Category: theology

Posted in encouragement, theology

Let’s love each other

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I found this online. It’s a list that is sourced. Recently I’ve been a bit downcast by the in-fighting on social media. I guess after 24 years online going from BBS forums to CompuServe to commenting online newspapers to Disqus to blogs to Facebook to Twitter … I’m finally social media world-weary with the lack of grace and patience. Let’s love each other.

love verse 4

The 59 “One Anothers” of the New Testament

1. …Be at peace with each other. (Mark 9:50)

2. …Wash one another’s feet. (John 13:14)

3. …Love one another… (John 13:34a)

4. …Love one another… (John 13:34b)

5. …Love one another… (John 13:35)

6. …Love one another… (John 15:12)

7. …Love one another (John 15:17)

8. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love… (Romans 12:10)

9. …Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)

10. Live in harmony with one another… (Romans 12:16)

11. …Love one another… (Romans 13:8)

12. …Stop passing judgment on one another. (Romans 14:13)

13. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you… (Romans 15:7)

14. …Instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)

15. Greet one another with a holy kiss… (Romans 16:16)

16. …When you come together to eat, wait for each other. (I Cor. 11:33)

17. …Have equal concern for each other. (I Corinthians 12:25)

18. …Greet one another with a holy kiss. (I Corinthians 16:20)

19. Greet one another with a holy kiss. (II Corinthians 13:12)

20. …Serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13)

21. If you keep on biting and devouring each other…you will be destroyed by each other.

(Galatians 5:15)

22. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:26)

23. Carry each other’s burdens… (Galatians 6:2)

24. …Be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

25. Be kind and compassionate to one another… (Ephesians 4:32)

26. …Forgiving each other… (Ephesians 4:32)

27. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Ephesians 5:19)

28. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)

29. …In humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

30. Do not lie to each other… (Colossians 3:9)

31. Bear with each other… (Colossians 3:13)

32. …Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. (Colossians 3:13)

33. Teach…[one another] (Colossians 3:16)

34. …Admonish one another (Colossians 3:16)

35. …Make your love increase and overflow for each other. (I Thessalonians 3:12)

36. …Love each other. (I Thessalonians 4:9)

37. …Encourage each other…(I Thessalonians 4:18)

38. …Encourage each other… I Thessalonians 5:11)

39. …Build each other up… (I Thessalonians 5:11)

40. Encourage one another daily… Hebrews 3:13)

41. …Spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)

42. …Encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:25)

43. …Do not slander one another. (James 4:11)

44. Don’t grumble against each other… (James 5:9)

45. Confess your sins to each other… (James 5:16)

46. …Pray for each other. (James 5:16)

47. …Love one another deeply, from the heart. (I Peter 3:8)

48. …Live in harmony with one another… (I Peter 3:8)

49. …Love each other deeply… (I Peter 4:8)

50. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (I Peter 4:9)

51. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others… (I Peter 4:10)

52. …Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…(I Peter 5:5)

53. Greet one another with a kiss of love. (I Peter 5:14)

54. …Love one another. (I John 3:11)

55. …Love one another. (I John 3:23)

56. …Love one another. (I John 4:7)

57. …Love one another. (I John 4:11)

58. …Love one another. (I John 4:12)

59. …Love one another. (II John 5)

*From Carl F. George, Prepare Your Church for the Future (Tarrytown: Revell, 1991), 129-131.

Posted in discernment, theology

Book Review & Discernment lesson: Supernatural Childbirth

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

baby

A reader contacted me about the book Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize. She said that the author promises a pain-free childbirth using name it and claim it techniques.

This reader is expecting her first child and is understandably concerned with the issue of childbirth. Friends were excitedly pushing the book on her, yet she understood that pain-free childbirth was not a biblical stance. She asked me to look into the book and review it.

Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize was originally published in 1993, and was again published in 2018. The book apparently is enjoying a resurgence. This is a shame, because Mize said “In my heart I knew there was a way to have a baby without pain and without fear.” (page 23). This inner heart-prompting was confirmed when she attended a Kenneth Copeland meeting where Copeland uttered a prophecy allegedly from the Lord promising no pain in labor to women who were expecting. Voila, a personal craving met a false prophecy and a word-faith book was born. Pun intended.

Here is a screen shot of page 21 where Mize said she first heard ‘Brother’ Copeland prophesy. He said ‘The Lord says’ which I found terrifying to read.

One Amazon reviewer of Supernatural Childbirth said that she failed in the approach to pain-free childbirth because she didn’t “have enough faith” and had “allowed fear in.” For the reviewer’s second pregnancy she had “built up her relationship with God” and she “knew He wouldn’t let her down.” Indeed, she said “I got exactly what I had asked for.”

Another reviewer gave the book one-star on the basis of being too charismatic, but then says she disagrees with the book because it IS normal for God to speak directly to you and tell you “where He wants you to have the baby.”

With confusing reviews like these that vastly misunderstand the basics of the faith, it is no wonder many become deceived and fall into a sphere like Kenneth Copeland’s name it-claim it milieu. I agreed with the reader who was troubled by claims made in this book based on just the scant information so far. I dug deeper.

Far from Name It/Claim It being a dead doctrine, the prosperity preachers are alive and well, and multiplying. As the sin of the world increases, it tags people who want more of what God can give materially than what He gives spiritually. These teachers are successful because they twist the word. People with unmortified personal cravings, lusts, desires cling to these statements and the false prosperity preachers gain followers.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, (2 Timothy 4:3).

So what IS the prosperity gospel?

In their book, When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert note,

In other words, wealth and holiness are intrinsically and linearly connected: the more holy you are, the richer you will be.

At its core, the health-and-wealth gospel teaches that God rewards increasing levels of faith with greater amounts of wealth. Source

And not only wealth, but ease, healing, and trouble free living. In effect, they promise a King Midas touch, where with enough faith, everything one touches turns to gold.

The Pharisees are good examples of this theology. It was thought in the Old Testament that the holier a person was the more God blessed Him. It’s why Job’s friends were so insistent that Job must have committed a sin in order for him to have been so cursed by God. (Job 4:8). Unaware of the coming Gospel, they thought that visible blessing was a manifestation of internal holiness. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time took this philosophy of reaping and sowing to another level, even boasting in their holiness as the self-satisfied Pharisee who thanked God that he wasn’t like the poor tax collector over there. (Luke 18:9-14).

In the first place, one should never read a book based on any prosperity gospel or name-it claim it theology. This kind of theology is also known as Word Faith. Kenneth Copeland is not a brother and nothing he says should ever be taken seriously for even a moment. His ‘prophecies’ supposedly directly from the Lord are debunked here. By the Bible’s own standard, a failed prophet is no prophet of God.

As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent. (Jeremiah 28:9).

Of course none of Copeland’s prophecies have come to pass. The Bible explains when that happens, they were not of God-

And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— 22when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:22).

There were false prophets back in the OT times and there are now. (Ezekiel 13:6, 2 Peter 2:1). We are to be watchful and careful about whose teaching we choose to absorb. Unfortunately, the Prosperity Gospel promoted by the seemingly long-lasting Kenneth Copeland is still going strong. Resist it and turn away from it.

Back to Mize’s book. She began with a heart-craving for release from pain in childbirth, heard Copeland supposedly confirm this fact in a spurious prophecy, and then went to the Bible to find proofs. She arrives at her false conclusions by cherry picking words like blessing and rescue and applying them to her theme, which she brought with her to the text. Hers is typical eisegesis. Eisegesis- when you bring a thought with you to the word of God and then find verses which support it. Exegesis is when you impartially go to the text to discover its meaning and draw it out (the ex– in exegesis).

In this book women are led to believe they have total control over their bodies and can command female body parts to obey their declarations (Word of Faith). Their failure in succumbing to pain in childbirth is “fear and lack of knowledge” according to the author. (page 32). I believe the pain is due to a very large object being expelled through a very small opening, and no accumulation of ‘knowledge’ is going to change that.

In direct contradiction to Mize, we see in scripture that we do not have control over our bodies. It is God who opens and closes wombs-

Eve in Genesis 4:1 declaring her son Abel was born ‘with the help of the LORD’
Hannah’s womb was closed by the LORD, 1 Samuel 1:5
Leah- God opened her womb Genesis 29:31
God opened Rachel’s womb, Genesis 30:22
The Lord enables Ruth to conceive by Boaz, Ruth 4:13
The LORD closed then opened the wombs of all the women in Abimelech’s house, Genesis 20:17,18

It is pride to say that we have control over our own bodies when the LORD clearly as Creator ordains these things. It causes blame and shame for women to be told that their labor pain is due to ignorance or lack of faith.

Mize’s proof-texting of the Bible revealed the following false interpretations. Early on in her book she states that the Hebrew women of Exodus 1 were giving birth easily and quickly, unlike the Egyptian women, because they are in covenant with God and quick and easy childbirth is part of the package of being covenant people. Yet, the text in Exodus 1:15 says nothing about pain free. Only quick. We also know from history that in succeeding generations Hebrew women travailed mightily in childbirth. Jesus notes this in John 16:21. It’s stated again in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Isaiah compares persecution to a woman in labor, (Isaiah 13:8) and Micah uses the word anguish for a woman in labor. (Micah 4:9).

Mize also rejects the notion that the Egyptian midwives were lying about the Hebrew women delivering so quickly, as an excuse as to why the male babies had not been killed. Mize rejects the concept that they were lying but offers no proof. John MacArthur and RC Sproul both believe that the women were lying, but suffered no condemnation because they feared the LORD, as did Rahab, who lied also and received no condemnation.

Mize goes on to use 1 Timothy 2:15 as another proof text to support her unbiblical pain-free childbirth position,

Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Mize defines the word ‘saved’ in the above verse as kept safe and sound, which is pretty close to the Strong’s definition of the Greek, I save, heal, preserve, rescue. So does it means that women in childbearing will always be kept safe and sound leading to a painless childbirth? It can’t, women die in childbirth all the time. Matriarch Rachel, married to Jacob AKA Israel, herself had an extremely painful labor (Genesis 35:17) and died in childbirth. (Genesis 35:18). Was this proof then she was not a covenant women? Does it mean Rachel had not claimed her painless birth by demonstrating enough faith?

The word saved in the verse above is indeed sozo, and it is commonly used throughout the NT to mean rescued, saved, healed, to preserve safe and unharmed. But in context, and context is everything, the entire verse in its passage actually is interpreted to mean that-

though a woman precipitated the Fall and women bear that responsibility, yet they may be preserved through that stigma through childbearing. The rescue, delivery, the freeing of women from the stigma of having led the race into sin happens when they bring up a righteous seed. ~The MacArthur New Testament Commentary

We see this same interpretation echoed in Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible 250 years earlier, (1830s)-

Notwithstanding she shall be saved – The promise in this verse is designed to alleviate the apparent severity of the remarks just made about the condition of woman, and of the allusion to the painful facts of her early history. What the apostle had just said would carry the mind back to the period in which woman introduced sin into the world, and by an obvious and easy association, to the sentence which had been passed on her in consequence of her transgression, and to the burden of sorrows which she was doomed to bear.

So no, indeed it is not true that women will have an easy or painless childbirth. But you see how it can be that if you engage in eisegesis and cherry pick one word out of context, and/or rely on one verse, you can easily make the case for any notion you have a desire to.

Let us get to the main verse before this becomes too long. Speaking of the Fall and the consequences women are to bear from it, in Genesis 3:16 God cursed women with a painful childbirth. Mize’s book would seem to say that if we are powerful enough in our faith, that we can overthrow God’s words and enjoy a pain free experience when delivering a child. Here is what God said-

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16).

How on earth can this be explained away? How can my faith override the spoken declaration of God that was supposed to be for all time?

Mize here quotes the King James Version which uses the word sorrow instead of pain. All other translations use the word pain, and Strong’s in the Lexicon also uses the Hebrew word pain, too.

In this case, Mize used the word as it appeared in only one translation and ignored the definition of the word in Hebrew, explaining its meaning in English (sorrow). However, in a previous example (sozo=saved through childbearing) she used the word in Greek and the definition to make her case.  Inconsistency in interpretive methods is typical of eisegesis. Proper hermeneutics calls for consistency in applying our interpretive methods.

The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from misapplying Scripture or allowing bias to color our understanding of truth. GotQuestions: What is biblical hermenutics?

Yet the author blames the Church for misapplying the word in God’s curse to Eve as pain.

“The church has always wanted it to mean pain for Eve. Well, it doesn’t mean pain, it means what it says, sorrow, grief. My God didn’t put pain on them.” page 90

She is including Adam here too, in God’s curse to bring forth fruit of the land in toil and pain. The first rule of proper hermeneutics (science of interpretation) is to interpret the word literally. It means what it says in its plain meaning. God said that Eve will bring forth children in pain, and that is what it means. The following verses also mention that women have pain, agony, or anguish in childbirth-

Romans 8:22
Hosea 13:13
Galatians 4:19
Genesis 35:17
Isaiah 42:14
Micah 4:9
Psalm 48:6
Micah 4:10
Galatians 4:27
Revelation 12:2
Isaiah 21:3
Jeremiah 50:43

It is hubris to be a lone woman purporting to correct thousands of years of previous Church interpretation. It is dangerous to re-interpret what God has said. It is unwise to blame the church for faulty reasoning. It is foolish to contravene thousands of years of experience of every woman who has ever given birth. Labor is painful. That’s how it is and will be until we enter the eternal state and all curses are reversed and there will be no more marriage or childbirth.

The author in her book relates visions that God has supposedly supplied her with and credits Him with speaking directly to her, putting His alleged words in quotes.

Mize admits that her delivery was not pain free, but better than the first. Her own admission is that the technique failed, but she still recommends the book wholeheartedly. I believe this is called ‘a blind spot.’

I’d advise women to steer clear of this book, which arrives at unwieldy conclusions, is riddled with charismania, (Mize recounts visions the Lord supposedly gave her) is inspired by a false prophet and rests on unstable foundations. (2 Peter 3:16). Not recommended.

I hope this review was also a discernment lesson in how people twist the word of God to make it say things it doesn’t. I’ve included some resources down below about proper interpretation, and also some books for expectant mothers more on the solid side.*

Proper Biblical Interpretation

How Should We Interpret the Bible, Part 1: Principles for Understanding God’s Word

Practical Principles of Biblical Interpretation

Justin Peters carefully, graciously, and biblically deconstructs the Word Faith movement in his series, Clouds Without Water. I recommend it. (Also on Youtube).

*I am not a mom and I am not very familiar with these authors below. I searched to the best of my ability on their stances and associations, and feel somewhat comfortable offering their books to you. If you know otherwise, please tell me. Also, as always, use your own discernment before making any choices.

Labor with Hope: Gospel Meditations on Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood, by Gloria Furman

Praying Through Your Pregnancy: A Week-by-Week Guide, by Jennifer Polimino

Waiting in Wonder: Growing in Faith While You’re Expecting by Catherine Claire Larson

 

Posted in biblical resources, resources, theology

A Plethora of Resources for You

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

quotes books

We are blessed to be living in an internet age. There are so many theological resources available to us! Many of these are free. Here are a few:

I really love Biblehub.com. On this one site you can read the Bible in any translation, or compare several translations at once. You can read commentaries for each and every verse in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. I especially like the commentaries from Matthew Henry, Barnes,’ Notes, and Gill’s Exposition. There are outlines and timelines.

There is a Lexicon in both Greek and Hebrew to look up any word. There are atlases and maps. There is a theological library, too, of works by early church fathers such as Ignatius, Irenaeus, Clement, Justin, Tertullian, Origen, and more. There are works by post-Nicene leaders such as Jerome and Augustine and lots more. All of Spurgeon’s sermons are listed, as well as works by Bunyan, Flavel, Tozer, all of Isaac Watts’ hymns, and much more. All for free.

Did you know of Charles Spurgeon’s magnificent work of exposition of every line in every Psalm? It’s a magnum opus called The Treasury of David. You can read it for free here at the Spurgeon Archive / Treasury of David.

The Treasury of David follows a consistent outline for each Psalm. Spurgeon Introduces it. Then he presents a Division, or, an outline of progressive thought within the Psalm. Third, Spurgeon offers his Exposition, almost always verse-by-verse. Fourth, Spurgeon gives some Explanatory Notes or Quaint Sayings. These enhance and fill out the exposition. Fifth, Spurgeon gives Hints to Preachers. And last, sometimes there are Additional Comments. It’s a monumental contribution to the body of work around the Psalms. In fact, the series is still in print today. How blessed we are to be able to access this resource for free, online.

The Spurgeon site, maintained by Phil Johnson, also includes editions of Spurgeon’s Sword & Trowel, Morning & Evening Devotionals, Spurgeon’s Letters, and a biography by Fullerton.

Did you know that John MacArthur preached through the entire New Testament? He provides exposition for all the books and chapters of the New Testament, and many of the books in the Old. He also offers some topical sermons on issues of the day. There are nearly 4000 sermons at gty.org.

Some consider Dr Abner Chou one of the finest theologians working today. He is a professor at The Master’s Seminary, and many of his lectures are available for free! They are here.

There are Bible Reading Plans galore to choose from:

Professor Horner’s
Bible Gateway’s varied selection
Ligonier’s list of Bible reading Plans
Keep The Feast Challenge

Modern praise music reviews? Got ’em here! And here!

Need a Monster Cheat Sheet for John Owen’s Mortification of Sin in Believers?

What resources have you discovered that have helped you grow in knowledge and understanding in the Lord?

Posted in theology, word of the week

Word of the week: Regeneration

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The thread of Christianity from generation to generation depends on a mutual understanding of our important words. Hence the Word of the Week.

Past Words of the Week have included Justification, Transcendence, Immanence, Propitiation, Sanctification, Glorification, Orthodoxy, Heresy, Omniscience, Aseity, and Immutability.

I then went to a series examining each of the 9 characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and on December 29, 2018, wrapped up the Fruit series with Self-Control.

Now it’s back to individual words of the week. I’ve chosen Angel, and last time, Exegesis.

Today … Regeneration

heart of stone verse

Regeneration, JI Packer

Regeneration is the spiritual change wrought in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit in which his/her inherently sinful nature is changed so that he/she can respond to God in Faith, and live in accordance with His Will (Matt. 19:28; John 3:3,5,7; Titus 3:5). It extends to the whole nature of man, altering his governing disposition, illuminating his mind, freeing his will, and renewing his nature

Regeneration, Matt Slick

Regeneration is a change in our moral and spiritual nature where justification is a change in our relationship with God. Also, sanctification is the work of God in us to make us more like Jesus. Regeneration is the beginning of that change. It means to be born again.

To understand why we need regeneration I recommend two sources. Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will, and Jonathan Edwards’ Freedom of the Will. The two men aren’t actually contradicting each other, they say the same thing: man is born with a sin nature that he cannot escape, change, or modify.

In 1524 Luther argued that humans’ sinful nature rendered them slaves to wickedness, free only to sin unless by the intervention of God’s sovereign grace. Read Bondage of the Will for free here, or buy at any book sellers’ outlet.

In this text published in 1754, Edwards investigates the contrasting Calvinist and Arminian views about free will, God’s foreknowledge, determinism, and moral agency. Read Freedom of the Will for free here, or buy at any book sellers’ outlet.

Further resources:

Short devotional from Ligonier:
The Grace Of Regeneration

GotQuestions

What is regeneration according to the Bible?

Verses, just a few on the topic:

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5).

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26).

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Posted in theology

Thanks for celebrating 10 million views with me. Here are some of my faves over the years

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In blogging for ten years and in seeing some of the essays that have received the most views, I’m excited to see what the Lord is doing through my small ministry. But I also see some of my favorite essays receiving a more disappointing number of views. That’s the way it goes. I’m always surprised by what catches readers’ fancy.

In the ten million views since this blog was founded, discernment essays comprise most of the top-viewed essays. There are also cultural apocalypses that garner a lot of attention, and when I write to debunk those, those essays get a lot of attention, too. I hope people aren’t too disappointed when they click in to The End Time hoping to see something positive about, say, Comet Elenin’s alleged imminent smashing into earth, or the Hopi 2012 apocalypse, only to find a debunking, lol.

The theological essays don’t receive as much attention, and that’s OK I suppose. I’m hoping that’s because the readers receive plenty of teaching at their own churches or from bigger online ministries like gty.org or ligonier.org.

But here are my favorites. I write often about the pre-tribulation rapture. In these days, people have begun to heartily destroy the blessed hope of His coming to snatch away His church. Some say the event won’t happen at all, or others say it will happen at the end of the Tribulation, meaning the church will go through the wrath/judgment that the book of Revelation predicts. No.

It is also prophesied that people will mock and scoff at notions such as the prophecies of future wrath and even prophecies such as the Rapture. (2 Peter 3:3, 1 Timothy 4:1). But is IS a predicted event, as seen in John 14, 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15. So since it IS an event, the only question is when will this event occur. Understanding the wide scope and sweep of prophecy scattered throughout the Old Testament and the New will hopefully show to the earnest seeker the timing to be the removal of the church prior to the judgment. The church will not go through the judgment. I am personally, biblically, convinced of this.

But it seems to me that we need now more than ever to defend the fact of the event of the rapture and the fact of the rapture occurring prior to the Tribulation. Hence some of my favorite articles:

Why pre-tribulation rapture is doctrinally correct

Some more Pre-trib Comfort

More on rapture being pre-tribulation

10-min excerpt: from full sermon titled The Final Generation of the Future Judgment, that’s linked below

Full sermon:
The Final Generation of the Future Judgment

I also enjoyed researching and writing the “Day in the Life of: Series”

Day in the Life of a: Seller of Purple

Fisherman

Tanner

 Shepherd

Potter

Scribe

Roll call in Heaven was encouraging to me, I hope it is for you too. From 2011.

Hagar in the desert drinking from the well of life, is another fave of mine. From 2013.

I think about the New Earth a lot. How beautiful it will be!

Thanks for celebrating 10 Million views with me this week. Starting Monday I’ll be back to regular blogging I have some queries, some suggestions, some requests for blogs, which I’ll write; plus some drafts already in the pipeline Thanks again and all for the Glory of God.

 

Posted in theology

Celebrate 10 Years/10 Million views with me

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

810b2-grace2bgrace2bgrace

I’ve been blogging here daily for ten years. The Spirit has caused ten million viewings of the material at my site. It’s a weighty responsibility to be given a spark to write about the glorious of the Son of God. I feel it.

I blog about things I hope are encouraging. I also blog about natural history topics, personalities in the Bible, theology, the prophecies of the Bible, and discernment items.

Though all believers are called to hone their discernment skills (Hebrews 5:14), to some He gave an extra dose, as a specially set apart gift of the Spirit. This is seen in 1 Corinthians 12:10,

To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:10).

I feel I’ve been given that gift and I feel strongly that I am called to employ it steadfastly, constantly, and without embarrassment or apology. As such, many of the essays here have been written for the purpose of warning others of the result of my tests to distinguish between spirits. As you might expect, many of those are essays that are in the top ten all time popular essays. There are some though you might be surprised to see as having been launched into the top ten and remaining there.

In 2016 the phenomenon of Chip and Joanna Gaines vaulted to Christian consciousness. These two are a popular HGTV renovation married couple with a passel of children who live in Waco, TX. They also say they are Christian. A short video testimony produced by Baylor University, a private Christian university in Waco, Texas, reveals that Joanna communed audibly with God, who promised her her heart’s desire as she struggled with the notion of stay at home motherhood: a media platform and fame. He told her this.

Lots of plaudits ensued. ‘Wow, a famous couple on TV who are also Christians!’ I was saddened to see the lack of discernment from so many believers, and perplexed as to this couple overall, so I researched. As with Beth Moore and so many other famous Christian women, Joanna says one thing and does another, and the ‘doing another’ is usually antithetical to the roles the women have been biblically called to.

Joanna is President of a multi-million dollar mega-corporation with operations of and tentacles in book writing and publishing, speaking tours, restaurant, stores, furniture marketing, real estate, media stars on a TV show, and more. On television she presented herself as whole-heartedly devoted to her children, a humble, almost always stay at home, hammer wielding mum, but the reality is far from the truth. I dared to say so.

#4 most popular all-time essay-

The hypocrisy of HGTV’s Chip and Joanna Gaines of ‘Fixer Upper’

Coming in at #5 was my 2015 discernment essay about Dr. David Jeremiah
UPDATE, Dr David Jeremiah’s shocking apostasy

#6 was a 2011 essay about Jentezen Franklin, the Law & Fasting false teacher

Jentezen Franklin, and his false teachings on fasting

#3 and #8 were my attempt to use discernment to debunk some of the more silly prophetical proclamations when the 4 Blood Moons occurred in 2013 and Comet Elenin was approaching in 2011. I enjoy studying prophecy and it grieves me when the glorious future promises through prophecy are abused and diminished in this way. I offered logic and scripture in a three-part series on the Blood Moon scenario, and it was the last in the series that launched into the top ten and stayed there.

Do the four blood moons of 2014-2015 have prophetic meaning? 3/3

And the same for Comet Elenin, a planet-sized previously undiscovered astronomical body predicted to pass between the earth an the moon in late 2011, fueling the increasingly manic 2012 doomsday scenarios.

Comet Elenin is coming

Tomorrow I’ll close out this week’s celebration with some essays that haven’t been ‘popular’ but I enjoyed writing and are my own favorites.

Thanks for reading!

Posted in discernment, theology

In 10+ years of blogging and ten million views, some more of the popular essays

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Sunday marked the day when the counter on my blog showed 10 million views. Ten million times eyes have passed over something written here. Over ten years of daily essay publishing (4,955 of them) and now 10 million views. I feel the weight of responsibility to readers and especially to the glory of Jesus.

Some of the more popular posts have stood out, and always surprise me with what becomes popular. I’ll be posting the popularly viewed essays this celebration week. I’ll also be posting some of my personal favorites that didn’t receive so many views. The top was the Sideways cross necklace, and in the top ten was the Ghost Horse of Tahrir Square.

1. Sideways Cross Necklace

2. Ghost Horse of Tahrir Square

For 8 solid years, I’ve been blogging against Beth Moore’s ministry and teaching. Since 2011 when I became aware of her mode of living, her method of study, and her manner of delivery, I have loudly and constantly decried all that she is about. In the early years, really until 2018, it’s been a slog. In the early years, there were precious few fellow bloggers warning about her danger to women and the church. The push-back I received of this deeply embedded minister of satan was pitched and sometimes virulent. Hence the comment from a reader that she was surprised that the top viewed essay wasn’t one of my discernment lessons on Beth Moore. I was too.

Below is the only mention of Beth Moore in my top ten all-time viewed, from August 2014. It was partly about Moore, but also about the difficulty in determining the moment that a person, or a church, should make the decision that a certain teacher is no longer to be trusted or followed in their teaching.

In the case of this essay, it was the moment when Moore partnered with heretic Joyce Meyer. Moore appeared on Meyer’s TV show. In a bitter irony, the topic was “Unity.” Moore praised Meyer as a sister and gushed about how happy she was to be on her show.

It had been easy for followers, the less mature, and the undiscerning to ignore Moore’s profligate lifestyle of wealth and feminism, her preaching to men in flagrant violation of 1 Timothy 2:12-13, her terrible eisegesis, her self-centeredness, but this photo shook many out of their slumber. It was hard to ignore the meaning:

So I wrote the following:

At what point does one declare a teacher like Beth Moore false?

If you have a discerning person in your church, please understand they are there to employ a gift from the Spirit, not a harassment to torture you in your love for certain teachers.

Author Dan Phillips wrote a helpful list of warning signs of false teachers called Red lights. I recommend it.

It occurred to me that many might be served if we offered warning-signs of (at worst) false or (at best) unreliable teachers. Here are a number of such indicators. Some are instantly obvious; others only over the passage of time (cf. 1 Tim. 5:24).

As always, thank you for reading!

 

Posted in theology

In 10+ years of blogging and ten million views, what’s been another popular essay?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This week I’m celebrating the Holy Spirit’s sustaining work in this ministry by noting that He’s brought ten million views of the material on this blog. I’ve been blogging daily for over ten years and on Monday the blog passed ten million views. I’m posting some of the most popular posts and also some of my own favorites.

In the Spring of 2011, it seemed that the Middle East erupted in chaos and coup. One country after another suffered civil unrest to outright revolution. This period came to be known as “Arab Spring.”

In February of 2011 I wrote about an unusual happening at the revolution in Egypt that occurred in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. High above the proceedings, a MSNBC reporter was filming from the hotel room and the video caught a ghostly apparition swooping down, over, and then upward over the crowd. It seemed to be a ghostly greenish horse with a rider in flowing robe. It brought to mind one of the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse in Revelation, the horse that brings pestilence.

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8).

The Greek word pale for the color is chloros, or pale green.

No one could quite explain the apparition, though many saw it and it was captured on several different video cameras.

I’m intrigued by the glimpses the Bible gives us of “the other side”. We know that the other side is close…Elisha’s servant was given a glimpse of all the chariots in the air surrounding them at the city of Dothan. The King of Aram wanted to capture Elisha. Elisha’s servant quaked. When Elisha prayed for the LORD to open his servant’s eyes to see the help they were receiving from ‘the other side’, He did and the servant saw them. (2 Kings 6:17)

We know that at the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, John, and James were talking with Jesus and suddenly He was transfigured and speaking with a transfigured Moses and Elijah who were suddenly standing next to Him. (Mark 9:2–4).

We know that Jesus appeared and disappeared into another dimension by coming through locked doors or disappearing from crowds. (John 20:19, Luke 4:30).

While Daniel was still praying, the angel Gabriel appeared. (Daniel 9:21)

Where IS “the other side”? Close by? Perhaps!

Is there such thing as ‘leak-though’ of the other side to this, where we can see or hear glimpses of the activity there? Perhaps, and maybe that is what this Ghost Horse (Or Apocalypse Horse) was. My point in the article below though, was not simply noting the unusual occurrence. It was to also note that when such things happen, people think of the Bible. The innate fear of God we all have instilled in us (Romans 1:18-20, Romans 2:15, Ecclesiastes 3:11) comes out when unexplained events like this occur.

Here’s the original article. You might also enjoy:

Sky Noises/Sounds of the Apocalypse continue to perplex, frighten

—————————————-

The MSNBC crew, filming from above Tahrir Square, seemed to catch a neon horse hovering above the people and flying to the sky.

The Tribulation opens with its first set of judgments described in Revelation 6. They are the seals. The first four seals are the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse. The first Horse is white, that’s the antichrist. The second horse is red, that is war, or peace taken from the earth. The third seal is the black horse, of scarcity and famine. The fourth horse is a pale green, Greek word Chloris like the sickly green of bleach. That one is pestilence and disease.

I DO NOT believe the horsemen have been unleashed. The church is not gone yet, and we are not under judgment but are free from accusation. I do not believe or disbelieve that the horse is could or could not be moseying around on the earth. It could be a delusion perpetrated by demonic angels. It could just as easily have been a reflection of the glass of some kind. The Bible records an incident where Elisha’s servant was wobbly in his courage before a huge battle, and Elisha, God’s Prophet, asked the LORD to open his servant’s eyes so he could see that they were not outnumbered in the battle, but indeed has a legion of angels in chariots were all around them.

And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)

What I am saying is that the unbelieving world is so on edge, that when they see a reflection or an apparition like this one in Egypt, they think of the Horsemen of Revelation. Suddenly the Bible comes to their mind… not Hopi prophecy, not Edgar Cayce…the Bible.

The video is making the rounds like wildfire late last night and early this morning. It is freaking people out. It does not matter if the neon horseman was real or not real, it is causing a reaction among people. Christians, capitalize on that. Show them that the unseen world is very, very real and very, very eternal.

Perhaps their spirit is convicting them that there is more to the events in the world than their unsaved minds would let them believe, and that these events are connected. We can see that people need to have the truth: angels ARE all around us, demons ARE all around us, that in fact the unseen world is more real than this one which is temporary. I pray that people who are attracted to the videos of the recent apparition will allow the Holy Spirit to convict them and they repent. If they do, one day they will have the scales fall from their eyes and they will see into the eternal future of glory with Jesus.

Posted in theology

In 10+ years of blogging and ten million views, what’s been the most popular essay?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Elizabeth Prata

In ten years of daily blogging, there is a lot of material here at The End Time. Some of the more popular posts have stood out, and always surprise me with what becomes popular. I’ll be posting the popularly viewed essays this celebration week as this blog passes the 10 million views mark. I’ll also be posting some of my personal favorites that didn’t receive so many views.

This post about the sideways cross necklace fad vaulted to the top of the views list and has stayed there since it was posted in spring of 2013. It has remained the top-viewed post on The End Time for the last 6 years.

In my opinion, the most compelling question I’d asked below is, would you be offended if your church laid the cross on its side?

————————————–

The latest Christian fad- Is wearing a sideways (horizontal) cross good, or bad?

Kelly Ripa has one. Taylor Jacobson, Rachel Zoe’s assistant has one. Jessica Biel wears it too. Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, Jillian Michaels…all sport one. (And if you know who those people are, more power to you.) It has been described as “wildly popular”, “the hottest trend,” “totally cute”, and the “in fashion.” What is it? The sideways cross necklace.

Any time there is innovation related to anything in Christianity, we perk up. Our first question should be “What does it mean?” Why do we ask this first? We must be reverent-

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,” (Hebrews 12:28)

“And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” (Revelation 19:5).

Fads are nothing new. They affect Christianity just as they affect the world. Most often, fads are related to doctrine, movements, or worldwide phenomena in the ecclesiology department, affecting preaching. As Phil Johnson says of fads,

“In the past two decades we have seen a relentless parade of phony miraculous phenomena, and literally millions of Christians have jumped on this bandwagon, running from one charismatic fad to another, desperately trying to get in on the latest display of divine power.”

But there are Christian merchandising fads, too. Love Dare diaries from Fireproof, Courageous Decree, WWJD bracelets, prayer blankets… fads, fads, fads. As Phil Johnson asked in 2005 of the merchandising fads, “Shall we sell our birthright for a mess of faddage?”

“So why has the recent culture of American evangelicalism—a movement supposedly based on a commitment to timeless truths—been so susceptible to fads? Why are evangelical churches so keen to jump on every bandwagon? Why do our people so eagerly rush to buy the latest book, CD, or cheap bit of knockoff merchandise concocted by the marketing geniuses who have taken over the Christian publishing industry?”

Some of the beginner-level fads have seemed harmless enough—evangelical kitsch like Kinkade paintings, Precious Moments® collectibles, singing songbooks, moralizing vegetables, bumper stickers, Naugahyde® Bible covers, and whatnot. Such fads themselves, taken individually, may not seem worth complaining about at all. But collectively, they have created an appetite for “the ugly and the superficial.” They have spawned more and more fads. Somewhere along the line, evangelicals got the notion that all the fads were good, because the relentless parade of bandwagons gave the illusion that evangelicals were gaining significant influence and visibility. No bandwagon was too weird to get in the parade. And the bigger, the better.

Johnson goes on to say that somewhere along the line bandwagons become Trojan horses. I recommend Pastor Johnson’s essay in its entirety.

Is it bad to wear a sideways necklace? I’d written a few days ago about hair, clothes and jewelry, here: “Adorned in Christ, how should we dress for Holy Week?” In that essay I’d mentioned, ” 1 Timothy 2:9 says “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,” and went through the historical reasons for that admonition and the one in 1 Peter 3:3.

So we ask again, is it bad or wrong to wear a sideways cross necklace? Is it respectable apparel?

I looked for a definitive interpretation of the horizontal cross, and though a definitive one was lacking, I found the following in most places I looked:

One interpretation holds that wearing the cross sideways means that “humanity is positioned right in the middle of heaven and hell. This makes it a neutral symbol.”

This seems like an innocuous and even a pleasant notion. But, no, there is no neutrality. There is no middle road. The cross stands as a blazing dividing point between heaven and hell, between history before and after, between unforgiven and forgiven. In fact this is an insidious teaching that is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Either you believe and you’re saved as a son of God, or you do not believe and you are condemned already as a child of hell. (John 3:18, Matthew 23:15, Hebrews 3:19). Humanity is already in either heaven or hell.

Another interpretation holds that: “Because of this meaning, some people say that wearing a sideways cross necklace means that you are aware of your place in this existence; And that you are grounded here on earth.”

Again this is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Christians who believe by faith in the Gospel have a home in heaven. This earth is not our home. (Hebrews 13:14). We are not to love the world or anything in the world. (1 John 2:15). If you are a Christian wearing a sideways necklace to show you are grounded here on earth, either you have a flawed idea of what Christianity is or you have no clue about the glory that awaits.

“There are also people who believe that the sideways orientation of a necklace symbolizes Jesus Christ carrying the cross, this is one of my favorite interpretations.”

But He is not still carrying the cross. He died and rose again from an upright cross, declaring that it is finished. (John 19:30). That supercedes the Savior’s carrying of it.

“It has also been based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The horizontal orientation of the necklace connotes that Jesus Christ has actually risen and that the cross has already been laid down to signify that humanity has been saved.”

This is also a false notion. It sounds Christian-y but it is actually untrue. First, He didn’t lay down the cross. And nether are we commanded to lay it down, we are to take it up (Mark 8:34).

Secondly, humanity has not been saved, only those who are in Christ are saved. For the unsaved billions, a sideways cross would be a futile symbol. What about them?

No, more to the point, if you’re going to symbolize things, ‘Lay down your arms’ means it is being dispensed with. It is over. Done. Fighting is stopped. You accede, acquiesce, quit, surrender.

Yet Christians are called to pick up our cross, not lay it down. (Luke 9:23). We are called to arm ourselves and fight, taking up the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13). Wearing a sideways, laying down cross seems antithetical to what we are called to do in scripture.

And how many times are we called to stand? We are not standing in our own strength, either, but stand in Jesus. (Romans 14:4). His cross is still standing! Why would we ever signal that we are laying down our Christianity?

If you are not all that into symbolical interpretations of these things, and just want to wear a horizontal cross without all the hoo-haa, then before wearing sideways cross jewelry, ask yourself these questions:

Does it make you, the wearer, consumed with how the jewelry makes you look? (1 Peter 3:3).

It’s trendy, but should we join hands with the world and monkey with the 2000 year old symbol of our faith just to be “in”?

Would you be offended if your church laid the cross at the church altar on its side?

Is it a silent statement against Christianity, a rebellion?

Is it making a commodity out of the Gospel by monkeying with its traditionality for the sake of fashion and money? Remember, Nadab and Abihu innovated a sacrificial service, and were killed for it. (Leviticus 10:1-2). Not that I am saying you will be killed by God if you wear a sideways cross, certainly, but is innovation proper? God gave us our faith, the holy Bible, and its symbols. The most important one is the cross. God didn’t have Jesus die on a guillotine, or by the sword. He died on a cross, and that was for a specific, holy, perfect reason. Do you really want to innovate that, when God set it forth in perfection in the first place?

If there is this much confusion about its meaning, can it be good?

Does it exalt Jesus? Or bring confusion to the symbol and its universally understood meaning for the past 2000 years?

Are you succumbing to a merchandising fad? “That is the culture the evangelical movement deliberately created when it accepted the notion that religion is something to be peddled and sold to consumers like a commodity. That was a major philosophical shift that created an environment where unspiritual and unscrupulous men could easily make merchandise of the gospel.” ~Phil Johnson

The Bible says that there will be fads and they come on the backs of greedy teachers bringing false words- “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (2 Peter 2:3).

Here is the most compelling reason not to wear a sideways cross!

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up
John 3:14, Numbers 21:9.

 

Posted in theology

Ten Years; Ten Million Views- Celebrate with me

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Yesterday marked the day when the counter on my blog showed 10 million views. Ten million times eyes have passed over something written here. Over ten years of daily essay publishing (4,955 of them) and now 10 million views.*

Ten. Million. Views.

How did this happen? What was the origin? How can I celebrate the Spirit’s work through me and not make it about me? I hope to celebrate His sustaining grace in this piece. Please bear with me if I am clumsy about it. I want to boast in Him.

Origins of The End Time blog

I was saved by God’s grace, His massive and perfect grace, in early 2004. Eighteen months later my life changed in Maine and I was able to move to Georgia. I began attending church and studying the Bible.

It was a thrilling time. The answers I’d sought all my life were revealed to me by the illuminating and gracious Holy Spirit. Ha! I knew the earth didn’t just bang open! Yesss! I knew there was an absolute moral code, somewhere. Voila! There is a reason for our existence! These questions had plagued me for years. The futility of life’s big questions without the answers clouded my mind with a persistent overarching darkness all along. I was captive to the darkness of the evil one. I kept seeking the Light, but I’d never found it. When He came in His timing, the Light dispelled that darkness and offered reasons, satisfaction, and the rhythm of sanctification. I was relieved to hand over my life to the One who knows me better than I do, and leave living my futile Ecclesiastes life behind.

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Westminster Shorter Catechism

I was so thrilled with learning all about Jesus that I began writing email newsletters to my friends sharing what the Spirit was illuminating in my mind from scripture. I loved connecting the dots, in the Old Testament and the New to the new outlook that Christ gives us. My worldview changed from the one I’d held for 42 years to the one the Lord was now knitting in me. The email list grew. More people wanted to be added. I sent the newsletter on Saturdays, filled with the rush of knowing why there was evil in the world, why the world hated Israel, why Jewish people were hunted and persecuted throughout the ages, why earthquakes and tornadoes happened. Entropy was real, i.e., the gradual decline into disorder, but the reason was sin. It was all so clear now. Though disorder exists, there is no such thing as chaos. What relief to learn that God was in control.

Though disorder exists, there is no such thing as chaos.

I looked at the news and I looked at the Bible and it was just so amazing. In my email newsletter, I did some newspaper eisegesis, matching the news that was turbulently flowing through America at the time and also the world. Remember Arab Spring? Remember the collapse of the Fourth Estate journalism in the 2007 Obama campaign for President? Journalists’ skewed political reality presented to Americans combined with the failure of diligence in what was supposed to be a watchdog for the voiceless American caused great turmoil. That was the time in which I was thrust, looking at the events occurring before me and then seeing the Bible’s prediction of it all (in theme and concept, not in details).

I began writing publicly on my The Quiet Life blog, of these and other Christian things. My personal blog was turning Christian, and I was posting more and more of these thrilling theological concepts.

If you listen to early John MacArthur (1969-1971 or so), he also engaged in some newspaper eisegesis. I understand the urge. I don’t apologize for mine in the early days. How can I? The Lord was opening my eyes to the evilness of the secular worldview and instilling in me His glorious eternal worldview. Suddenly everything all made sense! But I’m also glad that He grew me out of it. I’ve noticed over time the more one sticks to newspaper prophetical eisegesis the more wonky the ministry gets. I was happy to eventually turn to straight theology covering all God’s doctrines. My eyes need to stay focused on Jesus. I am definitely sinful and frail human.

With my personal blog filling up with theology, by January 2009 I decided to start another blog devoted to it completely. That was the beginning of this blog The End Time. I named it so because we are in the end time, the time between the first and second coming of Jesus. The time is near. The world will end, and all the unforgiven souls with it. I feel the urgency. I do not want to forget that in the next moment of time we could be taken to heaven and the wrath of God that has been promised, will unleash. He tells us twice in Revelation that the time is near.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Revelation 1:3).

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.” (Revelation 22:10).

I was still thrilled and excited. I wrote every day. I still write every day. The way the Lord structured my life at that time, I didn’t need to work full time for about two years, though I was writing freelance feature articles for the Athens Banner Herald. I could and did devote myself at every spare moment to study and learning His word and on writing the blog. I felt the Lord pouring into me the concepts he wanted me to learn and retain, and a firehose rate. This was good, I spent 43 years in the dark. I had lost time to make up for.

I started listening to Adrian Rogers, Woodrow Kroll’s Back to the Bible radio program, and to John MacArthur. I was learning knotty theological concepts like election and Old Testament prophecy. I read all the OT prophets, from Nahum, Zephaniah, and Amos and the rest, to Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel. I learned later that people usually turn to the New Testament first, but the Spirit had a different path for me.

Since January 6, 2009 I’ve written an essay at The End Time every day. Including this essay, I’ve written 4,955 compositions. Every day. Only in the recent year have I even repeated any material. Unbroken, each day (if I remember correctly) I’ve written about Jesus and His ways.

But can a human think up almost 5000 ideas for essays? All based on the same book? No, at least I know I would not ever be able or even want to do that. It is not me but the strength and wisdom and creativity of the Holy Spirit that aids my brain in composing what I hope are glorious exaltations of Christ and His precepts. It is not me, but Him. I’m writing this as a celebration of His sustaining work in giving a person a ministry and carrying it through to perform His intended works.

I marvel at the Spirit’s work. I’m just an anonymous, old lady in an obscure part of a southern state in declining America, writing tiny essays of my thoughts and reactions to the Word of God, and yet the Spirit sustains it daily.

I’ve wrestled with whether to even note the milestone of 10 million views, because I want this to be about the Spirit’s work, but if I don’t celebrate the milestone, then how can the Lord be praised for it? He gave me the grace to be regenerated, the mind to understand His word, the life to have time to write, His word to read and study, His spirit to illuminate, the skill to write…it’s all Him.

At various times I’ve thought I should stop. Haven’t I said all what the Spirit wanted me to say? After nearly 5000 essays what more can there be to say? Goodness, He has shown me more of His intellect, brilliance, and infinite-ness in continually providing understanding of the word on the page. Nothing has shown me more of the word that is living and active than to have been granted an opportunity to delve into it and see its life go forth in my heart and out to the world every day for ten years.

The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to show us Christ. ~John MacArthur

This week I’ll be posting some of the most viewed essays at The End Time. Meanwhile please read this Ligonier essay about the ministry of the Holy Spirit and His marvelous grace in illuminating the word to our minds s that we may see Christ and what He does with that information he brings alive in us through the various permanent gifts.

The Holy Spirit’s Ministry

*The ten million views occurred on The End Time at Blogger. When I created this mirror WordPress blog, there was a limit of how much you could transfer, so the first year of material didn’t upload to WordPress.