rapture – Page 8

Obama’s message to Israel- I’m not listening

Posted on September 24, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Obama finds the world too noisy. Like a defiant child with fingers in his ears, he goes LA LA LA to Israel as Israel says ‘the world will change when Iran gets the bomb…’

Tonight on the news magazine program 60 Minutes, Obama said

“When it comes to our national security decisions — any pressure that I feel is simply to do what’s right for the American people. And I am going to block out — any noise that’s out there,” Obama says, according to AFP.

Isn’t that special. Our strongest ally in the most hostile part of the world is…noise. But will that classy and professional “I’m not listening” approach work when Iran bombs US?

Iranian general threatens pre-emptive strike against Israel, attacks on US bases
“In circumstances in which [the Israelis] have prepared everything for an attack, it is possible that we will make a pre-emptive attack,” he said, according to a translation posted on the website of the Egyptian daily, Al-Ahram. He added that Iran would also attack US bases in the region, saying that the ensuing military engagement would “turn into World War III.”

Pray to God that we can bear four more months of Obama or four more years- whatever God’s plan is. Pray for our troops on bases in harm’s way. Pray for the world, especially if Iran gets the bomb. And I think they will. Pray for the rapture!

hard times, persecution, rapture, survival, trials

Prepping: what should a Christian do?

Posted on September 18, 2012 by elizabethprata

“Prepare.” We hear that word constantly these days. The Department of Homeland Security regularly promotes the wisdom of individual and community preparedness before disasters hit. The Centers for Disease Control have been issuing readiness bulletins. There’s National Preparedness Month. And even in the chain stores like the Dollar Store, little tags next to the price of tuna remind us of which items are good to stock in readiness bags. Have you seen those? I have.

Preparedness only makes sense. The US and other nations have been hammered with constant man-made and natural disasters. Evacuations are called, electricity goes off, banks are closed, tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes, volcanoes, and riots/protests have disrupted much of daily life, everywhere, at some point. Having food, water, and knowledge of an evacuation route prepared in advance is a practical and life-saving measure for any family.

Culturally, prepping hit the mainstream just a few years ago. While there have always been survivalists, much of Middle America considered them extreme. Eschewing the “survival gear, off the grid, Berky, arsenal, hands off my generator, shoot to kill” kind of prepping, the numerous disasters hitting the world have caused many lay-people to re-think their casual attitude toward the amenities we have taken for granted.

Now at least a light form of prepping is on everyone’s lips. Recently we’ve even seen television shows about “prepping.” Preparing for doom is now entertainment? I guess so.

Preppers abound now, and there are websites dedicated to the preparations one needs to make in order to survive whatever your flavor of doom in your opinion is coming. There are even church groups promoting preparation for coming disaster. (Christian Emergency Preparedness Network) The entering into the fray of a Christian group seems to have unnerved the run of the mill preppers a little. Maybe this is getting serious, people think.

Yes. It is.

The Christian Emergency Preparedness Network says that their focus on preparedness is different from the survivalist or the layman prepper. CEPN member David Pike said,

“The thing that is so disturbing about so many of the preppers is that they have all of the food for themselves and they figure on taking care of their immediate family and oftentimes they’ll have lots of firearms. Don’t mistake me, I’m a firearms proponent, but it’s like they’re going to be shooting at the neighbors to protect their own food supply. That doesn’t last very long,” said Pike, a former president of the Champaign County Rifle Association. “You have to be part of a community. You have to have business continue to operate. You have to interact with your neighbors because that’s what civilization is all about. You give and in exchange they give back. You maintain some kind of sense of community. “This is very much Christ-centered. You want to extend yourself in charity to others. You can’t do that without limits, but you want to maintain as much sense of community as possible.”

When Joel Rosenberg writes, Pray for peace, but prepare for war, what does that mean exactly? In Israel, it means buying gas masks, keeping eyes open for terror activity, and staying up to the minute with government-issued bulletins. In America, that admonition by our country’s most famous ‘not-prophet’ is a little murkier.

Certainly we see that no place in the US is immune from a ‘natural’ disaster. Floods, drought, hurricanes, earthquakes and even volcanic activity has emerged as a constant companion here on America’s shores. FBI and DHS warnings of terrorist activity on our soil have been issued. Riots, strikes, and protests have disrupted cities. It is a fact that we need to be prepared.

The point of this article is to ponder, to what extent? And prepare, for what purpose?

If we prepare as the survivalists do, we are taking our eyes off Jesus, who is our provider. The story of the man in Las Vegas who died holding a grudge against the government and a deep distrust of everything, having hidden 7M in gold in and around his house comes to mind. Hoarding is not living.

The Christian group up above mentioned preparing so that we can connect as community in the wake of disaster and to help our neighbor is a better approach, in my opinion. However, I’d like to caution us all very much here. We may be Christian but we live with a sin nature. That nature is permeated with selfishness, greed, and an instinct for self-preservation. That is why when a person or family is faced with a disaster that has overturned their life, such as a hurricane or martial law or terrorist bombing, it will take a strong and mature Christian to apply the Godly principles of loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that there is no greater love than laying down one’s life for his friends (John 15:12-13.) Yet people today- even Christians- get ticked off if someone cuts in front of us on the highway or enters the 10 item check out lane with 12 items. Are you strong enough in Jesus to offer your neighbor your last piece of bread?

This means that no matter you or your family’s decision on the level of personal preparedness you’ve undertaken, we have to be prepared in the Word. Christian maturity is the best preparation for what is coming. No matter how many canned goods you have, the only way to be prepared to give them to a neighbor will be to have allowed the Lord to strengthen you in sanctification. All the preps you want and all the good intentions you hold will matter nothing of your faith is a wisp that allows for quick entry of selfishness and greed and fear- at the expense of your application of Godly principles.

I say this for a reason. In March 2010 I’d written that I felt America’s point of no return had been reached. That God’s judgment would be falling soon. Not just warnings- judgment. I feel this even more strongly now than I did then. I do not know when we will be raptured, though it feels soon. However I really do not know the Lord’s plan for us on earth until that point. We may escape all these things, or we may be on earth when the Psalm 83 war, Isaiah 17 destruction, Isaiah 19 violence, or other wars and terror occur. And a war in the Middle East will definitely affect us all. Would you be ready for $10/gallon gas? He may send more natural disasters upon our shores that even destroy cities as did Katrina or 9/11. Hatred of Christians is rising, even in America. I don’t know. But it feels like things will get rough until we are called home.

You may be thinking you’re strong enough to withstand trials and will certainly give your last piece of bread to your neighbor. Really? Peter was with Jesus for three years, was the first one to acknowledge Him as Lord, was the only one to get out of the boat, he cut off the soldier’s ear in defense of Jesus, but when it came time to preserve his own life, he denied Jesus three times in quick succession. Are you stronger than Peter?

A big difference between us and Peter at that terrible moment is that we have the Holy Spirit inside us. Denying the Spirit the opportunity to have grown us while times have been good will ultimately be our disappointment when times get hard. Peter’s life ended well. A martyr, he lived life after Pentecost in submission to Jesus and relied on Him for everything- including Godly integrity when times got very hard, even unto death. Are we weaker than Peter? I hope so, for when we are weak, we are strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Ron Graham recently had a very good essay about this. I feel the same as he does. His article is called “Judgment, Not Warning.” He wrote,

“Many Christians see the gloom on the horizon but believe that the Rapture of the Ekklesia will occur before any serious consequences ensue. This is flawed thinking at best. The word of God tells us that the saints will be removed prior to the wrath of God to come, but we are never told that we won’t go through trials and tribulations prior to the Rapture. On the contrary, we are told by our Lord Himself that we will face much persecution, hatred, and menacing times.”

“People, what is happening in America today is not a symptom of the times or even a “warning” of coming judgment. Judgment is here, America, and it’s not going to get easier to contend with. It’s growing exponentially worse every day. It may seem like I’m harping on this issue but as a watchman I have a responsibility to my brethren – and to my God. All God’s watchmen have been entrusted with godly discernment. So we step out into the front lines, place our focus on the coming storms, and then ride back to town and lay out a scenario of what we see coming – to all who will listen.”

Well said, Brother.

Your own earthly preparation should be prayerfully approached based on your means, location, and family situation. Preparations should be enacted now. However, what is more important is your spiritual preparation. That should be deepening, and deepening fast. Do not take your prayer life casually. Do not take your bible study haphazardly. Do not forgo assembling with the saints. We must seek all the more to assemble together as we see the day approaching! (Hebrews 10:25). Preparation in Christ not only strengthens us spiritually as individuals, but Christian maturity in sanctification will allow us to apply Jesus’s principles when the trials come.

We are told there will be Godlessness in the last days. This set of verses applies not to the unsaved, but to those people sitting next to you in the pew. They may be only holding to a form of Godliness, which will evaporate like a wisp the moment times get hard.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Prepare yourself to be IN Christ very firmly for when the day comes when you may be tested by a choice to hoard food for yourself or to offer it to your neighbor at the expense of yourself. Yet always look to but through the hard times we’re experiencing now and view the glory ahead. Look to Jesus! The best prepping is going on at this moment! Jesus is the ultimate prepper!

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3).

imminent, jesus, rapture

If we’re getting so excited at the nearing of the Groom…

Posted on September 17, 2012 by elizabethprata

Imagine how excited JESUS is! I like to think that He is excited as any groom who awaits his bride would be. As the moment draws closer the more excited any groom becomes. He is eager, thinking of all the love he has for his soon to be bride, and chomps at the bit.

Jesus is the ultimate bridegroom, so His love and excitement is superlative and perfect, excellently outpacing our excitement at His soon return!

I know we sense the nearness of the time. We know the rapture can happen imminently, it has always been imminent. But the time is so close, and we’re excited to see our Groom.

Our Groom is even more excited to claim His Bride, I am sure!

Don’t you think so too?!

“And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15).

The long dry spell of life without Him bodily on earth is almost over.

John the Baptist said,

“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” (John 3:29).

O, we long to hear His voice, but He longs for His Bride, and waits for the Father to tell the Son:

“GO GET YOUR BRIDE.”

“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 4:16-18).

Be encouraged! We are one day closer to that moment than we were yesterday!

prophecy, rapture, rosh hashanah

Rosh Hashanah begins tomorrow

Posted on September 15, 2012May 9, 2016 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)

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

days of Noah, genesis, rapture, sikh shooting

Sikh Temple shooting and what is in a man

Posted on August 7, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Someone asked me if I would write about the Sikh Temple shooting that occurred in Wisconsin two days ago. Here it is, but it not in the way that you might think.

First, the facts: An Army vet took a gun and began shooting people who were at worship in an Oak Creek WI Sikh Temple. He killed 6 people and wounded four, before being shot and killed himself by police. Just 16 days before the Wisconsin attack, a lone gunman had entered a movie theater and shot and killed 12 people and wounding dozens more. In between these two horrific shootings, a woman who had been aboard a Detroit Riverboat partying, was involved in an altercation, and as the boat docked, disembarked and returned to shoot, striking seven people, critically injuring one. She is still at large.

President Obama said of the Sikh Temple shooting, “These kinds of terrible and tragic events are happening with too much regularity for us not do some soul-searching and examine additional ways that we can prevent such violence…”

There are three items in the quote to consider. First, he said these kinds of terrible tragedies are occurring more often. That is true. The second comment of note is that he said we need to do some soul-searching. This is also true. Thirdly, he said that we need to examine ways to prevent such violence in the future. This is also true but it will never happen as long as man searches his soul and fails to turn it over to Jesus.

Sin starts in the mind.

I want us to really think about the interior state of man and how God knows what it is.

Sin begins with a thought. “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” (Mark 7:21-22).

“Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15).

Sin begins inside us in the heart and mind, and then it is given birth when we speak the thing, and then the action follows. Anyone who has worked in the Good News Club knows we tell the kids of the progression of sin in this way: “Sin is anything we think, say, or do that displeases God.” Think-say-do.

Shootings like the Aurora Theater in Colorado or the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin don’t ‘just happen.’ The perpetrator was thinking about it first, and for a long time, too.

If we are seeing these sinful acts happen more and more frequently, imagine how much more people are thinking about them, first. The acting out is the last stage of the progression. The visible heinous act is only the tip of the iceberg to the heinous acts that occur in the mind. Floating icebergs have a significant proportion of their mass below the surface of the water. When we say “This problem is just the tip of the iceberg,” what we are really saying is “A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden.” If the evident part is getting bigger every day, how much larger of a problem is the hidden part? (Definition and unmodified photo from Wiki).

John MacArthur wrote about The Danger of a Sinful Mind. He said,

“Many people who will not do evil deeds are nevertheless boldly evil in their thoughts. A man who abstains from fornication for fear of getting caught might convince himself it is all right to indulge in salacious fantasies because he thinks no one else will ever discover such a private sin. The sins he deliberately entertains in his mind may be a thousand times more evil than anything he would ever think of doing before others. Scripture says his guilt is the same as if he acted out his fantasies.” (Matthew 5:27‑28).

So you can imagine if people are doing evil deeds almost daily how deeply depraved the thought-life of people on earth is getting.

MacArthur continued: “In fact, nothing damages the conscience more than the habit of indulging in evil thoughts. Unfortunately, once begun, the practice becomes all too easy. This is a sin that does not have to wait for an opportunity; the mind can sin anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances. So the habit is quickly and easily established. By engaging the inner faculties—mind, emotions, desire, memory, and imagination—thought sins work directly on the soul to bias it toward evil.”

Now, the LORD said in Matthew 24 that the days just prior to His coming will be like the Days of Noah (Matthew 24:37). So…what were the days of Noah like?

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5). [Emphasis mine.]

Everybody is going around thinking evil all the time. We can’t tell, only Jesus can see what is in a man. (John 2:25). But when we see such evil deeds being acted out, you know that proportionally, that many more men’s thoughts are evil. And if the deeds are happening frequently, we know that the evil thoughts are continual.

The good news is that if you are saved, and have had sinful thoughts, if you repent, He will forgive you! Then, guard your thought life!!!

And if you are not saved, Jesus will forgive you when you repent, and all your sins will be forgotten by Him. No matter what you have thought, or said, or done, He will forgive it. He is THAT GOOD.

There are two takeaways to this blog entry:

1. So when we see the Sikh Temple shooting, I don’t want us just to go ‘tsk tsk, that poor unsaved man’. I want us to see ourselves in him. Understand that without Jesus we all have the capability to perform those acts, whether they remain in our mind or whether we act on them. We are all sinners. None is righteous, no not one. (Romans 3:10). We all need to repent, saved or unsaved. The unsaved need to repent unto salvation, the saved need to repent to keep thoughts pure for a more pleasing relationship with the Savior.

2. He is near. Personally, I see the nearness of Jesus’ return not just because of the terrible acts we are now seeing on a weekly and almost daily basis, but because I know that for every shooting done, there are a hundred thousand who thought about shooting. For every Pastor who confesses to an adulterous affair with a minor, there are a thousand more who thought about it. Genesis 6 says that judgment came not only when the evil was present on the earth but when the evil thoughts were continuous in man. Re-read the verse- it’s two parts. How closely does this sinful world’s thought-life match the level of depravity Jesus said we’d sink to just prior to His coming? I don’t know, but Jesus does. Are you ready for Him?

jesus, philip, rapture

Philip whisked away from the Eunuch

Posted on July 29, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I’m reading through the book of Acts. What an incredible first few years our forefathers in the faith had! What an amazing ministry of the Holy Spirit! I’m so humbled by the mighty acts, the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and purity, and the consistency with which they always proclaimed Christ crucified as the Good News to all the world. What a foundation we have in Him!

Of course, I have rapture on my mind every second, lol. I’m reading about Philip, the first missionary and evangelist. He was raptured. Not snatched up to heaven, but snatched away to another city by supernatural means. In the verse below, we see him in the city of Samaria.

“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.” (Acts 8:4-8)

A few verses later, we read,

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.” (Acts 8:26).

Gaza was far. I haven’t been able to get miles or kilometer directions specifically. In using the scale, it seems to be about 60 miles as an estimate. A long walk. While at Gaza, Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip began to preach the Good News to him–

“And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8: 36-40). Above, Alexandre-Denis Abel de Pujol: “Philip baptising the Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza,” 1848

I love how the Spirit phrased that, “Philip found himself…”

Can you imagine Philip’s surprise? Here he is talking with the Eunuch, dipped him in the water, and as they arise before the drops were off them both, Philip vanished! And I am sure it was the blink of an eye and he found himself in a totally different city! Azotus, I believe, is today’s Ashdod, about 20 miles north of Gaza.

Were his clothes still wet? Did he say, “Hey! What happened? Where am I?” Was he deposited along the side of the road and had to ask a passerby, maybe a guy with his goats or his burro, “Excuse me sir, can you tell me where I am?” LOL, how disorienting.

Remember all these bible guys were real men and women. The ‘greats’ like Abraham and Moses, to the barely mentioned like the Eunuch, had supernatural things happen. How difficult it must have been to process it all.

People tend to think that in the New Testament times that supernatural things happened constantly. They didn’t. Not even in the Old Testament times did supernatural things happen constantly. Until Jesus came, no miracle, sign, or supernatural event had occurred for at least 400 years. Many, many generations. Even John the Baptist, as fierce as he was, never did a miracle. When Jesus began his miracles people were astonished partly because His miracles were such standout events. No one had seen the likes of it ever before. The learned few had only read about them in the ancient scrolls.

So Philip is suddenly whisked away to a new city. Was he thinking, “Gee, if the Spirit could whisk me 20 miles from Gaza to Ashdod, why did I have to walk the 120 from Samaria to Gaza in the first place?’ I don’t mean to be flip about it, but I am always remembering these were regular guys, so they thought regular thoughts. Left, Philip taken away, Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695

Did the person Philip asked where he was think Philip was a nut? Did Philip even ask? Maybe he recognized the place. What did he do then? The bible says he went on his way to Caesarea, preaching all the way. MacArthur’s commentary says Caesarea is probably where Philip lived. It is 60 miles from Ashdod.

In just a very few verses the Spirit reveals:

–supernatural powers to work God’s plan at will
–rejoicing in receiving the Good News
–obedience from both the Eunuch and Philip to the Spirit’s prompting
–the joy of reading the word and the necessity for teachers to explain it
–an angel
–another soul whom we will meet in heaven: the Eunuch. We will finally learn his name.
–God’s mercy in convicting those who love Him to receive His Spirit unto salvation
–the importance of prompt obedience in evangelism and missions

I’m sure you can find much more than I can in those verses too. His treasures are inexhaustible.

When we are raptured I know we will not have any questions. He will call for us with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and suddenly our minds will be glorified and we will know exactly where we are going and where we are, and why. We will be part of that group whisked away to heaven because of our repentance we stand on the holy and blood soaked ground of Jesus that He shed to be the atoning propitiation for our sins. He is the only reason we will be part of that group.

Jesus saves! Read the bible, it is worth looking at every jot and tittle. Have a blessed day in the Lord, and if you’re not in the Lord, why not? It’s great!

aleppo, black widow spiders invade NY, rapture, snake massages

Linkapalooza: black widow spiders invade NY, woman dies at McD’s counter but they keep serving burgers, snake massages

Posted on July 28, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Satan, that old serpent… (Genesis 3:1). He finds ways to make himself not only acceptable, but an integral part of our lives, even when naked!!!

Russia spas offer “snake massage” A Moscow spa uses snakes as part of its exotic massage service.

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Love waxes cold: (Matthew 24:12)

Horror as woman drops dead at counter of McDonald’s… and staff ‘keep on serving burgers’

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This next verse is not in force yet, it is still future. It shows how God is constricting the world economy to prepare for the prophesied scarcity during the Tribulation and will eventually bring the antichrist’s solutions to out, which the world will accept.

“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore,” (Revelation 18:11).

Orders For Chinese Ships Have Collapsed
Chinese shipbuilders secured 182 orders in the first six months of the year, down from 561 orders a year ago, according to Want China Times.

Spain unemployment hits new high
At about 25 per cent, it is highest jobless rate in industrialised world, with young people particularly affected, at about 50%”.

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Isaiah 17:1, “Damascus will be destroyed”…The situation in Syria is only worsening.

Poland closes its embassy in Syria
“Poland has closed its embassy in Syria and evacuated its diplomats because of the deteriorating security situation in Damascus. The embassy had also representing U.S. interests in the country in recent months.”

‘Deep alarm’ over Aleppo fighting
“The battle is one of the most important of the 17-month-old uprising. With a population of about three million, Aleppo is Syria’s largest city and commercial hub, a key pillar of support for president Bashar Assad’s regime. ”

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“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,” (1 Corinthians 6:9)

As a side note, the LGBT people who plan this hunger strike are certainly committed. Are Christians as committed to God’s agenda as satan is to his own agenda? This is an example of how relentless satan is.

LGBT ‘community’ planning 100 day hunger strike
“Prominent members of Michigan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are joining forces for a 100-day hunger strike to promote equal rights. David Garcia, executive director of Affirmations in Ferndale, said the hunger strike is aimed at educating their “straight allies about the extreme anti-equality environment” in Michigan. The campaign will target specific legislators and legislation. Garcia will begin the hunger strike Monday by going without food for 24 hours. Leaders from seven other Michigan centers — representing LGBT communities in Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Midland, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor — will take 24-hour food-free shifts at Affirmations. During the hunger strike, leaders will be visible from a large window facing 9 Mile in downtown Ferndale.”

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The ‘natural world’ is increasingly askew. We’ve seen this in weather, and also in the weird animal attacks. Here is a weird one for you. Poor New York City. First it was bedbugs. Now it’s Black Widow spiders.

“So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web.” (Job 8:13-14)

BAD TOURISTS! Black widow spiders INVADING New York
“Black widow spiders have crawled to New York in droves this summer. Though usually rare in the Tri-State area, some exterminators say they’ve arrived in the big apple, like so many tourists, looking to go on a spree. In their case, that means the venomous arachnids will be splurging – preying – on the city’s increased insect population.”

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God created insects. Look how beautiful!!!
“Genesis 1:24-25 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

Under the weather: Stunning pictures reveal how the insect world copes during a downpour

News blurbs: US-led military exercises near Syria, Putin ‘too busy’ to meet with Obama

Posted on May 10, 2012 by elizabethprata

From Hurriyet News, a Turkish Daily

“12000 soldiers from 17 countries carry out a US-led joint military exercise in Jordan amid the ongoing the crisis in Syria. ‘It has nothing to do with Syria. [The timing] is just a coincidence,’ a top US official says“
“The United States military said yesterday that 12,000 soldiers from 17 countries would be taking part in this month’s military exercises in Jordan, designed to enhance their ability to meet “security challenges.” Special action troops, naval and air force units from countries including Turkey, France and Saudi Arabia will carry out the joint training operations, according to the Voice of Russia. “The tactical execution of the Eager Lion 2012 exercises will officially start on May 15,” Major Robert Bockholt, public affairs officer at Special Operations Command Central, told Agence France-Presse. …

Iran, Syria links denied–“Some local media reports have speculated that the war games are linked to the unrest in neighboring Syria, saying the troops were seeking to secure Jordan’s border. “The execution of Eager Lion 2012 is not connected to any real-world event. It has nothing to do with Syria. It is just a coincidence, Bockholt said….”

Sure … and the US sending F22s to a base near Iran has nothing to do with anything either. Anyway, here is an article on the fate of Jordan according to prophecy.

I had written on the blog this week that Russia’s top military officer has threatened to carry out a pre-emptive strike on U.S.-led NATO missile defense facilities in Eastern Europe if Washington goes ahead with its controversial plan to build a missile shield…yet at the same time the US and Russia had agreed to war exercises in which they will be engaging in an anti-terrorism exercise that will involve Russian paratroopers using U.S. weapons to “take and hold” the main facilities of the CIA and Denver International Airport in Colorado and the National Security Agency in Utah.

Now we read this, also in the Hurriyet News– “Putin ‘too busy’ to meet Obama“
“Newly-inaugurated Russian President Putin will not attend next week’s G8 summit in the United States ‘due to his busy schedule.’ The decision raises new questions about Moscow-Washington ties on the eve of the NATO summit.”
“Russian President Vladimir Putin will miss the upcoming G8 summit in the United States as he is busy forming a government, just after starting his third term as head of state, the Kremlin said yesterday, raising new questions about Moscow-Washington ties. Putin will however meet U.S. President Barack Obama at the G20 summit in June in Mexico, the Kremlin added, confirming an earlier statement by the White House.”

Here is an article about Russia and Iran in prophecy, in which Gog, Putin, the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy and Persia are all covered.

After Prime Minister Netanyahu’s surprise masterstroke of uniting the government and calling off early elections, the “U.S. Concerned Netanyahu, Mofaz May Attack Iran“
U.S. worried that Israel’s new unity government could result in an attack on Iran at any given moment.
“The United States is worried that Shaul Mofaz and his Kadima party’s joining a unity government with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could result in an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities at any given moment, according to a report on Channel 10 News on Thursday. U.S. government officials told Channel 10 News that they believe a Likud-Kadima joing government could make a decision about an Israeli attack on Iran at any moment and perhaps even before the U.S. presidential elections in November.”

Here is a 2009 article asking whether bible prophecy predicts that Israel attacks Iran The news is dated but the answer is good.

The prophecies of Revelation, Matthew, Psalm 83, Obadiah, Isaiah, and many more books of the bible are soon going to finally be completely fulfilled. As Ron Graham said in his article this week, “A very small amount of discernment is all that is necessary these days as we watch the current state of world affairs becoming more and more unstable.”

For those of us with discernment, a small or a large amount, the burden of the world is both heavy and light. Heavy because we know the left-behind Tribulation dwelling “people of Earth will feel like a prizefighter trapped in a corner of the ring while his opponent pounds him relentlessly” as Jack Kelley phrased it, and Light because Jesus is the Light and our very eternal treasure, whose promises do not fail and who will soon be breaking through the veil to call us up to Him. O come soon, Lord!

left behind, rapture

Left Behind ‘Rapture Sheet’: In case of rapture, break glass, read this first

Posted on May 8, 2012 by elizabethprata

Hello all,

Published in January 2011 I am re-posting this, with an addition.
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I finished a project I’ve been working on all day. Like all Christians, we feel a burden for the lost. That is why we bring up Jesus to people even though we know some people will get aggravated or even reject us. Well, a few months ago the Holy Spirit gave me a burden for doing a certain project. You see, we will be raptured soon. I don’t know exactly when, no one does. (Matthew 24:36 says “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”) But Paul said we who believe and are watching will not be surprised, “But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6). The rapture will come as the punctuation of the end of the Church age and as the opening bell for the Tribulation. “The Day” is the 7 year period of judgment on the world.

In finishing John MacArthur’s book “Because the End is Near: An explanation of the Book of Revelation” the judgments on the unbelieving world were brought graphically home to me. You do not want your worst enemy to go through that. The rapture will happen at some point and since most people are at work 8 hours/day or longer, there is a one-in-three chance it will occur while we are at work. Imagine your colleagues’ confusion, fear, grief. Some who know about Jesus but never repented will know what happened. Others will have no clue. They are the children of darkness Paul mentioned, who are asleep. How will they know what had happened? How will they know what to do?

The idea was to put in the “starter verses” to help people orient themselves quickly to the new reality of the post-rapture. The urgency is very real. They’ll need access to the truth right away, and they need to get saved ASAP. The bible says that a delusion will come upon the whole world after the rapture happens, (“They refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false…” 2 Thess 2:10b-11). We don’t know when that delusion will kick in, but my sense is that it will come upon the world soon after the Lord takes His children home. So it is important that those who are left behind have access to the only guide to truth that there is, and also can get fast references that will immediately answer what will likely be their very pressing questions.

I tried to keep it simple and direct. I also thought it important to keep it to one page (both sides). I tape or staple the paper into the front cover of the bible so it won’t get separated from the word in context. They don’t need a treatise, they need answers. I put tabs/post-it notes on the bible pages that matched the verses on the paper so they can read them in context. I put “Open in case of rapture” on the front so they will know that THIS bible is different and the one to turn to after everything falls apart. There is a Mormon bible, a Catholic bible and other bibles that do not present the truth as Jesus delivered it. They won’t know the difference so it’s important to get this ball rolling early and station these bibles in obvious places so people have access to them first.

The bibles can be given to unbelieving family members or friends, put anonymously in your work place, dropped at your club or athletic field house or gym. If giving directly to friends or family, you could tell them it doesn’t take up room and to just put it in your drawer or on your nightstand, and take it out when we’re gone. Just the seriousness of the gift will hopefully instill in them a realization that you are very certain of this event happening and very loving toward them, and thus giving it to them will make an impression.The longer the bibles are out and about the more likely it is that a person will turn to it after the rapture. They are not expensive and can be gotten at the Dollar Store. Start your project now, ask the Spirit to lead you to who or where to prepare some bibles.

Here is the “Rapture Sheet” below. If you like it, please feel free to copy it for yourself. Or, pray to the Spirit who will lead you to verses He knows people need in your place of employment, club, gym… Below is the Cheat Sheet. Thank you for reading this.
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Where did they go?

If you are reading this, then it means that the rapture occurred. The rapture is a term for the moment Jesus calls to His believers, resurrecting the dead in Christ and bringing the already living believers up to heaven to be with Him. Here it is in scripture:

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Why did it happen?

We were living in what was called the Church Age, AKA the New Testament times. In Old Testament times the people lived under the Law (The Ten Commandments.) The Old Testament folks had faith, but the faith was that their Messiah would come. Jesus the Messiah had not come yet. But in order to demonstrate that faith in the future promise of Messiah’s coming, and to be cleansed from their sins, they had to kill an animal twice a day and sacrifice it. Why? The blood is the life. (Deuteronomy 12:23). “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Leviticus 17:11). Then Jesus came, but the Jews didn’t recognize Him as Messiah, or those that did, rejected Him. When Jesus died, was resurrected and ascended into heaven, everything changed. Believers no longer needed to sacrifice because Jesus was the sacrifice. He shed His OWN blood for us! As a result of the Jews’ rejection of Him, Jesus has spent the last 2000 years building His church from Gentile peoples (Romans 11:25, Acts 15:14-17). Now the Church Age is over, He is returning His attention to the Jews, and now it is Judgment time for all of those left behind.

Why weren’t we taken?

You might wonder about people whom you thought were Christians who are still here. Not everyone who professed Jesus was truly saved. We cannot tell who is saved and who is not, but Jesus knows who is who. He took the true believers. Intellectual assent is not saving faith. Tradition is not saving faith. Church-going habit is not saving faith. Only true believers were taken. A true believer is described in John 6:29: “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” God sent Jesus to die for your sins, as the eternal sacrifice to satisfy His justice. Sin must be punished, because it is a crime. Jesus took the punishment and paid the debt for all sins forever. As a result, you would have been pardoned- IF you had believed! But you chose to reject Jesus’ pardon, during the now concluded Church Age, or you added to belief in Him with a man-made rules or tradition. So, you are here now. John 11:25 “Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Do you believe this? I hope the rapture convinced you to believe it!

What will happen next?

Unfortunately, you are in for the roughest time that there ever was and ever will be. Jesus said “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24: 21-22). He is saying that if the Tribulation went on longer than 7 years surely EVERY person would die! The Tribulation is when Jesus will pour out His anger against sin and sinners. Christians do not have to endure it because we took the pardon and believed in Him before the rapture, or before they died. So Jesus removed us from this terrible time. Jesus will send increasingly terrible judgments on the earth to punish sinners. Starting now, ¼ of earth’s population will die in war and famines and diseases. Then another 1/3 will die, equaling half the globe’s population before the Tribulation is even half over! Your life is at extreme risk. If you die before asking Jesus forgiveness of your sins and becoming a believer in Him, you will go to hell forever. Sin is real. God’s judgment of sin is real. Satan is real. Hell is real. The coming Antichrist is real. Everything in the bible is real. Not any other book. Not the Mormon bible. Not the Catholic bible. Only the Christian BIBLE is truth!

What must I do to be saved?

You must repent. The jailer at Philippi saw the marvelous joy in Paul and Silas, even while they were chained in the lowest jail, and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you & your household.” (Acts 16:30-31). You have to believe that your sins prevented you from being raptured and will prevent you from going to heaven when you die. Sins are your wrong thoughts, words, and deeds against God. Everyone has wrong thoughts, words, deeds, so that means everyone sins! You need to be sorry for them, and have faith in Jesus. King David was sorry, in Psalm 38:4 he said: “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.” Do you feel guilty for your sins? You should. They are crimes against a Holy God. Do as David did: “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” (Psalm 38:18). In so doing you acknowledge that Jesus is the only person who CAN forgive them, having lived a sinless life and shedding His blood as the pure sacrifice for YOU. Once you do this, He will forgive you and then He will send the Holy Spirit to you to help you understand the bible. If you do not confess and come to faith in Jesus, the Bible will never make sense. And worse, you will be at risk from the lying delusion coming upon the whole earth.

What if I wait and see how things go before I confess and repent?

Don’t do it! A great delusion will come over the whole world and those who are not saved in faith by Jesus’ blood will believe the delusion. The bible says, “The coming of the lawless one (ANTICHRIST) is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

The Good News is, Jesus still loves you and wants you! If you repent and ask Him to forgive, He will. You’ll still go through the horrendous times, but when you die you will go to heaven and live forever with Jesus. Your first step is to repent & believe, and you will be saved from hell. Also, you will then understand the bible. The bible tells you what to do and what will happen next. The most important thing to remember is, JESUS LOVES YOU! Don’t mess it up again. Repent now!!!!!!!

earth crasking, rapture, repent

Quake Expert: Earth Cracking Up

Posted on April 17, 2012 by elizabethprata

Here is something interesting from the Croatian Times a couple of days ago:

“A leading earthquake scientist has warned that the planet could be cracking up after a series of massive quakes in just 48 hours. Expert Gheorghe Marmureanu – from Romania’s National Institute of Earth Physics – says 39 quakes had hit the globe within two days. The series started with two massive quakes in Indonesia measuring 8.6 and 8.2 on the Richter scale rapidly followed by three more only slightly smaller in Mexico within hours.”

“There is no doubt that something is seriously wrong. There have been too many strong earthquakes,” said Marmureanu. He added: “The quakes are a surprise that cannot be easily explained by current scientific knowledge. With the Indonesian quake for example, statistically, there should be one big earthquake in this part of Asia every 500 years. However, since 2004, there were already three quakes with a magnitude of over 8, which is not normal.”

Not normal indeed. So many things are happening that are so outside the scope of scientific understanding and expectation as a weather or earth happening. Just look at the major quakes this week:

6.2 EAST OF THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
6.8 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
6.7 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE
6.2 OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
6.5 VANUATU
6.2 DRAKE PASSAGE (the passage between Antarctica and southern tip of So. America)
6.9 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
6.2 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
6.5 MICHOACAN, MEXICO
8.2 OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
6.0 NORTH INDIAN OCEAN
8.6 OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

Scientists are really doing the old soft shoe shuffle right now. They are vociferously denying that anything untoward is going on when we all can see that it is. I am reminded of the classic show “Chicago” starring Richard Gere as the lawyer, on how to fool people into thinking that there is meat to his case when there isn’t, he sang the famous tune “Razzle Dazzle ‘Em”.

Yet, there is an honest scientist, Gheorghe Marmureanu, saying that something is wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. And Mr Marmureanu is right. The bible says the earth WILL CRACK UP.

The earth is broken asunder,
The earth is split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard
And it totters like a shack,
For its transgression is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, never to rise again.
(Isaiah 24:19-20)

Is the earth beginning to crack up now? I daresay it is. It will not complete its cracking up until the fullness of the sin weighing upon it is also finished, at the end of the Tribulation (Daniel 9:24). But in my opinion at least, there is no doubt in my mind that the judgments are about to fall because the events are passing the normal and are consistently ABnormal. I think this is almost as far as things can go before they are actually judgments. Paul said that we are not appointed to wrath, (1 Thessalonians 5:9) and that our sins are forgotten when we repent, (Heb. 8:12, Heb 10:17) so I do not believe that the Bride will be on earth when judgments in wrath befall the unrepentant. But how it seems that the tension is dragging out, that the warnings are veering ever so precipitously to wrath!

You can escape all these things by repenting and believing on Jesus as risen Lord and Savior! It is just that simple. It is not easy, but it is simple. He paid for our sins with His flesh and shed blood, sacrificing Himself for us. God was pleased to raise Him up on the third day and He lives now. We cannot stand before Him as sinners, so believing on His work on the cross as pardon for those sins justifies us before Him. Otherwise, you have no hope, now or forever. He is the hope! Believe on His glorious name and be saved from his wrath for your sins. The earth is cracking up, but even better to hear is that your pride is cracking up. Allow Him in and humble yourself before Him, and ye shall be saved.