Posted in meteors, signs in the sun and the moon and the stars

Meteor in Spain seen by whole country

Posted on by elizabethprata

From Rusia Today–

Ball of fire lights up skies above Spain (VIDEO)
A brilliant ball of flame streaked across the sky above the Spanish capital Madrid, dazzling stargazers and astronomers alike. The celestial display was so bright it could be seen across the entire country. The eye-popping moment was caught on camera by the Hita Observatory at the University of Huelva at around 11:45pm local time (2145 GMT). The object struck the atmosphere above the Villamuelas district in the province of Toledo, southwest of Madrid. “The impact was so abrupt that the object immediately caught fire, creating a ball of flame around 100 kilometers above the Earth,” Jose Maria Madiedo of the University of Huelva told the Huffington Post. The meteor then shot towards Madrid at over 75,000 kilometers an hour before disintegrating completely at an altitude of 70 kilometers.”

More at Russia Today.

It could be seen across the entire country??!! Wow.

I had written in March 2013 in an article titled “Are There More Meteors?” that yes, there are more meteors. You can go to that link to see the graphs of data showing that meteor sightings are waaaay up.

Psalm 147:4 says that God knows the names of each and every star in the heavens. With that kind of intellect, and that kind of detail regarding the celestial realms, we do not wonder if the increase in meteors is unknown to God. We do not wonder if the meteors and asteroids and comets are coincidences. They are signs from God. Nothing is an accident.

During the UNcreation which will occur in the Tribulation, there will be many signs in the sky. Luke 21:25 says,

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,”

During that time, the sun will partially be darkened (Revelation 8:12, Isaiah 13:10, ‘a third of the sun shall be darkened’) and also a third of the moon and a third of the stars.

Joel 2:31 & Revelation 6:12 says the moon shall turn to blood.

For a while during the Tribulation the sun will become so hot it will scorch men. (Revelation 16:8)

Later in the Tribulation the sun will go out.(Mark 13:24). Luke 21:26 says that people will faint in fear for the ‘heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

God says in Joel 2:30 “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.”

He will show wonders… if He will show wonders then, and controls the entire universe to the degree that He does, isn’t it likely that the show of meteors and bolides and asteroids and comets are also His work? And that He is showing His power but also His compassion in revealing Himself in this way so that we might be mindful of HIM and repent? I do believe this is the case.

Please understand that God is real, he knows each and every thought in each and every heart of each and every person alive or dead. He is holy and sin angers Him. He is angry every day over sin!

“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11)

That means He is angry every day over each and every person who has not repented and believed in the Son, Jesus Christ. God is not angry with those who are in His family because He has declared them righteous and justified. But those who reject the Son, are still in their sins and He is displaying His wrath each and every day. Please consider the sweetness of being part of God’s family in love and the danger and eternal destruction that awaits being apart from God in wrath. He is sending signs of His power. Please heed them…

Posted in boston marathon explosion, evil, suffering

God is not our therapist, and why is there suffering and evil?

Posted on by elizabethprata

T.M. Luhrmann wrote an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times Sunday. It is called, “When God Is Your Therapist.” It is a devastating indictment on our faith from someone who is actually not trying to be devastating.

Apparently Ms Luhrmann spends time in a couple of Protestant churches, trying to make sense of it all. She has attended long enough as a curious outsider to have formed some opinions about what Christians are all about, who God is to us, and why. None of her opinions are correct if looking at the bible. All of her opinions are correct based on who the emergent, therapeutic, touchy-feely, ‘God is your boyfriend’  crowd presents to the world. It is so, so, so, so sad.

All Ms Luhrmann wants to know are the same things that have haunted people for eons: why is there evil? Why does God allow it? Why do bad things happen to good people? She wrote,

“I saw the same thing at another church, where a young couple lost a child in a late miscarriage. Some months later I spent several hours with them. Clearly numbed, they told me they did not understand why God had allowed the child to die. But they never gave a theological explanation for what happened.”

Those questions can be answered theologically, and that is what she wanted. She did not want an emotional answer. She is perplexed by the constant references to emotion when talking about God. Hence the name of the piece, God as therapist.

Relying on God as therapist does NOT equip us to answer the question as to why these things happen. Relying on God as therapist does NOT equip us enough to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit to grow in truth. We see the deficiencies of such a limited relationship when things like the bombings at the Boston Marathon happen.

Her editorial comes at a precise time when we ask those series of questions again. The US has seen horrifying violence such as the Aurora CO movie shootings and the Sandy Hook CT kindergarten shootings. Today, there were bombings in Boston and many are injured and several have been killed. After Aurora, Pastor Lee Strobel delivered a sermon titled–

Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering?

There IS a theological answer. Christians whose go-to position is ‘feel God’ instead of ‘know God’ do an eternal disservice to people like Luhrmann and others who want solid answers to these questions. That is why we need to be able to give an answer to all who ask for the reason that we have this hope inside us. (1 Peter 3:15).

Strobel said in his sermon, which is once again sadly applicable to today given the bombings in Boston,

“That “why” question goes back thousands of years. It was asked in the Old Testament by Job and the writers of the Psalms, and it was especially relevant during the 20th century, where we witnessed two World Wars, the Holocaust, genocides in the Soviet Union and China, devastating famines in Africa, the killing fields of Cambodia, the emergence of AIDS, the genocide in Rwanda and the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo. And the 21st Century didn’t start any better. There was 9/11 and now the Syrian slaughters, and on and on. Why all of this if there’s a loving and powerful God? Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Strobel continues with five ‘points of light’ in explaining why there is suffering in general. I encourage you to read his sermon after today’s events, especially.

We do our unsaved neighbors such a disservice by changing Yahweh into a therapist. He is not there to talk to when we feel low and need a pick me up, or to ‘hang out with’ as one of Luhrmann’s pastors said. He revealed Himself in the bible and it is important for us to read it so we know of Whom we speak when giving an answer to those who ask.

Yes, I do feel better when I pray or I read the word but that is not because God is a therapy I go to in order to sort out my feelings. It is because I know of Him enough to know He is sovereign and in control and works all to the good for those who love Him. I know His attributes by having read of Him in His revelation. I want to know God as God and not as a tool in my ever-enlarging toolbox of pick-me-ups. God is not the same as a comedy show or chocolate.

Please read your bible. Get into a good church. Plan to study with someone more mature than yourself. In any way, engage with God as God, not as therapy. The more you study Him the more you will know him. The more you know Him the more you will want to share Him with others. I hope Ms Luhrmann gets the answers she is looking for and I hope the people in her church do too, even though they are not looking. Stay away from the God as your therapist, and learn about the the real Jesus, the Jesus you can’t ignore.

Posted in rapture

Picture of the rapture

Posted on by elizabethprata

Just a thought…

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:51-53)

The photo above was from an old historic, overgrown Georgia cemetery I’d ambled one fine day in the early spring. I saw the burst-open tomb. It reminded me of the verse above, and also of the blessed day when we will be changed, and the dead shall be raised-

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
1 Corinthians 15:51-55

That wonderful day is one day closer today than it was yesterday! Soon, my friends, soon!

Posted in anne frank, belieber, justin bieber

Was Anne Frank a ‘belieber’? Justin Bieber hopes so

Posted on by elizabethprata

On the Facebook Anne Frank page, museum curators wrote the following today,

“Yesterday night Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House, together with his friends and guards. Fans were waiting outside to see a glimpse of him. He stayed more than an hour in the museum. In our guestbook he wrote: “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.” Tonight Bieber will give a concert in Arnhem in the Netherlands.”

The newspaper The Scotsman reported,

Justin Bieber pays bizarre tribute to Anne Frank
Published on Sunday 14 April 2013 14:19

TENNAGE pop singer Justin Bieber has sparked controversy after writing a message in the Anne Frank house guestbook saying that he hoped she would have been a fan of his music. The 19-year-old is due to perform tonight in Arnhem, around an hour from Amsterdam, where the Anne Frank House is situated, and visited the museum on Saturday night. Staff from the museum wrote on their Facebook page: “Yesterday night Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House, together with his friends and guards. “Fans were waiting outside to see a glimpse of him. He stayed more than an hour in the museum. “In our guestbook he wrote: ‘Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.’” A ‘Belieber’ is the name given to the singer’s fans.

Facebook comment responses were negative. Some wrote,

“Glad he went, but, the last sentence is VERY self serving. he missed the lessons of Anne totally.”

“Way to turn an inspiring moment into something about yourself.”

“Here I thought it was nice of him to go and see the history of her until I read what he wrote. Have some respect Mr. Bieber for she will be famous long after your fame fizzles.”

“I agree with Christel and Meghan, his comments were shallow and self-serving. He obviously has no clue what a solemn opportunity he had in visiting The House.”

As a believer in Jesus Christ we cannot condemn the behavior of those who do not believe. That is the way they act. However I would think that in any solemn occasion that even non-believers would behave with a modicum of maturity the situation is due.

However the bigger issue is the co-opting of the word believer from Christianity to draw people to himself as an object of adoration. Only Jesus is worthy of adoration, and I am truly sorry on behalf of Jesus and His name that the world is more often turning into a pit of self-serving adoration among the carnally-minded.

I wrote in part yesterday about the flatteries that satan puts forth, and biggest one at present being the notion that we are like God. (Genesis 3:5). Lying prophets are constantly telling us that we have rights, (we’re slaves, we don’t)  we can make demands of God, (really?! Did that work out for Korah?) we can expect carnal prosperity (tell that to all the believers in India) and that we have power in our words to declare realities, even declaring ourselves clean and can stop God’s plans. They tell us that our words can a bind God and that means what they are telling us is that we are equal to or more powerful than God. The lies are amazing in their monumental falsity and evil.

The modicum of civility is fast disappearing. The veneer over civilization has always been thin thanks to the thick layer of sin that totally saturates unbelievers and permeates even the believers.

Proverbs 16:18 says Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.. I can’t imagine how empty Mr Bieber must feel, so self-absorbed he could not even connect for a moment with the plight of a girl from another era who now stands as a symbol of courage under persecution. Always remember, our unsaved neighbors need prayer. Mr Bieber’s comment was reprehensible, but it also indicates an empty spirit devoid of meaning. He needs Jesus, as do all who are apart from Him.

Posted in grace, martyr

Sunday Martyr Moment

Posted on by elizabethprata

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

Wiki photo of John Foxe, 1517-1587

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.

It is very affecting. I am so humbled by the descriptions of the martyrs since the earliest moments of our faith. As I go to worship on Sunday I think of them as Paul often depicted, running a race. It is a relay race and they hand the baton to the next generation, the baton being the word of the Lord as contained in the bible. The martyrs receive the Crown of Life! I can’t wait for the ceremony when they are called up front by Jesus to be acknowledged for their ultimate sacrifice, yet those who lay down their life will receive it. (Matthew 16:25)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)

I can only read a bit at a time, because the stories of persecution are so powerfully evil, the demonstration of faith so humbling, and the grace bestowed upon martyrs so beautiful. But that’s good though, I hope it takes me a lifetime to read of the stories of my brethren.

Foxe starts with the first martyr, Stephen, and collects the martyrs’ stories into the ages. Foxe has a section on the Inquisition, and the updated book has modern martyrs also. Please stay with me on Sundays as I share stories of life and death, faith and evil, and the grace of Jesus. The book blurb says Foxe wanted us to remember the martyrs, ‘for he knew the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church’. It is good to remember.

I’ll type out the passage from my book which is the updated version.

The second person to suffer and die for the church (after Jesus, who was not a martyr) was Stephen, whose name means ‘crown.’ (Acts 6-8).  He was martyred because of the faithful way in which he had proclaimed the Gospel to those who had killed Jesus. They became so enraged at what he sad to them that they drove him out of the city and stoned him to death. Stephen’s martyrdom came about 8 years after his Lord’s crucifixion, which would place his death in the year A.D. 35, since it was supposed that Jesus was actually born in about 6 B.C, two years before Herod the Great dies in 4 B.C. (See Matthew 2:16).

The same hate generated against Stephen apparently brought great persecution to all who professed faith in Christ as Messiah. Luke writes,

“And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ” (Acts 8:1b).

During that time about two thousand Christians were martyred, including Nicanor, who was one of the seven deacons appointed by the Church (Acts 6:5).

Thank you Stephen, thank you Nicanor. I will meet you, my brothers, in eternity’s New Jerusalem after the rapture.

Posted in delusion, false prophets

Why there are so many false prophets?

Posted on by elizabethprata

There is a sweeping delusion racing at tsunami speed across the world today. It is not the verses at 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11, but it is related. The delusion is that we are little gods, with power in our words to shape reality and thus to be like God.

The Tribulation will arrive when the restrainer is out of the way.

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-11)

But for now, the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. First let’s look at the indicators of this terrible precursor of how the lawlessness is appearing.

On the Asian continent there is a man called Joseph Prince. He is 50 years old, and is the senior pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore, one of Asia’s biggest churches. His website states that 30,000 attend weekly. His TV program Destined to Reign is broadcast in more than 150 countries. He has preached at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood facility in Houston, at Hillsong’s facility in Australia, as well as in South Africa at the Two Days of Hope Conference. Joseph Prince is big.

Joseph Prince’s teachings are bad.

He is a rising star in the Word of Faith movement but has been more successful in crossing over into conservative evangelicalism, says Pastor and discernment specialist Justin Peters.

“He is very articulate. He goes deeper than Joel Osteen, deeper than Osteen’s happy talk and platitudes. He has some working knowledge of the biblical languages. A lot of people who want to go deeper than Osteen, they turn to Joseph Prince. He takes many things out of context and flat out stating things as fact that factually are not true. He twists the doctrine of grace, takes it to extremes, often been charged with being antinomian (against the Law), holding a distorted view of grace, preaches easy beliefism along with the prosperity gospel. He is definitely a false teacher.” (source)

Here is a specific example of how Prince distorts grace. Prince was on stage with Joel Osteen and Osteen’s wife Victoria on TBN television in October 2012. There, Prince misdefined repentance. He said,

“The word repentance is from the Greek word metanoia, which literally means change your mind. Preaching the word without using the word repentance, people’s minds are being changed all the time From thinking negatively to thinking positively.”

So in effect Prince was teaching that if we go from being a negative thinker to a positive thinker, we have repented. Mr Peters explains Prince’s mistake in the clip I’d linked to above that,

“there is a grain of truth there. The word repent does come from the Greek metanoia and it does mean to change one’s mind. But it’s not from going from pessimist to optimist. Genuine repentance is a change of mind but it is granted by God and results in a change in your heart, in your whole being. Not just being a more optimistic person but an acknowledgement of being a sinner, that sin is heinous, and understanding the holiness of God. When God grants repentance, our mind changes and our heart changes. There is a fruit from that repentance. John said we will bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Not that we work to repent but when God grants it there will be fruit in our lives appropriate with repentance. Prince has a minimalistic and distorted view of repentance.” (Source, Peters above).

Here comes the part of the precursor to the antichrist’s lie (that he is God and deludes the whole world). Joseph Prince preaches that you can pronounce yourself clean. In his devotional this week, he wrote,

“You see, as believers, when we received Jesus, His blood cleansed us from sin as well as sickness. (Isaiah 53:4–5) But we keep hearing people pronounce sin, sickness, poverty and death over us. We keep hearing people tell us that we are unclean, undeserving, poor, weak, and that it is only natural that we grow old and sickly, and die. God is waiting for a priesthood that will rise up and pronounce His people clean!”

First: Jesus did not clean us from sin and sickness. He forgave our sins, and He cleaned us from the influence of sin and sickness. Only Jesus is free from sin and sickness. We won’t be free from sin and sickness until we receive our resurrected body at the rapture. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit now on earth, to help us resist sin. We are not free yet because we live in the same sinful flesh as we lived in when we were born and before we came into repentance and into Christ’s atoning kingdom. Philippians 1:29 reminds us that it has been granted to us to suffer. So does Peter in 1 Peter 4:12. There are many verses which remind us that it is our portion to suffer these things.

Second: I don’t hear ‘people’ telling me I am poor, weak and unclean. I don’t go around telling my friends they are poor, weak, or unclean. I usually tell them they are great, smart, successful and powerful. And they tell me the same. It is what people do. Who I actually hear telling me I am poor, weak, and unclean is Jesus, in the bible. His word tells us that we are these things, even after salvation. Yes, post-salvation we’re His children, heirs of His kingdom, but we are not free from sin yet, and therefore not free from its effects. Moreover, we still live on a sinful earth with all its accumulated effects of sin. While we are on earth, we remain conscious of our sins. If we were free from sin, why would we need to pick up our cross daily (Matthew 16:24).

Spurgeon said,

“EVERY new man is two men—every Believer in Christ is what he was and not what he was—the old nature and the new nature exist at the same time in each regenerate individual. That old nature the Apostle calls a man, because it is a complete manhood after the image of fallen Adam. It has the desires, the judgment, the mind, the thoughts, the language and the action of man as he is in his rebellious estate. He calls it the “old man,” because it is as old as Eden’s first transgression.”

Third: God does not wait for people to do things before He can get on with His plan. God is sovereign, He does what He wills, when He desires. (Psalm 115:3).

So you can see that Mr Prince has taken verses out of context and preached that our words have a power that they do not have. We are not little gods, pronouncing each other clean. Prince concludes his scripture twist by claiming: “God has cleansed you, so pronounce yourself clean! Right now, put your hand on your heart and pronounce good things over yourself. Say, “I pronounce myself clean, righteous, healed, whole and prosperous by the blood of Jesus!” By your word as a king-priest, every assault against you shall be settled!”

By His standard, we should be able to life a teflon life, impervious to the effects of sin, never having a sickness and prospering in all we do. That is some power that Prince ascribes to us, some grand power! That is the power of God, in fact, and it is the lie. We do not have that power. Satan wants us to think we are like God. He said in the beginning, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5).

Satan is deluding great swathes of peoples that they have God’s power to pronounce things that only God pronounces and thus be like God. That is the lie that is coming out of Asia.

On our continent we have a plethora of false prophets declaring that if we but speak with enough faith we can stop God’s plan and so doing be like little gods. Joel Osteen makes that claim. He explained in one of his motivational speeches he delivers weekly from the Lakewood facility in Houston, that:

Such power this puny human has! I can stop God’s plan with a few “negative words”! Osteen codified his false doctrine in his new book titled “I Declare”, stating, “Now you can take charge of your future with the help of Joel Osteen’s latest book-I Declare.”

However, God’s word says we are slaves. We are either slaves of sin or slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:16-18.) Slaves cannot and do not ‘take charge’ of their own future. God is in charge of that.

Angus Buchan is another person who preaches a false message. His story is heartbreaking because unlike some others who know they are lying, it seems that Buchan is wholly sincere and likely unaware of his falsity. His message is sweeping Africa. He preaches kingdom now, revival now, and calls for Holy Ghost miracles on a constant and common basis. Yet the word of God says not to call for signs. The use of signs was when the Lord was working with the apostles to validate their ministry. (Mark 16:20). Yet the signs themselves were never to prove faith and are not the final arbiter of having faith.

As Let Us Reason Ministries explains the purpose of signs and wonders, “Scripture and history prove that signs and wonders do not instill faith, just the opposite, lack of faith prompts one’s desire to see signs and wonders. John 12:37- But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him. John 4:48- Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” Jesus was disappointed that it took the miraculous for people to listen to his teachings or follow…. Seeing a sign was never a assurance of belief for the individual.”

Below, 2009, and below that, 2013.

Hillsong in Australia is another place where a continent has been taken over by false gospels racing across the land like a tsunami. Wikipedia explains, “Hillsong Church is a Pentecostal megachurch affiliated with Australian Christian Churches (the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God) and located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Brian and Bobbie Houston began the church in 1983 as the Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills. Hills Christian Life Centre later merged with Sydney Christian Life Centre at Waterloo. Over 21,000 people attend services each week.” Below, inside Hillsong, Wikipedia photo

Asia, Africa, America, Australia…the deceived are falling down in great numbers.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)

Satan’s lie “weakened the nations”, did you catch that? He purposed in his heart that he was like the Most High, and lied to Adam and Eve that if they partook of the fruit, they would also be like the Most High: he said so in Genesis 3:5,

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

That is satan’s goal, to be like the most high. The nations will be so weakened by so many individual’s own exaltation and the diminishment of God’s stature that when the antichrist comes, they will be ready to believe the lie.

Again, what is that lie? That antichrist is God. (source)

Why is this tsunami-lie of having personal power only God has racing around the globe? Why are so many false prophets abounding? First, because Jesus said it would be so. (Matthew 7:15, 24:5, 24:11)

Secondly, look at this incident from 1 Kings. The host of heaven are gathered around His throne to the right and to the left.

“and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.” (1 Kings 22:20-23). Illustration, The Prophet Micaiah Before the Kings, 17th-c. woodcut by Otto Elliger.

Gills explains: “Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these thy prophets … That is, suffered the lying spirit to suggest a lie to them, and sent them strong delusions to believe that lie, whose minds were disposed at any rate to flatter Ahab, to whom they told it; which was the way designed to bring him to the ruin appointed for him.”

The Lord put a lying spirit into the mouth of the prophets and notice the second half of the same sentence: “the Lord has declared disaster for you.” Believing the false prophets seems to only enhance the conditions which allow the strong delusion to take hold and will in fact become a judgment upon them all. It is the way designed to bring ruin upon them. They want flattery (you are little gods with powerful words), they believe this lying delusion and so they will become ruined when the final lying lie uttered by the antichrist comes about.

The final lying delusion, THE lie will culminate in the Tribulation, as I stated at the beginning. It is not happening now. But the speed with which the false prophets are heaping up multitudes of flattering believers upon themselves is amazing, just like Ahab and his flattering prophets. It is occurring because though they received the truth, the love not the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:10b). And look here-

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, (2 Timothy 4:3).

If you are heartbroken as I am by seeing those pictures of the multitudes believing the lies the false prophets are enticing them with, then please continue to pray. It is a most effective weapon in the arsenal of God’s army.

In my personal opinion, the false prophets are abounding with a lying spirit in their mouths because it is a judgment upon the world, and a significant condition that is readying for the antichrist’s appearance. Your thoughts welcome.

Posted in abraham, mikveh, second temple, ur, winepress

This week there have been some amazing archaeological discoveries in the Holy Land

Posted on by elizabethprata

There have been some interesting archaeological discoveries in the Middle East in the last two weeks. I don’t know what they mean especially, except to ponder the eternal truth that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. (Psalm 24:1). He is the Creator of it, the sustainer of it and the One True God who knows every bit of its surface from atop Everest to the bottom of the Marianas trench and below the earth to the center. He knows each layer and each strata. He knows every molecule and which molecule is a part of an igneous rock and which molecule is a Christian burned at the state and ashes spread over His creation. God is not surprised by any of these discoveries. In fact, He knows all about them, when they were built, why, and even that they would be re-discovered this week. It is so comforting to know that our God is so perfect and wise.

Here are the discoveries–

Mysterious Stone Structure Discovered Beneath Sea of Galilee
“A giant “monumental” stone structure discovered beneath the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Israel has archaeologists puzzled as to its purpose and even how long ago it was built. The mysterious structure is cone shaped, made of “unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders,” and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons the researchers said. That makes it heavier than most modern-day warships. Rising nearly 32 feet (10 meters) high, it has a diameter of about 230 feet (70 meters). To put that in perspective, the outer stone circle of Stonehenge has a diameter just half that with its tallest stones not reaching that height. It appears to be a giant cairn, rocks piled on top of each other.”

Sonar survey. Credit: Shmuel Marco
The circular structure was first detected in a sonar survey
of part of the sea in the summer of 2003.
Divers investigate. Credit: Shmuel Marco.
Scuba divers investigated the structure revealing
that it is made of basalt boulders up to 3.2 feet (1 meter) long.
The rocks are piled on top of each forming what appears to be a cairn.
In this image an arrow points to a 4 inch (10 cm) fish beside the structure.

“Researcher Yitzhak Paz, of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Gurion University, believes it could date back more than 4,000 years. “The more logical possibility is that it belongs to the third millennium B.C., because there are other megalithic phenomena [from that time] that are found close by,” Paz told LiveScience in an interview, noting that those sites are associated with fortified settlements.”

That would make it just about pre-flood according to the data in Answers in Genesis. Cool.

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“Rare 2,000-Year-Old Mikveh Uncovered in Jerusalem“
“A 2,000-year-old mikveh has been uncovered in Jerusalem, a rare find that researchers say points to a

sophisticated understanding of water preservation. “Numerous ritual baths have been excavated in Jerusalem in recent years, but the water supply system that we exposed in this excavation is unique and unusual,” said Benjamin Storchan, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The mikveh includes an underground bath that is entered via steps, and receives rainwater form three separate basins. The basins are located on the roof of the bath, streaming pure water into the mikveh using various channels.”

The bible says: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.” (Ezekiel 36:25).

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, a mikveh (ritual pool) is “a pool or bath of clear water, immersion in which renders ritually clean a person who has become ritually unclean through contact with the dead (Num. 19) or any other defiling object, or through an unclean flux from the body (Lev. 15) and especially a menstruant or postpartum woman. It is similarly used for vessels (Num. 31:22–23).”

Jesus came to cleanse us with His very own body. “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”(John 3:5). Anyone in Jesus is now cleansed by His blood and the baptism is an outward show of obedience to Our Lord and Savior.

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The ancient city of Ur was discovered only recently, about 90 years ago. It is thought to be Abraham’s birthplace, and certainly the bible describes it as a place where Abraham dwelled. However what makes this discovery so exciting is that it is the first time a building has been unearthed that might be connected with the city and/or have religious connections to the idolatry there.

Archaeologists in Iraq find ancient complex near Ur, home of biblical Abraham
“British archaeologists have unearthed a sprawling complex near the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq, home of the biblical Abraham. The structure, thought to be 4,000 years old, probably served as an administrative centre for Ur, around the time Abraham would have lived there before leaving for Canaan, according to the Bible. … “This is a breathtaking find,” Campbell said, because of its unusually large size — roughly the size of a soccer pitch, or about 80 metres on each side. The archaeologist said complexes of this size and age were rare.”

Genesis 11:27-28 says, “Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans”

Genesis 12:103 says, “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The ruins of Ur,
with the Ziggurat of Ur visible in the background. Wiki pic

The article says they found the complex near a partially reconstructed ziggurat of the Sumerians. “By 2000 BC Sumerians living in cities such as Ur and Uruk in southern Iraq had developed paved roads, the arch and vault, writing, schools, epic literature, law codes, banking, and even joint-stock corporations. All this occurred two thousand years before Cleopatra or Julius Caesar. … The Ziggurat at Ur, a massive stepped pyramid about 210 by 150 feet in size, is the most well-preserved monument from the remote age of the Sumerians. The ziggurat was part of a temple complex that served as an administrative center for the city… Construction of the ziggurat was completed in the 21st century BC by King Shulgi, during whose 48-year reign the city of Ur grew to be the capital of an empire controlling much of Mesopotamia. To win the allegiance of the many formerly independent cities he controlled, Shulgi proclaimed himself a god and became a great patron of the arts.” (source)

It was in that pagan civilization God called Abram. It was an advanced civilization existing 4000 years ago, but one that for all its advances, was nothing and would come to nothing because they did not know righteousness. He had revealed Himself personally before the flood and mightily during the flood and all descendants knew Him after the flood. However, some went the way of Cain, and departed from the presence of the LORD (Genesis 4:16, Jude 1:11).

Then they built temples to false gods and proclaimed themselves gods- as this website explains and is excerpted below.

“Construction of the ziggurat was completed in the 21st century BC by King Shulgi, during whose 48-year reign the city of Ur grew to be the capital of an empire controlling much of Mesopotamia. To win the allegiance of the many formerly independent cities he controlled, Shulgi proclaimed himself a god and became a great patron of the arts.” Photo- The Sumerian Ziggurat at Ur During Excavations. (source)

Abram lived in all that mess. I often wonder, why Abram? Why did Abram believe? Why did he leave, not knowing where he was going, (Hebrews 11:8) with such faith? Abram’s own father Terah worshiped idols! All of Babylon had been under the influence of the first dictator, Nimrod, and his towers to false idols and astrology and idol worship remained to Abram’s day. The pollution of unrighteousness had even grown tremendously. So why did Abram believe? I can only say that God is God and when he makes Himself known you cannot help but know His voice is the voice of the one and only God when you hear it. Abram/Abraham believed God!

“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)

I just think that is all so amazing!

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Well-Preserved Wine-Making Facility Found in Southern Israel
“Antiquities Authority workers have discovered a well-preserved Byzantine era wine-making facility in southern Israel. The discovery, made during a construction project for a wedding hall, is one of the best preserved examples of an ancient wine-making facility from that era found so far in Israel. The wine-making facility includes a 100 meter tiled floor for crushing grapes, as well as a winepress. Below the wine-making floor are three large holes, where freshly produced grape juice would flow. The holes were well protected from dirt and pests, and there are several vats for the fermentation of the wine around the facility.”

“The owner of the facility was apparently Christian, archaeologists said, as the model of an as yet

unidentified Byzantine-era church was found at the site. The model is intricately made, with precisely carved crucifixes, decorations, and handles for the doors and windows. In addition to the wine-making facility, an almost perfectly preserved clay model of a church was also discovered. The find was discovered near Hamei Yoav, east of Ashkelon. Right, A ceramic lantern shaped like a miniature church, unearthed at Hamei Yoav in southern Israel (photo credit: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority) source”

The facility would have been in use 1500 years ago.

I think it is exciting to see the well-preserved remnants of the daily life of our forefathers in the land of Jesus!

“And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia. (Revelation 14:20)

“Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15)

Posted in jesus, mark of the beast, one world economy, prophecy

Bitcoin: a digital currency enjoying an "epic rise", potentially ‘revolutionizing’ global payments system

Posted on by elizabethprata

The bitcoin. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t either until an astute reader mentioned it in a comment recently. In researching this new currency, a digital one, I became intrigued, then astounded. Wikipedia explains the bitcoin:

“Bitcoin (sign: BTC) is a decentralized digital currency based on an open-source, peer-to-peer Internet protocol. It was introduced in 2009 by a pseudonymous developer, Satoshi Nakamoto. … Bitcoin is the most widely used alternative currency and accepted by various merchants and services internationally. As of April 2013, the monetary base of bitcoin is valued at over $1 billion USD.”

And I go…”Huh. How ’bout that.”

Forbes Magazine says Bitcoin is a disruptive technology. They explain what it is this way–

A financial network is a technological platform that people build businesses on top of. And the traditional banking and credit card networks are closed platforms. If you want to build an e-commerce site, a payment network like Paypal, or any other service that deals in dollars, you need to convince incumbent financial institutions to do business with you. Getting such a partnership is difficult and involves a lot of red tape.

There’s a good reason for the high barrier to entry: electronic transactions in the conventional banking system are generally reversible. If someone makes a fraudulent charge to your credit card, you can dispute the transaction and in most cases the bank or the merchant, not the customer, will cover the cost. That’s convenient for consumers, but it requires the financial system to be a fairly close-knit web of trust. Allowing a new member into the club creates risks for everyone else. So the incumbents are understandably reluctant to deal with anyone who isn’t well-known and well-capitalized.

Bitcoin is different. Because transactions are authenticated cryptographically and cannot be reversed, there’s no need to restrict access to the network. There’s no risk to accepting payments from complete strangers. That means people don’t need anyone’s permission or trust to go into business as a Bitcoin-based merchant or financial intermediary. Accepting Bitcoins also allows merchants to avoid much of the administrative overhead, like dealing with chargebacks, that come with a conventional merchant account.

So though I don’t understand much about the intricacies of international commerce and the currencies that allow it, the bitcoin seems to me to be a way to get around the Man. After what happened in Cyprus (the Man, i.e. banksters, scooped out money from the citizens’ accounts just cuz.) The bank of Cyprus failed, there was a bank run, and riots, upper crust mucky-mucks were allowed to get their money out but not the peons like you and me, now it appears that key data is missing from banking records and they are vehemently denying there is a gold reserves sell-off. The bitcoin looks better every day. And that’s no joke, look at this article from NPR-

Bitcoin Surpasses $200 Mark, Continuing ‘Epic’ Rise

Bitcoin, the digital currency that trades outside the control of central banks and international borders, reached new heights Tuesday, surpassing the $200 mark for the first time. That level comes just five days after bitcoin approached $150, a development that Mt. Gox, the largest exchange service for the currency, deemed to be “epic.” Bitcoin’s rise has been sharp. It was only two months ago that exchange rates put a single bitcoin’s value at around $20. … Whatever the cause, bitcoin’s gains have translated into new wealth for people who bought into it since it was created in 2009. The currency is released at a very steady rate — “roughly every 10 minutes 25 new bitcoins come into circulation,” as last week. Its adherents say that regular pace, and the fact that there is only a finite number of bitcoins, make it an attractive alternative to government-backed currencies. Just over half of the 21 million bitcoins in existence have so far been released.”

The international economic system is interesting. I do not understand its mechanisms. But God does. He told us in the bible that the system at the end of time (Tribulation years) will undergo a radical and massive shift from what we have known in recent generations just prior, to a one world government and economy.

No, the bible does not use the phrase “one world economy” but it describes it. Revelation 13:16-18,
“Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,e to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”

One mark indicates THE currency or at least entry into the economic system, and absent the mark, denial of participation in the economy. “It” is the beast,and make no mistake, the economic control by this beast (antichrist and later satan directly) will be global.

The bitcoin is digital and outside the current system. The last economy on earth will be a digital one also. Though the bible does not say, it indicates this by saying that the mark will be on or in the hand or forehead, and that having it means one can buy things. How it will likely work is that at the point of sale the mark will be passed over a digital mechanism that will verify it as authentic and at the same time withdraw the money. If all peoples on the globe have a mark (except Christians who refuse) then controlling it as a day in and day out currency must mean the data behind it is centralized, accessible, and digital. We practically have this now with debit cards and other bar coded swipe items that automatically bring up your account.

Whether the bitcoin will morph into the mark or not it is interesting that the banking system is in collapse, the economic system is in collapse, and there is a widely used alternative currency that already has the digital infrastructure to become something more than resembling the mark of the beast.

As an aside, I am 52 years old and never in my wildest imaginings did I think that 30 years ago or 20 or even 10 that we would be using digital currency to the extent we are (I mean not only bitcoin but debit cards and paypal etc).

Developments are moving fast. And lest you think that bitcoin is an esoteric monetary mechanism outside the spheres of real people, as of February 2013 bitcoins can be used to buy Domino’s pizza. As of today, this article from the NY Times states,

“Bitcoin is the new new thing but the question is whether it will end up in the same dustbin as Dutch tulips and Pets.com, or, as its backers believe, turn into a disruptive technology with the potential to revolutionize the global payments system.”

Given the times, the lateness of the hour, and the certainty of the coming one world economy, I’d put smart money bitcoins on the latter.

Posted in idols, justice, Obama, party, wicked

Obama parties right on through the writing on the wall

Posted on by elizabethprata

I read last night that the Obama family hosted yet another party at the White House. It was the 10th in the “In Performance at the White House” series since Obama took office, according to the article in The Blaze. Opponents have criticized the White House’s lavish parties as the administration continues to warn about the disastrous effects of the sequester. Fox News’ “Hannity” mockingly referred to the party as a “sequestration celebration.” The excessive partying and vacationing by Obama and his entourage reminds me of another king in former times. More on that in a minute. As far as the cost of these parties and vacations tot he American public, one website toted up the cost of Obama’s Hawaii vacations as exceeding 20M. Michelle Obama’s ski weekend in Aspen alone cost $83,182.99 according to Judicial Watch.

As Obama and his family and entourage party in high, lordly style, on the backs of his minions (us), he is also promoting a devastatingly Godless agenda that contains homosexuality, sodomy in the military, same sex marriage, abortion and live post-birth abortion, financial malfeasance, easier access to drugs, more difficult access to medical help for the ill, oppression of the poor and much much more. God does not like this agenda. He never has, and He never will.

That is why Hannity blew up, because while the money is supposed to be sequestered, plenty of it paid for this lavish party.

This comes on the heels last year of Obama celebrating his 50th birthday in lavish style in Chicago, renting an ornate ballroom costing $40,000 per night and hosting celebrities who paid up to $38,000 to attend. That was done despite a Chinese credit rating agency downgrading the US, reported the UK Daily Mail.

The ornately decorated Aragon Ballroom,
where the lavish birthday party is being held

While this is going on, the ailing budget process as demonstrated by sequester, is not the only thing that is ailing. The economy is terrible and many millions of folks in America are suffering along with it. There are soup lines, food stamps, joblessness, scavenging to survive, and desperation- people are actually living underground now, the real underground- in Kansas City

Kansas City Star

Amid this stress and poverty, Obama and his family think nothing of charging massive bills to the American taxpayer for their endless vacations, dinners, jaunts, and parties. The latest party was Tuesday night (April 9, 2013).

Reactions to the parties the lords and ladies are having on the backs of the people caused a harsh reaction in newscaster Sean Hannity. The headline reads, “Hannity Explodes at Former Obama Adviser After He Tries to Defend Obama’s Music Party: ‘You’re on Drugs! You Can’t Be Serious!’

Oh, but Obama is.

I mentioned above that Obama reminds of of another king. Belshazzar. Remember him from Daniel 5? The one where the finger of God appeared and write the handwriting on the wall while the king was partying? Here is the passage:

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. (Daniel 5:1-6)

Daniel told the king, “The Lord in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.” (Daniel 5:23). The writing turned out to be translated “you have been weighed in the scales and found wanting” and that very night the King was killed.

The chapter is very interesting. Daniel tells King Belshazzar that his father Nebuchadnezzar was made to eat grass like the oxen and for 7 years lived as a beast and afterward humbled himself before the Holy God of heaven. But though Belshazzar knew all this, he still opposed God and refused to humble himself. He lifted up a toast to profane things and idols, and for that, God slew him.

God raises up kings and he takes them down, all in His timing. The bottom line is that we have a king of the united States that seems to be wanting, in the Godliness department. Worse, this state of godlessness seems not to bother him, despite the fact that Obama knows all this.

God weeps when men refuse grace (Luke 19:41) but He is still angry over sin and idol worship.

“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11)

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; (Romans 1:18).

For the people who despair over having such a king in our White House, or any king who sets himself up in any part of the world, despair not! Our Lord and our God is not waiting to send wrath, He already IS sending wrath. He sends grace to us but He is wrathful over idolatry, godlessness, and the wicked living in profane ways.

Our own king Belshazzar will stand before a holy God one day. Nothing we can say on this earth in anger or heated political discussions, or even around the table at family dinners, can come near what God Himself will say to him on the Day. Keep praying for our leaders and take heart that grace is here and justice will come.

Posted in Uncategorized

North Korea’s missile ‘test’ on Wednesday, China’s currency deal with Australia

Posted on by elizabethprata

A news update for you. News from the last few days–

North Korea may be preparing to test missile
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A top South Korean national security official said North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats’ safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North’s clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul. North Korea’s warning last week followed weeks of war threats and other efforts to punish South Korea and the U.S. for ongoing joint military drills, and for their support of U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang’s Feb. 12 nuclear test.”

They beleive this to be an upcoming test, not an attack. All indications point to Wednseday for a launch. They expect the missiles to arc over Japan. Hence…

Japan deploys missile-defense batteries
“Japan deployed missile-defense systems at three sites around Tokyo early Tuesday ahead of a possible missile launch by North Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. The Patriot missile batteries were set up in the central district of Ichigaya and in the suburbs of Asaka and Narashino, Suga told reporters Tuesday. The deployments come as U.S. and South Korean officials warn Pyongyang could be preparing for another provocative move after weeks of belligerent rhetoric. Monday, Suga had said the government would not publicize any missile-defense deployment, saying “It would show our strategy to North Korea.”

China seemed to get irritated with Korea’s antics this week, sparking a plethora of articles speculating on China’s relationship with their little brother.

Is China ready to abandon North Korea?
“China’s new President Xi Jinping appeared to be in sociable mood at the BOAO economic forum in the southern Chinese island of Hainan. China’s state media has published dozens of photos showing Mr Xi glad-handing his counterparts from Australia, Cambodia and even Algeria. In contrast, China’s supposed ally, North Korea, received the rhetorical equivalent of a rap on the knuckles. “No one should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gains,” Mr Xi warned during a speech at the opening of the forum. The Chinese president did not mention any country by name, but it is widely believed that his words were aimed at Pyongyang.”

Or, is China’s seeming irritation with their lesser ally actually subterfuge for its grander plan to conquer the US? An Op-Ed in Forbes three days ago:

China Helped North Korea Target American Cities
“Today, Kim Jang-soo, South Korea’s new national security director, said North Korea may fire off a missile as soon as Wednesday. The launch will undoubtedly be a test of an intermediate-range missile, not an attack. North Korea last week moved two missiles, which were subsequently loaded onto mobile launchers, to its east coast. Many expect the missiles, which have been subsequently moved to hidden locations, will be fired in trajectories arcing over Japan.”

“The Pentagon is not at the moment especially concerned about Pyongyang’s longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2, a variant of the successfully tested Unha-3 rocket. It takes weeks to transport, assemble, fuel, and prepare the Taepodong-2, giving U.S. forces many opportunities to destroy the missile on its large launch pad. The Pentagon, however, is worried about Pyongyang’s mobile missiles, even though they have shorter ranges. It is telling that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on March 15 cited the North’s newest launcher, the KN-08, as a reason for the administration’s decision to deploy 14 additional interceptor missiles in Alaska.”

“The KN-08 sits on an eight-axle mobile vehicle—a transporter-erector-launcher in military lingo—that can hide and shoot, so America’s costly missile defense system is considered necessary because of the hard-to-find KN-08s. China transferred to North Korea at least six of those mobile launchers, a clear violation of Security Council sanctions.Washington policymakers have been reluctant to confront the implications of the Chinese effectively using the North Koreans to target U.S. cities. Beijing, by supplying the mobile launchers, substantially increased the North’s ability to attack the American homeland.”

China has been aggressive in incrementally chipping away at the US in various spheres, including financial and economic. Over the last 20 years, they have bought up much US property. Now this:

Sorry, Mates, Strictly Business: Australia Wants To Cut Out US Dollar In Trade With China
“Australia is seeking to bypass trading in U.S. dollars with China in an effort to avoid the commercial uncertainties that come with the recent fluctuations in the greenback. For example, just a half a year ago, the dollar traded at about $1.20 to the euro; by February, it had weakened to $1.34 per euro and now it is going for $1.27. Eliminating the dollar in trade will be the focus of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s trip to Beijing next week. Trade with China, Australia’s primary trading partner, totaled $120 billion in the last fiscal year. China buys nearly one-third of Australian exports.”

The deal was successful!

Westpac, ANZ secure deal to trade Australian dollar and Chinese Yuan
“WESTPAC and ANZ have been granted the rights to directly trade Australian dollars and Chinese Yuan as part of an agreement to directly trade the two currencies on the Chinese mainland. The currency deal, which will be formally announced tomorrow, will make the Australian dollar only the third major currency to be directly traded with the Yuan on the Chinese mainland.”

The other two currencies which trade directly with the Chinese yuan after the new deal with the Australian dollar are the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. This direct trade begins next week.

It is hard to know what they are all up to.

In the last days during the Tribulation, there are three sets of verses which depict a ten-nation confederacy which the antichrist overthrows, and he ends up ruling the world alone. Revelation 17:12, Revelation 13:1, Daniel 7:16-24, and Daniel 2:41-42. Here they are:

“And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.” (Revelation 17:12)

“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.” (Revelation 13:1)

“I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

1“Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, There shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. (Daniel 7:16-24).

“And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.” (Daniel 2:41-42). (It is interpreted that the ten toes are the ten nation confederacy.)

It stands to reason that one or more of the “Kings” is from the geo-political area of the Orient, particularly since a call is made in Revelation16:12 to make way for them. MacArthur explains,

“There needs to be access for the oriental leaders who will come to the land of Palestine. The millions of Asia, literally the Greek says here, “The kings of the rising of the sun,” anatole, the kings of the rising…the sun rising in the east. God dries up the Euphrates River so these kings from the great empires, India, China, Japan, whatever great empires will be at that time, can come to Palestine.”

It seems to me, a person aged 52, that the world has been moving toward authoritarian control for a long time. The world has been made to accept more and more authoritarian intrusion into our lives, while dismissing their own egregious excesses. That the bible states that by the end of the end the world will be gathered into ten geo-political arenas so it will be. That we can see the trend so vividly in these present days does not astound me, either.

I can’t predict how the LORD will bring these things about, the details are left blank in the bible. We read only of the broad strokes on this particular prophecy. But I am daily watching in wonder and breathless expectation of the LORD’S work in the world. The signs are unmistakable.