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cleon, ice storm, last days, prophecy, weather

Rare Weather Phenomenon Fills Grand Canyon with Fog; plus intensity limits of severe storms is increasing

Posted on December 5, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A study on Weather and the Bible shows just how much God is in control of it and how much He uses it for His purposes. Far from an indirect happenstance, all weather is causal, and originates with God.

Some of it is brought about by satan, insofar as God allows him. As the author of the Weather and the Bible page I mentioned above, Diane Dew states, “However, Satan’s efforts must pass divine approval and are limited to the extent God allows.“

For example, He sends the frost to kill the trees (Psalm 78:47) and He sends the dew to refresh the land (Genesis 27:28). He sends the dew even to refresh the people. (Numbers 11:9).

God sends the thunder and lighting and rain and floods and hail and wind, and well, everything. As we see above, He has purposes of building up and sustaining, and He has and purposes of tearing down. Sometimes it is to show His power and sometimes it is to bring about repentance.

Therefore every weather event is from God. However not every weather event is a word FROM God. Sometimes a tornado on a Monday in 1912 may have results of an impact God wanted to make on a Tuesday of 2013. We don’t know, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. (2 Peter 3:8).

However, there is one overarching fact about the weather and it ties in with the general curse of the world. Things will devolve. Things are always going to get worse over time. This includes sin. It includes the world’s curse. (Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 8:20, Hebrews 6:8). It includes weather.

We are told that in general, because the world is cursed and things will get worse, the end times will have worsening weather. The end times are between when Jesus ascended and when He comes back, including the last 7 years of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble AKA the Tribulation. (Hebrews 1:2, James 5:3). We are in the last days. But we have been since NT bible times.

The weather will get worse because the curse gets worse and everything is going to be like labor pangs. Labor pangs start off with a gestation, build to the moment of water breaking, and culminates in ever shortening pains. Then the bloody birth.

Luke 21:11 speaks of earthquakes, and Luke 21:25-26 speaks of roaring waters and signs in the heavens. Matthew 24:7 speaks of famines and Revelation 11:6 speaks of droughts. The Holman Bible Dictionary explains, “A famine is an extreme shortage of food, and a drought is an excessive dryness of land. The Bible reports or predicts the occurrence of several famines and droughts. Drought was the most common cause of famines mentioned in the Bible.”

I’ve long noted that increasingly, weathermen claim that unusual phenomena are occurring. They have used superlatives like “rare” and “never before seen.” They use terms like “unexpected”, and are often “perplexed” over why or how these weather things are happening. When they run out of superlatives, having reached the top level in descriptors, they double up in attempting to describe what they are seeing. In one recent case, the Joplin tornado, the rough and tumble weather man just stood there and cried, his mind unable to come up with fitting descriptions for the devastation he was seeing.

This is an example to me of prophecy coming alive. When we see people who are in the know (or who claim to be in the know) struggling to explain on the ground an event that was once something only theorized in textbooks, then it is indicative of something out of the norm of human experience. Prophecy is the intersection of the explainable and the supernatural. I believe we’re at that point now.

Regular readers will know that I keep track of how many earthquakes are occurring over time. Earthquakes are mentioned in many of the prophetic texts as the indicator of the last days, including Luke, Matthew, and Revelation. Jesus mentioned them as a sign. Hence my interest.

On the last day of each year, I post a long-term trend chart in seeing how many quakes have occurred that year in four different magnitudes, using US Geological Survey data and their norms. I started peeking into this year’s results in early November, as we are coming up on Dec 31st. Initially when I looked at the data at the beginning of November, the number of 5.0-5.9 quakes was very far below the annual average posted by USGS. However, that has picked up significantly. Whether we read or exceed the average number is unknown, as it is unknown as to what it means if we do (or don’t.) But here is where the number of quakes stands now, as of December 5, 2013. I’ll post the final chart on the 31st in the evening. Click to enlarge

In fact, here are two more examples of this intersection or the normal and the supernatural in terms of weather.

Found on My Modern Met: yet another rare, once in a decade event, happening twice in three days!

Rare Weather Phenomenon Fills Grand Canyon with Fog
What an awe-inspiring sight! A few days ago, on Friday, November 29, The Grand Canyon was taken over by a rare weather phenomenon that filled the entire canyon with a thick layer of fog. The occurrence, called a temperature inversion, caused everyone, including rangers, to flock to the rim to take photos of it. As the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook page stated, “Rangers wait for years to see it. Word spread like wildfire and most ran to the rim to photograph it. What a fantastic treat for all!” If you stayed just a few more days, you could see it again as it happened twice in three days! Visitors to the canyon both on Friday and Sunday were able to witness the stunning, once-in-a-decade event.

Photo: NPS Photo by Erin Whittaker

What does it mean that the rare, once-in-a-decade event occurs twice in three days? I believe it is the Lord speaking to us. Now, if that was the only event happening, that in itself is not indicative of anything, except maybe a furrowed brow and a verbal “huh.” However the totality of global events occurring which align with prophecy, are increasing like birth pangs, and are unusual by any standard, is of more interest and deserves some attention and meditation by Christians.

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

Here is another event, happening now as I write. The meteorologists are saying “epic storm!” (notice the use of superlative, epic). They are “predicting power outages to last “5-10 days in some areas!”

Epic Ice Storm Possible; Millions Could Lose Power

This winter storm is bringing record snow and record cold to a huge swathe of the middle of the US. They are describing the storm as crippling.

Was it only 10 months ago that another “historic” blizzard pounded New England? Nemo? Remember? (Feb 6, 2013).

How often has the new term ‘snowmageddon’ or ‘snowpocalypse’ been used lately? A lot, says Wikipedia.

North American blizzard of 2009 (Snowpocalypse)
February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard (Snowmageddon)
February 9–10, 2010 North American blizzard (Snowmageddon: Snoverkill)
February 25–27, 2010 North American blizzard (Snowicane)
December 2010 North American blizzard
January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American blizzard
February 2013 North American blizzard
Winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom

It’s obvious that increasingly the severe weather we are experiencing all over the globe is only getting worse. And we’re not done yet. Earth’s people have experienced the world’s biggest/worst storm, in October with typhoon Haiyan hitting the Philippines. The NBC Science News editor says:

“Experts say Typhoon Haiyan was about as strong as it could theoretically get when it swept through the Philippines, killing thousands of people and driving hundreds of thousands from their homes. But intensity limits have been rising over decades past — and climate models suggest they will keep rising over the decades to come, with the potential for bigger and more devastating storms.”

If you are in the path of this ice and snow storm named Cleon, please be careful and listen to the officials. I’ve already seen so many photos depicting empty shelves swept clean in a shopping frenzy, no bottled water, or bread. There have been fatalities and sorrow already, panic and anxiety. Be anxious for nothing, though, the Lord has the weather in His hands, and you as well.

encouragement, praise

A praise on the occasion of the tenth year anniversary of my salvation

Posted on December 4, 2013 by elizabethprata

Yesterday, ten years ago, I became a child of God.

In this modern, fast and furious age, ten years is a long time. It’s enough to become vested in a business’s pension fund. It’s a long marriage. It’s tenure. It’s an entire decade. Wow.

In Christianity, ten years is only enough to become acquainted with the depths of my sin and the fact that I know nothing. It’s enough to understand that understanding has just begun. It’s a tiny plod away from the ball and chain of my sin and toward the gates of heaven.

Yet ten years is an eternity. The moment I stepped over the threshold, salvation meant glory with Jesus forever, beginning at that moment on the floor of the office where I cried out to God, my heart’s defenses crumbling like Jericho. An eternity that began with the choice of Jesus to elect me to salvation and bring me to His bosom.

The depth of my gratitude knows no bounds. I can’t express it in words, paltry faltering words that are mere letters, squiggles really. What are words to compare to the glory and beauty of this wonderful Man-God who delivered Himself to death and rose again, for our sakes? Who left His heavenly abode to live three decades on a cursed earth, reaching out to His sheep? His mercy and His blessings and His love are overwhelming to me. And to think before I knew Him, I’d run away, mock, and scorn Him and His children. He is the Good Shepherd.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

What a change He has wrought in me! This is a change only He can do. My dark and gangrenous heart has been made new by Jesus. He surely is the Redeemer.

To redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:5).

I can’t say the entire ten years has been all-joy. Some of it meant heartbreak and hard truths and rejection. But it all has been amazing, because Jesus is amazing. He has never left me nor forsaken me. He is with me always and His spirit dwells richly in me.

“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

My love for him in return can’t match His incredible heavenly love, but what a pleasure to be able to thank Him in person someday.

“I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.” Psalm 35:18

curse, earth, planes, prophecy, rapture, to and fro, travel

Planes in the air, to and fro

Posted on December 4, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I saw a graphic on Thanksgiving Day and it struck me deeply. My jaw dropped open I think. Here it is. It is from Planes in the Air Now-

Now, tell me, what does that picture remind you of? Anything? Anything? How about this one?

Pic from Mark J Norman ‏Twitter handle, @markjnewsman, shot Nov 27 with the caption: “Penn Station is hell right now”:

It reminded me of the prophecy in Daniel 12:4,

“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.”

Speaking of to and fro, many people go back and forth on exactly what this prophecy means. I believe the consensus among scholars is similar to what Pulpit Commentary explains:

“Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. This is to be looked upon as a description of the last time, when circumstance shall remove the seal from the book. The translator of the Septuagint has been led away by the idea of the time as one of sorrow. The verb, however, translated “going to and fro” may be rendered, as it is by Ewald, as “to peruse.” The veil then shall be removed, the seals broken when men peruse the prophecy carefully, and knowledge is increased.”

Or as Gill’s explains,

“many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased; that is, towards the end of the time appointed, many persons will be stirred up to inquire into these things delivered in this book,”

Or as John MacArthur explains,

“run to and fro- The Hebrew movement always refers to the movement of a person searching for something. In the Tribulation, people will search for answers to the devastation and will discover increased knowledge through Daniel’s preserved book.”

However, in seeing the graphic of all the planes in the air over the US on Thanksgiving Day, and seeing the crammed people at Penn Station, it just strikes me how overburdened the earth is. I’m not talking overcrowding, like the eco-hippies talk about. I know there are many places with room to spare. But overburdened, as in sins piled up to heaven. Tottering sins piling up to heaven. I read Ezra’s prayer:

“saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.” (Ezra 9:6).

I read Isaiah 59:12, “For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:“

I think of all those planes and all those people crammed in at the station and I think of all that sin. All those sinners traveling to and fro, carrying their sin with them, and so many people and so much sin, the earth groans!

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Romans 8:19-22)

More people on the earth just means more and more sin.

Doesn’t it feel like the earth would be groaning under all that bursting pressure and sins and people and to and fro and activity and curse?

Sometimes I wonder how much more the balloon can be filled up before it pops. Seeing an airplane graphic like this one makes me wonder how soon the rapture will be here.

The promise of the glory that awaits is compelling. It draws my thoughts often. I so long to worship the risen Jesus in person, in glory, seeing Him full in the face! I can’t wait to sing with the brethren and the angels of His holiness and purity. Sure, I’m tired of this world and I’m tired of my own sin, but that’s not the total reason for all this longing. It’s to be with Jesus, in His place He has prepared for us! It is to finally sing hallelujah for His work on earth and praise and exalt Him to the utmost, with no sin nature in me to pollute it.

Scenes like these flood my thoughts:

“At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.” (Revelation 4:2-6)

O, that emerald rainbow!

Or this, in Revelation 5:11-12,

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

We will be there, singing with them someday! Singing TO the Risen Jesus.

When I drag my mind back from the heavenly scenes and think of all those planes in the air, pointlessly going to and fro for sinful reasons and craven reasons and all the sin we carry, who wouldn’t want to be in the purity of a heavenly abode, so beautiful?

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Someday it will be us in the air. Come soon, Lord Jesus.

Ahab, encouragement, prophecy

Ahab learned the hard way, you’re either all in, or all out. There’s no halfway

Posted on December 2, 2013 by elizabethprata

1 Kings 22. King Ahab of Israel wants to go to war.

Earlier, Ahab had truly repented in sackcloth and ashes, and the LORD saw that his heart was truly saddened for his sin. So God delayed the prophecy’s fulfillment that Ahab would die in battle and dogs will lick his blood until later in Ahab’s life.

Meanwhile, Ahab and Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, wanted to get the city of Ramoth-gilead back but they have to fight the king of Syria to do it. Ahab sought the prophets, who, of course, told Ahab exactly what he wanted to hear. Except for the real prophet, Micaiah, who delivered bad news. And of course Ahab went ballistic and ordered Micaiah to jail and Ahab decided to go to battle anyway.

“But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” (1 Kings 22:34)

However…

When Micaiah said that Ahab would die in battle against BenHadad, king of Syria, and all men would scatter like sheep, Ahab ignored the prophecy but still feared it. He disguised himself and told Jehoshaphat to keep on wearing his own royal robes. Yet a stray arrow shot at random still found its mark and wound its way into Ahab’s breastplate. Ahab died that night, and his blood covered his chariot and it had to be washed in the pool at Siloam, where, according to prophecy, the dogs licked Ahab’s blood.

The battlefield disguise made no difference to the LORD, who sees all things–

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

The notation in the verse about the randomness of the arrow shows just how powerful God is, it was no thing for Him to direct the arrow to pierce the fragile flesh of a man who feared God only as long as the prophecies were good to him.

Ahab should have listened to Micaiah, and he should have known that the Lord speaks truly and certainly. Fear the LORD fully, and you will do well.

God is all or nothing. He is truth, or He is not. He is all-powerful, or He is not. He sees all, or He does not. What is it in man who thinks we can out-wait, out wit, out-think a God such as this?

Ahab was in it part-way, and he lost all.

It’s foolish to fear God because He’s God, but then think a mere clothing disguise will prevent Him from seeing you. If He is the God who can make all things come to pass, a few inches of metal on your body aren’t enough to shield you from His eye nor His will. You either fear Him or you don’t fear Him, You either rebel in your own will or you accept His will. Ahab was playing a child’s game of costume Trick or Treat and he forgot God is the omniscient God of the eternal.

Remember, there is the broad way, and the narrow way. Foolish virgins and wise virgins. Heaven or hell. With Him or against Him. No ‘Bible PLUS tradition.’ There’s no tricks, no disguises, no argument. Read Matthew 7:21 to see how far the arguments carry.

Don’t be an Ahab. Fully embrace Him. And why not? Jesus is glory and beauty and truth and love and perfection.

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:3)

foxe's book of martyrs, martyrdom, Sunday martyr moment

Sunday Martyr Moment: "Cyprian to the beasts!"

Posted on December 1, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. According to this summary from Christian Book Summaries,

Writing in the mid-1500s, John Foxe was living in the midst of intense religious persecution at the hands of the dominant Roman Catholic Church. In graphic detail, he offers accounts of Christians being martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ, describing how God gave them extraordinary courage and stamina to endure unthinkable torture.

From the same link, the book’s purpose was fourfold:

Showcase the courage of true believers who have willingly taken a stand for Jesus Christ throughout the ages, even if it meant death,
Demonstrate the grace of God in the lives of those martyred for their faith,
Expose the ruthlessness of religious and political leaders as they sought to suppress those with differing beliefs,
Celebrate the courage of those who risked their lives to translate the Bible into the common language of the people.

Text from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

We have been looking at Chapter 2, the Ten Primitive Persecutions. Chapter 1 looked at the first persecutions, beginning with Stephen, and the Apostle’s and companions’ deaths and ending with Barnabas in AD 73.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs Chapter 2 is about the first generations of martyrs, from AD 73 to AD 303. This post represents an overview of part of the second half of the 8th persecution under Valerian, A.D. 257.

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

Source

In Africa the persecution raged with peculiar violence; many thousands received the crown of martyrdom, among whom the following were the most distinguished characters:

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, an eminent prelate, and a pious ornament of the Church. The brightness of his genius was tempered by the solidity of his judgment; and with all the accomplishments of the gentleman, he blended the virtues of a Christian. His doctrines were orthodox and pure; his language easy and elegant; and his manners graceful and winning: in fine, he was both the pious and polite preacher. In his youth he was educated in the principles of Gentilism, and having a considerable fortune, he lived in the very extravagance of splendor, and all the dignity of pomp.

“Carthage is a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia and was the centre of the Carthaginian Empire in antiquity. The city has existed for nearly 3,000 years, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC into the capital of an ancient empire.” Wikipedia

About the year 246, Coecilius, a Christian minister of Carthage, became the happy instrument of Cyprian’s conversion: on which account, and for the great love that he always afterward bore for the author of his conversion, he was termed Coecilius Cyprian. Previous to his baptism, he studied the Scriptures with care and being struck with the beauties of the truths they contained, he determined to practise the virtues therein recommended. Subsequent to his baptism, he sold his estate, distributed the money among the poor, dressed himself in plain attire, and commenced a life of austerity. He was soon after made a presbyter; and, being greatly admired for his virtues and works, on the death of Donatus, in A.D. 248, he was almost unanimously elected bishop of Carthage.

Cyprian’s care not only extended over Carthage, but to Numidia and Mauritania. In all his transactions he took great care to ask the advice of his clergy, knowing that unanimity alone could be of service to the Church, this being one of his maxims, “That the bishop was in the church, and the church in the bishop; so that unity can only be preserved by a close connexion between the pastor and his flock.”

Source

Left, Roman Carthage.
In A.D. 250, Cyprian was publicly proscribed by the emperor Decius, under the appellation of Coecilius Cyprian, bishop of the Christrians; and the universal cry of the pagans was, “Cyprian to the lions, Cyprian to the beasts.” The bishop, however, withdrew from the rage of the populace, and his effects were immediately confiscated. During his retirement, he wrote thirty pious and elegant letters to his flock; but several schisms that then crept into the Church, gave him great uneasiness. The rigor of the persecution abating, he returned to Carthage, and did everything in his power to expunge erroneous opinions. A terrible plague breaking out in Carthage, it was as usual, laid to the charge of the Christians; and the magistrates began to persecute accordingly, which occasioned an epistle from them to Cyprian, in answer to which he vindicates the cause of Christianity. A.D. 257, Cyprian was brought before the proconsul Aspasius Paturnus, who exiled him to a little city on the Lybian sea. On the death of this proconsul, he returned to Carthage, but was soon after seized, and carried before the new governor, who condemned him to be beheaded; which sentence was executed on the fourteenth of September, A.D. 258.

The disciples of Cyprian, martyred in this persecution, were Lucius, Flavian, Victoricus, Remus, Montanus, Julian, Primelus, and Donatian.

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

The lesson here is how quickly false doctrine attempts to gain entry. It never sleeps and it always crouches at the door. (Genesis 4:7). The moment Cyprian was in hiding, it came in with full force and caused division among the brethren. As lay-people we need to do our part in being students of the Word and prayerfully understanding of the precepts Jesus laid down. Deacons too. Don’t over-rely on the pastor for discernment or wisdom. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom to all who ask, with no reproach. (James 1:5). The overseer of the flock is important but we have our job to do as well. (Philippians 3:14, 2 Peter 1:5-7).

Have a blessed Lord’s day.

apostate, biblical resources, edification, GTY, heretic, macarthur, Paul Crouch, TBN

Paul Crouch, Founder of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) died

Posted on December 1, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

My first thought upon hearing this news was, “I wonder where he is.”

My second thought was, “I wonder if he’s surprised he got there.”

Paul Crouch was one of the world’s biggest heretics, and he used his network to spread the name of a false Jesus throughout the world. It’s amazing to see the outpouring on Twitter of people who are mourning his death and lauding his accomplishment. His “accomplishment,” such as it was, was to bring hell to the lost people of the world, packaged as a Prosperity Jesus, deluding millions and engendering despair and squandered hope. He besmirched the name of Jesus, doing many dark works by using His holy name as cover.

Christian Post wrote the following in August 2013,

10 Crazy Quotes From Televangelists

Paul Crouch made Christian Post’s list twice.

“Televangelists have a long history of saying embarrassing things on TV. The Bible teaches that the words we say reflect what is in our heart (Luke 6:45). So let’s take a look at ten of the crazy comments televangelists have made.”

Paul Crouch, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar teach that we are gods. Bible teacher Justin Peters says these religious leaders “demote God and deify man.”

1. “I am a little god. I have His name. I am one with Him. I’m in covenant relationship. I am a little god. Critics be gone!” says Paul Crouch.

Last year Brittany Koper, the granddaughter of Trinity Broadcasting Network founders Paul and Jan Crouch, sued her former attorneys and released damaging information about the TV network’s leadership. Following her lawsuit, this video was shown on TBN’s program Behind the Scenes. Paul Crouch says that he attended the funerals of two TBN critics.

2. Paul Crouch says: “God help anyone who would try to get in a way of TBN, which was God’s plan. I have attended the funeral of at least two people who tried.”

This next tidbit is from the Museum of Idolatry. It is not a doctored pic.

Paul Crouch flips off in Jerusalem

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But, this picture of Paul Crouch of TBN only brings two words to mind. But, only focusing on the hand gesture and missing the bigger offense is really easy to do and is like missing the forest because of a tree. To make sure that you don’t do that, ask yourself an important question regarding this photo:

What is MORE offensive, the hand gesture or the fact that Paul Crouch, a money grubbing charlatan con man who has made millions upon millions of dollars teaching rank heresy is wearing a clerical collar and broadcasting his flim flam from Jerusalem with the Temple Mount directly behind him?“

Before we all go misty-eyed over this man, let’s remember the harm he has done to the name of Jesus, and the harm he has done to the faith, and the harm he has done to the sheep.

Paul & Jan Crouch
celebrating 54 years of marriage. TBN photo

As Paul the Apostle said, “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.” (2 Timothy 4:14)

“Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.” (1 Timothy 5:15)

“Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,” (2 Timothy 2:17)

Let’s keep in perspective the damage that one man can do, his teaching spreading like gangrene across the world to infect the naive and unwary.

NPR has a thorough overview of his life,
Paul Crouch, Co-Founder Of Trinity Broadcasting Network, Dies

Many laud the Crouches for their broadcast network which is global. Paul and Jan Crouch started TBN in 1974 with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and it began broadcasting as KTBN-TV in 1977- the same year that John MacArthur’s Grace To You broadcast ministry was born.

Both broadcasters, TBN and GTY, broadcast in a variety of mediums, radio and tv, internet and satellite. Both purport to preach the gospel to the lost and dying world, but only one really does. Through the years, all four of TBN’s founders (Jan & Paul Crouch, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker) have come below reproach, having been exposed as possessing serious moral, ethical and doctrinal sins. As TBN started there was a falling out between the Crouches and the Bakkers and for control over TBN in the first place. It started with a fight for money and control.

John MacArthur and his people have been preaching verse-by-verse since 1969 and to a wider audience since 1977 and not one hint or whisper of any reproach has ever been charged against them. In addition, GTY has started the following resources, mostly free to any and all-

–The GraceLife Pulpit: The preaching of Phil Johnson (GTY Executive Director) and Mike Riccardi.
–The Master’s Academy International: Strategic support for theological and ministry training centers around the world.
–The Master’s College: Doctrinally sound, academically excellent, globally accessible.
–The Master’s Seminary: A seminary dedicated to training pastors and trainers of pastors.
–The Shepherds’ Conference: A conference aimed at equipping pastors and church leaders.
–Theological Resource Center: An organized approach to a wealth of Bible-centered resources.

Most of the resources listed above are freely accessible. Imagine, not even having to send seed money to get access. TBN has spawned nothing except reproach, doctrinal aberrations which confuse the seekers, and lucre-lined pockets for the Crouches, and a decided lack of transparency about where the donations go. (For example, they received $93 million in 2010).

TBN presents and supports a never-ending parade of circus acts in the form of charlatans and wolves fleecing the sheep, while GTY presents a never ending-array of solid, Godly men who lift up Jesus to the highest through biblical preaching and edification of the pure church. And they do it every day, globally; every year, thoughtfully, with no fanfare (and no scandal). What comes out of GTY are men trained through their programs and seminaries, multiplying the powerful word to a lost and dying world; and women and children edified by their teaching. What comes out of TBN is gangrene killing the tare-filled church.

You hadn’t known that GTY was a big as a success as TBN? That is because TBN is about TBN, and GTY is about Jesus.

Ezekiel 33:11 says that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. If anything this is an opportunity to take stock, to re-assess whether you have TBN on in the background of your home as you do housework, or that you still subscribe to it unthinkingly, or that you watch it at all. There is no good there. I hope that the Crouch family takes this opportunity to re-assess their way, and turn from it. I sincerely hope so.

The lesson here is that heresy comes in all packages. The lesson here is that humility comes in softly, unnoticed. The lesson here is of apostasy, and the damaging evil it brings. The lesson here is to always keep your eye and heart on Jesus, and to stay in the word so one does not go adrift. (Hebrews 2:1). I pray that when we’re called home through death or rapture, we are not surprised where we end up. Jesus prophesied,

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22-23)

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Good resources: (From GTY.org)

Grace Community Church: The church John MacArthur has pastored for more than four decades. Available here is verse-by-verse preaching through the entire New Testament, plus many OT texts.
Grace Advance: Helping develop and establish churches across the US and around the world.
The GraceLife Pulpit: The preaching of Phil Johnson (GTY Executive Director) and Mike Riccardi.
The Master’s Academy International: Strategic support for theological and ministry training centers around the world.
The Master’s College: Doctrinally sound, academically excellent, globally accessible. Many lectures are freely available to non-students
The Master’s Seminary: A seminary dedicated to training pastors and trainers of pastors. Links here for non-students to Web Resources, and Free Journal Resources
The Shepherds’ Conference: A conference aimed at equipping pastors and church leaders.
Strange Fire: a GTY/Truth Matters conference series, evaluates the doctrines, claims, and practices of the modern charismatic movement, and affirms the true Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. 19 free lectures, audio, video, or download
Theological Resource Center: An organized approach to a wealth of Bible-centered resources.

Rembrandt flash mob, how to use social media for Jesus, and snowflake

Posted on November 30, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The last few days has had some heavy duty discernment stuff that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so here is some fun stuff.

This essay was very helpful! I recommend it.

The Who, What And When Of Social Media
“Now, the Bible never talks about social media. Not one word. But it is full of principles that we need to apply to our social media habits. Without these guidelines, our social media use devolves into an unhelpful, “the hashtag for Twitter and Twitter for the hashtag” scenario (1 Cor. 6:13). It’s not enough to use social media the way it was meant to be used; it’s designed by people without God. How can we redeem our use of this form of communication so that it becomes a tool for Christian service and worship?”

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This next set of events happened back in April of this year. I love creativity!

Rijksmuseum Renovation Brings Back Masterpieces By Johannes Vermeer And Other Dutch Artists
“The Rijksmuseum, the National Museum of the Netherlands, is finally set to reopen to the public, with Rembrandt van Rijn’s masterpiece “The Night Watch” reclaiming its place of pride. The giant painting hangs in the same central position it did before an epic, decade long, (EURO)375 million ($480 million) makeover, flanked by works by Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and thousands of other Dutch cultural and artistic artifacts.”

In order to celebrate the re-opening of this wonderful museum, they staged a flashmob who re-enacted the events in Rembrandt’s famous “Night Watch” painting. It’s really good, see:

Here are a couple more stories about the flashmob.

Rembrandt Flashmob: Guards of the Night

Actors Restage Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” in Mall

And here is a link to the Dutch Museum, Rijksmuseum

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Imagine, God makes every snowflake different. If one snowflake is this beautiful, how gorgeous will heaven be?

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— (1 Corinthians 2:9)

discernment, mark driscoll, merchandise, wolf

The worst thing I’ve ever heard a husband say about his wife: plus, Mark Driscoll and the evangelical industrial complex

Posted on November 29, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Mars Hill church

I’ve written about Mark Driscoll twice in the last week. I promise this won’t become the Mark Driscoll blog, but it seems the Holy Spirit offers me a moment of critical mass, when all of a sudden, the qualms and concerns I’ve had about a particular preacher or writer is enough. And with Mark Driscoll, enough is enough.

I wrote about his self-described (pseudo)-suffering here, whereupon I compared his published list of personal woes to real martyrs’ suffering. I also wrote about him here, where I looked at his plagiarism and other bad fruits, and asked the question, ‘Does the fruit of Mark Driscoll’s works show he is a false pastor and a wolf?” (Answer, yes).

In that second essay, I listed many examples of a man in a downward spiral, who clearly does not have the Holy Spirit in him and yet is given pass after pass for wild and ungodly behavior against the church, against his sheep, and against Jesus. I’d queried the interwebs in a non-rhetorical question, ‘at what point does the visible church collect its God-given discernment and place a pastor like Mark Driscoll in the wolf category?’

After the initial charge of plagiarism surfaced on the Janet Mefferd show, a second (and third) round surfaced a couple of days later on the same show. Ms Mefferd offered verbal and .pdf proof that there was more plagiarism, this time, not just similar concept, tone, and language, but word-for-word lifting. Mark Driscoll’s book “Trial: 8 Witnesses from 1 & 2 Peter” had on pages 7 & 8 whole word-for-word paragraphs from different pages that were published in D.A. Carson et al “1 Peter,” New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, Ed. D. A. Carson, 4th ed. (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), p. 1370. You can see the evidence here.

Janet Mefferd
public Facebook profile

It is plain and clear that the bible says men who are called to pastor should be shepherds after Jesus’s own heart (Jeremiah 3:15). It is also plain and clear that they are held to an extremely high standard: they must be above reproach. (Titus 1:6; 1 Timothy 3:2). Above reproach in the Greek word as it’s used in the NT means blameless, not convictable when a person is properly scrutinized. GotQuestions explains ‘above reproach’ in our terms,

“The dictionary defines “reproach” as shame or disgrace or that which brings rebuke or censure upon a person. The Bible speaks of being “above reproach” or “blameless” as one of the distinctive marks of those who aspire to the office of elder or deacon within the church (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6-7). As such, their work for the church, as well as their interactions with others, are to be of such moral quality that they do not bring shame or in any way disgrace the body of Christ or the name of Jesus. This holds true not only within the church, but outside it as well.”

In other words, if you were to look closely at a pastor’s life, there would be nothing you could accuse him or or call him to account over.

This is obviously not the case with Mark Driscoll. He is almost constantly reproved for some kind of bad behavior or other. There have been moral failings, ethical breaches, spiritual irreverence and doctrinal error. He has been counseled by elders of the faith and has ignored their counsel, demonstrating a refusal to submit to authority. The specifics are at this link. Though the sheep bleat and bleat, Mr Driscoll remains, seemingly impervious to the attempts to lever leviathan from his place.

Of all the perplexing and ruinous behaviors in that list which Mr Driscoll has evidenced, there is one which affronts me greatly. It is the modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. That term was created and expounded upon by Dr John MacArthur in his sermon of the same title delivered in 2011. He had become concerned with the modern mystics (of which Driscoll is one) who claim to receive direct visions and revelation from the Holy Spirit, but which in fact are demonic. Here is Dr MacArthur’s explanation of how and why the modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is so deadly:

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Wikipedia, Press photo

I’m not here to defend the Holy Spirit, He can defend Himself. But I am here to say that reproaches that are falling on His holy name are falling on me as well, and mostly this comes in the professing church from Pentecostals and Charismatics who feel they have free license to abuse the Holy Spirit and even blaspheme His holy name. And they do it constantly.

How do they do it? By attributing to the Holy Spirit words that He didn’t say, deeds that He didn’t do, and experiences that He didn’t produce, attributing to the Holy Spirit that which is not the work of the Holy Spirit. Endless human experiences, emotional experiences, bizarre experiences and demonic experiences are said to come from the Holy Spirit…visions, revelations, voices from heaven, messages from the Spirit through transcendental means, dreams, speaking in tongues, prophecies, out of body experiences, trips to heaven, anointings, miracles. All false, all lies, all deceptions attributed falsely to the Holy Spirit.

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Mr Driscoll has famously said “I see things” in which he claims all of the above. He claims that the Holy Spirit allows him to view sexual fornication in graphic detail as it happens, ‘like a movie.’ I am astounded the entire Church did not come down on his head in resounding reproaches for making that statement, because it is gross, blasphemous and entirely demonic. Pastor Phil Johnson aptly called Driscoll’s statement, “pornographic divination.”

Yet Driscoll’s claim stood, and like all demonic lies, it was not the first time he has made the claim. In researching this week about the claims of his plagiarism, I came across an excerpt from his book, Real Marriage, published at the beginning of 2012. It is a marital advice book in which the Driscolls reveal graphic details about their own marriage and weave those personal revelations with advice for other couples. I do not recommend the book.

Grace Driscoll
Source- Mars Hill Press Kit

In that book, Mr Driscoll reveals the following:

One night, as we approached the birth of our first child, Ashley, and the launch of our church, I had a dream in which I saw some things that shook me to my core. I saw in painful detail Grace sinning sexually during a senior trip she took after high school when we had just started dating. It was so clear it was like watching a film — something I cannot really explain but the kind of revelation I sometimes receive. I awoke, threw up, and spent the rest of the night sitting on our couch, praying, hoping it was untrue, and waiting for her to wake up so I could ask her. I asked her if it was true, fearing the answer. Yes, she confessed, it was. Grace started weeping and trying to apologize for lying to me, but I honestly don’t remember the details of the conversation, as I was shell-shocked. Had I known about this sin, I would not have married her.” (p. 11-12, Real Marriage)

Here is a pastor who claims to have the Holy Spirit inside him and claims this Pure Spirit allows him to view other people engaged in sexual congress ‘like a movie.” I find his claim makes me want to throw up. It is completely impossible that the Spirit of all holiness would place pornographic pictures in Driscoll’s head, and voyeuristically, of other people no less. How is this any different from simply putting in a real porn movie and watching it? But Driscoll claims this is a gift from the Holy Spirit. His statement is a true and explicit example of the modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This alone should cause enough warrant to remove Driscoll from pastoring. But wait, it gets worse.

As a Christian, Driscoll says that this demonically delivered porn vision would have been the reason he would have chosen not to marry his wife. However, we rely on the bible to make decisions, not experiences or visions. Every time someone received a vision and decisively went forward on the basis of that, it turned out to be hell itself (Mormonism, Islam, etc). He is showing the entire church through his published book that it is acceptable and holy to receive porn visions, and worse, that it is proper to make decisions based on those visions, and not the bible.

Third, as a husband, he throws aside the sovereignty of God in making the claim that the sexual visions he claims to have had would be enough reason for him not to marry her. That he did marry her is evidence of the sovereignty of God. If God had not wanted Driscoll to marry his wife Grace, he would not have. That he had been married to her for years by the time this vision entered his brain is evidence that this is the woman God has intended him to marry. It should be noted that Driscoll states he was not a virgin when they married, either. Moreover, it is the worst thing I’ve even heard a husband say about his wife, made all the worse because it is in print, and online, forever.

Can you picture Christ saying that about a sinning woman? No. Look what Jesus did say to sinning women: John 8:11, John 4:16-25, Luke 8:2. This is why Driscoll is not a shepherd after Jesus’s own heart.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, (Ephesians 5:25)

Carl Trueman made an interesting statement in between the different claims of alleged Driscoll plagiarism that surfaced over the last week. In his short but pointed essay called Judge for Yourselves, Mr Trueman said,

“This could well prove an interesting test case for the ethical stature of conservative evangelicalism. Is there an evangelical industrial complex out there or is there a morality which transcends and ultimately regulates the evangelical marketplace?“

Ms Mefferd reported that Tyndale, who published Driscoll’s A Call to Resurgence, has committed with Driscoll to publish more of his books in a new imprint called Resurgence Publishing. Last February Driscoll announced,

“We’ve reached an agreement with Tyndale House Publishers to publish numerous titles under a new imprint called Resurgence Publishing (the last two books with the Re:Lit name will be released this spring). Tyndale will publish all of my (Pastor Mark’s) work moving forward, in addition to other Resurgence authors whom we’ll announce in the coming months. We’ll kick things off this fall with the launch of my next book.”

This week, Driscoll’s publisher Tyndale said that they have examined the alleged plagiarism evidence and are fine with everything. Everything is hunky dory, please disperse.

“Tyndale House takes any accusation of plagiarism seriously and has therefore conducted a thorough in-house review of the original material and sources provided by the author. After this review we feel confident that the content in question has been properly cited in the printed book and conforms to market standards.” (source)

So we have Mr Trueman’s answer. The “evangelical industrial complex” is alive and well, machinery grinding our doctrine, the sheep, and lucre-seeking pastors and all, in the ever-eternal pursuit of money.

Discerning book buyers have long wondered why LifeWay continues to publish obvious heretics such as Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers and the like. Offering heretical books to the sheep for money seems a bad trade compared to the treasures Jesus said are stored up for us. And now Publishing House Tyndale’s weird response to blatant plagiarism is another head-scratching moment in our apostatizing church. Why?

Because Mark Driscoll as merchandise has become more valuable to the money making church than Mark Driscoll as godly pastor is to the ever sanctifying church.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; (1 Peter 5:2)

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:3)

cornucopia, encouragement, horn of plenty

Happy Thanksgiving: Jesus is the horn of plenty

Posted on November 28, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Romans 8:14-17:

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The Westminster Larger Catechism succinctly explains the verse’s benefits of this adoption as sons of God-

What is adoption?
“A. Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are received into the number of his children, have his name put upon them, the Spirit of his Son given to them, are under his fatherly care and dispensations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow-heirs with Christ in glory.“

Think of that for a moment…how great and bountiful this gift is.

At Thanksgiving we often see the American symbol of the ‘horn of plenty’ also known as the Cornucopia. The horn is filled to overflowing with harvest items from this time of year, such as this depiction from American Greetings freebies:

Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are given gifts from HIS harvest of plenty. Picture the overflowing cornucopia of plenty from Jesus with His harvest treasures:

–received into the number of his children,
–have his name put upon them,
–the Spirit of his Son given to them,
–are under his fatherly care and dispensations,
–admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God,
–made heirs of all the promises, and
–fellow-heirs with Christ in glory.

All Christians have these and so much more to be thankful for. I know I am grateful for the opportunity to be grateful to Jesus forever.

desktop wallpaper, giotto, the ascension

A blog full of visuals for the brain tired of reading

Posted on November 27, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Vacation! Here is blog lite.

I found this cartoon on twitter, Michael A Nöthem’s stream (@mikandynothem)

Below is created by Eric Novak from Chicago, IL. HT Challies Desktop resources.

Below, Elizabeth Prata collage art

Watercolor by EPrata. One Christmas vacation in FL I bought a pack of index cards and a kids’ dot paint set for my own amusement. I wanted to see how many different designs I could produce with the same materials, just to challenge my creativity.

Now for some real art: Just gaze at the pretty

Camille, Monet’s first wife, is shown with a child in the garden
of their house in Argenteuil, near Paris,
where they lived between 1872 and 1877. Claude Monet

The Ascension, 1305, Giotto