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A follow up on Ouija board-demonic possession story: Pharmakeia

Posted on July 9, 2014 by elizabethprata

On June 23, 2014 I posted a story about three American teens and young adults who had used a Ouija board in Mexico and had become apparently possessed. The striking and horrifying video of the girl, who was reported to be 22 but turned out to be 16, went around the world in a heartbeat.

I like to follow up. I was thinking, how is that girl? Is she OK? Are they recovered? Was the story bogus, or does it have a happy ending? Well there is more, it turns out.

The teens had been encouraged by their guardians in Mexico to take a psychedelic drug used by shamans, so that they would be “opened to the spirits” before they played with the Ouija Board. In case you’re unfamiliar, a Ouija Board is a “game” where players attempt to contact the spirit world for the purpose of asking questions, which are allegedly answered by the demonic forces through the seekers who are holding a planchette which is supposedly moved by said demonic forces to spell out the answers.

Here is the Daily Mail’s update
‘We tried to pray for them but it only made the demons angrier’: Inside the terrifying ‘possession’ of Mexican orphan girl who took shamanic drugs to contact her dead parents with a Ouija board

The girl who shocked the world this week after she was videoed being ‘possessed’ after using a Ouija board was trying to contact her dead parents and had taken a shamanic drug used in Mexico to contact the ‘spirit world’, MailOnline can reveal today. 16-year-old orphan Alexandra Huerta, who appeared possessed by evil spirits in a video taken by paramedics as she was taken to hospital had taken Brugmansia, a poisonous plant which grows in tropical regions of Latin America. The drug is also known as Angel’s Trumpet for its large poisonous flowers, and induces dark hallucinations, confusion, muscle paralysis and can lead to death in large doses.

Brugmansia can induce temporary insanity, especially in those who are not yet fully grown. ‘She started convulsing and screaming of terrible visions’, said Maria Camaño, 48, her guardian in the house where the trio tried to make contact with the dead on Sunday June 22. ‘We tried to pray for them and to get them to pray as well, but it only made the demons who had taken control of her angrier’, she said in an interview with the MailOnline in the house near the village of Tepotzlan where the disturbing episode took place. Maria gave a terrifying account of the effects the Ouija board and ‘bell flower’ drug, as it is known in Latin America, had on Alexandra and her brother and cousin. They still firmly believe that she was in fact possessed.

I thought they were going to lose their minds’, said Maria. ‘There is a lot of shamanism in the hills where we live and I was terrified when I saw what the Ouija had done to them. ‘She was possessed by a spirit who wanted to harm her.

Here is a New Age site’s take on it

Here’s some good news for anyone who was contemplating trashing their Ouija board after the story last week about three young adults in Mexico who claimed they were possessed by demons after using one, including a girl who was videotaped screaming and struggling in the EMS vehicle on the way to the hospital. It turns out the odd behavior was caused not by demons but by Brugmansia, a drug used by shamans.

New details on the story reveal that Alexandra Huerta, the girl in the video, is 16 years old, not 22 as first reported. What’s worse, the drug was knowingly referred to her, her brother and their cousin by Maria Camaño, the girl’s legal guardian, who admits she was “helping” the orphaned girl and boy contact their dead parents. They boiled the flowers in a tea that they drank an hour before the session and its subsequent problems. Mrs. Camaño is the same woman who went to a priest first to perform an exorcism rather than getting medical help for the hallucinating teens.

Brugsmansia, also called Angel’s Trumpet for its poisonous flowers, has long been used in South American cultures as a topical remedy for pain relief, arthritis, infections and as an anti-inflammatory. All parts of the plant are poisonous and can cause death when ingested in large quantities, but it has also been used internally for spasms, pain and asthma. It is known to cause visual and auditory hallucinations and was traditionally given to misbehaving children who were told the visions they had were dead ancestors coming to scold them. Yikes!

It appears Alexandra and her relatives have recovered, although she has no memory of the experience. This is not surprising since Brugmansia hallucinations can cause a loss of awareness and amnesia. The Camaños say they regret suggesting the teens use Brugsmania and the Ouija board. And, of course, they plan to sue the paramedic who filmed the girl.

A sad tale of irresponsible adults.

This does not reduce the horror of the demonic possession. In fact, knowing that shamanic drugs were a part of their demon-play in fact brings it even more into the prophecy arena.
Strong’s: pharmakeia=drug-related sorcery

In Revelation we read an indictment against the world. Here it is-

“Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.” (Revelation 18:21-23)

In Greek the word is pharmakeia. If ‘pharma’ looks familiar to you it should be, it means drugs combined with witchraft or sorceries. Four years ago I’d written about this, here. I’d said,

We know from many verses that God is against sorcery, astrology, witchcraft, etc.; God hates sorceries.

The curious thing is that the word in the verse, “nations were deceived by your sorcery” the root Greek word for sorcery is actually pharmakeia. It is the word from which we get pharmacy. In the Strong’s it means “from pharmakeuó (to administer drugs).” It is further defined as “the use of medicine, drugs or spells.”

I am of the opinion that the verse in Revelation is NOT saying that legal drugs administered by doctors is bad. I am concerned with a trend I am seeing these days toward a renewed and vigorous interest in psychedelic drugs. How this ties in with sorceries, you will discover when you read on…

The trend I speak of is not new. It is ancient, actually. But in the search for God, many people take the broad way, the fork in the road that leadeth to destruction. That road is the search for experience, not a submission to belief. They seek feelings, and when they cannot find them, they turn to drugs. A melding of drugs and the spiritual is the most dangerous kind of sorcery, because it dulls the senses and creates a false god: self.

Go to the link to read the rest.

Drug induced shamanism to find a higher power is twisted but at least the motive is somewhat understandable if the method is all wrong (and evil). Drug induced shamanism to contact a dead loved one is twisted but understandable when unsaved young people unwisely do it. They don’t know that this opens them widely to the demons. There is a great curiosity out there to the other side, and sadly, most do not turn ot Jesus to find it.

Worst of all though, increasingly, we see that shamanic or psychedelic drugs are being ingested so as to purposely seek the demonic. In this case I’d say it was less a ‘sad tale of irresponsible adults’ than a terrible poison given to children by evilly wayward adults. Seeking the other side? Contacting ghosts? Giving drugs to children? What a horror.

One only needs to see movies, television, youth-aimed books, games, clothing, and cultural pressure to know that more poeple are unhealthily interested in the demonic. I’ve written several times about this. Add drugs to the mix and it dramatically worsens the situation. In the sermon “Satanic Slaughter,” explaining Revelation 9:21, we read,

And then he mentions sorceries. Interesting word in the Greek, pharmakeia from which we get pharmacy, pharmaceutics, drugs. This is a word that is bigger than just drugs, although it literally could be translated druggings. Whatever it is that they use to dull their senses, whatever it is that they use to induce their satanic worship, whatever impure occultic practices they use to get in deep to their witchcraft, drunkenness, drugs, seances, hypnotism, incantations, mystic mantras, whatever induces their religious experience, cavorting with mediums, spirits and the deceptions of Satan. They’re not about to let go of that. That, too, will be rampant. We see that coming, don’t we?, in the New Age

It is not even the Tribulation yet and we can see the heightened interest in and indulgence of shamanic drugs so as to contact the other side. Those poor teenagers, their legal guardians exposing them to such evil when we rely on adults to protect us from evil.

It is one reason I do pray for the rapture. All the children will be safe, then. Please come soon Lord Jesus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What does the bible say about sorcery?

What is the Jesus drug?

What kind of things open you to demonic oppression?

daniel, end time, many shall run to and fro, prophecy

"From buggy to outer space": Many shall rush to and fro, prophecy and hope

Posted on July 9, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

When our pastor and the congregation parted ways, he left behind a study full of books. In order to get ready for the new pastor, the deacons cleaned out the room and put the books in the hallway. Any and all members were encouraged to look through and choose any books they wanted. This was one of the happiest days for me, a bibliophile’s, life.

Our other two pastors picked up many of the commentaries and expositions, but there were still plenty left over. I picked up several, along with atlases, reference books, and biographies. One book I happily got is Oliver B. Greene’s verse by verse exposition of Daniel (pub. 1964). Please allow me a brief diversion from my upcoming point about the Daniel prophecy where “many shall run to and fro”, to introduce you to a worthy man of the faith. Wikipedia:

Oliver Boyce Greene (February 14, 1915 – July 26, 1976) was a Independent Fundamental Baptist evangelist and author. He converted in 1935 at the age of 20. Over 200,000 confessions of faith were recorded as a result of his ministry. He attended North Greenville Baptist College briefly before entering full-time ministry, conducting revival meetings in tents and in churches across the eastern United States for 35 years. Greene wrote over 100 books and brief booklets about the Bible.

In 1956, he founded The Gospel Hour, Inc. as a Christian outreach ministry. It included a radio program of his preaching called The Gospel Hour, which began on one station in Georgia and gradually became syndicated until the point it spanned the nation. The Gospel Hour was heard on 150 stations at the time of his death. The cause of death was a cardiac aneurysm. The broadcast is currently on over 80 stations, including international stations and the Internet. Taped copies of the program are still aired today on the Fundamental Broadcasting Network and other Christian radio stations.

Greene hoped that the radio program would continue hopefully until the Lord came back. May it be so. You can read his and many other short biographies of the great men of faith here at The Sword of the Lord

Here is part of the prophecy the angel delivered to Daniel and subsequently interpreted. The title of chapter 12 in the ESV is “The Time of the End”. In Daniel 12:2, the angel said to Daniel that the prophecy was for his people and will happen during a time of trouble no man has ever seen nor shall see again (cf. Matthew 24:21). The angel was speaking of the Israelites (Jews) and the Tribulation. The angel reassured Daniel that his people will be delivered in the end, and then the judgment will come. (Daniel 12:1-3). However, the angel said then, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)

Since the ascension of Jesus it has been the time of the end. It has been the Messianic Age, the time of Christ as prophesied. The Last Days means the time when Messiah comes. Yes, the past 2000 years have been the latter days. The Jews and early Christians did not know that there would be a 2000 year interval. The rapture could have happened at any time during this last two millennia. Paul certainly thought it would happen in his lifetime.

The Jewish last days began 2,000 years ago, did you now that? That’s right. The Jewish last days began 2,000 years ago with the arrival of Messiah. They will be completed when the setting of the kingdom takes place. It just so happens that the last days has stretched at least in the 2,000 years. You say why so? Because God graciously is calling a people from the Gentiles. And secondly, because God in chastisement is punishing Israel for unbelief.

And when God gets through calling together the fullness of the Gentiles and gets through gathering and regathering Israel to the land, then the last days will be consummated. Now Paul writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 3:1, talks about the last days there, but he’s talking about the last days of the church. That the interval of 2,000 years that we’ve been living in, I believe we’re living in the last days of that. Do you believe that? Do you believe Jesus is coming soon? Do you believe the rapture is soon? Then we’re not only in the last days of Israel and have been for 2,000 years, but we’re in the last days of the church. John MacArthur “Explaining Pentecost“

The last of the last days will begin when the rapture happens and Jesus pours out His wrath upon the world, and then consummates all His plan by judging, setting up the Millennium Kingdom, and then after that, close the age to begin eternity. The Millennium Kingdom (so called because it will last 1000 years) is what the Jews are looking forward to, but first, they must be punished for their rebellion. That’s what the angel is explaining to Daniel in chapter 12.

So at the time of the end, people will rush to and fro. I was reading the news headlines like I always do, with more often than not one eye closed lately because of the headlines’ increasingly heinous nature. I saw several headlines that reported passenger airliner near collisions over metropolitan airports. Here are the news pieces:

Boeing 767 Aborts Landing To Avoid Crashing Into Another Plane

The news article comes with stunning video showing just how close the crash nearly was. Below is a still from the video showing the second the airborne plane sees throttles up, points his nose up and aborts the landing. He really kicked it into high gear. The video goes on to show the airliner circling around and making a 2nd attempt to land, this time successfully with no planes in the way.

These two planes were in Houston TX and came within 200 vertical feet of one another in early July – but an aware traffic controller noticed the danger and gave timely instructions to avert the collision. The article ends by noting that the FAA was investigating another near miss at that airport from May.

Last month, there was an actual crash of two passenger planes on the tarmac. Thankfully there were no injuries. One of the plane’s wings was crushed and the incident forced three hour delays of all traffic at Stansted Airport north of London.

In the US a ground crash between two passenger planes occurred at Boston’s Logan Airport, causing damage but thankfully again, no injuries.

In Ottawa Canada, A quick-thinking air traffic controller saved an ORNGE air ambulance helicopter from taxiing into the path of a cargo jet at Ottawa airport

All these examples are from the last few days to last few weeks. Increasingly, we read of these crashes and near misses as our world’s airports and other transportation hubs as they have become overloaded with travelers.

I found Mr Oliver B. Greene’s explanation about the people rushing to and fro in the prophecy very interesting. I quoted his bio above, he was born in 1915 and died in 1976, an interesting time span. I’ve often wondered about my grandmother’s life, emigrating from Britain as a young woman, having been born in 1900 and living through to the early 1980s. What a century the 1900s was!

Mr Greene wrote of Daniel 12:4. I think it is interesting so please bear with me as I post his long exposition of the verse.

A fleet-footed horse was probably the fastest mode of transportation in Daniel’s day. The kings had horses and chariots which were very fast in that day, but compared to the speed of today they were slower than a tortoise.

Notice that “MANY” – not just a few, but multitudes – shall run to and fro. My father lived to be seventy years of age. He left his home state only once during those years, and the only reason he traveled so far from home was because my brother, out of state at an army camp, was preparing to go overseas. Had it not been for the fact that my brother was going to war, I doubt that my dad would have left his home state during his lifetime.

I’ll pause here to insert that I have met many people here in Georgia, older folks who farm or have animals. Many of them have never left the state of Georgia, or a few have ventured to nearby South Carolina (40 miles away) to visit nearby family or go to the lake that borders our two states. This was amazing to me when I moved here, having grown up in the northeast and having traveled the world by the time I was 40. But the north tends to be transient not just in travel but in simply moving to and fro and here to there. The south has farmers who are tied to the land, and whose families also tend to stay put. It is not uncommon for family reunions in the south to have 50 or more attendees, all of whom are still living in the same county.

Continuing with Mr Greene,

Fifty years ago, [in 1914, working back from 1964 when the book was published] very few people traveled very far; but today almost everyone travels. Millions travel even across the seas, and a trip around the world is nothing today. Regardless of where you go on this earth, many are running to and fro. I visited the jungles of Africa, and in Leopoldville we purchased a ticket for that native train that rain 100 miles back into the jungle. I supposed there would be an ambulance of room, but the next morning when we went down to the station to board the train we found people standing, hanging out the windows, and riding everywhere they could find a place to stand or sit. Wherever you go today, people are on the move, traveling, going, and coming.

In the early days of our country, people traveled from east to west, but as a rule they traveled only one way – most of them never returned. But Daniel was instructed to write that many would go “to and fro”: they will go, but they will return.

Another pause here to put before you several translations of the verse.

NLT: “But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

KJV: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

ESV: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

The word for run or rush is to roam about, rush back and forth, rove. It indicates movement, and restless movement at that. Mr Greene says of the rushing part of the verse, and I replicate his emphasis:

Notice that “many will RUN to and fro”. When I was a boy, I walked 5 miles to school. Today the average child who goes as far as two city blocks to school either rides in the family automobile, or has his own bike or motor scooter. There is a minimum of walking.

Wherever you go, people are in a hurry- and for what? Most of them could not tell you. They are hurrying to get – where? Most of them do not know, but they are always in a hurry. The only way to stay alive today is to run, even in the supermarket. If you are not careful, someone will run a grocery cart right into you if you stop moving!

LOL, you notice our pattern of speech, As I grew up I always heard my mother say “I’ve got to run to he grocery store.” Or if she was leaving a person’s home or concluding a telephone call, she said, “I’ve gotta run.” In my lifetime we’ve gone from saying “I will go” to I’ll run”. Of course the statement I just made isn’t absolute nor does it apply to everyone, but in general, I’ve noticed an ever further speeding up than did Mr Green in his day of 1964. To continue:

This is the age of speed. As I dictate these lines, the President of the United States has just announced that we have a jet fighter that flies more than 2,000 miles per hour… think of it! It makes one dizzy to think of such speed. It has just been announced that France is building a transport that will carry 200 people across the Atlantic ocean in just one hour and twenty-five minutes.

Mr Green was speaking of the Concorde, which came online in 1969 and ran in service from 1976 to 2003. It did indeed run an hour and a half. Donald Fagen’s song I.G.Y. (What A beautiful World) mentioned it,

On that train all graphite and glitter

Undersea by rail

Ninety minutes from New York to Paris

Well by seventy-six we’ll be A.O.K.

What a beautiful world this will be

What a glorious time to be free

‘The undersea by rail’ may indeed refer to the Channel Tunnel, AKA the Chunnel, “a high-speed undersea transport from France to the UK. The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for automobiles and other road vehicles—the largest such transport in the world—and international rail freight trains. It has the longest undersea portion of rail in the world.” (Wikipedia)

Amazing! None of this was even conceived of or possible before my generation. Mr Greene remarks about Daniel,

If Daniel could have read a statement such as I have just made, he could not have understood the words he read. Thus the Lord God instructed him to seal up the book and close up the words until the time of the end. WE can understand because we have seen these things come to pass. We are living in the days of fulfillment of this prophecy.

Isn’t he good?! I have enjoyed his commentary and exposition. In addition, he wrote a half-page pre-tribulation stance that is just tremendous. I’ll be posting that later in another post.

Not only do I agree with what he wrote but see how far it’s gone even in the last 50 years since Mr Greene published his exposition of Daniel’s prophecy of traveling to and fro. The Chunnel, the Concorde, space ships, the Space Shuttle, regular commuting distances of hundreds of miles, travel at the drop of a hat, so much so that now airports are SO crowded that planes crashing in to one another even on the ground is a regular threat and a frequent occurrence.

Our crowded, rushing, to and fro world is certainly an amazing one. When the angel said to Daniel to shut up the prophecy for the time of the end, the time of the end came in 33AD, but until this past 75 years, it still would not have been understood. Has the prophecy been opened? I believe it has. As Mr Greene said, we understand it because we have seen these things come to pass.

And may it soon come to pass that Jesus calls His bride home, and the time of the very end will come in which He will blessedly rectify all the blasphemous injustices that have been performed against Him.

Enjoy the thoughts from Mr Greene, and above all, slow down!

end of days. prophecy, israel, Obama, peace and security

When they are saying peace and security…

Posted on July 8, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

Israel has never had peace or security. Not for any real length of time. Their constant falling away-repent-falling away cycle prevents that. their penchant for making alliances with hostile nations in vain hopes of forestalling attacks also is a sad pattern. (Ancient Assyria, Egypt, Cush … 2 Chronicles 18:1-2, Isaiah 31:1, Isaiah 20:5)

Praying for the peace of Israel as Psalm 122:6 says really means as Gill’s Exposition says, a future peace in the Millennium:

“but for the spiritual and heavenly Jerusalem, the church of God, and for the peace of it; that Christ, the Man, the Peace, the Peacemaker, who then was not come, might come; that the members of it might enjoy spiritual peace in their son is, and might have peace one with another, and be at peace with their enemies; and enjoy the abundance of peace and prosperity, which will be in the latter day;”

It will be then and only then Jerusalem has peace. That doesn’t stop Israel from seeking it though. Nor does it stop false friends from pressuring it upon Israel, either. The Israel Daily newspaper Haaretz this morning has a front page dedicated to peace. An opinion article from Obama is prominently placed there. Here is a photo of today’s front page from Haaretz:

In an exclusive article for Haaretz’s Israel Conference on Peace, Barack Obama says that the only solution is a democratic, Jewish state living side-by-side in peace and security with a viable, independent Palestinian state.

Peace talks have once again stalled out. Each President has tried to resolve the issues in the Middle East ever since Israel was created as a nation in 1948. Each president has failed. Only the antichrist will be able to [seemingly] resolve the conflict there but he will prove to be a betrayer and tear up the peace treaty he negotiates halfway through the covenant’s time period and turn around and persecute Israel to their almost bloody death. This is part of God’s plan.

This latest round of peace talks has ended with a sputter. Secretary of State Kerry failed to make headway. Tablet Magazine actually claims that America is the Arsonist in the Middle East, and that it was “Kerry’s failed peace negotiations set off the spiral of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.” Apparently someone has to blame someone.

Obama is pushing the issue once again after it has languished on the back burner these long months. A deadline set by Kerry 9-months ago has approached and it is time to renew attention to the issue. Hamas isn’t unaware either and has ramped up rocket fire in this last week. Joel C. Rosenberg writes today,

Escalation: 130 rockets fired at Israel since midnight. IDF calls up 40,000 reservists for possible ground operation in Gaza

(Washington, D.C.) — My heart is breaking over the escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians as the situation goes from bad to worse, hour by hour.

In recent days, Palestinian extremists kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenage boys.

Then Jewish extremists kidnapped and murdered an Arab teenage boy, apparently burning him alive.

Meanwhile, Palestinian extremists in Gaza began firing rockets at Jewish and Arab civilians in southern Israel.

More than 220 rockets have been fired at Israel since July 1st. And just since midnight, 130 rockets were fired at Israel.

Israel’s “Iron Dome” system is shooting down many of them.

The Israeli Air Force is striking Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government authorized “Operative Protective Edge” to ratchet up attacks on the terrorists in Gaza. The IDF is calling up 40,000 reservists for a possible massive ground invasion of Gaza.

I know the prophecy in Thessalonians is trotted out any time anyone ever says “peace and security”. The verse is actually pointing to the Day of the Lord, AKA the Time of Jacob’s Trouble AKA The Tribulation. However, it does do for us to keep the prophecy in mind as we watch unparalleled events in the Middle East occur. ISIS is advancing, a caliphate has been established, rocket fire is barraging Israel, the deadline for the peace talks is renewing pressure on everyone involved, and let’s not forget the violence in northern Africa and central Africa. Several of those nations will take part in the Psalm 83 war.

Jordan King: ‘We fear spread of Iraq chaos’
Floodgates open as ISIS takes over swaths of both Syria and Iraq
C. African Republic church attacks leaves 17 dead
Mild quake shakes Lebanon, western Syria and northern Israel
63 Women Escape Extremist Abductors in Nigeria
South Sudan Official Orders Curfew Violators to be Shot Dead

We won’t know the day or hour, or even whether the Day of the Lord is approaching very near, but we can see that the world is in turmoil and in need of its Savior once again. He will return in wrath next time though. Before there is peace on earth there will be wrath.

As for us Christians, John MacArthur reminds us,

You say, “Will we be there at the day of the Lord?” No. We’ll be taken out before the day of the Lord. Now as you know through all the years it has been my conviction to teach you that we are taken out before that final seventieth week, that final seven-year period begins. The great promise is that we have not been appointed unto wrath. We have been appointed unto glory. If you know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, the future you look for is all glorious. If you don’t know Him, the future you look forward to is all terrifying. It is no insignificant thing that the whole world has its eyes on the Middle East, that’s where all the consummation of God’s history will take place. It could be in this generation, it could be soon. We must be ready. If you know Christ, you’ll be taken before it hits. If you don’t, you’ll be destroyed when it comes.

children, christian living

Sleepovers? To do or not to do? Tim Challies has some thoughts

Posted on July 8, 2014 by elizabethprata

Tim Challies wrote a good piece on whether to allow your child to sleep away overnight at a friend’s house. He and his wife have their own reasons that he shared in a blog essay as to why they don’t ever allow their young children to sleep overnight at another person’s house.

Why My Family Doesn’t do Sleepovers

Before my children were even old enough to ask, Aileen and I talked it through and decided we would not allow our kids to do sleepovers. Now let’s be clear: there is no biblical command that forbids them, so this was not a matter of clear right and wrong, but a matter of attempting to act with wisdom. We determined we would make it a family rule: …

Then the piece blew up. He was astounded to find that three quarters of million people looked at it in just inside of week. And the comments section blew up too. He bemusedly said that he never quite knows which of his blog essays will generate such reaction, but usually a person can kind of tell. a On the sleepover one, though, he had no idea it would generate controversy and also such encouragement. Read his second piece here:

6 Reflections on Sleepovers

I didn’t see this one coming. After over ten years of daily blogging, I tend to have a pretty good sense of which articles have the potential to cause a reaction and which articles have the potential to fizzle. I might have guessed that an article on why my family doesn’t do sleepovers would have attracted a few more readers than usual, but I wouldn’t have believed that in its first week it would be read by nearly 750,000 people. But it was, and I found myself wondering why.

Here are some other moms and dad bloggers with thoughts on the subject of sleepovers.

Rethinking sleepovers

Today’s Christian Woman shares some pros and cons in this article

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis shares a situation of how he handled when his daughter was asked to go on a sleepover birthday party. Scroll down.

eschatology, prophecy, rapture, satan, spiritual battle

The rapture is an economic juggernaut, fodder for the unsaved in titillating scenarios they will all too soon live out themselves

Posted on July 8, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Mr Jay Parini, a poet and novelist who teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont, just published “Jesus: The Human Face of God,” a biography of Jesus. He has some opinions about the doctrine of the Rapture.

Even Jesus wouldn’t buy ‘the rapture’

The rapture concept is relatively new. It started with an Anglo-Irish theologian, who in the 1830s invented the concept. This may come as a shocker to many, but it’s a fact: Before John Nelson Darby imagined this scenario in the clouds, no Christian had ever heard of the rapture.

Said no Christian ever.

Not my grandmother

BAH HA HA [wiping eyes] Anyways, whaddya gonna do? as my Italian grandmother used to say. This is what non-saved people believe. They say things with such assurance, and such force, as if they know. But it is only godless chatter, (1 Timothy 6:20). Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1)

Though Mr Parini calls himself an Episcopalian who is “a regular church-goer” not one person who is saved by grace of Jesus would ever say this as Mr Parini did:

“For instance, when Jesus says, ‘repent, and you will be saved.’ What He’s really saying, if you read the Greek, is: open your mind to the light. Go beyond yourself into the larger mind of God, and you will experience enlightenment and reconciliation with God,” he explained.

Oh, how easily the blinded twist sin, judgment and damnation into Light, ‘duality’ and New Age self-god concepts!

I’m not so aggravated at the usual blasphemy regarding the mystery of the rapture that Paul unfolded for the precious brethren, (WAAAAY before Darby or Scofield) as I was surprised to find myself agreeing with his statement from the article:

“The famous “Left Behind” series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins was already out there. It consisted of 16 best-selling novels on the same premise, and it’s about to come to the big screen again, in a film starring Nicholas Cage. The original film adaptation (of three) appeared in 2000. And then there is the Christian real-time strategy video game called “Left Behind: Eternal Forces.” If anyone hasn’t noticed, the rapture has become a commercial juggernaut, endlessly shape-shifting, finding new and highly entertaining outlets.

The rapture and apocalypse in general has become an economic juggernaut, just as Peter wrote that it would. (2 Peter 2:3).

The co-opting of Christianity for entertainment and mocking purposes is age-old. Every Christian sentenced to die in the Roman Ampitheater was part of Rome’s economic juggernaut. Christians and Christianity being fodder for entertainment through martyrdoms, or torture, or today through debates, TV shows of movies, is par for the course.

I wrote about the economic exploitation of God’s biblical doctrines earlier this year here:

Is the fact that 2014’s been dubbed ‘Year of the Christian movie” a good thing? Well, was Ahaz redecorating the temple a good thing?

In the above piece, I listed all the movies and television shows I could find being released on the Christian themes. One of the new economic juggernauts was a video game of the rapture I found especially horrifying. I’d posted the summary of the game:

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture video game PS4, “The game will take place in a village in Shropshire during the apocalypse.”

In that piece I focused on the movies coming out that took biblical doctrines and presented them to a secular world for monetary gain. I’d mentioned movies like Noah, Exodus, TheBible, Left Behind, Son of God, Heaven is for Real and the smaller and well-intentioned movie God’s Not Dead but I missed the television series of The Leftovers and the video game “Left Behind: Eternal Forces.”

Photo by Kevin King. Wikipedia Creative Commons

The rapture certainly is one of the most fascinating doctrines in the bible. The encouragement of it, the reason for it, the science behind it (or supernatural science), the imminence of it, the suddenness of it, the fact of it. Additionally I find it fascinating that the Holy Spirit waited about twenty years after Jesus’ ascension to reveal this to the brethren. Paul revealed the mystery around 55AD on his 3rd missionary journey in a letter to the Corinthians,

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet... (1 Corinthians 15:51)

In 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 Paul explains to the church that some things on God’s plan were kept secret so that satan and his unholy angels would not try to thwart what must be done. In those verses Paul says that the reason for the cross was kept secret. Not that satan and his angels could thwart anything, but God does not reveal absolutely everything all at once.

About 20 years after the cross, Paul’s Thessalonians letters and the Corinthians letters explained the new doctrine of the rapture. It was planned from the beginning of time, but satan didn’t know about it until the Corinthians and the Thessalonians did. Satan still only knows what we do: it will happen … sometime.

What’s on the other side? Everyone is curious. Everyone.

That the rapture is equally fascinating to the lost is surprising, but if we think about it not so surprising after all. It’s a puzzle, a great and mystifying puzzle. And really, who wants to die? Just knowing that in the generation in which God ordains it to happen, all the living Christians will never see death but will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. For the lost, great minds have always pondered the supernatural, wondered about other dimensions, secretly wanted to step behind the veil and peek at the heavenly machinery. They have tried divination, seances, hypnotism, peyote, astral projection…anything to solve the mystery.

And all along, Paul had revealed it. It is plainly able to know…for anyone who first repents of sins and turns to Jesus as Lord and Savior, that is. He then opens up the mind to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom in illuminating the bible for us.

What I wonder is…with the sudden glut of movies and TV shows devoted to the subject of the rapture, does satan know something? He isn’t omniscient nor is he omnipresent. Also, he doesn’t know for sure any more than we do about the timing of it. But he does have the advantage of having seen human history from the long point of view, he knows how human hearts work, he’s in the thick of the spiritual battle and as its general he knows how it’s going, and having access to heaven he sees what is going on up there. I just wonder…

Anyway it is surely a heartbreak to see someone who is so puffed up with vain knowledge writing biographies of Jesus and claiming biblical things about the rapture that aren’t biblical at all. I am so grateful to my King that he elected me to salvation and opened my mind to the scriptures. In this way I get to know Him and His will for man by reading them. I learn about His character, and about how to live. I can be assured of my eternal destination. I can even be encouraged by Paul’s words, that we may be the generation that sees the Lord in the air and are translated alive into glory.

Maranatha!

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Different thoughts and quotes

Posted on July 7, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

[Apostates] being once turned aside from the truth and the fellowship of the faithful, lost all awe of God…” Thomas Manton

The old Puritan Manton, he said it so well. Apostates do not have a sense of awe about God. No, to them, God is a buddy to go to the zoo with, or sit on His lap, and who appears in the bathroom while they are shaving. Be in awe of Him, His majesty and power!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I used to wonder why it is that so many of the false teachers tend to speak freely of God but not so much of Jesus. They rarely say the name of Jesus when they are teaching but instead they often say “God.” Then I remembered this verse:

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)

If they don’t have the Holy Spirit they can’t teach Jesus is Lord because they can’t say it. Like when Jesus said at the Last Supper that one of them will betray Him, all 11 of the Disciples said Is it I, Lord? but Judas could not say that because he was apostate and he said “Is it I, Rabbi?” (Matthew 26:21-25). S. Lewis Johnson expounds a bit here

He goes on to say, “And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” And I’d like to devote just a few minutes before we close to this because I think this is rather important. No one can call Jesus Lord. Now, the statement, Jesus is Lord, is very interesting because Lord — kurios is the New Testament word that is used to translate the tetragrammaton, the Yahweh of the Old Testament. When we say Jesus is Lord, we are saying Jesus is the Yahweh of the Old Testament, the covenant-keeping God. The God who made the covenant with Israel and drew them out of Egypt into the land and into the promises. And if we say Jesus is Lord, then we are saying Jesus is Jehovah. Now, we have — remember our studies on Hebrews, we know that the term “Jehovah” is a term that is applicable to all three persons of the Trinity. That’s one of the reasons — many reasons why we know our God is a Trinity. There is Jehovah the Father, Jehovah the Son, Jehovah the Spirit. So no one can say that Jesus is Jehovah. That very fact lets us know that when we call our Lord “Lord” we are talking about the one true God in the case of our Lord Jesus God the Son, the one God who subsists in three persons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In mid-November of 2012, God dropped a word so convicting on my heart through another teacher’s lesson…

God spoke to my heart one Saturday morning while I was preparing for Sunday school…

I believe God placed it on my heart to tell you…

What God began to say to me about five years ago and I’m telling you it is in me on such a trek with him that my head is still whirling over it. He began to say to me, …

All of the above quotes from Beth Moore. Visions, whispers, secret knowledge laid on of the heart, are NOT from Jesus. It is NO basis from which to teach. But we hear these phrases so often today, From false teachers, and from true converts. We should stop that habit. Here is John MacArthur with a good word of advice on How To Identify Terrorists in the Church

“…False teachers inevitably have to have a source for their deception. And they have to have a source that’s believable. They have to have a source that has some authority, or that is convincing. So they can’t just say, “I think…” They can’t just say, “I feel…” They can’t just say, “We’ve got a committee in our group and we came up with this deal.” The really effective false teachers and apostates will inevitably tell you God communicates to them in secret ways, in their dreams, in their visions. These are revelatory experiences. Apostate false teachers from Joseph Smith to Benny Hinn and everybody in between claim that God speaks to them in their dreams, in their visions. And this, of course, transcends the necessity to be submissive to the Word of God which is not in their hearts anyway. And it gives them the illusion of authority and God gets blamed for all their aberrations. They reject the Word of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you know? Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. In Exodus 21:32 we learn that 30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave.

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I liked these from several different Twitter friends:

The purpose of the Bible is to reveal who God is, His will for mankind, & to document the prophecies about, arrival of & ministry of Jesus.

Socrates said, “Know yourself.” Marcus Aurelius said, “Control yourself.” Orient sages said, “Give yourself.” Christ said, “Deny yourself.”

You may think there’s no reason to take an interest in eternity, but sooner or later, eternity will take an interest in you.

Succinct!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cartoonist Adam4d has some thoughts on if Jesus had listened to Joel Osteen’s advice

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Finally, this thought: As Christians we so desperately want the lost to come to know Jesus as Lord, we sometimes continue in presenting the beautiful Gospel beyond the time when we should not. After a certain point, the Holy Spirit will have His way, either pushing the person’s heart more into being reprobate, or will soften it to salvation. But if we persist all that will happen is they will trample the truth and we might sin in our frustration. Know when to leave it alone.

SDG!

apostate, false, judas, kiss

The Apostate Judas Kiss

Posted on July 6, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.” Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. (Matthew 26:48-49)

The Judas Kiss is one of the most illustrated themes in art, one of the most famous kisses of all time, the most devastating scene among friends there could ever be. The horror of it is an eternal warning to all of us. How so you ask?

Kiss of Judas (1304–06), fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy

Because apostates inwardly operate for satan with an outward veneer of loving Jesus. It is a horrendous life, outwardly of unity with the brethren under the salvation from and sanctification in Jesus, but inwardly as a ravening wolf out to lie, destroy, and exploit the brethren.

Judas spent three and a half years directly being taught and loved by the God of the Universe. He was close witness to miracles, the glory of God, and pure truth. He was given a position of trust, being the treasurer of the group. Despite Judas’ hate for Jesus, he masked it so well that when Jesus said at the Last Supper that one of the 12 will betray him, no one suspected Judas. That is usually how it is with apostates.

In studying the verse above I learned that not only did Judas kiss Jesus, but the Greek word used for kiss means fervently and for a while. Judas probably did so because it was dark (no streetlights 2000 years ago) and it took a few seconds for the soldiers to identify correctly who Jesus was. In any case, the display of love which was actually hate for our Savior, is enough to crash the mind.

The kiss scene has me thinking a lot these past two days on the nature of apostasy. This thought is helped along by a couple of wonderful sermons I’d heard a while back which I never forgot. A Tale of Two Sorrows (comparing the sorrow of Peter and the sorrow of Judas) and “Common Men, Uncommon Calling: Judas Iscariot, Part 1“

Apostates don’t come in all fire and noise. The bible says they creep in. They come unnoticed. (Jude 1:4) They bring heresies secretly. An apostate will come in apparent love, not in identifiable hate.

The most devastating attacks, however, that come on the truth come from those who claim to love and believe it. The devastating attacks come from those who say they believe it, are attached to it and, in fact, assault it. … Thomas Manton said they are libertines who like worms bred within the body seek to devour the entrails and eat the very heart. They cause people to turn aside from the truth. They cause people to be corrupted. They cause the fellowship of the faithful to be lost. They call worship…they cause worship to become a travesty. The church turns itself over to fables and follies. MacArthur: “Unveiling the Apostates”

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. (Titus 1:16)

More broadly, a Judas kiss may refer to “an act appearing to be an act of friendship, which is in fact harmful to the recipient.”

For example, when resurrected Jesus appeared to Christian-persecuting Saul/Paul, Jesus said, “Why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 9:4). Apostates claim to love Jesus but by their actions deny Him. (Titus 1:6). They harm Jesus by blaspheming Him. They harm Him by uttering praises from a polluted heart.

With all that there is in pondering the Judas Kiss, the one thought that I kept coming back to is the evil softness of it. So often when I say “So and so is a false teacher” I am given a reply of, “But they speak of Jesus…”. Judas spoke of Jesus, lived with Jesus, worked for Jesus, for years. Not one of his colleagues thought Judas was the betrayer. Not one gave a second thought to allowing Judas to handle the purse. Judas was only unmasked at the last moment.

I found Charles Spurgeon’s sermon of the Judas Kiss. His thoughts perfectly encapsulated what I was trying to get at.

Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. That is how most apostates do it; it is always with a kiss. Did you ever read an infidel book in your life which did not begin with profound respect for truth? I never have. Even modern ones, when bishops write them, always begin like that. They betray the Son of man with a kiss. Did you ever read a bank of bitter controversy which did not begin with such a sickly lot of humility, such sugar, such butter, such treacle, such everything sweet and soft, that you said, “Ah! there is sure to be something bad here, for when people begin so softly and sweetly, so humbly and so smoothly, depend upon it they have rank hatred in their hearts.” The most devout looking people are often the most hypocritical in the world.

Apostates don’t reject the truth with a fist. They reject the truth with a kiss.

fourth of july, true freedom in Jesus

Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July holiday!

Posted on July 4, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

EPrata photo

Danny Cortez, drought, ebola, gay, homosexual, ISIS, Obama, pestilence, prophecy, sbc

(Updated) Isis captures oil field, aims for Jordan? Ebola out of control, SBC gay-affirming Pastor feted at White House, lauded for "progress"

Posted on July 3, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

(Update below)
I’m catching up on some news. I like to follow up with previously reported issues. Let’s start with Danny Cortez, Obama, and the SBC.

In February of this year when Pastor Danny Cortez of California’s New Hope Church (a Southern Baptist Convention affiliated church) told his congregation that his son had come out as gay and that he as pastor has been wrong to preach against homosexuality as a sin, his church split.

However, the bulk of the congregation voted to retain Pastor Cortez and go forward on a third way, in other words, not yes and not no but maybe (the lukewarm, middle of the road way?) in agreeing to disagree and focusing on other issues (besides sin?)

Albert Mohler, Jr., an American theologian and the ninth president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, published an essay declaring there is no third way.

This all came down just before the Southern Baptist Convention. The Bylaws of the SBC state that cooperating churches which dissent or vary from orthodox and agreed upon doctrines can be voted out of the denomination.” The SBC Constitution states: “Among churches not in friendly cooperation with the Convention are churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.” This didn’t happen at the Convention.

The ~~excuse~~ reason was that it all happened too close to the convention’s opening and the leaders had not had time to review the situation formally nor properly. They did not want to make a hasty decision. OK, fine, but when no movement on the issue happened after the convention either, Al Mohler wrote another essay in effect saying, ‘OK, time to get moving on this issue now’. (I interpreted it that way).

As of today, still nothing from the SBC. It is reported that the SBC Executive Committeee may take it up in September. May take it up.

Meanwhile the Homosexual lobby is not waiting around to take an advantage. Pastor Danny Cortez was almost immediately invited to the White House for Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) celebration to cap off Gay Month, hosted by Obama. The Baptist Press reported (and picked up by the Biblical Recorder) that Cortez was delighted to attend.

Pro-gay [SBC] pastor attends White House event (I added the ‘SBC’ to the headline)

The Los Angeles-area Baptist pastor whose church split after he announced he no longer believes all homosexual acts are sinful was President Obama’s guest at the White House LGBT Pride Month reception June 30. Danny Cortez, pastor of New Heart Community Church in La Mirada, Calif., attended the reception with his son Drew, who Cortez said in a Feb. 9 sermon is gay. At the reception, Obama acknowledged open homosexuals serving in his administration and said 11 openly gay federal judges have been confirmed by the Senate, including 10 during his administration. Danny Cortez, pastor of New Heart Community Church in La Mirada, Calif., attended the reception with his son Drew, who Cortez said in a Feb. 9 sermon is gay. “This tremendous progress we’ve made as a society is thanks to those of you who fought the good fight,…”

Obama is exactly right, the “progress” the homosexual lobby has made in culture is due to either false Christians helpfully promoting satan’s agenda, or true Christians standing by and doing nothing.

On another topic, I stopped following the ISIS event in the Middle East when the news reports and even twitter accounts posted photos without warnings of graphic nature. The photos were terrible, terrible.

As of 6/28/2014, the dark red area indicates land now controlled
by ISIS, while the light red area is territory claimed by ISIS.
Source. Spesh531/Wikipedia

That does not mean the issue is no longer important though. It is. It may have fallen off this blog and it may have receded into the background of world news, but ISIS is still capturing, advancing, and murdering. See this photo-safe news report from Israel’s Arutz Sheva from today

ISIS Captures Largest Oil Field in Syria
Islamist group adds to its resources, seizing oil field and consolidating its hold in the Euphrates corridor from Iraq into Syria.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) continues to roll forward, adding to its collection of captured resources the Al-Omar Oil Field, the largest oil field in Syria located in the eastern Deir al-Zour province of the war-torn country, near the Iraqi border. The Islamist group has already amassed great assets during its blitz offensive in Iraq, seizing Iraq’s largest oil refinery, a chemical weapons facility, and becoming the “world’s richest terrorist organization” by looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars ($425 million) from banks in Mosul. Now, video footage uploaded to YouTube shows armed ISIS jihadists at the entrance to the field with their flag flying high, after having wrestled the field away from the Al-Nusra Front, a rival opposition force in Syria that is linked with Al-Qaeda, which ISIS broke off from. … ISIS’s lightning series of victories have given it control of a corridor on the Euphrates River ranging from the far-eastern Syrian town of Bukamal, located on the border with Iraq, on through the provincial capital of Deir al-Zour to the northwest from the border.

Additionally ISIS, which on Sunday declared itself an Islamic “caliphate” and proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as “Caliph,” has succeeding in winning pledges of allegiance by numerous rebel factions in the area.

I have not watched the video which accompanies the article. You’re on your own with that one. Here is another news piece discussing how much territory ISIS has now

Sunni fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) Thursday gained control over the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ez-zor and now occupy an area five times the size of Lebanon in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (source)

Where will ISIS go next? The Wall Street Daily reports,

You see, some early reports suggest Baghdadi may have a new target: the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which is ruled from nearby Amman. Jordan is considered a constitutional monarchy, but King Abdullah II has the power to appoint 75 members of the Parliament directly. He also has the power to pass laws himself, and he is the head of both the state and the military. But while Abdullah II has all of the power, he doesn’t have strong support amongst the people. You see, Jordan has been the recipient of many refugees in recent decades, and the country is now brimming with Arabs from both Palestine and Syria. These people feel oppressed by the small, but controlling, Hashemite tribe… and that could spell trouble. Abdullah would be supported by his military and the United States, but not his Sunni Muslim population, which would likely be sympathetic to ISIS. On top of that, if ISIS controlled Jordan, it could surround Damascus, which is just 100 short miles north of Amman. In that regard, Jordan could be the key to winning in Syria.

I posted a couple of news reports about Jordan two weeks ago. (here, and here) I feel the ISIS group will go to Jordan for exactly the above described reason, and also Saudi Arabia. Jordan is prominent in prophecy for one simple reason is that the antichrist will conquer the world but God will not allow him to take Jordan. However, Jordan will not escape unharmed.

UPDATE: Daily Mail is reporting the following about Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia has placed 30,000 soldiers on its northern border after 2,500 Iraqi soldiers reportedly quit their posts, leaving the country open to the threat of a lightning advance by ISIS militants.

As a matter of fact, Jordan is prophesied to be devastated (except for Petra). From Jordan it is but a small matter to conquer Lebanon (a proxy of Syria anyway) and then attack Israel, which would pretty much be the Psalm 83 battle.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar believes ISIS (ISIL) will go to Jordan next also. Dr Kedar is a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University. He served in IDF Military Intelligence for 25 years, specializing in Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups and the Syrian domestic arena. He definitely has the intellectual chops and professional credibility to make such a call. He said,

ISIL has never concealed its intentions regarding Jordan, created, as were Iraq and Syria, by European colonialism, and therefore deserving to be eliminated. The name of the organization expresses is goals, because “al-Sham” is the Levant, and that area includes Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. In order to make its plans for Jordan obvious, the organization expanded its control in Iraq westward, up to the border between Iraq and Jordan, also conquering the border town of Turayvil. Its successes in Iraq and Syria awaken the “Jihadist adrenaline” in the marginal populations of Jordan and the demonstration in Ma’an expresses what is well-known: ISIS success draws the masses, especially those on the fringes of society, those who want to belong to something successful at last. And if this successful thing brings an end to a suppressive regime, it is an even more worthy group to join.

Of course it could all collapse tomorrow. Only God knows.

Drought: “Arizona’s largest city has gone four months without any measurable rain, and neighboring New Mexico is in the midst of four years of severe drought.”

Earthquakes: Quakes are still pounding Oklahoma.

USGS, Quakes this week, 2.5+

Big earthquakes double in 2014, but scientists say they’re not linked. (Sure….sure.) There is a a 65 percent increase compared to the rate of large quakes since 1979. (larger than magnitude 7).

We have recently experienced a period that has had one of the highest rates of great earthquakes ever recorded,” said lead study author Tom Parsons, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Menlo Park, California. But even though the global earthquake rate is on the rise, the number of quakes can still be explained by random chance, said Parsons and co-author Eric Geist, also a USGS researcher.

The disease Ebola is “out of control” in parts of West Africa. Remember, Ebola is the disease with an extremely high mortality rate that melts your insides. Mortality of those who contract the disease range from 34% to 70%. Compared to the previous influenza epidemics, which were less than 0.1%, the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic had a mortality rate of 2.5%. Now perhaps, with that comparison in mind, it is easier to envision this verse’s fulfillment:

“And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 8b)

Keep praying, keep loving each other, and keep looking up. Have a safe and Hurricane Arthur-free Fourth of July Holiday!

false teachers, jentezen franklin, joseph prince, mark driscoll, rick warren, vultures

Rick Warren on the lineup for Hillsong Conference 2015.

Posted on July 3, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A friend on Facebook posted this today:

“Mark Driscoll is appearing at Hillsong along with Rick Warren, Jentezen Franklin, and Joseph Prince. Are you still wondering if there is a problem?”

I wasn’t sure what he was referring to but a 1 minute search on Google brought up the Hillsong Sydney 2015 conference:

Source

Why yes, there is definitely a problem. Each of these men pictured above who lead churches have demonstrated non-orthodoxy either with their conduct and/or their theology.

But first let’s start with the venue, Hillsong Church.

Erin Benziger sums up the issue with Hillsong in this way:

Hillsong Church has been the subject of criticism not just for its seeker-sensitive, pragmatic methods of ministry, but also for its promotion of a form of the false Word Faith gospel. It is not unusual, in fact, for Hillsong’s massive conferences to feature prominent Word Faith leaders such as T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen. Below can be heard a critique of Brian Houston teaching earlier this year on the text of Matthew 7:13–14. This clearly demonstrates Houston’s ability to twist God’s Word beyond recognition:

And after the colon above there is a video demonstrating non-orthodox interpretations of the Matthew text.

Hillsong has also been the focus of financial scrutiny and official investigation.

Hillsong teaches word faith doctrines, prosperity gospels, and more. The church itself is not a solid church in that it can be said they consistently handle scripture incorrectly and teach unorthodox, non-evangelical teachings.

Todd Friel of Wretched Radio said, Be Careful of Hillsong. But he also said that if he was extended an invitation to go, would he go? He said if he was assured he could preach anything he wanted, and after telling the Hillsong organizers what he planned to preach if they still wanted him to come, he would. Why? Because Hillsong people need the Gospel. So are the preachers listed for the 2015 lineup solid preachers going with an intent to share the Gospel to a lost and wandering herd of sheep? No. Given the track record and long-term pattern of Franklin, Prince, Warren, and Driscoll, we cannot give that benefit of the doubt. Let’s take a look.

Joseph Prince is just purely, out and out, a false teacher. (source)

Rick Warren is a pragmatist, indeed, the description under his photo above lists him first and foremost as “a global strategist.” Warren is driven by fads and leads his church that way, prays to false gods, and fails to give the Gospel either totally, or at least clearly.

The issues with Mark Driscoll are so numerous they’d be impossible to list here on a short form, or even to list them all in one blog post. What I find most egregious about Driscoll’s unregenerate life are his demon trials, spiritual abuse, pornographic visions, plagiarism, and fiscal secrecy. To name just a very, very few.

There are problems with what Jentezen Franklin teaches and also with his approach to pastoring. In addition there are issues with who he associates with.

I posted the above about the men Hillsong has invited to their conference to show that is not about a wayward word-faith church trying to correct its course by inviting good men to preach, it is about an unregenerate church inviting unregenerate men to unite their rebellious hearts and minds in darkness.

To this end, a series of scriptures came to mind that to me seem linked.

False Christians are proactive in their self-delusion. The seek out and purposely find false teachers who preach a message that appeals to their craven hearts.

The false Christians with itching ears heap up teachers to themselves so their itching ears can be scratched. (2 Timothy 4:3)

And the false teachers are not innocent bystanders either. They do what they do because they are greedy. (2 Pet. 2:14, 1 Tim. 6:5).

And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:3)

Therefore, seeing an opportunity for dishonest gain, the false teachers and false prophets seek out and gather the false Christians with itching ears who are rushing toward them.

They meet.

“And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:37)

Now, the Luke verse and its parallel in Matthew 24:28 is a difficult one to exactly interpret. The context is the Tribulation. Jesus is preaching the signs of the times and the coming of the Kingdom. It cannot be specifically applied to a situation of false Christians heaping up false teachers who in turn exploit the false Christians who are happy to buy their false products and listen to their false message. The Expositor’s Greek Testament says of the vultures verse, “If we connect it with Matthew 24:27 the idea will be that Messiah’s judicial function will be as universal as His appearance (Meyer and Weiss).” That seems to be the general meaning.

But what I picture in my mind when envisioning such a conference as Hillsong 2015, is a lot of dead people being picked over by vultures.

Sermon Bible Commentary explains the parallel Matthew 24:28 verse:

The Law of Divine Judgment.

I. When a wild beast falls in the desert, or a beast of burden on the highway, there is no stir in the heavens [skies] for a time. But, far above human ken, the vulture is floating poised on his wings; and looking downwards his eye soon distinguishes the motionless thing—for he hunts by an eyesight unequalled in power among all living things, and like a stone he drops through miles of air. Others floating in the same upper region, see their brother’s descent and know its meaning. One dark speck after another grows swiftly from the horizon, and in a few minutes fifty vultures are round the carrion. That illustrates—and with astonishing power and sharpness—for the disciples had often witnessed such a scene—the suddenness, the usefulness and the necessity of judgment. Inevitable, swift, unerring, as the vulture’s descent on the carcase is the judgment-coming of the Son of Man to corrupt communities and corrupted men.

II. From all this we now infer the law of judgment. It is this: Wherever there is entire moral corruption then there is final punishment; wherever there is partial corruption, there is remedial punishment. God in His capacity as Governor of the world, as Educator of mankind, is bound to destroy corruption. It is necessary that the vultures should devour the carcase, lest it pollute the air and breed a pestilence. It is necessary that corrupted nations should be blotted out, lest they infect the world with evil which may delay the whole progress of mankind. And our own sense of justice goes with the destruction. Nor, when we are wise, do we think that such justice shows want of love. We know that the weak man who shrinks from exacting deserved punishment is often the most cruel when his own interests are touched; and we can trust ourselves in the hour of our trouble best to One whose justice we are so sure of, that we know that if our trouble was caused by wrong-doing He would make us feel that wrongness before He would relieve the trouble. S. A. Brooke, The Spirit of the Christian Life, p. 57.

It is hard to say who is more alive and who is more dead, this ever descending cycle of false Christians who are dead being the provision for the false teachers to feed on them, or the false teachers selling what the dead Christians want. It is hard to say where the vulture begins and their food ends or where the food begins and the vulture ends.

In Hosea 13:1 Hosea prophesies that Ephraim (Israel) used to be alive and exalted, “but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.“

In the New Testament we read of a similarly tragic situation.

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.“ (Revelation 3:1)

They look alive. But they are dead. They live, move, and breathe, but they are DEAD. The word dead in the Revelation verse is nekros, “unresponsive to life-giving influences (opportunities); inoperative to the things of God.”

So we see that an entire bunch of people can gather, sing praises to God, move, worship, wave hands, applaud approvingly, and be dead tot he things of God.