prophecy – Page 67

Greece, the euro, and self-delusion

Posted on May 22, 2012 by elizabethprata

Here is an interesting article out this morning from Reuters.

“Greeks embrace some new myths about life with the euro“
“In a land of ancient myths, modern Greeks have created some of their own about their near-bankrupt country’s future as an integral part of a Europe that will never kick them out. Solemn warnings from abroad that Athens cannot stay in the euro while rejecting the terms attached to the billions offered to pull Greece out of its financial hole are widely disbelieved in a land that considers itself the envy of foreigners. However bad their prospects, many Greeks seem to think that since money to bail them out was found in the past, it will be found again, whatever politicians say. Nor do they believe that Europe will simply cast them loose, despite growing signs that Greece is heading for the exit from the single currency and towards the economic and social catastrophe that would follow.”

‘Never be kicked out’? ‘The envy of foreigners’?? ‘They will get more bailouts’???

How is it possible to be THAT deluded? There is a biblical answer to that, and one that the article’s headline alluded to. It is shown to us in Daniel 10:20, where there is a mention of a Prince of Greece:

“When said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.”

From Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, “But before he communicated to Daniel what would befall his people in the “latter days” (Daniel 10:14), he gives to him yet further disclosures regarding the proceedings in the spirit-kingdom which determine the fate of nations, and contain for Israel, in the times of persecution awaiting them.”

What is happening is that Daniel had inquired of the LORD. The LORD dispatched an angel to give Daniel the answer. But on the way, the holy angel was delayed in the celestial realms by evil angels who opposed him and tried to prevent the message from being delivered. Finally after 21 days Michael had to be sent to help the holy angel get through. And when the holy angel was finished speaking with Daniel, he said was going to have to leave and go deal with the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece.

We know that the princes spoken of are not in this context earthly princes like Prince Charles of Britain. They are angels. Daniel 12:1 speaks of archangel Michael being the “prince” who is assigned to ‘Thy People” the Israelites. It seems that there are evil angels and good angels who are assigned in a military type hierarchy to different regions. And Greece apparently has a very powerful prince assigned to it by satan.

John MacArthur preached on this verse, explaining,

“Now listen to this. Satan has an incredibly clever organization. He has set up a network of demons that are behind all of the activities of human history. There was a demon assigned to Persia. Verse 20 says there’s a demon to be assigned to Greece. The Bible says that all the gods of the nations are demons. And I believe without question, throughout all of human history Satan’s network of demons have been behind the scenes, endeavoring to do all they can to foil the plan of God. His task, this prince of Persia, was to hinder the will and the working of God in regard to Persia, to do all he could to hold back God’s plan.”

“And when Persia passed away, and Greece became the third great world empire, according to verse 20, there would be another demon assigned to be the power in Greece and he would have under him a whole plethora of demons to carry out his bidding. Is that an insight? God actually carries out His will through the angelic conflict. Incredible. And this angel says I’ve got to hurry and get my message so I can get back to the war.”

“And when I’m done with this Persian deal, Greece is going to come along and I’ve got to fight that one, too.”

So from the land that gave us myths, which are false religions and twists on His truth, we have an evilly powerful prince of Greece and his unholy minions who delude an entire nation. That’s how it’s possible to be so deluded.

end of days, jesus, prophecy, satan, tribulation

Tribulation overview

Posted on May 22, 2012 by elizabethprata

The verse below is meant to be (mostly) fulfilled in the Tribulation. The Tribulation is prophesied to be a period where many things will happen. One of them is that the earth and heavens themselves will be wildly disrupted and disfigured. Landforms disappear. Weather patterns evaporate. Celestial orbits cease. Plagues kill. And more.

The outline of what Jesus will be doing at that time is presented to us in Daniel 9:24. The Lord will do 6 things:

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city,

1. To finish the transgression,
2. To make an end of sins,
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity,
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness,
5. To seal up vision and prophecy,
6. And to anoint the Most Holy.”

Notice several things. First, it is a period where though the times seem chaotic, it is actually orderly. It is all in control of God. The three series of 7-judgments apiece (Seals, Trumpets, Bowls; perhaps four sets if you consider the Seven Thunders of Rev. 10:3-4) will be delivered in orderly fashion. The judgments unleash chaos, but their deliverance is orderly and controlled.

Another orderly aspect of the entire age, not just the Tribulation, is that He said it will take 70 weeks (70 bundles of 7 years, called shavua in Hebrew). This adds up to 490 years total for Him to perform the 6 things. The Tribulation is the time for it all to come crashing to a conclusion and so it is a time of demonstrable wrath and the culmination of the 6 things. In further orderliness, He stopped the clock at 483 years. Nowhere was it promised to be 490 consecutive years! But they should have known that, because the interruption was stated. In Daniel 9:25-26, a mere verse later, the angel told Daniel that after seven sevens and 62 sevens, “Messiah will be cut off (vernacular for died) and the people of the prince who is to come (antichrist) shall destroy the city.”

Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was 483 years to the day and then the clock stopped. Then Jesus took 2000 years to build His church, and when it reaches His quota, (Romans 11:25) He will snatch us away from this earth, and He will finish that last 7 years of the prophesied 70 weeks and accomplish the promised 6 things. (More here)

The angel also explained to Daniel that it is a time when God directs His attention to “your people” and “your holy city (Jerusalem). That does not mean He isn’t paying attention to non-believers or non-Jews during the Tribulation, or that nothing will happen to them during the Tribulation. Not at all. Jeremiah 30:7 calls it the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, though, and its point is for the LORD to finish His promises to His people. #1 is to finish the transgression which is to allow sin its full course unhindered (unresisted) by the Spirit- because they have rejected the Spirit. In other words, they will get what they asked for.

#2 says He will make an end to sins. This making an end to sins is an event that will affect everyone on the planet. God always sees the world through the lens of His people the Jews and through the central location of the Holy City. But all the world will be affected.

Note the progression of the 6 things. At the beginning, He allows the transgression to have its full expression. By the end, the Most Holy is anointed. The Most Holy is Jesus. Ahhh, what a day that will be! The Tribulation is the cap-stone to the final age of man where He allows the total outcome of rejection of the Holy Spirit to have its course. His Spirit does not strive with man forever, you know. (Gen 6:3a; 2Thessalonians 2:6-7). Like in Noah’s day, where all of man’s thoughts were only evil continually, (Gen 6:5) so it shall be again at the end of days (Matthew 24:37).

The Daniel 9:26 verse also promises that the end will come like a flood. This does not mean that there will be a flood of actual waters as in the first global judgment. As part of the cataclysmic geo-physical upheavals during the Tribulation there will be floods and tides and hurricanes and tsunamis, but He promised Noah that he would never drown the world again as a judgment. (Gen 9:13). Rather, the verse uses figurative language. The Hebrew word in Dan 9:26 is “sheteph; from shataph; a deluge (literally or figuratively) — flood, outrageous, overflowing.” He means that SIN will have its outrageous overflowing. Remember, the antichrist who overpowers the world is called The Man of Sin. (Rev 13:7; 2 Thess 2:3).

This flood language mirrors the language in Revelation 12:15. Midway through the Tribulation, the antichrist tears up the peace treaty he had confirmed with the Jews at the beginning of the Tribulation. He then persecutes them with all unholiness and evil. He goes after the Jews with an evil vengeance that makes the WWII Holocaust look like a picnic. “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.” Satan pours out his evil and sin flows over the world like a flood.

Floods have waters that rise, and rise and rise, eventually washing away all that is in its path. Even tsunamis which travel at jet speeds have waters that flow and rise accordingly. The end began when Jesus ascended, but it has been 2000 years and we can see that the flood waters of sin are not lapping at our toes…are not sweeping against our waists…but the flood waters of sin seem like they are actually crashing over our heads by this point in time. It seems the flood of sin in the world since the beginning is rising and rising, and now even crashing over our heads. It is like the famous photo of the lighthouse and its keeper:

But we are not destined for wrath! (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Though sin tries to engulf us, it will not prevail against His church! (Matthew 16:18). That is one reason we will not be here during the Tribulation, Jesus said that the gates of hell will never prevail against His church. (Mt 16:18). Notice where the keeper is: INSIDE the Lighthouse. Would you want to be anywhere else when the wages of sin try to engulf you? No. You would not survive that wave. You would not survive the hidden reefs under the wave. (Jude 1:12). Being in the Lighthouse is the only safe place to be, in ages past and in this present age.

Jude says, the apostates are “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (Jude 1:12).

Peter says, “These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” (2 Peter 2:17).

Isaiah says, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.” (Isaiah 57:20).

What of us, individually? His word says that Hades will not prevail against His church, but what of each of us in the daily struggle against sin? Some days it truly feels like it will engulf me. Here is the remedy: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

We are Light keepers, and our job is never more important than during the storm! We are in Christ as THE Light, but we keep His word hidden in our hearts. We are ambassadors of His glory and His truths. We keep His commands. We keep His flame alive on earth by staying in Him and close to Him. It is important to be brighter during the storm and so let us be bright, by being full of peace and joy in these stormy times. Let the waves crash! We have the eternal Strength of the Light. Let others see, and come to Him.

end time, prophecy, tribulation

End times signs in pictures

Posted on May 21, 2012 by elizabethprata

The End Time signs in photos. I know that volcanoes have always erupted. I know that earthquakes have always happened. I know that there have always been wars or rumors of wars. But I thought it would be interesting to put in some photos from today’s news stories that closely match prophecy, to give a different, and visual, perspective of the Tribulation.

Volcanic ash envelops Kagoshima city. Kagoshima city has received a heavy dusting of ash since yesterday due to eruption of Sakurajima Volcano–

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,” (Rev 6:12). A common side effect of volcanic eruptions is that when the ash is flung into the sky it darkens the sun in a phenomenon known as dry fog. I explored this in more detail, here. Or you can read about dry fog from a real science guy, here.

The BBC reported on the rare annular eclipse, here, and published this photo of the eclipse over Tokyo.

“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).

Below, PM Netanyahu meets with Winston Churchill’s granddaughter Edwina Sandys. Prior to WWII, Winston Churchill spoke against appeasing Hitler and foresaw the dreadful effects of failing to stop Hitler’s ambitions in time. He was laughed out of the room, only to unfortunately be shown later how right he had been. The situation brings to mind Netanyahu’s current sole position in his speaking of how dangerous it is to appease Ahmadinejad, and how precarious it would be for the world to fail to stop Iran’s convulsive power, cult of death and ideological zeal as that was demonstrated in the Third Reich.

“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).

Thousands homeless in deadly quake in Italy: 3000 homeless, 50 injured, 7 dead. Historic buildings destroyed.

“There will be earthquakes in diverse places” (Mark 8:13b)

Food shortages in North Korea’s rice belt have become so bad that farmers there have starved to death. As the caption to this photo states, “Famine amid food: North Korean rice farmers are starving to death on meagre government-mandated rations. Picture: AFP Source: AFP”

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” (Revelation 6:5-6). [A denarius was a day’s wages].

Mexico’s Popocatepetl Volcano erupts dramatically at night

“And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.” (Isaiah 29:5b-6)

covenant, jerusalem, prophecy

It’s Jerusalem Day!

Posted on May 20, 2012 by elizabethprata

Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim) is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967.

Video and reporting from 1967:
“On June 7, 1967, Israeli military forces capped off the Six Day War with several remarkable feats, including re-capturing the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan, who had won control of the area in 1948. From a JTA report bearing the dateline June 6, 1967: OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM IS LIBERATED Jerusalem, a city torn in two for 13 years was about to be reunited. Israeli forces surrounded the Jordan-held Old City of Jerusalem today and reportedly occupied most of the area. The Old City, the second capital of Jordan, is the site of some of the holiest places in the Jewish and Christian religions. Jordanian denial of the right of access for Jews to such holy places as the Wailing Wall has been a bone of contention ever since Israel was established.”

And surely it still is, even more than it was 45 years ago. This is prophesied:

“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).

Barnes Notes explains the Zechariah verse:

“The image of the “cup” is mostly of God’s displeasure, which is given to His own people, and then, His judgment of chastisement being exceeded, given in turn to those who had been the instruments of giving it. Thus, Isaiah speaks of “the cup of trembling.” Thou, “Jerusalem, hast drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, hast wrung them out. Therefore hear thou this, thou afflicted and drunken but not with wine. Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee.” (Isaiah 51:17, Isaiah 51:21-23).”

As we are told in scripture, today in the world not everyone is in agreement with Jerusalem as the eternal capital, however. Headline from this morning from the Lebanon Daily Star: “Israel marks 45 yrs since occupation of E. Jerusalem“.

Here are some demographic facts about Jerusalem if you want to gain an overall numerical view of the city.

A great sermon to read or listen to from John MacArthur is “The Future Glory of Jerusalem.” In the sermon, he says, “This final chapter hasn’t been written. It’s final hero hasn’t arrived yet, but He will. For about 2,000 years now the Jews have been going to the Wailing Wall at one point or another to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, to plead with God to send a deliverer and break Gentile power, and I imagine if you were to go up to the wall, and you wouldn’t dare do this, and pull out of the cracks the little notes that the Orthodox stick in the cracks and read them, they would say O God for the peace of Jerusalem. And God will answer. Jerusalem has not only been the center of redemptive history it will be the center of redemptive consummation in the great future that God has planned. It is, incidentally, still to be the habitation of God. It is the only intended capitol for the kingdom and as Melchizedek was its first king so one after the order of Melchizedek will be its last king, but until then the Bible says Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles.”

So Jerusalem is NOT a city forsaken. His promises regarding His city and His people are NOT set aside! It is an eternal city, and someday when its shame and indignation has passed, when it has been purified, the Shekinah glory will reside there. Ezekiel 37:26 says

“I will make a covenant of peace with them and it will be an everlasting covenant and I will place them and multiply them and set My sanctuary in the midst of them forever, My tabernacle shall also be with them, ye I will be their God, they shall be My people, and the nations shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel and my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.”

The LORD is good and His promises endure forever!

lighthouse, prophecy, sin

The sin-storm is crashing over our heads!

Posted on May 19, 2012 by elizabethprata

The Tribulation is prophesied to be a period where many things will happen. One of them is that the earth and heavens themselves will be wildly disrupted. Landforms disappear. Weather patterns evaporate. Orbits cease. And more.

The outline of what Jesus will be doing at that time is presented to us in Daniel 9:24. The Lord will do 6 things:

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city,

1. To finish the transgression,

2. To make an end of sins,

3. To make reconciliation for iniquity,

4. To bring in everlasting righteousness,

5. To seal up vision and prophecy,

6. And to anoint the Most Holy.”

Notice several things. First, it is a period where though the times seem chaotic, it is actually orderly. It is all in control of God. The three series of 7-judgments apiece (Seals, Trumpets, Bowls) will be delivered in orderly fashion. The judgments unleash chaos, but their deliverance is orderly and controlled.

Another orderly aspect of the entire period, not just the Tribulation, is that He said it will take 70 weeks (70 bundles of 7 years, called shavua in Hebrew). This it adds up to 490 years total for Him to perform the 6 things. The Tribulation is the time for it all to come to the conclusion and so it is a time of demonstrable wrath. In further orderliness, He stopped the clock at 483 years. Nowhere was it promised to be 490 consecutive years! But they should have known that, because the interruption, too, was stated. In Daniel 9:25-26, a mere verse later, the angel told Daniel that after seven sevens and 62 sevens, Messiah will be cut off (vernacular for died) and the people of the prince who is to come (antichrist) shall destroy the city.

Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was 483 years to the day and then the clock stopped. Then Jesus took 2000 years to build His church, and when it reaches His quota, (Romans 11:25) then He will finish that last 7 years of the prophesied 70 weeks and accomplish the promised 6 things.

The angel also explained to Daniel that it is a time when God directs His attention to “your people” and “your holy city (Jerusalem). That does not mean He isn’t paying attention to non-believers or non-Jews, and that nothing will happen to them during the Tribulation. Not at all. Jeremiah 30:7 calls it the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, though, and its point is for the LORD to finish His promises to His people. #1 is to finish the transgression, and #2 says He will make an end to sins. This making an end to sins is an even that will affect everyone on the planet. God always sees the world through the lens of His people the Jews and through the central location of the Holy City. But all the world will be affected.

Secondly, note the progression of the 6 things. At the beginning, He allows the transgression to have its full expression. By the end, the Most Holy is anointed. The Most Holy is Jesus. Ahhh, what a day that will be! The Tribulation is the cap-stone to the final age of man where He allows the total outcome of rejection of the Holy Spirit to have its course. Like in Noah’s day, where all of man’s thoughts were only evil continually, (Gen 6:5) so it shall be again at the end of days (Matthew 24:37).

The Daniel 9:26 verse also promises that the end will come like a flood. This does not mean that there will be a flood of actual waters as in the first global judgment. As a judgment, He promised Noah that he would never drown the world again. (Gen 9:13). However, as part of the cataclysmic geo-physical upheavals during the Tribulation there will be floods and tides and hurricanes and tsunamis. However, the verse uses figurative language.The Hebrew word in Dan 9:26 is “sheteph; from shataph; a deluge (literally or figuratively) — flood, outrageous, overflowing.” He means that SIN will have its outrageous overflowing.

Floods have waters that rise, and rise and rise, eventually washing away all that is in its path. Even tsunamis which travel at jet speeds have waters that flow and rise accordingly. The end has began when Jesus ascended, but it has been 2000 years and we can see that the flood waters of sin are not lapping at our toes…are not sweeping against our waists…but the flood waters of sin seem like they are actually crashing over our heads. It seems the flood of sin in the world since the beginning is rising and rising, and now even crashing over our heads. It is like the famous photo of the lighthouse and its keeper

But we are not destined for wrath! (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Though sin tries to engulf us, it will not prevail against His church! (Matthew 16:18). Notice where the keeper is: INSIDE the Lighthouse. Would you want to be anywhere else when the wages of sin try to engulf you? No. You would not survive that wave. You would not survive the hidden reefs under the wave. (Jude 1:12) Being in the Lighthouse is the only safe place to be, in ages past and in this present age.

Jude says the apostates are “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (Jude 1:12).

Peter says, “These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” (2 Peter 2:17).

Isaiah says, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.” (Isaiah 57:20).

What of us, individually? His word says that Hades will not prevail against His church, but what of each of us in the daily struggle against sin? Here: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

We are Light keepers, and our job is never more important than during the storm! We are in Christ as THE Light, but we keep His word hidden in our hearts. We are ambassadors of His glory and His truths. We keep His commands. We keep His flame alive on earth by staying In him and close to Him. It is important to be brighter during the storm and so let us be bright, by being full of peace and joy in these stormy times. Let the waves crash! We have the eternal Strength of the Light. Let others see, and come to Him.

bible, hanging, jesus, prophecy, sin, suicide

RFK Jr’s wife hanged herself- Suicides in general are increasing

Posted on May 17, 2012 by elizabethprata

There is very sad news. Mary Kennedy, mother of four and estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr, was discovered hanged in an out-building on her property. She had taken her own life. The NY Post has a story here, headline RFK Jr.’s wife hangs herself.

At church last night, it was noted that there had been a suicide in a neighboring county, a mother had killed herself. We shared that it seemed that there had been a run of suicides of late. Suicide is unusual around here.

Then when I got home from church, I had received an email from an online buddy who wrote to let me know of a spate of teen suicides by hanging in the UK. There had been 13 suspected suicides in that town in the last year, and 79 since 2007, all by hanging. There were two hangings just this week. This is truly terrible news. It is always crushing to think of anyone, but especially youths, who are so despondent that they feel their only option is to end their life. Apparently People Magazine did a story on the incidents in this town on May 14, 2012 called “A Tragedy in Wales: A Small Town Mystery.”

I don’t feel it is a coincidence that suicide is rising so quickly at this time. I decided to do some further research. I discovered in an article written a month ago that suicides of Canadian youths between ages 10 and 19 are rising. PRE-teens! Babes! Like this boy in India.

I read in another recent article from a month ago that Asian suicides are skyrocketing, too. “Korea’s suicide rate has skyrocketed since the Asian economic crisis and is now 2.3 times higher than the rate of death from traffic accidents. In the 1990s, about 7.3 people for every 100,000 committed suicide, but that has soared especially among women, the elderly, highly educated people, professionals, and divorcees.”

I read in an article that Army “suicides among U.S. soldiers rose 80 percent from 2004 to 2008, an Army study found.” In a February 2012 article in Medical News today I read this headline about the population in general: Suicide Rates Highest In 15 Years, US.

People, suicides are up. Hanging has a 70% mortality rate and is the preferred method.

Let’s take a biblical and a cultural look at suicide by hanging. In the bible, Judas hanged himself. “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:3-5)

In the book Comprehensive Textbook of Suicidology, author Ronald W. Maris et al, we read “Judas’s suicide was final proof that he completely rejected God’s grace, whereas the robber that was crucified next to Jesus was redeemed and entered Paradise together with the Savior. God’s mercy is endless to those who are willing to accept it but those who reject it, commit the terrible sin of Desperatio. Hanging was therefore regarded as the most abominable way out, because this type of death left one unable to call out for mercy, because one was choked and unable to express a last-minute repentance.”

Desperatio is a Middle Ages term explained this way (this is a definition that explains their thinking a thousand years ago, not a doctrine I am promoting): “Desperatio (doubt) is a sin against the Holy Spirit. When a sinner recognizes his burden of sin, but it does not draw the right conclusion to repentance, confession and penance, but in despair at the magnitude of his sins, it is called desperatio. The sinner can be saved in spite of his great sins, if he would take the prescribed path of repentance. It remains closed to him so, however, as he thinks, could there be for their sin no more forgiveness. He doubts the grace of God. A prime example of Judas desperatio could be considered: When he realizes what a great sin to be a betrayal of Jesus was, and he hanged himself in despair. If he had done penance instead, he could have been saved.”

Here is a rendition of hanging by the early Middle Ages artist Giotto

Giotto: Desperatio, ca. 1305-1306, “Desperation” or “Despair”.

Note the demon whispering in her ear. Though suicide is recorded in the bible, suicide is never of God. Here is a link to a Bible study asking the question, “Is suicide a sin?” The author begins it this way:

“The Bible records 3 well-known incidents of suicide – King Saul in the Old Testament (some also regard Samson’s death as a suicide, however he was actually a prisoner of war who died in the process of killing 3,000 pagan Philistines), Judas Iscariot in the New Testament, and another that we will get to in a moment. Although the circumstances of Saul and Judas were different, they did have something very much in common. Saul was under the influence of an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14), and Judas had been directly entered by Satan (John 13:27). And what is the third incident? When Jesus Christ healed a man of demon possession at Gerasenes, He had the demons go out from the man and into a large herd pigs that were grazing nearby (Mark 5:1-12). And what did the pigs do after the demons had entered them? They ran down the bank, into the lake, and drowned themselves (Mark 5:13). With the demons in them, the pigs committed suicide. This is not in any way to suggest that all suicide is demon inspired – it most certainly isn’t. But some clearly are, and of all the rest, Satan and his demons are pleased to see it happen.”

Self mutilation/cutting are also demon inspired. “In the New Testament, cutting oneself was associated with someone who was possessed by demons (Mark 5:2-5). It was characteristic of behavior caused by evil spirits. Today, self-mutilation is rarely used for ritualistic practices or actual demon possession, but instead usually by teen-agers and young adults who have misplaced anger and pain that they are attempting to work out in destructive ways.” (source)

Here are some common suicide risk indicators. If you or a loved one are demonstrating even two of these, please seek help immediately:

Common Suicide Risk Indicators
–A previous suicide attempt, even if it seemed staged or designed to get attention, or boasts of past or secret suicide attempts.
–Talking about being dead or wishing they were dead, how others would be happier if he/she were dead or how much better off others will be when he/she is gone.
–Repeatedly engaging in very risky or dangerous thrill seeking behavior.
–“Getting the house in order” – making plans for the care of loved siblings, parents, relatives or pets and giving away cherished belongings to close friends.
–Extreme mood swings; very depressed episodes followed by happy episodes with no clear reason for the change. –Regular expressions of worthlessness, helplessness, sadness and/or loneliness.
–Drastic changes in habits, friends, or appearance, ie; new friends, skipping school, dropping out of favorite activities, and no longer caring about appearance or cleanliness.
–Changes in weight, sleeping habits, and physical activity. Withdrawing from friends, family, or activities that once gave the person pleasure or a sense of identity.

Here is a link to a checklist of suicide risk behaviors from Air Force Medicine, and on the list is cutting. Please check either link or other good links on the internet if you or a loved one is despondent and talking of ending it all.Precious brethren, suicide is so heartbreaking, and solves nothing. It throws away the precious life that Jesus gave you and it satisfies satan to be successful in pressuring a Christian from the world. It satisfies him even further to send an unsaved person to hell. Jesus loves you with a white hot fervency, he seeks and saves and brings us to His bosom! Nothing is worse than plunging into the gulf that separates us from Him by our own hand, or ending what could be a fulfilling life in Christ by our own hand.

The End Times are here. With apostasy rising and Christianity’s believers moving away from Jesus, and with unbelievers moving further away from offered grace, satan is still and always seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8). Let us all be alert for weakening brethren. Though we can never tell with certainty what is going on in another person’s mind, if you see or hear them demonstrate any of the indicators, you will know that the prayer battle is on. Fight for each other! Pray to the Spirit for help. Jesus heals, completely!

“The LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

It seems all too often the spirit if despair is upon us, but the garment of praise is ours to be had, along with the victory- thanks eternally to His sacrifice and His grace.

bible, prophecy, Uncategorized

How to hear God’s voice, without static

Posted on May 17, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I was trundling down the driveway to head out for work this morning and on my Christian radio station was Bach’s Gloria in excelsis Deo. I had to stop at the bottom to let a car go by. The instant I stopped, the music changed from the Christian station to a jazz song.

As I pulled forward to go again the song instantly changed back to Gloria.

I laughed, and got to thinking of how it worked that as long as I was moving I was tuned in perfectly to the Godly frequency. It was only when I’d stopped that the worldly song came in. When we keep moving, we stay on God’s frequency. (Romans 6:4; Eph 4:17; 1 Corinthians 9:24; 2 Timothy 4:7)

It’s funny how there are so many radio stations and yet all of them have their own frequency. It’s rare for one to dominate the other suddenly, it is only when we stop in a dead zone or we go out of range that the signals get crossed. When that happens we hear static, and the message gets lost.

It is exactly like that in our walk with God. When we stop our walk with Him, the world encroaches. When we linger in a dead zone (sin) then the world takes over. All radio signals have their own frequency, and so does God.

The apostasy that is rising so quickly is partly due to the Christians who stop tuning in to God’s channel and seek him on a different one. It is pointless to listen to a jazz station and expect to hear “Are You Washed in the Blood?” You can listen until you’re blue in the face but that song will never come on that station.

Christians of late have been trying to find God on a frequency where He doesn’t broadcast. Bill Hybels is on the whispering station but God is not there. Jesse Duplantis been looking for Him on the visions station but he is not there. Beth Moore has been looking for Him on the contemplative prayer station from the pit but He is not there. Henry Blackaby has been tuning into the experiential station but God is not there. God broadcasts strongly on one station and one station only.

THE BIBLE CHANNEL.

Chris Rosebrough wrote about where to find God’s broadcast 100% of the time, with certainty. His essay, “How to Hear God’s Voice 100% of the Time” is wonderful. He wrote in part:

“Are you struggling to figure out if those whispers that your pastor has told you to listen for are really God’s voice or a case of gastrointestinal hallucinations caused by a bad batch of pepperoni pizza?”

“Are you tired of going through the whole rigmarole of filtering those voices in your head through a six point ‘discernment grid’ to try to ascertain if that’s the Holy Spirit speaking to you or proof that you need to make an appointment with a shrink?”

“Have you read and reread Blackaby and still haven’t got the foggiest notion as to how to tell where God is working in the world so that you can join Him?”

“If you’ve answered yes to one or all of these questions then I’ve got great news for you! I have discovered a simple and sure fire way for you to hear God’s voice. The best part is that its 100% guaranteed and totally Biblical. Here it is.”

Click on the link to read more. It is an excellent essay! Needless to say, God broadcasts on the BIBLE CHANNEL 100% of the time. If you read it, study it, pray about it, let the Spirit lead you into truth, your signals will never get crossed!!

image source

apocalypse, prophecy

This and that

Posted on May 16, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Hi Folks,

This piece is just a chat. It won’t be a deep theological treatise nor a blurb on the news of the day. We are a day and a half from the end of the school year, and let me tell you, the kindergarteners are restless! I’m pooped.

I usually get most of the blog comments overnight. I wake up at 6:00am and turn on the computer and there will be comments waiting for me to moderate. This morning there were four on one topic. I deleted them all. They were responding to the Jentezen Franklin piece. It’s interesting that the Jentezen Franklin post and its companion piece still gets notice and comment. Amazingly, the Franklin false teacher post gets a lot more comments than the Beth Moore false teacher essays I did. It is usually the opposite, I’m told by other evangelicals. An essay stating Beth Moore is anything except either an angel or a saint usually gets plenty of screed. But my readers, bless them, save their screed for the Franklin post.

I deleted all the Franklin comments this morning because they were screed. Any comments that say such things as “You’re a poopyhead for thinking this” won’t get past the draft screen. I post comments that either support or take issue with my posts that are polite and/or have bible verses to back them up. I won’t write a ‘comment policy’ because commenting is common sense. It is like a conversation- listen, share, be polite. Name calling is never an argument, unless it is an argument for instant delete.

On another topic, I have been thinking about prophecy education. For the last two weeks I’ve been musing about pulling back from the detailed view to share and present the wider view on the blog instead. An overview, even. And this week Pastor JD Farag said he was doing exactly that. And Jack Kelley has started revamping his Revelation overviews and has pulled back the lens. I had been thinking of dong a general overview of what will happen after the rapture, or perhaps a chronology. It seems the Spirit is pressing this idea to me and to others so I’ll pray some more and see how to proceed.

I was asked by the publishers of a new ‘zine to contribute to it. The topic is the Apocalypse, and the name of the zine is Apocalypse This. It will be sold at the Nottingham Zine Fair on May 26. I was asked to share the Christian view. The zine will contain other religions’ views as well. You can find the website for the zine here, and twitter here. Here is the Facebook page for the fair. Prayers are appreciated that the truth of the Word will reach the youths who are curious about a false Apocalypse but are unaware of the looming real one.

Speaking of the looming apocalypse, does it feel like a heavy burden of weight and presence to you? It feels so close. The European financial and economic crisis certainly adds portent to the events. The line-up of hostile nations in the Middle East certainly add portent. But even the news aside, the feeling of imminence is weightier every day. I don’t think it is a feeling of exhaustion that I usually feel this time of year, lol. It just feels like prophecy is speeding up.

Remember, prophecy is set before us in His word so that before it comes to pass, we may be prepared; and so that when it comes to pass, we may believe and worship Him who is outside of time and He who writes history beforehand.

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:1-2)

The Creation: God measuring the Universe with a compass, c. 1375, The National Library of The Netherlands

contract, courageous resolution, prophecy

Is your church doing the "Courageous Resolution"?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by elizabethprata

The movie Courageous sparked another fad driven product. Fireproof’s Love Dare diary is so yesterday. Now it’s all about the Courageous Resolution. You may even be thinking that I’m late to post information on this. See? If you are, then it’s a fad.

The Courageous movie had a scene in which several of the fathers gathered in a living room with a pastor and made a resolution (swore an oath) which emphasized fatherhood, fidelity, and the man as head of the home. The Christian version of ‘man up!’

Like its previous movie, Fireproof, which came with a 40-day love dare diary or some such thing, now this movie has the Resolution For Men or whatever it is called.

It is supposed to mark the moment and celebrate the commitment being made to God and family. Here is the text of the resolution–

THE RESOLUTION
I DO solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.
I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.
I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.
I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.
I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.
I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.
I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.
I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.
I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.
I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.
I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.
I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.

There are a few things to ponder. First, the positive:

I see nothing wrong on the face of it for any of the above statements, because they do not seem to vary with what God told us in the bible. That’s it. I can’t think of any other positive.

Now the negative:

–I see no bible verse addresses with them. Therefore they are man-made.

–At some point we have to take these fads that emerge from Christian movies and put them on the same level as the product fads that emerge from any other movie, like Star Wars light sabers or the Avengers dolls.

–Where is the Love Dare book now? Does anyone still do it? Where will The Courageous Resolution be in 2 years? Will anyone be doing it? Or will they be trailing after the next big thing?

I am a bare bones gal. I think the bible is all we need. Why make a man-made vow and swear on that? Don’t we make a resolution when we repent? Don’t we make a vow when we get married? Don’t we make an oath when we get Baptised? Don’t we make a vow when we present our children on Dedication day? Don’t we make a vow when we partake of the Lord’s Supper? How many vows do we need? How many ordinances? How many resolutions?

Here is the main point: Aren’t men already doing the things that are in the resolution? If not, then they need church discipline. If so, then abandon any man-made vow as unnecessary and extra-biblical.

The New Testament speaks to this oath taking: (from Got Questions)

“[The Jephthah account] shows us is the foolishness of rash vows. Perhaps this is why Jesus gave a new commandment concerning vows. “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No ,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:33-37).”

“The principle here is clear for Christians: do not make vows, either to the Lord or to one another. First, we are unable to know for sure whether we will be able to keep vows. The fact that we are prone to the errors in judgment which are part of our fallen nature means that we may make vows foolishly or out of immaturity. Further, we don’t know what the future will bring—only God does. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow (James 4:14), so to make a vow that we will do or not do something is foolish”.

“God is the one in control, not us, and He “works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Knowing this, we can see that it is unnecessary to make vows and that it indicates a lack of trust in Him.”

“Finally, Jesus commands that our word be sufficient without making vows. When we say “yes” or “no,” that’s exactly what we should mean. Adding vows or oaths to our words opens us up to the influence of Satan whose desire is to trap us and compromise our Christian testimony. If we have made a vow foolishly and realized we cannot or should not keep it, we should confess it to God, knowing that He is “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

“A broken vow, while serious, is not an unforgivable matter if taken to the Lord in true confession. God will not hold us to vows made imprudently, but He expects us to obey Jesus and refrain from making vows in the future.”
———end GotQuestions——–

God made it simple and wrote it down for us. We keep editing it… I just think it is better to live by the bible rather than take what is in the bible, mix it with man’s words, and swear an oath by it. To me that seems idolatrous. Submit to the Lord, live by His word, and get on with it, men!! For heaven’s sakes, stop talking about being men and just be men!

If a contract to be honorable fathers was such a good thing then why haven’t we been doing it for 2000 years?

peace and security, prophecy

While they are saying peace and safety

Posted on May 13, 2012 by elizabethprata

Though there are things we can’t know, there are things we do know with unalterable confidence:

“When people say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

We know that there is no peace and safety outside of Jesus.

Of this verse, note several things. First, no matter what translation you look at, the verse invariably says ‘when they are saying/while they are saying.’ The verse does not state ‘after they say’.

Additionally, the translations invariably use the phrase ‘peace and safety/peace and security’, which is what they are saying these days! The world is now seeking the increasingly elusive quality of peace and security.

The word security is from the Greek compound, meaning not and totter. The notion behind the word is they will be looking for a ‘firmness that equates to security.’ There is nothing on the earth that offers a foundational firmness that equates to security. There is no treaty, no house, no nation, no leader, no idea, no government that will offer the security that God does. The only security there is, is God.

That is why the drive to find peace and security ratchets up at a frenzied pace, because as the world crumbles into not-peace (war) and not-safety (chaos), they look toward something, anything, that will provide security.

We know war does come. There is no peace. The Tribulation opens with a horseman riding on the waves of war, unleashing it upon the world. (Revelation 6:3-4). Damascus is destroyed, (Isaiah 17), The Middle East goes to war (Psalm 83), Iran attacks Israel (Ezekiel 38-39), and the rest of the world is drawn into war after war (Matthew 24:6).

Now here is an interesting verse: Jeremiah 8:10b-12. Jeremiah speaks of conditions of the Israelites that mirror ours today, “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord.”

The priests and prophets spoke of superficial things, not getting to the heart of the matter, which was their sin and failure to repent of. We have that today, preachers refusing to speak of sin but instead treating the people with a bandage when what they need is a tourniquet. They dress the wound as if the people are not dying!

They speak of peace but there is no peace, none inside themselves with God and none outside themselves with each other. They are so seared with sin that they don’t even blush anymore. They have no shame at their deeds, and so, that important word “so,” meaning because of their failures before the Lord, they will be brought down and punished. As it was then, it will be again.