theology

Peeking into ‘the other side’- Two Questions (part 2)

Posted on October 25, 2022October 25, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote three times about heaven. What We Have to Look Forward To, Where Is Heaven?, and, The Tree of Life and 12 Fruits each Month? With all the darkness in the world, I needed a spiritual bath and to bask in God’s pureness and His holy habitation!

I’d wondered about two questions. The first was, can the unsaved get a glimpse into the other side by means of divination? They seem to do it all the time. The true and biblical answer of course, was NO. That essay is here.

If the unsaved cannot look up to see what is happening in heaven, then, can those in heaven look down and see what is going on here on earth? This was the second question I’ll address today. The Bible isn’t totally crystal on this, but probably the answer is no.

John MacArthur addressed this question, “Do those in heaven know what is happening on earth?” He dealt with “the rare and unusual occurrence” of Saul’s interaction with the Witch of Endor, (1 Samuel 28), and the issue of the parable with Lazarus in Sheol. He debunked the Hebrews 12:1 issue by placing it in context and explaining it biblically, saying this-

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1)

The witnesses in that verse are not modern-day loved ones, but the faithful saints in Hebrews 11 who lived victorious lives by trusting God. Those saints are witnesses to us because their lives testify about the value of trusting God no matter what hardships we face. They are active witnesses who speak to us by their example; not passive witnesses who watch us with their eyes.

Consequently, when we understand Hebrews 12:1 in its context, we realize that it doesn’t really support the idea that our loved ones are watching us from heaven. Our comfort comes not from knowing they can see us, but that they can see Jesus and one day we will see Him with them as well-never to be separated again.

GotQuestions asks and answers that question, too, here, and exegetes the verse Hebrews 12:1 to say, no, that is not what the verse is telling us. They conclude with this, “The Bible doesn’t specifically say that people in heaven cannot look down on us, so we can’t be dogmatic. However, it is unlikely that they can. People in heaven are likely preoccupied with other things such as worshiping God and enjoying the glories of heaven.“

But, people have asked, doesn’t the ‘silence in heaven for half an hour’ recorded in Revelation 8:1 when Jesus breaks the 7th seal, mean that people in heaven know what is happening on earth? That they are following the events of the Great Tribulation as recorded in Revelation, in real time? GotQuestions muses on three possible reasons, but none of the three reasons indicate a sure knowledge that people in heaven are watching earth as if from a balcony.

Albert Barnes in his Commentary notes explains Revelation 8:1 in a way that makes sense, “The meaning here is, that on the opening of this seal, instead of voices, thunderings, tempests, as perhaps was expected from the character of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12 ff), and which seemed only to have been suspended for a time Revelation 7, there was an awful stillness, as if all heaven was reverently waiting for the development. Of course this is a symbolical representation, and is designed not to represent a pause in the events themselves, but only the impressive and fearful nature of the events which are now to be disclosed.“

I’m not sure why anyone would want to watch earth, when they can see Jesus, watch the holy angels, and participate in heaven’s activities! There is no comparison.

If you want to be sure you’re acting in a holy manner pleasing to God, and are curious about the other side, and are saved, read the Word of God to see what He has revealed in it. Then when you depart this life and go to heaven, you will know for sure about the extent to which we can ‘look down’ (or not) and see earth.

We regenerated believers have a duty to those who are so obviously curious, so obviously searching for hope of another life after death. Jesus called us to be His ambassadors and witnesses. We have the HOPE and we have the TRUTH. Let’s share it far and wide. Those whom the Lord will open their ears to hear, He will open. For, how will they believe unless they have heard? Romans 10.

Further resources

John Wesley- (sermon) The Almost Christian

Matthew Mead- (pdf) The Almost Christian Discovered

CARM- (essay) Why Write about Wicca?

Ligonier- (devotional) Two Men, Two Kingdoms (Simon the Sorcerer)

Compelling Truth- (essay) Can People in Heaven Look Down and See us on Earth?

Podcast listing: season 2, Episode 260

theology

Peeking into ‘the other side’- Two Questions (part 1)

Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Bible doesn’t focus excessively on visions of heaven, but it does speak about our future home in several places in God’s word. We are given glimpses of the ‘other side’ in several different books. Elisha saw heaven open up here on earth when the LORD opened his servant’s eyes and saw there were chariots all around. Paul was given a glimpse and it was wonderful but unlawful to say more about it. Steven as he was dying his martyr’s death, was given a glimpse.

Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John were given extended views of heaven in visions and told to write about them. Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 8, 9, 10, 11; and all of Revelation starting in chapter 1 verse 12 and ongoing through chapter 22.

“The Other Side”. “The Great Beyond”. “The Great Unknown”. “Behind the Veil”. “The Hereafter”. These are all terms and synonyms unsaved people use for the place we go after death. Intuitively, even the unsaved person knows that we have a soul and that it goes someplace after death. That was obvious to me, anyway, before I was saved. I used to wonder quite often about the Big Questions. Like, why does every culture have a heaven of some kind? Why do so many people apparently die and come back with similar stories of a bright, white light and another dimension?

Before I was saved, I was highly curious about these matters. At different points, I even went to an Aura Reader, had a witch read my Tarot Cards, and I bought books where the authors claimed to have died and come back. I paid for a ‘past life regression’ session. I even watched a movie called Escape From Hell. It was about a doctor, distressed over the death of a friend, and curious about stories of the other side, who induces cardiac arrest in order to have a near-death experience, and forces a fellow doctor to stand by to bring him back before it’s too late. His journey takes him to The Gates of Hell.

Little did I know that when I sought out Tarot and Aura readers and past life hypnotists and psychics, I was playing with dangerous fire. It was only the patience and love of God as His soon-to-be saved elect that didn’t punish me for treading into these areas He has forbidden.

I had a lot of time to look into the wrong things before I was saved at age 42! But all this to say, I completely understand the secular world’s fascination with the beyond. There really are two questions at play: one is, can those unsaved on earth peek into the other side to be sure there is a heaven? And two, are those in heaven watching us down here, looking through a window to see how things are playing out? I’m examining an answer to the first question today and the second question tomorrow.

I saw a Christian brother refute a headline that offered tips on how to know your departed loved ones are around you. The site’s article was titled Five Signs A Passed Loved One Is Trying To Contact You and as I looked around on it, it was obvious that the site was totally consumed with Dreams, Astrology, The Paranormal, UFOs & Aliens, Fortune Telling & Divination. Gulp. Treacherous stuff.

The unsaved spend a lot of energy dueling with themselves. They desperately want to know about the other side. Look at all the movies, books, sites, and tv shows on these topics! But they suppress the ONE and ONLY truth about it, Jesus and His heaven. (Romans 1:18). I remember distinctly every time someone mentioned this possibility, that the ‘Jesus thing’ as I termed it, was true, my mind would go, ‘NOOOO. Not that! Anything but that!’ Witches and tarot was better than sin-holiness-blood-repent. They prefer the creation to the Creator. (Romans 1:22).

After I saw the headline and followed up with looking into the article, I mulled the unfortunate and pitiable state of the unsaved. I then remembered a devastating event with TV personality Roma Downey. You might remember this actress from the long-running TV show Touched by an Angel. (1994-2003). More recently she and her husband Mark Burnett co-wrote a TV series based on The Bible (which won an Emmy but sadly twisted the Truth). She and her husband executive-produced produced the feature films Ben-Hur, Son of God, Little Boy, Woodlawn, Resurrection, Messiah, and Country Ever After which aired in 2021. It’s obvious Downey is fascinated with Bible topics, but though she keeps trying to learn, she has never come to the truth. (2 Timothy 3:7).

Downey says she is a devout Catholic and is also a mystic. Many Catholics combine ritual with mysticism. Downey “sees God in everyone” and utters claptrap such as “The language of God is in the silence.” She attained a Master’s Degree from a New Age college in Spiritual Psychology. Her beliefs are not even close to being evangelical, born-again Christian.

Further, she practices divination. She participated in a psychic show and allowed the medium to ‘call up’ her dead mother from the other side and Downey talked with ‘her’. This is divination and necromancy, part of a cadre of sorceries that God hates with a holy hatred. God said,

Thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of [the] nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. (Deuteronomy 18:9).

Divining… is trying to find something through a divine contact. And that is forbidden.
John MacArthur

If a person performs any of these sorceries, that person is detestable to God. That person is an abomination to God. And lest someone wrongly claim that the Deuteronomy verse is outdated just because it’s Old Testament, sorceries are also forbidden in the New Testament. Revelation 18:23 and Galatians 5:19-21 strenuously forbid such practices.

However, so-called evangelicals partner with Downey as if her abominable practices are of no account! Dr. David Jeremiah platformed her in his church because they wrote the Bible series together, and Beth Moore participated with Downey in a Bible conference!

You see how easily divination can become mixed in with the pure and holy truth, and even overlooked- or at least unremarked. What Christians are tasked to do is not titillate unbelievers with unbiblical stories of heaven and hell, but call them to repentance over their sins and fall on the feet of our Holy God. Paul was given glimpse of the third heaven and it was too wonderful to speak of and unlawful as well. (2 Corinthians 12:2–4).

Once the truth is in them, then they will read the Bible and understand what has been revealed by God about heaven and all other matters. Seeking information through divination, sorcery, witchcraft etc is abominable to God. God described what He wanted to describe about heaven via His Spirit who inspired men to write about it in the Bible. That is the ONLY place to seek information. A person cannot understand these matters unless they are spiritually comprehended by a regenerated mind.

But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Further resources

John Wesley- (sermon) The Almost Christian

Matthew Mead- (pdf) The Almost Christian Discovered

CARM- (essay) Why Write about Wicca?

Ligonier- (devotional) Two Men, Two Kingdoms (Simon the Sorcerer)

theology

The End Time Blog Podcast: Update and Changes

Posted on October 23, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I started doing a podcast for The End Time blog on April 3, 2021. It’s just me, reading what I wrote. But my goal for both this writing ministry and podcast ministry is to exhort for godly living through correct theology, and to point women to solid resources achieving that end. I’m no theologian, there are so many others out there with more insight, deeper comprehension, and more skill. So my blog is just a few of my thoughts, and a point in the direction of a more thorough exegesis.

To achieve the goal of getting good material in front of women, when Anchor/Spotify came along and partnered with WordPress to seamlessly include a podcast, I jumped on it. I thought, if women are busy with kids, chores, or work outside the home, then listening would be attainable than reading, more easily included in her day than sitting down and reading. She could listen in the car, while waiting at the doctor, or when folding laundry.

I enjoy reading the material I write. With I think only 5 exceptions using the bot to read it, I’ve recorded it myself. I like doing it. I enjoy it as much as when I read to my students at school.

When I started I didn’t put episode numbers on the podcast or divide it into ‘seasons’. It was all I could do to work in this extra task in the morning (when I usually publish, record, edit, do show notes, and post on multiple social media sites, from 5:30-6:15am before work!) A lot of that is manual.

As of today, I’ve done 553 episodes, or podcasts. I began it on April 3, 2021. There are 295 episodes in 2021. There are so far 258 episodes in 2022. The change is: Starting tomorrow I’ll tag each episode with an episode and season number. So while the previous 553 won’t have a tag or number (I contacted Anchor and they said ‘no can do’), the ones going forward, will.

Therefore, October 24, 2022’s episode will read, for example “Season 2, episode 259: Peeking into ‘the other side’- Two Questions (part 1)”.

I’ve got 4 blogs written and ready and 4 more half written and almost ready for the week ahead. I praise the Holy Spirit for sustaining this ministry, giving me ideas, and energizing me to keep going. I’ve written on The End Time every day since January 9, 2009. I started on Blogspot, then imported most of the blogs from Blogspot to here (some didn’t transfer, there was a byte limit). On WordPress I’ve published 5,930 original essays with few repeats.

Now add the podcast to that, the 553 episodes I’ve recorded. Growth has been amazing. Of those 553 podcast episodes, there have been 182,000 plays! Thank you!

So don’t be surprised when you see an added season and episode number attached to each upcoming episode. It’s the best way to keep them organized, I think, or to tag one when referring to another.

It’s funny. Growing up there was no internet. I started when I was in Grad school insisting on getting a computer because I was in a Literacy program and there was a lot of writing. I was tired of the typewriter and whiteout. I got a slow, huge desktop in 1996, added Word, and never looked back. I went online in 1997. It was windows 3.1, lol, and a 330 baud AOL landline dialup. And back then, we thought it was GREAT. And it was. Truly amazing.

Oh how far we’ve come! Kids today gasp when I tell them that “in my day” there was no internet, no TikTok, no Youtube, and no cellphones. I am grateful for the opportunity to get edifying material out to women who today alone have read or listened from 37 different countries. It’s gratifying – and humbling. I’m doing my best to keep up with the times and stay fresh with the technology available. My dearest wish is that God would be glorified in what I do and that women who come here would glorify him too with something they’ve learned, asked, or followed up at one of the resources I share.

So that’s the update- adding season and episode numbers, and a huge thank you to you, the reader and listener!

listen at all the usual places online- iTunes, Spotify, Anchor, Radio Public, Pocket Casts, etc.

theology

Attributes of God: Will, Wisdom, Wrath

Posted on October 23, 2022October 23, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Sundays are a good time to ponder who God is. He is worthy of service and worship. We have been taking a look at God’s attributes each Sunday. Links to previous weeks are below. Most definitions are taken from Tim Challies’ visual theology chart of the attributes of God.

Remember, God’s attributes are not parts that make up a whole. Everything good that there is, is 100% contained in God. He is 100% beauty, 100% aseity, 100% omniscient, etc. He is complete in Himself.

Tim Challies explained: “To study God’s attributes is to study his character, to answer questions like, Who is God? and What is God like? A typical classification of God’s attributes divides them into those that are incommunicable (those that he does not share or “communicate” to anyone or anything else) and communicable (those that he shares with other beings). Like most theological classifications, this one is imperfect but still helpful as we seek to understand what is so far beyond ourselves. God’s communicable attributes can be further categorized into: attributes of God’s being, mental attributes, moral attributes, attributes of purpose, and “summary” attributes (attributes that, in a more particular way, modify each of the others).”

This is the final week in the series.

WILL: Attribute of purpose. God approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence and activity of all that exists.

WISDOM: Mental Attribute. God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals.

WRATH. Moral Attribute. God intensely hates all sin.

Free ebook, Stephen Charnock’s The Existence and Attributes of God. THE standard bearer for discussion on God’s attributes. The hard copy of the book is big, over 1600 pages. It’s heavy. It’s expensive. It’s 2 volumes. FYI, Reformation Heritage Books is having a huge sale now. Charnock’s book in hard cover leather is only $70 down from $120.

2-volume set of Charnock’s book, The Existence and Attributes of God, on sale here. Beautiful volumes that would enhance any library’s aesthetic and best of all, your mind!

Monergism, where you can read Charnock’s work on the Attributes of God online for free, or download a free ebook, said,

“The Existence and Attributes of God has become a classic text on the doctrine of God, and examines in meticulous detail God’s foreknowledge and sovereignty, and discusses the possibility of free will and natural law. No Reformed theologian prior to Charnock treated God’s existence and attributes with such clarity and depth—in fact, his was one of the first works solely devoted to the subject to appear in the Reformed theological tradition, and has become a standard work on the subject. His positions have been echoed and refined by generations of theologians, and most recently have contributed to contemporary debates over free will, foreknowledge, and the openness of God.”

“No doubt the sheer size of the volume has caused not a few persons to direct their reading efforts elsewhere. This is regrettable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is Charnock’s ability to combine rigorous theological discourse on the doctrine of God with the typical Puritan emphasis on “uses” of the doctrine (relating doctrine and life). His work has much value on a practical level, which should be the goal of all theology.”

The 2-volume set at Reformation Heritage Books includes:

Modernized Language: Archaic punctuation, words, and phrases have been updated for the modern reader
Updated Bibliographic Information: In the footnotes, Charnock’s sources have been located and updated with fuller bibliographic information, showing how widely read he was
Chapter Summaries: Each discourse begins with a summary of the chapter to follow
Extensive: Covers Charnock’s defense of God’s existence and 11 attributes of God
Includes In-Depth Chapter on the Life of Stephen Charnock by William Symington

Listen to an 8-minute podcast with Stephen Nichols of Ligonier (or read the transcript) discuss Charnock’s book with John MacArthur and how the Puritan volume was crucial for MacArthur in his twenties, how “it just totally altered how I viewed God, with a kind of vastness that put me in awe of Him.”

Learning about God through His attributes is worship. We can’t properly love and obey that which we do not know. I hope this series has been beneficial to you. All glory to God!

Previous weeks-

1. Aseity, Beauty, Blessedness
2. Eternity, Freedom, Glory
3. Goodness, Holiness, Immutability
4. Invisibility, Jealousy, Knowledge
5. Love
6. Mercy, Omnipotence, Omnipresence
7. Peace, Righteousness, Perfection
8. Will, Wisdom, Wrath

theology

Breaking down the truth that women may not preach in church or teach men

Posted on October 22, 2022October 22, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Bible is clear that there is an order to the church. Certain things are to be done a certain way. No New Testament believer can be so unobservant of the Old Testament that they fail to see the specificity with which God expects worship. Though New Testament believers are not beholden to the OT ceremonial laws and bloody sacrifices (because Christ has come!) we are still cognizant of the fact that God is still God. He does not accept any old worship. Just ask Ananias and Sapphira.

One way that Jesus has ordered His church is that He is its head. (Ephesians 5:23). Then, under their submission to Jesus, some men are called to lead. (1 Timothy 3:2-7; 1 Timothy 5:17). Then, the rest of the men, women and children submit to their leaders. (Hebrews 13:17).

Women are not to be in authority over men in the church. 1 Timothy 2:12 says, “But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.“

I’m usually amazed at the genius of how some people can expertly twist plain verses into meaning something they do not mean. The depraved mind is cunning. After all, their father the devil is the most crafty creature of all. (Genesis 3:1). The verse also uses the word subtle. This is how satan deceives, makes the lie sound almost like the truth, subtly.

I came across this Twitter exposition of the issue of women teaching men, 1 Timothy 2:12 as I posted above. Stephen Michael Feinstein (@Ptr_StephenFein) wrote a thread a few years ago that has been unearthed and retweeted. It’s good. He goes through how people with an unholy agenda can exposit the plain meaning into a different meaning, subtly. Here is his exposition:

1/ A plain reading of 1 Timothy 2:12 seems to clearly favor the complementarian position. “I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority.” In this thread, I will quickly break this down so that anyone can see the “exegesis” of both positions.

2/ Kostenberger demonstrates its grammatic structure as follows:

a negated finite verb (I do not permit)

governing an infinitive (to teach)

connected by the coordinating conjunction (or)

with a second infinitive (to exercise authority).

Pretty straightforward and simple.

3/Paul doesn’t permit women to do the infinitives, which are connected by the conjunction “or” οὐδὲ. Paul’s word choice for teach (διδάσκειν) is his normal word for good or faithful teaching. So one can’t say he is merely forbidding a type of false teaching (ἑτεροδιδασκαλεῖν)

4/ So a plain reading has women in the church being restricted from teaching or exercising authority. So how do egalitarians “exegete” the passage to show it to mean something different? Well, first, they insist on a definition for the word “exercise authority” (αὐθεντέω),

5/ thus claiming it can only mean to “wrongly domineer or usurp.” If they are right, the text would still at this point forbid women from teaching. So what they do is they remove the coordinating conjunction (οὐδὲ) and read it as an adverbial clause. This now makes it modify

6/ the infinitive “to teach.” See below:

a negated finite verb (I do not permit)

governing an infinitive (to teach)

remove the coordinating conjunction (or)

change the second infinitive into an adverbial clause (in a domineering way).

7/ So they would translate the verse as, “I do not permit a woman to teach a man in a domineering way.” But think about it. In order to get this rendering, they had to remove a Greek word (οὐδὲ/or), and they had to change the second infinitive into an adverbial clause.

8/ Exegetically, this is unjustified. If Paul meant it to be adverbial, he would use a preposition rather than a conjunction. The fact is the text as it stands has a conjunction that connects two infinitives. So it means what the complementarians say it means. Also, the narrow

9/ egalitarian definition of “exercise authority” is hardly proven. So again, the grammar makes it clear Paul forbids two things, not one, and those two thing are women teaching and having authority over men in the church. Our culture may shriek, but that’s irrelevant.

10/ Egalitarians then appeal to an invented historical background dealing with church women smuggling in the pagan theology of the cult of Artemis, and this is all Paul is forbidding. Yet, there is not a single clue anywhere in 1 Timothy that this was an issue in the church. If

11/ anything, he dealt with Jewish myths, not pagan ones. So let me summarize. The egalitarian position requires the exegetical butchering of the words that are actually in the text, and then it requires an invented occasion of crisis that just happens to not even be hinted in

12/ the text, and on this basis they radically reinterpret the verse in a narrow sense to render it inapplicable in the 21st century. Let me just state plainly, it is obvious that no one would arrive at this position by an unbiased translation and study of the text. They instead

13/ must already possess an ideological bend that forces them to reject the clear complementarian nature of the text. Therefore, they change the text and the historical context to fit their a priori ideological bend. My friends, that is not exegesis. That is not even Christian.

–end Pastor Feinstein–

It’s clear that women usurping and failing to remain silent in the churches (not on blogs, radio, podcasts, or real life!) is a huge issue these days in Christian life. Women teaching men and preaching in church is not a secondary or tertiary issue, because it deals with creation order, the orderliness of the church, and the sin of disobedience. The persistence and strength with which satan disrupts this Godly template in marriage and in church (two of the three spheres God has ordained for restraining sin) is proof that it’s something satan fervently doesn’t want.

If you, ladies, have an urge to teach, this is admirable. There are many wonderful women teachers out there edifying us and ministering in Godly (and appropriate) ways. These Godly female teachers submit to God’s word and do not have a craving to usurp. They do not teach men in church or preach. Godly female teachers possess an understanding that worshiping God means adhering to His orderliness in all spheres of life.

If you have an urge to teach men or to preach in church, then check yourself, please. There is a vast difference between standing at a pulpit on a Saturday afternoon and teaching a Ladies Conference, than there is standing at the pulpit on a Sunday morning and preaching to the congregation, explaining and exegeting God’s word. That difference is the gulf between obedience and sin.

Don’t be fooled by the subtle word tricks of satan, and don’t convince yourself on the back of word play that it is OK to preach. It is not.

theology

Tree of Life, and 12 fruits each month?

Posted on October 21, 2022October 21, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This week I wrote about the question where is heaven? Also I wrote about what we have to look forward to in heaven. In that essay I’d compared Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22, noting that they were the only books of the Bible that were free of any description of sin. I’d also written that though Genesis 1-2 are wonderful for showing God’s power of His word in creation, Revelation 21-22 were even better.

I wanted to bask in that glorious vision a bit more so I kept mulling over the verses in Revelation 21-22. I was struck when I read Revelation 22:1-2, “The River and the Tree of Life”. Some things jumped out at me. You know how that happens, you read it a million times but THIS time, some things capture your attention in a huge way like you’ve never read it before?

The River and the Tree of Life

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2).

Though there are a LOT of things to ponder in just those two sentences, the two things that jumped out at me, were the tree’s location and the fruit.

First, the tree. No matter the translation I read the verse in, it says the tree stood on either side of the river. How can THE tree, singular, stand on BOTH sides of a river? John Walvoord was puzzled too, and so are other commenters, according to him. He wrote:

“Interpreters have puzzled over this expression that the tree of life is on each side of the river. Some take this is as a group of trees. Others say that the river of life is narrow and that it flows on both sides of the tree. The tree of life was referred to in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22, 24), where it was represented as perpetuating physical life forever. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of the fruit of this tree. Earlier in Revelation (2:7) the saints were promised the “right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Walvoord, J. F. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 987). Victor Books.

We do know that Ezekiel 47 is another place where heaven is described. Trees are mentioned on the banks of this same river flowing out from the throne of God. In Ezekiel 47:12 we read,

And by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing. (Ezekiel 47:12).

But the Bible is consistent where the Tree of Life is mentioned, that it is A tree, or ONE tree, or THE Tree of Life.

But it could be that it’s as Ezekiel describes, a cluster of trees lining the banks of the River of Life. Or it could be as John describes in Revelation, ONE tree, on both sides of the river, possible since the eternal state does not necessarily have to abide by the laws of physics we have now. Or it could be as Roy Gingrich describes it below in his commentary on Revelation- the tree is in the river.

“A river of the water of life proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s street. In the midst of the river is the tree of life with its branches hanging over each bank of the river.” Gingrich, R. E. (2001). The Book of Revelation (p. 94). Riverside Printing.

Whichever way it is when we see the configuration of the tree of life and the river of the waters of life, it’s a fantastic thing to think of, the Tree of Life and the river of the waters of life, crystal and pure, ever-flowing.

The other thing that struck me was the fruit.

This tree monthly bears twelve kinds of fruits. If the Tree of Life is indeed one tree, how can one tree bear different kinds of fruit? Doesn’t the vegetation bear only its own kind? We read in Genesis 1:12,

The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good.

Luke 6:44 says, For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

However again, the dimension we will live in when we are glorified may not have the same laws of agriculture as we have now. Or perhaps since it is THE Tree of Life, it holds all life within it, including all kinds of seeds which bear all life-giving properties. It’s fun to think of.

By the way, the translation in the King James Version that we’re used to, that the tree’s leaves are for healing, doesn’t mean healing as in someone who is sick needs to get well. In the eternal state there will be no illness. As MacArthur said, rather than the leaves being medicine for healing, rather, they are like vitamins for flourishing. Both MacArthur and Gingrich commented that it may be more symbolic. That the expression used for tree and healing are anthropomorphic-

Its leaves are for the purpose of giving continuous health (not “healing,” K.J.V.) to the nations. The river represents the Spirit of God and the tree represents the Word of God. These two, the Spirit and the Word, keep the nations in perfect health. The variety of the fruit and frequency of the fruit picture God’s full and constant satisfaction of man’s religious and moral hunger. Gingrich, R. E. (2001). The Book of Revelation (p. 94). Riverside Printing.

MacArthur: Well, time has no part of eternity, but it does remind us that there are cycles. And it’s just another one of those anthropomorphic expressions to say something to us in terminology which we can understand. There will be a regular cycle of joyous provision, filled with variety, changing all the time … There’s going to be provided in heaven infinite variety, and there are going to be all kinds of things available in heaven, demonstrated by the symbolism of the leaves of that tree that are just going to energize life and just make it rich and full and exciting. (Source)

If you are feeling down, or troubled because of the times, firstly, avoid the secular news if you can. Secondly, pray to Jesus and lay your anxieties at His feet. Thirdly, read in the Bible of the wondrous things Jesus has in store for us. He is preparing that place and He will come back to retrieve His Bride from this polluted earth and play out His end plan. When it’s all over we have a glorious future ahead. The crystal River of the Waters of Life, Tree of Life, Street of Gold, no sin! And best of all, Jesus with us!

heaven, theology

Where is heaven?

Posted on October 20, 2022April 21, 2024 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I love to linger in thoughts of the supernatural. God is supernatural, of course. He is above us here in the natural world. The Trinity is supernatural. Who can understand it? The creation in 6 days is supernatural, and amazing too. His omnipotence is surely on display right from the first verses of Genesis.

Angels are supernatural. Sometimes invisible hordes are all around us (2 Kings 6:17). And demons (unholy angels) are supernatural. They are real, led by satan, formerly the highest angel. The Bible depicts demon possession. Jesus spent quite a bit of time casting them out. Just because 2000 years have gone by does not mean the demons are gone. They are still around, and will make an even more prevalent appearance during the Tribulation. (Rev 9:3, Rev 16:14, Rev 18:2, Matthew 24:37).

Do you ever wonder where heaven is? Is it right there, in a nearby dimension we can reach out and touch? The unseen gathering chariots at Elisha’s battle were there and became visible after Elisha prayed and God graciously opened his servant’s eyes. (2 Kings 6:17-20).

Heaven is absolutely a real place, it has physical properties, inhabitants, and activities within it. Bible verses say that it is above the earth, or people are called to ‘come up here.’ Or that they ‘went down’ from heaven to earth. But that could be language indicating that its heights are gloriously high because of the One who dwells there.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was changed as His glory shone out, and ‘suddenly’ He was speaking with Moses and Elijah personally and bodily. Is heaven parallel with us, alongside with us the whole time? After all, Jesus is omnipresent, and always ‘near.’ As Daniel was praying, before he even finished his request, Gabriel appeared. (Daniel 9:21). Is heaven that close?

There is a story told by Dr. David Leininger at The Presbyterian Pulpit about heaven.

I love the old story of the rich man who, on his death bed, negotiated with God to allow him to bring his earthly treasures with him when he came to heaven. God’s reaction was that this was a most unusual request, but since this man had been exceptionally faithful, permission was granted to bring along just one suitcase. The time arrived, the man presented himself at the pearly gates, suitcase in hand – BOTH hands, actually, since he had stuffed it with as many bars of gold bullion as would fit. St. Peter said, “Sorry, you know the rules – you can’t take it with you.” But the man protested that God said he could…one suitcase. St. Peter checked, found out that this one would be an exception, prepared to let the man enter, then said, “OK, but I will have to examine the contents before you pass.” He took the suitcase, opened it, saw the gold bars and asked quizzically, “You brought PAVEMENT?”

Certainly this cute story makes the point to us that what we value here on earth will not be what we value in heaven, wherever heaven may be now or in the future. We will value Jesus above all, His glory, His ways, His nail-scarred hands and riven side. We will value each other as HIS trophies of grace, having no pride, love and care for our brethren as Jesus cares for us. We will value past salvations borne from His grace, the cross, His plans and ways.

The most precious commodity currently on earth, gold, will then be just dusty matter under our feet, our eyes not upon its glitter any longer, but upon the glorious Light shining from every corner of the Universe, Jesus.

These are fun things to ponder. One of our Elders always says ‘Think Eternally!’ and, “We’re almost home!”

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What we have to look forward to

Posted on October 19, 2022October 19, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I love beginnings and endings, borders, edges. I love to see how things begin and how they end. That’s why I love Genesis and Revelation as my favorite books of the Bible.

Did you know that those two books are the only books of the Bible that have no sin in them? Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22. No sin. Bask in those chapters, my sisters, because those are a glimpse of what is to come. The rest of the Bible displays man’s sin-sin-sin all over the place. But Genesis 1 & 2 and Revelation 21-22 are pure and beautiful.

In Genesis 1 and 2 we have the honor of watching God create the world. His intellect is stupendous, the variety of the landforms, flora, and fauna are incredible. Even more so to know God did it all in 6 days. Even more so to understand He did it with a word.

Revelation 21-22 are even better than Genesis 1 & 2. Why? The glory of the LORD shines even brighter in people who have been redeemed by His son, and who have no more chance of sinning. The Sword of Damocles no longer hangs over Adam and Eve, and the glorified Bride shines in sinlessness in a place where no sin ever touched. How good is THAT?

In fact, the only man made thing in heaven will be the nail scars on Jesus’ hands.

Both the aforementioned chapters of Genesis and of Revelation have the Tree of Life. Eden had a river flowing out into the world past the Tree of Life, but New Jerusalem has the River of the Water of Life flowing past the tree! There was a marriage in Genesis 2, (Adam and Eve), but in Revelation 21 there is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

This world is terrible. It has been since Genesis 3:1. Sin gushed in. I looked for named or blatant sins in Gen 3-9. We have the Original Sin: Disobedience to God’s word. Then shame and blame. We have murder, mocking God, lying. We have polygamy, violence, and threats of violence. And I’m only up to chapter 4. When God told Cain that sin was crouching at the door waiting to have him, He wasn’t kidding. Give sin an inch and it will take the world. And it did!

But the world will be remade so there will be no death or bones or sin. Everything will be pure, holy, and joyous.

What a day that will be.

theology

Six reasons why you should avoid Beth Moore

Posted on October 18, 2022May 10, 2024 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

screen shot from a 2020 teaching on Youtube

I have accumulated a list of links to critiques showing why Beth Moore should be avoided. FYI of you want more reasons.

Beth Moore’s popularity has remained high and visible throughout her teaching career, 40 years now. She is still negatively influencing women with her bad example.

Here are reasons to avoid Beth Moore:

1. She claims to receive direct revelation from Jesus.

She repeats these ‘conversations’ with his words in quotes. She claims he gives her prophecies apart from what is written in the Bible. She claims he gives her visions. She has said this alleged Jesus told her to go forth and teach these new revelations to people- which makes her a Prophet. All this violates Revelation 22:18-19, Colossians 2:18, among other verses. All this destroys the sufficiency of scripture.

2. Beth Moore partners with wolves and false teachers

such as Joyce Meyer, Christine Caine, Joel and Victoria Osteen, and Brian Houston, for a few examples, violating 2 Corinthians 6:14 and 2 John 1:10.

Exhibit A:

3. Beth Moore teaches and preaches to men, blatantly violating 1 Timothy 2:12.

Moore preaching the Sunday Service in August 2022 at Transformation Church

4. Rather than steadily preach the straight word, Beth Moore jumps on fads

and then leaves them when they diminish in popularity, such as saying mantras, home altars, Lectio Divina, Contemplative Spirituality, blue bracelets, and so on. 2 Peter 2:3 comes to mind.

5. Beth Moore doesn’t interpret the Bible correctly,

using a standard interpretive technique such as literal-grammatical-historical hermeneutic. Instead, she waits for direct revelation or a vision, or cobbles together words out of context- again from supposed direct revelation the ‘Spirit’ gives her, or allegorizes what should be literal, and bases her lessons on those methods. She also uses undignified high emotion and props to distract the audience from these flaws.

6. Beth Moore rejects the biblical roles God has ordained for women

both by example of living functionally as a feminist wife, and explicitly when she rejected and apologized for teaching complementarianism.

These reasons should be enough to warn anyone off a teacher, including and especially Beth Moore. There are better examples of teachers out there to follow, mainly your own pastor, and publicly, Susan Heck, Martha Peace, The Women’s Hope podcast, Brooke Bartz of the Open Hearts in a Closed World conference, Amy Spreeman & Michelle Lesley of A Word Fitly Spoken, and many solid men teachers too numerous to list.

theology

God’s amazing sovereignty: Example – Joel Beeke’s life

Posted on October 17, 2022October 17, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I had the providential opportunity of being on Fall break when the first-ever Puritan Conference occurred, hosted at Grace Community Church in Santa Clarita, CA and founded and led by Dr. Joel Beeke. I was able to watch many of the lectures live. What a blessing! [Media from all sessions will be available to the public in the coming weeks.]

One particular lecture I looked forward to was delivered by Dr. Beeke on the topic of the ‘Writing of the Puritans’. I’m a writer and I love the Puritans, so this was going to be good, I thought. It was good, but for two reasons, not just one! Winning!

We are blessed to have available to us, hundreds of years later, the Puritans’ writing. Why? Because when they were fired from their pastorates for being non-conformist, many were hired by Anglicans. The Anglican churches were drying up, since so many people wanted the sermons of the Puritans. But the Non-conforming Puritans were unable to preach, because their licenses had been revoked. The Anglicans decided to hire a Puritan and call him “a lecturer”. The Puritan was to give the Wednesday night and Sunday evening “lecture”. The Anglican priest only gave the main sermon on Sunday mornings.

Since the Anglican priest was only crafting 1/3 of the week’s sermons, he had more time to do pastoral things like visit and counsel. Since the Puritan ‘lecturer’ didn’t have to do pastoral duties, he had more time to develop lectures, research and write. The Puritan did so, and then put his lectures into books. The books were printed, and Beeke said at the time about 25% of all publishing was Christian Puritan matter. That is why we have so much of it nowadays. In today’s publishing world, only about 1% of material is Christian oriented, if that, Beeke said.

What an amazing set of providences that God orchestrated! I mulled that over for a long time, and still think about how and why God manages events for His own glory and for the good of those that love Him.

All the information Beeke gave on the writing of the Puritans; their style, their history, was interesting. But the charm came when Beeke spent the first part of his lecture on his own story. Here’s where it got so delightful for me.

He related his origins, remembering being a young boy of about 9 years old. He’d done something bad and was punished for it. He felt terrible, and he understood he was “a bad boy” who does bad things. He went to his father’s library, which, by the way, was full of Puritan books. He looked for a book that could help him understand his badness. He found one by Bunyan called Life and Death of Mr. Badman. He thought to himself, “I’m a bad boy, here’s a book about a bad man, that’s pretty close.”

He read it and absorbed it and enjoyed it. He said the sorrowful feeling about his bad acts wore off after about 6 months though, and he wasn’t truly regenerated until his mid teens, about 16 or so, he said. But he kept reading his dad’s library chock full of Puritan books. He actually asked his father at one point if he could mark up and make notes in his books as he read them. Dad Beeke was delighted with his son’s request and generously gave him license to read and mark away!

Dr. Beeke’s interest in the Puritans only grew from that 9-year-old first foray into the world of holiness and self-denying Christian lifestyle. He kept reading his dad’s books, and decided after he was truly regenerated at around age 16 that he wanted to sell Puritan books.

At the Conference Dr. Beeke went on from there, relating how he and his 19-year-old brother started selling books, he related several adventures in book-selling, and his eventual founding of Reformation Heritage Books in 1994 which stands today as the most widespread purveyor of Puritan material in the world, by far.

So all that was interesting, but then I mulled the overarching, bigger picture. My love for Christ grew again, after hearing the Beeke origin story. I thought about how the Lord fashions us in the womb. Sets us apart by name since before the founding of the world. (Jeremiah 1:5, Ephesians 1:4). Causes us to be born to the parents He decides He wants us to be born under. Grows us in His timing, and instills in us interests, skills, and trades that if we are set apart-elect, will one day be used for His glory.

Beeke’s interest in the Puritans was awakened at age 9, and has by the Lord’s providential care, undergirded him as a mainstay throughout his next 61 years. He now writes books about the Puritans, sells Puritan books, teaches and preaches about Puritans and Puritan preaching and writing style, manages his family like the Puritans did, leads Puritan Reformed Seminary as its President, and travels the world to spread the joy of learning about the Puritans. All from one man.

God is the ultimate Sovereign. His plan from the beginning was sure to be enacted through to the end. That means all at once, before anything began, God designed all of human history, named each person who ever was to be, and gave His elect interests, physicality, intellect that would all play into His kingly plan.

For example, King Saul was extra tall and handsome, Timothy was timid, Sarai was given beauty that attracted Pharaoh. Jeremiah was appointed to be a prophet before history began. Paul was given intellect, a logical mind, and a love for the Law. Dorcas had sewing talent. Lydia a business acumen. Jacob was given an aptitude for sheep farming.

It is so encouraging to know that God has a mind that not only created (and named!) all the stars, but knows each one of us, and instilled interests and capabilities that help flourish not only ourselves, but His kingdom for His glory.

God did it all before the foundation of the world. We serve an AMAZING God!!