Posted in days of Noah, end time, prophecy

The Days of Noah

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is part one of a two-part series on the Days of Noah and the Days of Lot.

Students of prophecy often refer to the prediction Jesus made in the Olivet Discourse called “Days of Noah”. The Olivet Discourse is the lengthy answer Jesus gave to the Disciples who had asked what will be the signs of the end of the age and of His coming. (Matthew 24:3). Often misinterpreted as a treatise of the signs presaging the rapture of the church, it is in fact a discussion of God’s plan for the Jews/Nation Israel and His judgment on the unbelieving world. The Church will have been raptured before the events that the Olivet Discourse discusses begin.

Anyway, Jesus said that the Tribulation will be like it was in the Days of Noah.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the
flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Even though the condition of the world as Jesus described there won’t be present in full for Christians, it is still helpful to take a look. Anyone over the age of 50 can see the change over the last 30 years in society. It is much more godless, more brutal, violent and rebellious. We are not in the Days of Noah but we can certainly see the days coming.

Genesis 6:5-8 describes the Days of Noah more specifically.

“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

Look closely and ponder the phrases used in the verse to describe the days of Noah.
–The wickedness of man was ‘great’
–‘Every’ intention of the thoughts of his heart was ‘only’ evil ‘continually’
–Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD

In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit did not dwell inside a person for life after salvation like He does with us now in the Church Age. (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22). There were a few exceptions. John the Baptist had the Spirit in him since before birth (Luke 1:15). 1 Samuel 16:13 shows how He came upon David ‘from that day on’.

But more usually in Old Testament times, the Spirit was given for a specific period of time for a specific task. Some examples of this are the Spirit the workmen for building the temple (Ex. 28:3, Ex. 31:3) and given to the Judges for wisdom (Numbers 27:18; Judges 3:10).

So, think about how it was on earth when the earth was populated by men without the Spirit. Every man did and thought evil, completely, all the time. Humans were SO evil that God determined to wipe them out! Noah was the only one who did right. Wow.

We are so fortunate to be living in the Church Age with the Spirit actually inside us post-salvation for all our lives. He grows us in sanctification and helps us resist sin. Can you imagine what it will be like when He, the Restrainer (of sin) is removed? (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). Wow again. It will be just like the Days of Noah!

Posted in Uncategorized

Eclipse and meteor shower this month

Posted on by elizabethprata

Get ready for 2013’s first lunar eclipse. This year there are two upcoming solar eclipses and three lunar eclipses for the year 2013.

Meteor shower, partial lunar eclipse visible this April

A meteor shower and a partial lunar eclipse will highlight the treats for stargazers this April, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Wednesday. PAGASA OIC Vicente Malano said the Lyrids meteor shower will peak on April 22, and a partial lunar eclipse will be visible in the Philippines on April 26. He said the umbral eclipse magnitude will be 1.47 percent and will also be visible primarily in Australia, most of Asia, Africa, Europe and Antarctica. “The shower typically generates a dozen meteors per hour under optimal conditions with a brief maximum that lasts for less than a day,” Malano said. “The Lyrids meteor shower has been observed for more than 2,600 years. Chinese records show that ‘stars fell like rain’ during the meteor shower of 687 B.C. However, in recent times, the Lyrids have generally been weak,” he noted. An article on EarthSky.org recommended that the “hour before dawn is best” to view the shower.

Here is NASA’s graphic as to how much of the moon will be covered and where on earth you can see it:

Meanwhile NASA tells us that the Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend

Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks this Weekend
“An annual meteor shower is set to peak this weekend, but the showing likely won’t be as strong as it has been in years past. The Lyrid meteor shower should give skywatchers in darkened parts of the world a decent show late Sunday night (April 21) and early Monday morning (April 22), but the glare from a nearly full moon will probably impede the view for many stargazers.”

I’d still go out and look up if I were you.

Posted in evil, jesus, love

The rapidity with which the world is descending into chaos is amazing

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m dizzy. Literally dizzy- physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Just in the last 24 hours there has been a terrible terrorist bombing in Boston, a meteor that swooped across Spain and was seen from the north to the south, a series of quakes at Oklahoma and a major quake at the Iran-Pakistan border.

I wrote about the meteor, and a few minutes after that I saw the quakes at OK, so I wrote about them too. Then I went to dress for work and when I checked the news again just 10 minutes later, the quake at Iran had occurred.

Is there any doubt by now that the signs are not coming year upon year, or month upon month, but minute upon minute?

When people say, ‘it isn’t the end because there have always been earthquakes and meteors and signs as described’ they are right AND they are wrong. There always have been these things, to be sure.

The only question that Christians who understand prophecy have, is how long these will be signs and not

Credit: Courtesy Dan Lampariello

judgments. Because the rapture is a sign-less event, not presaged by anything in particular. The birth pangs of Matthew 24 relate to the Tribulation. However, if we can see the solidity of the groundwork being laid for those signs, how much closer is the rapture?

The Christians are not under judgment, we are not appointed to wrath. (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The wrath upon unbelievers will begin in Revelation 6 as stated by those who are left on the earth after the rapture, in Rev 6:16-17. The seal judgments will have been opened, thus signaling the beginning of the wrath. The earth’s population cries out and mourns because of it. (Revelation 6:15-17). The Church will be gone by then.

At some point the Church Age will end, the rapture will occur and the wrath will begin.

Bystanders in Karachi Pakistan after today’s 7.8 mag quake

Until then, remember what Jesus said–

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

And this–

“and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:3-4).

Notice the tense, not that you will overcome the spirits of antichrist who hate. But that you ALREADY HAVE.

Posted in iran, pakistan

Earthquake at Iran/Pakistan border, prelim 8.0-7.8

Posted on by elizabethprata

The quake just occurred so details are coming in now. The initial magnitude was placed at 8.0 but rated as 7.8 after that by US Geological Survey (USGS). The quake was felt over the entire Middle East region. News from Breaking News BNO now-

–Iran’s seismological agency says quake struck only 18 kms deep, though some other agencies say it appears more deep. USGS: 7.8-magnitude quake struck 53 miles of Khash, Iran at depth of just 9 miles

(the shallower the quake the more damage and the wider it is felt).

–Iran’s seismological agency says 7.5 quake struck 81 kms from Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province

RadioPakistan reports, The quake was also felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan and other cities and in Gulf states

Large earthquake felt in India’s capital New Delhi; quake also felt in Pakistan, across Gulf states – according to AlArabiya English, Reuters

Haggai 2:6 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

Posted in earthquake, oklahoma

Earthquake in Oklahoma, 4.3 mag

Posted on by elizabethprata

USGS has it here
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb000g7s8.php

A 4.3 is fairly large for the area. Oklahoma newspaper has the story

Another earthquake hits Oklahoma early Tuesday
Update– A fifth earthquake has been felt in central Oklahoma Tuesday. The latest was felt about 5:17 a.m.

Main story– At least four earthquakes shook parts of Oklahoma early Tuesday. A 4.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 1:56 a.m. with an epicenter about 7 miles east, northeast of Luther and 22 miles east of Edmond, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Rumblings were felt across a wide portion of central Oklahoma, but there were no immediate reports of damage. Austin Holland, a geophysicist at the Oklahoma Geological Survey in Norman, said he is gathering data about the quakes Tuesday. He said it is possible there were more than four quakes early Tuesday. “At this point it looks like a main shock, aftershock sequence. There are even a bunch of smaller ones,” Holland said.”

More at link…

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.