Uncategorized – Page 35

He will not let the Holy One see corruption

Posted on March 31, 2018March 31, 2018 by elizabethprata

Therefore he says also in another psalm, “‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.'” (Acts 13:35).

Oh, to think of His precious body, broken, speared, beaten, nailed… wrapped in a shroud and and now laid in a grave!

Chris Powers of Full of Eyes ministry (fullofeyes.com) drew this wonderful illustration today:

Joseph took The Body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb… (Matthew 27:59-60).

I can’t fathom what grief the disciples felt as the death happened and the precious body was brought to Joseph’s tomb…and the rock slid shut. How alone they must have felt! How perplexed and upset. Their lives must have seemed devoid of meaning. After all, Peter said to Jesus when Jesus had asked “Are you going to leave me too?” and Peter uttered his words, “Where would we go? You have the words of life”. Now the Word of life was dead. Or it seemed so. Where would they go? What would give their life meaning, now?

They must grieve for a few more agonizing hours, before all would become clear.

However, the wondrous Father will not let Jesus molder in the tomb. Jesus rose before that could ever happen! Oh, the joy of Sunday!

Our Savior lives!!

Good Friday the most evil day in all of history. Saturday the most grief-stricken day in all of history. Sunday the most joyous day in all of history!

Uncategorized

Are you a hollow bunny?

Posted on March 30, 2018 by elizabethprata

This was first published on The End Time in April 2009

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be … 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3: 1-2,5 “Difficult Times Will Come).

As a kid on Easter morning in a secular household, it was all about the basket. The eggs, the chocolate, and toys. Even the fake green grass. Our baskets were always generously filled, and I especially loved the centerpiece of a large chocolate bunny on the mound of grass.

As a kid, if you see a 5 inch chocolate bunny you get very excited. You don’t think about how much to eat or not eat, you don’t think about the appropriate time of the day to eat it. You just rip the cellophane and chomp.

I remember being disappointed and a little irked that the bunny was hollow. As a kid, I could not tell the difference between a solid bunny and a hollow one, they looked the same to my immature eyes. But when I bit into the ear it seemed to me to be a total gyp when it crumbled to bits because it had no interior support. The bunny had only a form of solidity.

We are told over and over in the Bible that the last days would be filled with deception, false pastors and false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing, antichrists, false apostles, false doctrine … and are repeatedly warned not to fall for it.

How can we tell if a bunny is solid chocolate or hollow? Test by eating it, you say? Satan is poison, his deceptions are poison. Who wants to eat poison? Ingesting falsity for too long will inevitably pollute. As mature Christians, we must be able to discern and detect hollow Christianity early on, before it permeates the entire congregation, or our own heart.

Are you a child in Christ, seemingly mature but having fallen out of the habit of testing the scriptures for yourselves? Have you lost the ability to test the spirits? Are you, yourself hollow? Professing a form of godliness but denying its power?

Ephesians 4:14 tells us not to be babes. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

Pray for experience, wisdom, and discernment through a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit.

As deceptions and delusions grow in the end times, we are not going to be able to tell the difference between true biblical doctrine and that of hollow and counterfeit Christianity by being a child, rushing toward something that looks oh so good to eat but biting into the hollowness to be disappointed, but perhaps already hooked by its tastiness. Do not be a baby in discernment! Do not be hollow!

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14).

prophecy, Uncategorized

Why eschatology matters (and hopefully making a comeback)

Posted on March 29, 2018March 29, 2018 by elizabethprata

As you know, this blog is called The End Time, because we are in the end time. This is the period between Jesus’ first and second comings, where He is building His church. When His church is complete, He will call the Church home. It take it as a duty given by command in the Bible to be fervent with His message, since His return is (always) imminent and our duty then shall be no more. Redeem the time and act with eagerness every day, because the end time will end some day.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Eschatology often gets a bad reputation as a doctrinal field of study because of the plethora of ‘theologians’ who either dismiss it entirely in dusgust, or who set dates, add newspaper eisegesis to it, or who are just plain “Kooks & Barneys“, as Pastor Mike Abendroth says. For some reason this field draws out the less solid teachers.

Other Christian fields of study such as Pneumatology, Hamartiology, Theology Proper / Paterology, Christology, Bibliology, Soteriology, and Ecclesiology don’t seem to draw out the kooks as much. Apologies to those of you who ARE solid expounders of ‘last things’! But it’s true. Eschatology gets a bad rap and quite often, it’s warranted.

I’ve noticed in the last ten years that it seems to be to be a low point in Eschatological study, maybe because of different -ologies falling in and out of favor. However in these last few weeks I’ve noticed credible ministries teaching on it. The Master’s Seminary had a series recently, from which I captured this screen shot from Dr. Nathan Busenitz teaching an introductory lesson to his series. One of the important reasons to study Eschatology is because as is stated below, one’s view of last things reveals one’s approach to interpreting scripture.

Holiness – “Our future hope promotes present obedience.”

The Master’s Seminary also put forth an essay titled 7 Reasons Your Church Should Take Eschatology Seriously, an essay worth reading, for sure! Reason #1 of the seven:

People are interested in the future

Christians are interested in what the future holds. But if we do not teach eschatology, we are denying important biblical information for those who want to know what the Bible has to say about the future. We are also withholding a major source of the hope that the Scripture wants us to have.

At the Grace To You website, a blog series is underway, today’s installment is called The Eschatology of the Thief by Cameron Buettel

Eschatology is a hotly debated subject among modern believers. It concerns the study of the “end times,” last things, or future events in God’s redemptive plan. Its scope includes Christ’s return, the rapture, the millennium, future judgment, and God’s kingdom. Those are all broad and important issues—it’s understandable why a lot of ink has been spilled by people staking out their particular positions.
But there’s also an intensely personal aspect to our eschatological views. And that concerns the only two possible eternal destinations for every person who has ever existed.

I hope Eschatology as a Christian field of doctrinal study and preaching is making a comeback. Meanwhile please bookmark these three resources and enjoy their offerings so far on eschatology!

new jerusalem verse

prophecy, Uncategorized

The sun in prophecy

Posted on March 28, 2018 by elizabethprata

It’s spring. At this time of year here in the south the weather can be just as turbulent as my former home up in New England. In the south, spring means many days of cloudy and rainy weather. I can’t remember the last time we saw the sun, and we have had indoor recess for too many days to count.

I love the sun. When it comes out all bright and warm, it feels so good, doesn’t it! The golden hour at dawn and sunset is beautiful, when the sun’s shadows lengthen and the air seems to turn to liquid gold. The fluffy clouds sailing along against the blue sky seem to frame the yellow orb as it makes its way through the sky from low to high then low again. It’s an orderly celestial march, one we take for granted, even when the sun is hidden behind clouds. We know it will come back.

Except, one day, it won’t.

When we think of God we often think of Jesus, of God’s glory, His majesty or sovereignty. He is Creator, of course, but if we think of Him in this way we often restrict our thoughts to Genesis, when creation was first made.

His creative work wasn’t restricted solely to creating it. He sustains it, (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17), and He will UNcreate it. (Revelation 6). Then He will make all things new. (Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:5).

The sun is featured prominently in end time prophecy. In the first set of judgments, the Seal Judgments, the sun goes black as sackcloth. (Revelation 6:12). In Revelation 8:12 the Trumpet judgments, we read-

Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

Can you imagine how scary that will be?

When the demons are allowed to leave the pit in Revelation 9:2, there are so many of them that the sun is blotted out by the cloud they make. In Revelation 16:8 the sun grows so hot that men are scorched just by being outside. In Revelation 19:17 an angel stands in the sun to pronounce judgment, and finally in Matthew 24:29 we read that after the end of the Tribulation, the sun, moon, and stars go completely dark.

This phenomenon of the sun going completely dark is mentioned not just in Revelation and Matthew, but Isaiah 13:10, Ezekiel 32:7, Joel 2:31, Joel 3:15, Amos 8:9, and Zechariah 14:6. And the sun is not dark for a moment or two but a period of time, likely days or even a few weeks. Do you see how important the sun is in prophecy?

God made the sun for us as a helper. In Genesis 1:14-16,

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.

With no sun or moon or stars, the darkness of the Tribulation people will endure will mirror the total sinfulness on earth. It will truly be a time of darkness, spiritually AND physically. The sun shines at His will and pleasure, and it is benign as a light giver as it was intended to be in Genesis or as hostile as a scorcher in judgment against us in Revelation. Again, at His will and pleasure. He is sovereign over all the universe, and the sun bends to his will.

The sun, our friend since the very first days that has given us light, seasons, and warmth, will behave in increasingly erratic ways until the very end of the end when “there shall be no more sun” at all. (Revelation 22:5). But this time, it will be because the glory of God will shine brightly, and there will be no more need of the sun.

And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

What a day that will be!

encouragement, Uncategorized

Praises to God for Spring and Beauty

Posted on March 27, 2018 by elizabethprata

It’s been a long spring here in north Georgia, but a very cold one. That’s OK, the forsythia, crocuses, robins, dogwood, buds, and grass are all growing pleasantly nonetheless.

I hope this fine spring time has offered you beautiful glimpses of God’s creative intellect and His wonderful power. We always enjoy the march of the seasons. “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.” (Psalm 104:19, KJV). Wherever we are in the world, we see and understand the times and seasons. We look for the robin, the crocus, the ladyslipper. The orderliness and consistency of the seasons since His ordination of them is a comfort. Yet even in Jeremiah 8:7 it is said of the seasons, meaning HIS season, “Yes, the stork in the heaven knows her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.”

In the natural history of Israel, Barnes notes explains,

“Jeremiah appeals to the obedience which migratory birds render to the law of their natures. The “stork” arrives about March 21, and after a six weeks’ halt departs for the north of Europe. It takes its flight by day, at a vast height in the air (“in the heaven”). The appearance of the “turtle-dove” is one of the pleasant signs of the approach of spring.”

Spring is a time of renewal, refreshing, and new life. There is a bird who builds a nest in my living room windowsill, and soon enough, babies will come along. They chirp so cute, they grow bigger, and then one day they will be gone, and a strange silence will come over the living room.

Is it wonderful to contemplate that the LORD knows the comings and goings of each bird in the world?

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (Matthew 10:29).

How much more does He care for His own children. How great that He upholds the march of seasons, their orderliness and beauty. The unfurling of a bud, the flowering of a leaf, the business of the insects feasting on the pollen and nectar. How much more should we enjoy His creation, praising Him for all He is and all He does to maintain this beautiful world for His children.

prophecy, Uncategorized

Spring bounty and God’s prophecies

Posted on March 26, 2018 by elizabethprata

The spring has been gentle and the Lord is providing bounty from the earth. The summer garden crops are about to be planted in and they will be plenteous. The figs leaves are coming in. The muscadine vines are thriving. It reminds me in particular of two verses in the Bible. They are promises. That is what prophecies are, you know. Promises of positive things the Lord has in store for the people who love Him and promises of negative things to come for those who don’t love Him.

Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken. (Micah 4:4)

In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree. (Zechariah 3:10)

In the Bible, vines (usually grape) and fig trees were emblematic of agricultural abundance and that abundance bespoke wealth. Many fig trees meant prosperity. The promised land was described in Deuteronomy 8:8 as “a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates.” It was not described as a land flat and therefore ripe for land prospecting development. It was not described as a land full of silver and gold mines. It was not described a land of great cities producing a rich population with guilds and markets. The prosperity the land promised was riches from a bountiful earth. Remember that after the Fall, Adam was cursed with toil, and that the land would not yield unless he toiled with sweat and labor. What was it like before the Fall? I can’t wait to find out, and that is what these prophecies promise.

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, (Genesis 3:17b-19b).

That curse will be reversed and the land will pop with generous abundance. Remember the two spies who came back, in Numbers 13:23 reporting that they saw huge grapes and figs and pomegranates?

Doesn’t sitting under our own fig tree and our vine and sound relaxing? Refreshing? Cool? Like walking with God in the garden in the cool of the day. And Jesus said, I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5).

And look what Jesus did! He did everything! He accomplished redemption for mankind, by breaking His own body and allowing it to be poured out! We are His branches, connected to the Great Gardener whose vine covers us, and which provides all sustenance.

When you’re out haying this summer, sweat running down your face, or you’re out mowing this summer, and thirsting because of the heat, or you’re gardening and battling the bugs who are killing your bean plants, remember the prophecies.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. (Isaiah 32:18).

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. (Isaiah 5:1).

As for the saints in the Church, our dwelling place will be New Jerusalem, and it will be just as beautiful as earth’s bounty, glittering and pure.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:9-14)

How beautiful the relationship. We are the branches, closely grafted into the true vine. The true vine covers us, and we sit under it in peace and abundance. The abundance comes from the Vine Dresser who is the Father (John 15:1), who cares for the true vine in love and cares for his children, the branches.

Our God is a tremendous God!!!!!

discernment, Uncategorized

Beth Moore’s Legalism: A Discernment Lesson applicable to any teacher

Posted on March 25, 2018March 25, 2018 by elizabethprata

I have written about Beth Moore’s legalism in the past (2011). It’s hard to believe that was 7 years ago. Here is a refresher course on how, while seeming to speak a Gospel-infused sermon, Beth Moore’s speeches are really just a ‘try harder’ legalism. This is a lesson in discernment.

You have to listen carefully and do a lot of note-taking because Moore speaks so fast, or if you listen online, use the pause button a lot. Her ‘try harder’ theology is also in her books as you will see, so the issue is not just her speaking style, but her theology. You will hear that Beth Moore shapes the scriptures away from pure faith and toward legalism. She splits sentences, putting a crowbar between words and inserting things you’ve ‘got’ to do. There is a lot of ‘do this or else’. There are also lots of warnings about the dire conditions of our walk, without real explanations. Like this from a few days ago.

moore tweet

It seems she is trying to say that we shouldn’t be too busy. Too busy for what, she never says. Yet after more than three successive tweets (yes, it went on) she never got to any clear point. Milk meaning from graffiti? Huffing and puffing? And what does it mean, exactly, that we are ‘blowing our houses down’? A teacher is supposed to be “able to teach.” (2 Timothy 2:24). Not vaguely warn. Or be so in love with her writing that plain meaning is obscured…

Our precious Lord gave salvation as a gift. No matter how we stumble, or no matter how many times we enter a sin-repent-forgive cycle, we are saved and effective for His glory. He gave us a GIFT of salvation. It is the gift of redemption, a gift of imputed righteousness. Here are some examples of how Moore diminishes the gift of the Gospel and makes it a confusing, burdensome, treacherous walk among the heavy stones of the Law.

Example #1:

Her contemplative prayer quote: “[I]f we are not still before Him, we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.”

According to Moore, we will “never” “truly” know who God is UNLESS we are still. Beware of Bible teachers who frequently use absolute words.

Example #2:

In one study, Beth Moore is speaking of ‘confidence and competence’ that Christ gives us. The study is based on Hebrews 10:19-20 but her interpretation of the verse is wrong from the beginning. Once the basic interpretation is wrong it is no surprise that what follows falls into even worse error. Watch carefully as she inserts conditions to salvation. She even outlines the effect of not believing the new add-ons that she includes.

…but what can happen is this … If we receive Christ as our Savior but we never recognize and by faith believe Him to also be our healer and our restorer then we just stay just as cracked as when we got here.

The Gospel is now Law. According to Moore, we have to believe some things above and beyond what the Bible says we need to believe for salvation. According to Moore, we must believe in a different Christ than the Jesus presented in His Word. I certainly don’t see anything in His word about having to believe that Jesus is our Savior AND our Healer AND our Restorer or else we stay “cracked”. And what does cracked mean, exactly? This is some vague warning of looming disaster, the kind of warnings Moore loves to issue.

Now as for this cracked business, the Bible does speak of being cracked:

For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13).

The cracked ones were the ones who forsook God. They were the evil ones.

But when Jesus saves us, we are sealed! “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

There is no in-between in the New Testament, being saved but leaking through a crack.

Example #3:

…it [confidence] just bleeds out everywhere, we can’t keep any confidence in there. Because we have never trusted Him to put three pieces of our lives back together. Is this making any sense to anybody? We have all these cracks and all these pieces. … And we’re supposed to be effective here on earth. … Salt and light and profoundly effective, but we can’t be any of that unless we have our God-confidence.

Again with the “we can’t…unless”. Note those words.

As to Moore’s addition of confidence as a necessary condition of keeping our salvation or being effective or something, Jeremiah wasn’t confident. His first worry was that he was too young for the job. (Jeremiah 1:6-8). By any standard, Jeremiah was an effective man of God.

Moses wasn’t confident. He worried he wasn’t eloquent enough to be a spokesman. (Exodus 4:10-12). By any standard, Moses was not too confident, but he sure was effective.

So far, from just three of her teachings we learn that —

1. Unless we accept Jesus as savior AND Healer AND Restorer, His work is not sufficient.
2. Unless we get some God-confidence, we are not effective.
3. Unless we believe certain things about Jesus, we will stay cracked.
4. Unless we are still, we will never truly know God.

The legalistic conditions pile up fast.

Example #4:

Moore’s book Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life was reviewed by Paige Britton.

Britton says, “One rather ironic element of Moore’s teaching is her definition of “legalism,” one of the roadblocks we must remove if we want to journey on to authentic freedom. According to Moore, legalism occurs whenever one studies the Word but fails to enjoy God; it is the absence of relationship, passion, engagement of the heart (pp.75, 77). This definition is fine as far as it goes, but it effectively obscures the fact that Breaking Free is all about applying new rules in order to gain what God meant for us as a gift in Christ.

Isn’t that ironic. A book called Breaking Free is really just a new way to enslave you. Moore makes up and applies new rules to gain what was given as a gift says Britton, and I have noticed this too. So we have issues with new rules in Moore’s speaking ministry and in her tweets and in her books. Her theology, no matter where it’s publicly proffered, is a problem.

Once you start hearing the “got to” and “must do” and “unless you” you will hear her new rules permeating her teaching everywhere.

What does the Bible say about new rules for salvation? It says that adding an unbiblical load kills us.

“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load. (Luke 11:46).

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? (Acts 15:10).

Don’t listen to Moore or any teacher who imposes conditions on your walk that are absent from the Bible. Or who uses absolute words like unless, can’t, always, never, all the time, and so on. The Father loves us with an enduring, everlasting love that is perfect. Moreover, He is our priest who prays for us. He sends angels to minister to us. He gave us the Spirit to grow us. We are not cracked, leaking, unconfident, missing out on what we need, ineffective, on the verge of disaster, or any of the things Moore says we are. Moore’s world must be dark and heavy indeed.

Our world, though a mindful one and filled with obedient striving, is one of light and freedom from the very conditions Moore seeks to impose. This is because we are in Christ, and He met all the conditions necessary on the cross and broke that chain, in order to set the captives free.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1).

chain

discernment, Uncategorized

Apostasy: What is it?

Posted on March 24, 2018 by elizabethprata

Apostasy is defined as ‘a defection or revolt’. It is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy (or who apostatizes) is known as an apostate. It is important to remember that apostates never really were saved. 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

There are two kinds of apostasy. It shows that apostasy is a process. No one wakes up one day and says “Gee, I hate Jesus and I’m not going to church anymore.” The first kind of apostasy is a drifting away of the key doctrines of the faith. The second is a complete abandonment of Christianity. Remember, if you are saved, your salvation is eternally secure. If you have submitted to Christ no one can snatch you out of His Hand. (John 10:28 says “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” so we read that if He gives eternal life, then no one can take you away from Him. Equally, because it is He who gives eternal life, mere man cannot nullify His decision.

The primary essential doctrines of the faith one must stick to, According to Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, (scriptures supporting them are here) and I agree with these as the essential ones, are–

1. Jesus is God in flesh, and Jesus is the proper object of faith. The Doctrine of the deity of Christ includes:

–The Trinity
–There is only one God in all existence
–That Jesus is both God and man.

2. Salvation is by Grace alone
3. The resurrected Christ
4. The Gospel

They are called the primary essentials because the Bible declares them to be essential to the faith. Secondary essentials are necessary truths, but there is no declared penalty for their denial — yet they are still essential to the Christian faith. Those include:

–Jesus is the only way to heaven
–Mary’s virgin birth

FYI, the recently departed evangelist Billy Graham denied both of the above.

An apostate very slowly starts to doubt the essentials. He or she begins to read and absorb other things that are contrary to those doctrines. Paul called false teachings gangrene because they quickly pollute the body and mind. (2 Timothy 2:17).

The Bible says that at the time of the end there will be a great falling away from the truth. Look to 2 Thessalonians for the prediction regarding the “falling away.” 2 Thess. 2:3-7 says, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.”

The lawlessness is sinfulness and the fact that Paul says it is already at work means that there have been apostates throughout the Church Age, even in Paul’s day. The verse I mentioned above in 2 Timothy 2:17 speaks of Hymenaeus and Philetus who spread false teachings, two men who “wandered away from the truth” and became “more and more ungodly”. (2 Timothy 2:16; 18). So you see, apostasy is a process.

Sanctification is a process, too. Just as apostates-in-the-making drift away from the faith, either fast or slow, those being sanctified progress toward holiness, either fast or slow. The Lord’s people will never, ever be lost to Him nor will they even become apostate. Ever.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28).

Praise Him for all His ways, His grace, and His priestly ministrations, and His sovereignty that keeps His sheep.

sheep

Uncategorized

Is the Rapture Imminent?

Posted on March 23, 2018 by elizabethprata

rapture1
Where are we in light of God’s plan and in His time? What does today’s news say about what God previously said will happen? A lot – not in terms of marking the timing, but in terms of showing that humans are depraved and consistent in their evil deeds throughout history. The rapture could always have come at any time. Are we very far along in His plan for the Church Age? Yes, because we know that we are 2,000+ years further along than when Paul said the rapture is imminent, and thus, 2000 years closer to that amazing day.

The end time Doctrine of Imminence is explained thus:

The New Testament is consistent in its anticipation that the return of Christ might occur at any moment. That pervading perspective of imminence prompts three questions.

The first question pertains to whether the Tribulation will precede Christ’s coming for the church. The answer to that question is that it will not because the church is never asked to look forward to the tribulation, but they are asked to look forward to Christ’s coming.

The second question revolves around how the return of Christ could have been imminent in the early church. The answer here is that no one but the Father knows when the coming will occur, so that Christians including the early church must always be ready.

The third question asks why Christ’s imminent return is so important. This answer relates to the motivation it supplies for believers to purify their lives and thereby progress toward the goal of sanctification and Christlikeness. The threefold call of the imminence doctrine is to wake up and obey right now, to throw off the works of darkness, and to put on the garments of holy living.

When the rapture happens, the snatching up of all true believers, it closes the Church Age. This then opens the door to the last 7 years of time outlined for the Jews & remaining non-believers. It will be a time when Jesus brings the earth and its dwellers under His subjection by judging sin. Remember, when the Tribulation (last 7 years) is concluded, Jesus will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. New Jerusalem will have descended, and Jesus will physically and presently rule the people and they will worship Him. (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 19:15-16; Isaiah 45:23).

Today, the Tribulation has not begun yet, though for many who are persecuted, it may feel like it has. It certainly felt like it to the Thessalonians, who asked Paul that very question. Paul replied with an explanation that the Tribulation will not begin until certain other things happen in a certain sequence. (1 Thessalonians 5:1–9).

In fact, that time will be so distinctive that many of the people who are left behind will know that it is the time spoken of by Jesus, who prophesied, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.” (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 11:13, Revelation 16:9). If you think about that deeply for a moment, and compare it to some of the worst times we’ve ever had on earth till now: for example, Russian pogroms, Cambodian Killing Fields, the Holocaust, Gettysburg, Medieval times bubonic plague, and then roll them ALL into one, the Tribulation will make them all seem like a picnic./ That is hard to believe but it’s true.

Verses that support the doctrine of Imminence and are further explained in the above article are- James 5:8, James 5:9, 1 Peter 4:7, Hebrews 10:24–25, 2 Peter 3:11, 1 John 3:2–3). The article also goes on to explain why the rapture will precede the Tribulation, giving biblical support, of course.

Our goal each day is to pursue holiness. The Spirit’s sanctifying work goes on, whether the rapture will imminently happen in the next second of time, or in another thousand years. Our task is to be ready. One way to be ready, and to aid the Spirit in His work, is to eagerly anticipate the Lord’s return. Our eagerness prompts us to holiness, for, when He comes, do we want to be engaging in sin, or pursuing purity? His soon appearing is a catalyst for us to be doing good when He calls.

The hope of Christ’s imminent return is therefore the hinge on which a proper understanding of sanctification turns. Source

I pray you read the article Is Christ’s Return Imminent? linked above or below, study these things, pray for His return, and that you are as eagerly awaiting his return as I am and all the others who are alive or asleep. What a day that will be!

Is Christ’s Return Imminent?

Other Resources

The Rapture: What is it? Who will it affect? When is it most likely to take place?

Why I Believe in the Pre-Trib Rapture

encouragement, Uncategorized

Imagine the dawn chorus in heaven!

Posted on March 22, 2018 by elizabethprata

This article was first published on The End Time in September 2012.

I love the pre-dawn. It is quiet and cool and dark but the light is coming, and already is.

I live in an area which is fairly rural, and there is not much traffic. Though I live on a major artery in the county, there isn’t enough traffic even during the day to really bother me. However, in the pre-dawn, there is none at all. I can hear from afar off the dogs bark, cows moo, occasional owl screech, an early rooster…

At about 6 am there is always one bird. From out of the darkness, suddenly, there will be a happy series of chirps. He is loud, and the sound is joyous to me. Not to anthropomorphize too much, but the bird really does sound happy. The piercing, lengthy call sounds like he is waking up his brethren. Perhaps it is an ovenbird.

After the first bird goes first, then in a few moments the dawn chorus begins. The dawn chorus is a worldwide event. At Cornell, they wrote, “The dawn chorus is one of the most conspicuous vocal behaviors of birds, and one of the least understood. Near sunrise, birds often sing more loudly and vigorously than they do at other times of the day.”

I like to think they are thanking their Creator. He knows them, and I like to think they know their Creator back. God says, “I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.” (Psalms 50:11). We know that all creation groaneth in travail until now, (Romans 8:22). They groan…do they sing in joy as well?

Birds suffer for man’s sin, (Genesis 6:7; Jeremiah 12:4; Ezekiel 38:20;Hosea 4:3). The bible says they flee away when calamity comes as well. (Jeremiah 4:25; Jeremiah 9:10)

Yet they sing:

10You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. (Psalm 104:10-13)

Imagine the ‘dawn chorus’ in heaven! Birds will sing all the time because there is no dusk and no dawn, only day! (1 John 1:5, Revelation 21:25).

I believe that in heaven when He brings His bride to her place and presents our dwelling place to us, our rooms will not have screens on the windows. Because why would they? No biting insects or animals will creep in and harass us. All creation will be reconciled to its Creator and there will be no reason to have bars or screens to keep things out, or in. Maybe a bird will swoop in to my room and sing in joy at the perfection of the Creator and gladness to be part of it, and I will join. Together we are all groaning now, but the Day will come when we will all sing in joyous praise to the One who made us. Birds too.

In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the first bird each morning, knowing that before the day’s groaning begins, there is joy in creation among the created.

you lookin at me