only is the creator of the universe and the author and architect and finisher of our faith, but His word is sure. He is sovereign and that means, according to Rev. Matt Slick at CARM,

“Sovereignty in relation to God means that God has the absolute right to do with His creation as He desires. Some verses that support this are as follows: Psalm 115:3, “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” Isaiah 46:10, “Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure;”

Faith in God is always trustworthy, even when answers to life’s issues and traumas do not always arrive. We must trust God in spite of what we see. But when we do see, as in prophecy coming true as written in the pages of His word, we rejoice that He is in control and our faith will prosper us.

“And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” (2 Chronicles 20:20).

Posted in israel, lake turns blood red, prophecy, supervolcano

News blurbs: US scales back military exercises with Israel, supervolcano found under Hong Kong, lake turns blood red

Posted on by elizabethprata

Some news blurbs for you.

Why don’t today’s pastors teach or preach bible prophecy? Joel C. Rosenberg looks at 4 reasons. (The bible says that in the latter days, men will not want to hear solid bible preaching or God’s word in any form. 2 Timothy 4:4; Isaiah 30:10 are two examples.)

Lake in France turns blood red, excessive salt said to be the cause. This Daily Mail article has lots of photos. The red lake sure does look eerie. (Rev 16:4 shows us that in the Tribulation all the world’s rivers, lakes and streams will turn blood red, either because of “natural causes” like excessive salt, or literally with blood, or simply as a miracle of God.)

Stennis departing for deployment as seen from Fort Casey.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Johnson. Stennis FB page

USS Stennis has shore leave cut short, is sent back to the Persian Gulf four months early, due to rising tensions. Stennis is taking the Mobile Bay and Carrier Air Wing 9. (Jesus said in Matthew 24:6 that wars and rumors of wars will characterize the last days. Even so, the end is not yet.)

The Times of Israel reports that the long-planned and once delayed massive military drill with Israel, due to start this October, has been vastly reduced by the US. Time Magazine first reported this, and quotes an Israeli military official, “Basically what the Americans are saying is, “We don’t trust you,” a senior Israeli military official is quoted by Time as saying.” (In the last days, Jerusalem would be a burden to the entire world. Zech 12:2-3. In the very end, all nations will come against Israel. Zech 14:2).

Yikes. Super-volcano found under Hong Kong
Krakatau a mere firecracker compared to thankfully-dormant discovery
“Hong Kong geologists have revealed for the first time the full extent of an ancient supervolcano with a diameter of 18km sitting beneath the former British colony. The giant ash monster is thought to be of the same collapse caldera type as the infamous Krakatau volcano which killed tens of thousands and literally rocked the world when it blasted open near the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra in 1883. The discovery … is one of only around 50 such volcanoes in the world…”

People stand on large hexagonal columns of volcanic rock, southeast of Hong Kong
in this handout photo released August 30, 2012.

(Revelation 6:12 says that in the Tribulation, the sun will be darkened and look like sackcloth. This is similar to when the sun turned dim and looked like bloody sackcloth when Iceland’s volcano Laki erupted in 1784 and again in 1815 when Mt Tambora erupted. Tambora was an explosion that was actually more devastating than 1883’s more famous Krakatau eruption. Tambora is in the Indian Ocean, and its explosion caused the weather in 1816 to turn bizarre. “Spring came but then everything seemed to turn backward, as cold temperatures returned. The sky seemed permanently overcast. The lack of sunlight became so severe that farmers lost their crops and food shortages were reported in Ireland, France, England, and the United States.” (source).

Krakataoa’s volcanic dust thrown into the atmosphere affected the weather around the world for at least two years. Note that Laki, Tambora, and Krakatau are not even super-volcanoes. A super-volcano is a volcano capable of producing a volcanic eruption with an ejecta volume greater than 1,000 km3 (240 cu mi). This is thousands of times larger than most historic volcanic eruptions. For example, Krakatau’s eruption emitted ‘only’ 25 km3.

Though scientists are still finding supervolcanoes and various lists differ, this one seems to be the most stable. Interesting that three of the world’s 6 or 7 supervolcanoes are in the US

US – The Yellowstone Caldera
US – The Long Valley Caldera in east central California
US – Valles Caldera in northern New Mexico
Sumatra – Lake Toba
New Zealand – Taupo Caldera
Japan – Aira Caldera

Imagine in the Tribulation when the super-volcanoes go off and all of Hong Kong is vaporized in a moment. This news from the Krakatoa eruption is sobering. “Weeks after the eruption large pieces began drifting in with the tides along the coast of Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa. Some of the large pieces of volcanic rock had animal and human skeletons embedded in them. They were grisly relics of Krakatoa.”

This NOVA article says, “A supereruption is to all eruptions that have ever occurred in recorded history like a bolt of lightning is to a static spark in your sweater.”

One can begin to see how the prophesied Tribulation death toll of first a quarter of the earth and then a third of the earth will rack up quickly.

Hal Lindsey reports tonight of the four global spheres of power that are integral to last days prophecy.

1. Eurozone/Revived Roman Empire (Dan 2 & 11)
2. Gog-Magog/ Russia (Ezekiel 38-39)
3. King of the East/Asian world power (Revelation 9 & 16).
4. King of the South/ Muslim nations along 10-40 belt. (Daniel 11:40-45).

5. United States- is the 5th sphere of power currently in play which is rapidly declining into oblivion and will play no role in coming prophetic events. Our distancing from Jerusalem and treasonous acts against Israel along with the rising terror attacks in the US, increased natural disasters, monetary issues and famines/drought are part of the prophecy itself. We curse Israel, we are cursed. All who try to lift Jerusalem from its place will be dealt with. (Genesis 12:3; Zechariah 12:3). It is NOT a coincidence that our acts against Israel are causing the woes upon the nation now.

Here is Hal Lindsey this week:

Posted in esther, for such a time as this, last days, prophecy

How does "For such a time as this" have meaning for us today?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m just in awe of the Lord these days. I sit stunned, day after day, at the prophetic news coming alive. There is no doubt that we are living in the last days, the end of time. There is no doubt that the events we are seeing are the very ones that were prophesied to occur just prior to the second return of Jesus Christ.

Therefore in addition to studying the prophesies and watching for His return as we are commanded, we also should ponder His plan and providence of His decision to station us here, now, for such a time as this.

Mordecai said to Esther, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Now, we do not all have the terrible privilege of being the vehicle from which and through which God Himself brings deliverance to an entire people, as Esther was, but we do need to be mindful of the weight of time and the fact that God deliberately chose to put us here in this time, now. Do we take the time to thank Him? To ponder our role in these last days? To ask and seek His face as to why and what it is He wants us to do that is particular to this time, as opposed to other centuries He could have elected us to dwell in?

Gill’s Exposition of the Bible explains of the Esther verse, “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? he intimates that he believed that the providence of God had raised her to that dignity, that she might be an instrument of saving his people in the time of their distress; and this he said to encourage her to make the experiment.”

Isn’t that phrase, “God raised her to that dignity” a wonderful and at the same time, a terrifying thing to consider? We each have a dignity to perform in His name and for His name.

Wesley’s Notes goes further:

“We should every one of us consider, for what end God has put us in the place where we are? And when an opportunity offers of serving God and our generation, we must take care not to let it slip.”

For what end, my Lord and my God? For what end do you seek to have me serve in these last days?

And my favorite, Matthew Henry’s Commentary punctuates the Esther verse with this comment:

“We are prone to shrink from services that are attended with peril or loss. But when the cause of Christ and his people demand it, we must take up our cross, and follow him. When Christians are disposed to consult their own ease or safety, rather than the public good, they should be blamed. The law was express, all knew it. It is not thus in the court of the King of kings: to the footstool of his throne of grace we may always come boldly, and may be sure of an answer of peace to the prayer of faith. We are welcome, even into the holiest, through the blood of Jesus. Providence so ordered it, that, just then, the king’s affections had cooled toward Esther; her faith and courage thereby were the more tried; and God’s goodness in the favour she now found with the king, thereby shone the brighter.”

Yes, we are prone to shrink from service that carries with it dishonor, persecution, or even death. But shrink we must not do! We are put here for a service to Him that will allow Him to shine His goodness all the brighter.

There is no doubt that we are enduring terrible pressures of the days. Sometimes it feels that our shoulders seem unequal to the task of carrying them. But then,we do not have to carry these pressures! The Lord’s yoke is easy and His burden is light, if we but cast our cares upon Him. His shoulders will carry the world’s government (Isaiah 9:6). He carried the cross on His shoulders on the way to Calvary, and He placed all the sins of the people on His shoulders while He was ON that cross. He seeks and finds one lost sheep whilst the other 99 are grazing on the hill, and when He finds the lost one, puts it on His shoulders and carries it home to much rejoicing. (Luke 15:3). He can bear all things. And through Him, we can bear the days, too.

And what days they are! Let’s take a look at some news:

MIDDLE EAST

Egypt broadens Sinai campaign to root out terror
“Egypt’s military said on Wednesday it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border. Disorder has spread in Sinai since President Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow last year. Analysts say Islamists with possible links to al-Qaeda have gained a foothold. This has alarmed Israel.”

Israelis to ‘lose’ 300 meters to Sinai security
The IDF is set to issue orders that would convert an area of 300 meters within the Sinai border into a closed military zone
“Israelis will soon be banned from approaching too close to the Sinai border. A report on Army Radio Thursday morning said that the IDF was set to issue orders that would convert an area of 300 meters within the Sinai border into a closed military zone, which only soldiers and security personnel would be able to enter. The order would apply even to areas where the Sinai border fence is in place. The fence, much of which contains electronic sensors to detect intruders, is about three quarters complete.”

Iran doubled capacity of bunker enrichment plant, ‘significantly’ hampers inspection, IAEA charges
“Iran has effectively shut down a probe of a site suspected of being used for work on nuclear weapons development while doubling the number of machines it could use to make the core of nuclear warheads at an underground bunker safe from airborne attack, the UN nuclear agency said in a report Thursday.”

An IAEA report said the Fordo [nuclear] plant has around 2,000 centrifuges installed, compared with around 1,000 in May. This is terrible news. Joel Rosenberg has an essay tonight titled,

“Inside the debate: Should Israel Strike Iran in the next 10 Weeks? What Netanyahu, Barak and their critics are thinking“

Iran has repeatedly said they plan to wipe Israel off the earth. Iran’s top officials and its theocratic clerics believe with all their heart that doing so is an Allah-given right, duty, and responsibility to show Allah their seriousness in preparing the way for the final Imam to arrive.

Israel has repeatedly said “Never again,” this is their national motto. Yesterday Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Iran a “disgrace” to humanity, during a meeting Wednesday evening with the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Germany, David McAllister. “Seventy years ago, six million of our people were destroyed in an act of genocide. The world pledged ‘never again’ . . . It appears that many among the international community haven’t learned anything.” Netanyahu said that the Iranian “regime denies the Holocaust and is working to destroy the Jewish state. This regime oppresses its people, takes part in the butchering of innocent Syrians, and calls for death toAmerica, death to Israel.”

So sadly, “Never Again” will prove to be a hollow motto. Jesus said regarding the abomination of desolation, and as for the Jews in Jerusalem, “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22).

Prophecy students know that ‘Never Again’ will soon change to “Not again!!”

PESTILENCE

Great rampaging diseases are prophesied to occur in the Tribulation. Disease will be one of the methods Jesus uses to judge the world and bring widespread death. (Luke 21:11; Revelation 6:8).

Right now, did you know that one of the worst outbreaks of West Nile virus to ever hit the United States is happening, and is continuing to expand?

4 dead so far as West Nile disease becomes epidemic in Michigan
“West Nile disease — a mosquito-borne illness — has reached epidemic proportions in Michigan, particularly in older suburbs that ring metro Detroit and Grand Rapids, state health officials warned Wednesday. Michigan’s 80 cases this summer, including four deaths, rank the state as the sixth highest in the nation with the problem, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

West Nile Virus Cases Hit 1,590; Death Toll at 66
“Reports of West Nile virus infection in the country now total 1,590, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday – an increase of more than 40 percent in one week alone. CDC officials also reported during a Wednesday afternoon teleconference that 66 people have died from the disease so far. Of all of the cases reported thus far, 889 – or 56 percent – are classified as neuroinvasive, meaning patients develop meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis. These figures represent a striking increase from last week’s report of 1,118 cases”

2,900 Yosemite visitors warned about possible exposure to deadly hantavirus
“About 2,900 Yosemite National Park visitors from around the world who stayed in Curry Village this summer have been notified about possible exposure to hantavirus, a mouse-borne illness that can develop into severe and often-fatal respiratory disease. People who stayed in the cabins from June 10 through Aug. 24 have been notified by e-mail or letter about possible infection, Yosemite National Park spokeswoman Kari Cobb told CBSNews.com. In addition, visitors who were planning on staying in the tent cabins in Curry Village at Yosemite have been re-booked in other locations, while the 91 cabins undergo sanitation and retrofitting.”

John MacArthur believes that the prophecy will be fulfilled via rodents. He preached on “The Grim Reality of the Last Days,” saying “Luke 21 also adds there will be plagues, terrors and great signs from heaven. You want plagues, how about the black death, 1300’s in Europe, carried by rats, killed 60 percent of the population of Europe in excess of a hundred million people. How about 40 million plus in the great influenza, the early twentieth century. Great signs from heaven, terrors, fires, diseases, heat, cold, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought.”

Well, we have all that now, including diseases, and in the Tribulation diseases will run away from being managed through medicine and bring death along for the ride.
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DROUGHT

Isaac rain may bring some drought relief

Praise the Lord, I hope it does!!!

“As Hurricane Isaac continues to pound the Gulf Coast with rain and wind, meteorologists say the storm could provide some much-needed hydration in parts of the country hit hard by drought. Isaac will bring “soaking downpours” to parts of Arkansas, Missouri and other Central states into the weekend, according to AccuWeather. The rain will arrive too late for summer crops, such as corn and soybeans, which were damaged by the hottest July on record. But the moisture could reach far enough westward to benefit some of the upcoming winter wheat crop, according to Dale Mohler, a meteorologist at AccuWeather.”

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CULTURE

Girl, 10, charged with manslaughter in Maine

What a horrible thing!! Society has surely degeneration’s too far when children are [allegedly] killing babies!

“PORTLAND, MAINE (AP) –— A 10-year-old girl was charged Thursday with manslaughter in the death of an infant whose mother said had ingested medication and been suffocated.  The girl, who is not being identified, is the youngest person to be charged with manslaughter in Maine in at least 25 years. The infant, Brooklyn Foss-Greenaway, of Clinton in central Maine, had been left overnight with an adult baby sitter in nearby Fairfield.”

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Back to Esther. When Mordecai tells Esther she may have been put here for such a time as this, what Mordecai is really doing is affirming Divine sovereignty. “He affirms divine sovereignty. He affirms his confidence in the revelation of God that he would preserve his people. But he also understands that Esther can perish and he can perish and many other Jews can perish if she doesn’t act. … The invisible hand of God is evident everywhere” in the Book of Esther and His invisible hand is everywhere in the world today. No one, no matter how they attempt to destroy the people of God and the purpose of God, can succeed because God’s covenant love for Israel will be fulfilled, is being fulfilled. And the message for you is this. While you’re going through life and trying to make sure you fix all the little pieces of your life, understand this: that there is over and in, above and below your life a divine architect ordering every detail. And if you belong to Him and are in the covenant of His love, He is accomplishing His perfect will. And you can rest in that, you can rest in that.”

“The Lord is still on the throne. These are challenging times, challenging days to live in. You can become pretty distressed about the way things are going, the way things are going in the world is chaotic, disconcerting, troubling, disturbing, distressing, some ways frightening. Not so in the kingdom. The divine architect is ordering our lives, those of us who belong to Him and are in covenant love with Him. He is ordering our lives to His eternal glory, every part. How wonderful to live in that confidence” (source)

Posted in brawley, prophecy, quake swarm

Brawley, Southern California quake swarm update

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Earthquakes continue to shake the south end of the Salton Sea late Sunday in a seismic swarm that experts say is seen only twice a decade. “Our system is choking on so many earthquakes,” she continued. “This area of California is deep soils, and we do not get as precise data as we do over the rest of the state, and that makes our data a little less precise.” The scientist went on to say that it is all perfectly normal, it actually is a “classic swarm.”

But the scientist below in a different article said they don’t understand why these swarms come and go, or in this article, why the faults act differently north of LA than they do south of the Salton Sea.

Earthquake swarm puts California areas on edge
“A magnitude-4.2 earthquake rattled communities 100 miles east of San Diego on Monday night, despite observations from earthquake experts that a series of small to moderate earthquakes seemed to be slowing down and getting smaller in magnitude. … The seismic activity is not unusual, but scientists have puzzled over the cause. The last significant swarm occurred in 2005, when a thousand quakes, the largest at magnitude-5.1, shook the south shore of the Salton Sea. In 1981, a cluster of quakes hit a region five miles to the northwest of Sunday’s sequence, with the largest measuring a magnitude-5.8. The region was very active in the 1960s and 1970s.”

“They seem to light up and turn off for reasons we don’t understand,” USGS seismologist Susan Hough said.”

Photo Caption: El Sol Market on Main Street in Brawley, Calif., was hit hard by the earthquakes that hit throughout Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012- AP Photo/Imperial Valley Press, Brandy Ronek.

Every day we have a perplexed scientist roaming around his office with his hands in his hair, saying, “I just don’t understand.” Do a search for ‘perplexes scientists’ like I did. I got these results, some from this month and some from earlier in this year:

  • Surge in Squid Perplexes Scientists 
  • Mysterious black hole type perplexes, bewilders
  • Mysterious nodding head disease afflicts young Ugandans, perplexes scientists and residents
  • Strange gamma-ray objects perplex scientists
  • Dozens of Stranded Dolphins on Cape Cod Shores Perplex Rescuers

This perplexity of not understanding why there is suddenly a difference in regular planetary orbits, anomalies in weather cycles, earthquakes in diverse places, and odd behaviors of man and animal will only increase. Luke tells us,

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,” (Luke 21:25).

The sea and waves roaring is not meant to be understood literally but as an image of the peoples in great distress and yelling in uproar as calamity after calamity rushes down on them like waves crashing upon the sand. The same metaphor is also used in Isaiah 8:7-8, and Revelation 18:15.

The word perplexity is from the Greek aporeo, and it means “at wit’s end, at a loss, in difficulties, perplexed.” These occurrences where no one can figure out why they are happening will only become more difficult to figure out…until they are all at their wit’s end and at a loss.

Meanwhile the quake swarm at Brawley continues. The Imperial Valley Press reported yesterday, Brawley acts fast as quakes roll. San Diego Union-Tribune reports, “Schools are closed and residents of Brawley are being asked to conserve water as the town of 25,000 people braces Monday for what could be more earthquakes following a Sunday filled with some serious shaking.”

That’s our Lord, some serious shaking, before the judgment. Will you listen? He loves you, and wants you to come to repentance.