Category: theology

Posted in theology

The much needed “Sunday nap”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I always thought the Sunday nap was because I was tired. During quarantine 4 years ago, I began to think otherwise.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3).

I’m blessed to have a regular Monday-through-Friday work week, daytime hours. On Saturday I run around and do errands and cleaning and stuff that I’ve put off during the work week. So it’s like a 6th work day. Thus, when I get to Sunday, I’m tired. I go to church and I take a nap, and that is about all I do.

But during that time of “pandemic” where we are told to remain socially distant from others, work had stopped, I was quarantined inside my home. I was not tired on most days anymore. Oh, sure, when the work-stoppage first occurred, I napped to burn off the sleep debt and stress that had accumulated. But after the first week of the 2020-quarantine, the need for naps stopped.

Except on Sunday.

Continue reading “The much needed “Sunday nap”” →
Posted in encouragement, theology

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In Psalm 51, David famously wrote-

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
(Psalm 51:10-13)

His is a magnificent statement of repentance. No wonder God called David a man after His own heart. (Acts 13:22).

You notice that David’s contrition and petition for restoration didn’t include restoring a kingdom to him, or his fortress or his armor or his lands. He did not ask for material things. He wanted the ‘joy of God’s salvation’ – spiritual things. David wanted the spiritual joy of a right relationship with His God.

I often ponder the joy of my salvation. I don’t want to lose that wonder and awe of the miracle of a purified mind and a clean heart. Maybe it’s because I came to the Lord in my 40s, and I remember so well the feeling of moral confusion, impurity, and guilt. One thing I enjoy about salvation is the release of my mind from having to work so hard to justify my sin. Or the efforts of my heart to hide it. Or the difficulty in having my conscience making valiant efforts to tamp down the morally questionable things I said and did.

A willing spirit that finds joy in knowing and obeying our Savior is a release that can only come from Jesus. It’s a gift to us, borne on His blood and His cross. In gratitude, David said he would teach others the ways of God so that sinners would be converted. He is passing along the gift he himself thirsts for and treasures.

by faith you have been saved verse
Posted in theology

Finale to the Begg Debacle

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Sadly, yesterday, Alistair Begg was no longer listed as a speaker at the 2024 Shepherds Conference at Grace Community Church.

This is a major conference founded and led by John MacArthur specifically to edify and minister to Pastors. After Begg’s January 19 remarks which he counseled a grandmother that it was OK for her to attend the transgender wedding of her grandson, controversy erupted.

Attending a transgender/gay wedding? Alistair Begg’s reply and the outcry

Initially, behind the scenes brethren urged Begg to reconsider this counsel. Then, American Family Radio contacted Begg’s ministry and had an extended conversation with his representatives, where pleas to repent were not heard. So AFR dropped Begg from their broadcasting roster.

One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke Will stay among the wise.
One who neglects discipline rejects himself, (Proverbs 15:31-32).

American Family Radio drops Begg’s program over same-sex advice

Later, Begg said some even his own pastoral team disagreed with Begg’s advice.

Controversy continued. So this past Sunday, Begg preached a clarifying statement. In it, the defense of his counsel was worse than the counsel because it included anger, calling his critics Pharisees, and a misuse of the scripture he was preaching which was twisted to justify his defense of his position.

Then what people had been watching for: ShepCon. Apparently a conversation was had between ShepCon leader MacArthur and Begg. Begg withdrew from speaking, with MacArthur associate Phil Johnson telling a news organization “it was necessary for him to withdraw.”

The original advice should have been for the grandmother to refrain from participating as a celebrant and witness to a perversion of marriage. Sometimes one’s absence speaks louder than all the words up to that point.

And now Begg is undergoing the same treatment: our beliefs have consequences. At some point, we must part from a person when their beliefs (or acts) diverge from the Bible’s standards. In this, Begg’s truculent refusal to even listen to advice, never mind the actual original advice he gave the grandmother, indicates a necessary parting.

What would have been the effect, do we think, if the ShepCon organizers had said “Pastor Begg, we disagree with your advice, seeing it is unbiblical, and your misuse of the passage in Luke 15 was wrong exegesis, but come along to the Conference anyway, we don’t want to be seen as judgmental.” He would have felt justified, wouldn’t he?

Earlier in life I learned that what people SAY and what people DO, must match up.

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. Lines in the sand exist for a reason.

Posted in theology

Alistair Begg addresses the controversy

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Alistair Begg addresses controversial comments he’d made in an interview last September regarding counsel to a grandmother to attend wedding of her grandson and his transgender fiancé. He’d said as long as the grandma had made it clear she disapproved and had shared the Gospel, she should attend. The grandson might be surprised by her love, rather than her absence likely confirming her criticalness and judgmentalism.

The Interview was held between Bob Lepine and Begg, upon the occasion of the publication of Begg’s new book, “The Christian Manifesto.” That interview is here. Slide to 26:30 to hear the question posed to Begg and Begg’s controversial reply.

Though the interview was published in September 2023, it seemed to sink into the murk until it surfaced on January 18 and was shared on social media. A huge controversy ensued, with attendant discussion in all corners of the internet.

One of the major radio stations who carried Begg’s radio program Truth For Life contacted the ministry and had a lengthy conversation with Begg’s representatives, who assured American Family Radio that Begg meant what he said and was not changing his stance. The Radio ministry subsequently dropped Truth for Life from its roster of broadcasted programs.

This week, Begg said his colleagues had told Begg that it would be wise for Begg to acknowledge the tremendous amount of noise on the internet about this issue and to say something about it.

That statement occurred on January 28, 2024 at Parkside Church and was uploaded to the internet. His 46 minute sermon is titled Compassion vs. Condemnation, and the blurb says,

“How are Christians to walk the fine line between affirming and reviling those whose actions declare them to be God’s enemies? That is the question Alistair Begg seeks to answer as he addresses the controversy surrounding the counsel he gave to a grandmother in the summer of 2023. Turning to Luke 15, Alistair reminds us that the inclination toward pharisaism is alive and well within all our hearts. It is something we always must guard against—especially as we press on toward purity and holiness in the midst of an aimless and confused generation. Scripture: Luke 15 Preached: January 28, 2024.

I have not listened to it but I post it here as a follow up to the articles I published earlier on this issue. See what you think.

Previous entries on this topic:

Attending a transgender/gay wedding? Alistair Begg’s reply and the outcry

American Family Radio drops Begg’s program over same-sex advice

Posted in theology

Heaven, Hell, & the Holiness of God’s Wrath

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I am working my way through a course called Heaven and Hell led by Dr. Kevin Zuber. The first half of the course focuses on hell and those false philosophies that try to explain hell away. The second half focuses on heaven. I’m almost there.

I’ve learned a lot, but mainly I’ve decided that we do not talk about hell enough.

When you mention ‘Jonathan Edwards,’ people immediately think of his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” a sermon that sparked an awakening in the pagans who heard it, an awakening which spread throughout New England and beyond, thanks to George Whitfield who pushed it on. Edwards is also known for his sermon titled “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton (1737),” a treatment on justification by faith. This sermon was reprinted and read widely across America and in Britain.

But Edwards was more than just the hellfire preacher. He was genuinely concerned for the sluggish, apathetic, sleepy pagans and the nominal Christians who professed but likely didn’t possess the Spirit. One of his goals was to awaken them to both heaven’s bliss and hell’s agonies. He actually preached on heaven more than hell, but his preaching on hell was startling and made deep impressions.

The following is from his 16 part series (16 parts!!) called “Heaven, a World of Love”. It is from part 16, the last part. Edwards contrasted the bliss of heaven he had already preached on in previous parts, with the holiness of God’s wrath in hell.

I know hell isn’t the most comfortable subject, but it is a big part of the Christian life. When we say ‘I’m saved!’ we should ask, FROM WHAT? From the just penalty of eternity in hell, paying for the sins we performed in this life against a holy God. Every person born on this planet is destined for hell by default because of our sin nature. (Babies and the cognitively unable are another subject). Please, please, gird up your loins, take a deep breath, and read on. We must confront the uncomfortable subject of hell. We must!

When you share the Gospel, DON’T leave out hell.

Here’s Jonathan Edwards:

What has been said on this subject may well awaken and alarm the impenitent. — And,

First, by putting them in mind of their misery, in that they have no portion or right in this world of love. You have heard what has been said of heaven, what kind of glory and blessedness is there, and how happy the saints and angels are in that world of perfect love. But consider that none of this belongs to you. When you hear of such things, you hear of that in which you have no interest. No such person as you, a wicked hater of God and Christ, and one that is under the power of a spirit of enmity against all that is good, shall ever enter there. Such as you are, never belong to the faithful Israel of God, and shall never enter their heavenly rest.

It may be said to you, as Peter said to Simon (Acts 8:21), “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God;” and as Nehemiah said to Sanballat and his associates (Neh. 2:20), “You have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” If such a soul as yours should be admitted into heaven, that world of love, how nauseous would it be to those blest spirits whose souls are as a flame of love! and how would it discompose that loving and blessed society, and put everything in confusion! It would make heaven no longer heaven, if such souls should be admitted there. It would change it from a world of love to a world of hatred, and pride, and envy, and malice, and revenge, as this world is! But this shall never be; and the only alternative is, that such as you shall be shut out with “dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie,” (Rev. 22:15); that is, with all that is vile, and unclean, and unholy. And this subject may well awaken and alarm the impenitent,

Secondly, by showing them that they are in danger of hell, which is a world of hatred. There are three worlds. One is this, which is an intermediate world — a world in which good and evil are so mixed together as to be a sure sign that this world is not to continue forever. Another is heaven, a world of love, without any hatred. And the other is hell, a world of hatred, where there is no love, which is the world to which all of you who are in a Christless state properly belong. This last is the world where God manifests his displeasure and wrath, as in heaven he manifests his love. Everything in hell is hateful. There is not one solitary object there that is not odious and detestable, horrid and hateful. There is no person or thing to be seen there, that is amiable or lovely; nothing that is pure, or holy, or pleasant, but everything abominable and odious. There are no beings there but devils, and damned spirits that are like devils. Hell is, as it were, a vast den of poisonous hissing serpents; the old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and with him all his hateful brood.

In that dark world there are none but those whom God hates with a perfect and everlasting hatred. He exercises no love, and extends no mercy to any one object there, but pours out upon them horrors without mixture. All things in the wide universe that are hateful shall be gathered together in hell, as in a vast receptacle provided on purpose, that the universe which God has made may be cleansed of its filthiness, by casting it all into this great sink of wickedness and woe. It is a world prepared on purpose for the expression of God’s wrath. He has made hell for this; and he has no other use for it but there to testify forever his hatred of sin and sinners, where there is no token of love or mercy. There is nothing there but what shows forth the Divine indignation and wrath. Every object shows forth wrath. It is a world all overflowed with a deluge of wrath, as it were, with a deluge of liquid fire, so as to be called a lake of fire and brimstone, and the second death.

Further Resources

The sermon excerpt above, source is here.

The entire sermon contained in a short booklet you can download free or read online, is here.

A six-part series on the Life of Jonathan Edwards is here at Ligonier. I took this class, it’s good. First message is free, successive lessons are behind a paywall. Or, you can get Nichols’ book Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought in paperback (used) for $1.99 at Amazon.

Institute for Christian Life: Heaven & Hell by Dr. Zuber is here.

Posted in theology

American Family Radio drops Begg’s program over same-sex advice

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

American Family Radio dropped Alistair Begg’s program Truth for Life from their lineup

A few days ago I wrote about an interview that had surfaced between Bob Lepine and Alistair Begg which revealed that despite Begg’s normally solid and biblical stance that homosexuality is a sin, he had given a counselee advice for her to attend her grandson’s wedding to a transgender person, and bring a gift. That blog essay is here.

Begg’s remarks that sparked the outcry were contained in an interview from four months ago in September 2023 about the publication of his new book, The Christian Manifesto. Begg had said,

I asked the grandmother, “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?”
“Yes.”
“Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life?”
“Yes.”
I said, “Well then, okay. As long as he knows that, then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.”
“Oh,” she said, “what?” She was caught off guard.
I said, “Well, here’s the thing: your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.’”

Begg has preached several times about homosexuality and same-sex issues, always aligned with what the Bible says. Therefore, Begg’s answer in this interview was surprising.

There was an outcry, there were pleas to be patient, heated social media discussions, and of course, lots going on in the background.

One of the background items was American Family Radio’s (AFR) concern over Begg’s stance. AFR hosts Begg’s program, Truth for Life (TFL). The company issued a statement that they had contacted TFL for clarification in order to have a frank discussion and determine the depth of Begg’s commitment to his comments.

Apparently it did not go well enough for American Family Radio to feel comfortable continuing to present Begg’s radio material to their listening public any further. They said that representatives speaking for Begg on the phone call maintained Begg’s stance was firmly held and he wasn’t budging. Though AFF and Truth for Life both agreed homosexuality was sin, regarding a trans wedding, Truth for Life “sees the issue as one of individual conscience.“

Whereas American Family Radio believes otherwise, saying,

“So the question is, if a Christian goes to a homosexual wedding, are they approving of it?” he said. “And our answer here is absolutely.” 

Though AFR pressed the issue, reconciliation was not possible. There is no misunderstanding and it is perfectly clear, “that Begg was standing by his comments from the September podcast.”

AFR therefore dropped the program from their lineup.

I give AFR congratulations for making what I am sure was a difficult and heartbreaking decision. The purity of the material presented to their Christian listening public, though, is paramount.

You can read more here from AFN: “Radio ministry drops pastor over same-sex wedding comments“

I think we all feel the same way that AFR does, which remarked at the end of their article:

“This isn’t something that we saw coming,” Wildmon told AFR listeners. “This isn’t like some of the others, evangelical leaders, that have drifted. This is not one that was on the list.”

Though the circle of credible pastors and theologians and teachers seem to be shrinking, if you are in a good and solid church, THANK the Lord. We are in dark days when the culture seems to be rising in strength daily to claim one or another of this one or that one. Pray for your pastors or elders. They need all the strength and prayers they can get to withstand the onslaught of a very strong secular and evil culture.

Posted in theology

“Please show me your glory!”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Moses pleaded with God for Him to show His glory to Moses. What does this tell us about Moses? What does this tell us about us? But first, the passage in context: Exodus 33:17-23,

The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” 18Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory!” 19And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.” 20He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!” 21Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

Moses had communed with God already on the Mount. He’d heard His voice. He had seen the burning bush, a manifestation of God’s power and sovereignty over creation. He’d been given the privilege of learning God’s own name from God’s own lips. He’d been told he had favor with God.

So why ask to see His glory? Is Moses being pushy? Selfish?

What’s happening here is that God had told Moses that he would continue leading the people to Canaan…BUT that God would not be with them. Moses then makes 3 pleas:

“In verses 12–14 he asked for something for himself as the mediator;
in verses 15–17 he asked for something for Israel as the people of God;
in verses 18–23 he asked for something for himself as a man who wanted to know God.“
Source- Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory.

Moses have been as close to God as any man till then and almost till now. But Moses wanted to know God MORE. The more we get to know God, the more we should want to know Him more. He should be our cornerstone of life.

“What Is the Glory of God?”
“The glory of God is the holiness of God put on display. That is, it is the infinite worth of God made manifest.” ~John Piper at Ligonier.org

Moses knew he could not successfully lead that fractious group of stiff-necked people to the Land. He needed God. Moses had spent decades in Egypt trying to do things his way. It didn’t work. He needed God.

More than that, he wanted God. He desired a close relationship with Him, to be in constant communication. To see God’s glory is to be reminded of his own station (lowly) and God’s station (Holy and perfect). Who wouldn’t WANT someone like that in your life? And God wasn’t just anyone, He is THE Someone.

What this shows us is that the more you are with God, the more you want Him. Our Bible reading and prayer life should motivate us to want to know more and more of Him. Have you ever been so overwhelmed with the majesty and wonder of God that you just cry out, MORE!?

Matthew Henry said of Moses,

“He had enjoyed as intimate a communion with God as ever any man had on this side heaven; and yet he is still desiring a further acquaintance.“

Do we?

Posted in theology

What does satan know about us?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This was a question asked of me on my The End Time facebook page.

Good question. What DOES satan know about us?

Resource: Answers in Genesis, Who is Satan?

First of all let’s remind ourselves who satan is. Satan is actually a title. It means Adversary. He seems to have been a high angel, maybe the highest. Until sin was found in his heart and he decided he wanted to usurp God from His throne. Satan chose to sin. This is recounted in Isaiah 14:12-14. Then satan convinced a third of the angelic host to side with him, and there was rebellion in heaven. Unholy angels, fallen angels, are now called demons in common vernacular.

Satan (probably originally named Lucifer) and his minions fell from God’s favor and became enemies of God, and by proxy of the Israelites then of the Christians. Anything holy, good, or God-like – satan hates.

When God created the first man and woman, satan came down and messed with them, and convinced them to oppose God by disobeying and doubting His word. And we have been off and running ever since.

God is allowing satan and his evil ones latitude to do their worst, as part of God’s plan for humankind. Eventually, they all will be thrown in the Lake of Fire and punished forever for their rebellion.

Satan is known also as the Devil, Evil One, The Serpent, The Dragon.

There are two ways to interpret the question, what does he know about us humans, what does he know about each saint individually?

Satan cannot read our mind, whether we are saved nor not saved. Only God has the ability to know our thoughts and our heart (1 Kings 8:39; Acts 1:24). Satan cannot know our internal thoughts of each individual.

Resource:
–Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached about Good Angels here.
–LLoyd-Jones’ companion sermon about the unholy angels is lost but the transcript is here: fallen-angels-sermon-transcription-lloyd-jones

Collectively though, satan has been observing humankind for thousands of years. He is wily and subtle. He knows what our desires are in general. He tempted Eve with them, (Genesis 3:1-5) and he even tempted Jesus with them! (Matthew 4). Those desires are listed in 1 John 2:16; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

As he observes us (or more likely, his minions, most of us do not rate personal interference by satan himself), he simply sees what we press toward, what we say, how we act, and melds our temptations to what he or his demons observe in us.

I am not a fan of CS Lewis EXCEPT for his book The Screwtape Letters, which is an accurate and somewhat chilling recounting of a temptation of a Christian man from the perspective of an older demon educating his nephew demon on how to get the man away from Jesus.

Also it must be said, our own sin nature bedevils us more than demons haunting us. Mainly, satan and his demons leave us to our own devices, which if we do not kill that sin crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7), will have us- as the cartoon shows-

I am reading a Puritan Paperback called The Wiles of Satan. It’s by William Spurstowe. A Puritan Paperback is an updated language and a shortened version of the original. It has lots of scripture references and details how satan operates. I recommend it.

The author fleshed out the concepts and the one about speediness… eye opening. Satan does press us to do it, do it now! If we resist, and resist for a long time, then satan capitalizes on the frailty of our flesh and wearying us so that after a while of resisting it suddenly seems easier just to do the sin than spend the energy opposing his temptation. Man, we really ARE helpless sheep ripe for the slaughter!

But God! He made a way for us to oppose our sin nature, the world, and the devil. If we confess with our mouth and believe on Jesus, then he will save us and send the Holy Spirit to indwell us and be the Helper to resist. Most of us aren’t Job, where the devil personally provoked and hurt him. But demons are around, you can sometimes see them in the behavior of a false teacher (like Kenneth Copeland, as Justin Peters has said). The Bible tells us they do tempt us. So let’s not give them anything to tempt us with. The more we pursue holiness, the more the devil and his army will flee from us.

Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

FURTHER READING

Grace to You: Can satan hear our thoughts?

The End Time: Angels part 1

Podcast Haunted Cosmos (if you’re into the weird and strange)

Questions about Angels & Demons (All)

Posted in theology

What do I do here? What is “The End Time” blog about?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

It’s 2024, and a new year. A fresh start. I’ve been blessed with many new readers and visitors to the site lately. I think it’s a good time to write a bit about me what I do here, and my goals with this blog and podcast.

I love the logarithmic spiral. To me it shows the creativity and precision of God who made the mollusk who inhabited the shell who knew to make the next chamber’s size to account for its next stage of growth.

I was converted as an adult in 2004. I was 43 years old. God is gracious to transfer me from the kingdom of darkness where there is only sin, to His kingdom of Light where there is joy and holiness. Over 4 decades of sin was washed away in a moment when He justified me (declared me righteous, IN His Son Jesus).

Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

I had a blog I’d started in 2006 called The Quiet Life. It was a relief to be able to write and self-publish. Before blogs came along, even before the internet came along (yes I’m THAT old!) gatekeepers to publishing held on to the doors tightly and hurdles to get published were high. Then came the internet and chat boards, then blogs, and finally streaming and podcasting. Now anyone could say something and send it into the ether to be read by the public.

I had been published a very few times in my adult life. Once in a literary journal, once in an academic education journal. I was overjoyed now that I could write and choose to publish it on my blog whenever I wanted to.

I process information by reading, of course, and then writing. I’ve always kept a notebook with me, often chronicling things, or jotting down observations. My favorite book in elementary school was Harriet the Spy, about a girl who obsessively chronicled things and wrote down observations in her notebook she always had with her. 🙂

I noticed a short after salvation that my personal musings on my blog were turning more religiously focused on Jesus. I decided to create a separate blog. The Quiet Life is about art, music, general life. I created The End Time in 2009 to write about what I was observing in the Bible, to distill complex theology into manageable (for me) bytes so I could understand the Lord’s word. And to use what I detected in me was a Spiritual Gift of Discernment.

Why “The End Time”? We are IN the end time. That’s the time between Jesus’ ascension and His return when He is building His church. The title is to remind us that all this will end one day. We are not citizens of earth but citizens of heaven. He may return any time, or we may be called home any time and called to account for our works while on earth after He saved us. Are we using the time well, for His glory? We must be about the Father’s business.

It is my joy to write and podcast for you; always pointing to Jesus, to exhort for a holier lifestyle in discernment, and passing along credible ministry links. These are my three goals with this blog.

I work full time as a para-professional in a school as the Literacy Interventionist. I help kids learn to read better. I enjoy books, art, classical and Southern Gospel music, and writing!