Posted in arrest, indictment, pope benedict, rcc

Did Pope Benedict resign to avoid an arrest?

Posted on by elizabethprata

News today from the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church & State reveals that according to the ITCCS an arrest warrant was imminently going to be issued against Pope Benedict for certain crimes.

The ITCCS claims that “on Friday, February 1, 2013, on the basis of evidence supplied by our affiliated Common Law Court of Justice (itccs.org), our Office concluded an agreement with representatives of a European nation and its courts to secure an arrest warrant against Joseph Ratzinger, aka Pope Benedict, for crimes against humanity and ordering a criminal conspiracy.”

“This arrest warrant was to be delivered to the office of the “Holy See” in Rome on Friday, February 15, 2013. It allowed the nation in question to detain Ratzinger as a suspect in a crime if he entered its sovereign territory.”

“A diplomatic note was issued by the said nation’s government to the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, on Monday, February 4, 2013, informing Bertone of the impending arrest warrant and inviting his office to comply.”

The organization claims that no reply from the Vatican’s Secretary of State was issued but that six days after the indictment was received, the Pope resigned. The ITCCS plans to issue a commercial lien through that nation’s courts against the property and wealth of the Roman Catholic church commencing on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013. They do not name that nation.

The Pope resigned on February 11, 2013 and the resignation will take effect on February 28, 2013.

It should be noted that for all the fancy-sounding title of this ITCCS organization, it is a new organization, formed in 2010 and giving itself these stated powers. The ITCCS did not reveal which “European Nation” they are working with. The ITCCS says they were “established to enforce common law and try and convict the institutions and their officers responsible for such historic and ongoing crimes against humanity. We therefore constitute a de jure Court under common law, with full power of arrest, conviction and enforcement.”

Please note that as of now (5:15 PM on Tuesday, February 19, 2013) no official government, media, or organization has confirmed the alleged arrest warrant or proposed lien. However, saying that a warrant was issued is a monumental claim to make on a whim, incorrectly, or capriciously. And … the pope DID resign just after.

The ITCCS says that they plan to continue with the indictment against whoever Pope Benedict’s successor is, and further, that they plan to continue to put a lien on the entire Roman Catholic Church’s “property and wealth.” How much IS that wealth?

As Bill Keller stated yesterday in the NY Times, “Yes, the business of the church is saving souls, but it is nevertheless a business: a closely held conglomerate with a work force of more than a million, 1.2 billion more-or-less regular customers, 10 times as many outlets as Starbucks, more real estate than Donald Trump dreams of and lobbying clout to rival that of any secular industry.”

No one is quite sure exactly how much money in property, investments, money, and gold the RCC has. Avro Manhattan wrote an expose of the wealth and property holdings of the RCC/Vatican, and in his book titled “The Vatican Billions,” he states,

“The Vatican’s treasure of solid gold has been estimated by the United Nations World Magazine to amount to several billion dollars. A large bulk of this is stored in gold ingots with the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, while banks in England and Switzerland hold the rest. But this is just a small portion of the wealth of the Vatican, which in the U.S. alone, is greater than that of the five wealthiest giant corporations of the country. When to that is added all the real estate, property, stocks and shares abroad, then the staggering accumulation of the wealth of the Catholic church becomes so formidable as to defy any rational assessment.”

“The Catholic church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence. She is a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state of the whole globe. The pope, as the visible ruler of this immense amassment of wealth, is consequently the richest individual of the twentieth century. No one can realistically assess how much he is worth in terms of billions of dollars.”

As for the office of Pope himself as a man, Rachel Donadio asked, When a Pope retires, is he still infallible? She wrote, “In transforming an office with an aura of divinity into something far more human, Benedict’s decision has sent shock waves through the Vatican hierarchy, who next month will elect his successor. But it has also puzzled the faithful and scholars, who wonder how a pope can be infallible one day and fallible again the next — and whether that might undermine the authority of church teaching.”

It already is. Italians are already despondent and doubting.
“The pontiff has long been the one stable element for Roman Catholic Italians in a modern state that has become a byword for political instability and flawed politicians. All that changed a week ago when Benedict announced he would be the first pontiff in 700 years to resign, causing alarm and despondency among many faithful in a country whose history has been shaped by the presence of the headquarters of the Church for 2,000 years.”

The world desperately seeks a strong leader, someone that they can count on to be there to bring the world through troubling times. And now 1.2 billion people have been rendered leaderless, the rug pulled out from under their feet. They have all been made more ripe to receive someone, anyone, whom they perceive to have answers and solutions.

Interestingly on February 15, Reuters reported that the Pope will be allowed to live inside the Vatican walls. The Vatican is a sovereign nation. The reasoning was that first, it is easier to guard the Pope inside the Vatican since the Guard already knows his habits, second, that if he retired say to a German monastery, for example, it might become a pilgrimage site, and third, a distant third the Vatican said, is that he’d be protected from prosecution.

In hindsight that distant third reason might not be so distant after all.

The conclave of 117 cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church is expected to start between March 15 and 18, about two weeks after Pope Benedict’s resignation Feb 28. Under the church rules, the conclave is to begin between 15-20 days after the papacy becomes vacant, to give cardinals time for the arrival in Rome, reports Zee News in India.

Scandal is not new to the Church. The pedophilia claims won’t go away. And last March 2012 it was noted by International Business Times that the Vatican was charged with money-laundering. The IB Times reported, “The Vatican bank is facing a possible money-laundering scandal after it emerged JP Morgan was closing one of its accounts due to a lack of information about the source of deposits, Italian newspapers report.”

The most interesting part of all this are the prophetic implications. First, the Lord our God is taking down leaders at an amazing rate. The Pope is the world’s most powerful man. He really is the most powerful and influential man on the entire planet, presiding over a sovereign nation (Vatican), having billions of subjects, immeasurable wealth, is said to be THE substitute on earth for Jesus (a claim to divinity), and being infallible in all his decisions.Yet he resigned abruptly,so suddenly the whole world was shocked. Just like Libya’s Qaddafi being deposed after 40 years and Egypt’s Mubarak after 30. Men who have been in power and seemingly held on to their position through many upheavals, suddenly caving in like a house of straw.

Secondly, it’s critical to watch the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) at this juncture in world history. If there is a scandal of magnitude that brings down the Vatican, it would leave a vacuum of unimaginable proportions. Make no mistake, the pope’s resignation, though not illegal in Vatican law, is definitely unprecedented. His decision opens the floodgates to all sorts of traditions being broken and doubts and questioning to begin. If compounded by a scandal, the effects will be very interesting to see.

Will the next pope (maybe the last pope) be the antichrist? The false prophet? None of the above? Will the Vatican be reduced in power and influence to such an extent that Islam becomes the dominant religion in the last days? Or will it be something else that prior to February 11 the world would never have suspected could or would happen?

Very interesting developments. Even if the arrest warrant turns out to be bogus, just the fuel it added to the very large fire is worth noting in itself. Please keep watching, These events in and around the Roman Catholic Church is without a doubt supernatural work of God. He is doing something. I praise Him for all His work and plans, known and mysterious!!

Posted in martyr complex, pre-trib, tribulation

What, are you chicken? I double dog dare you to go through the Tribulation!

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Chicken! Bwaawck bwaawck bwaawck!” Children on the playground pretend to be tougher than they are, and taunt others into doing deeds which are in effect, kind of dumb or downright dangerous. Kids don’t like to be called chicken, or be to be seen trying to get out of a punishment that all his mates are enduring.

These kind of puffed up playground games are just that, children’s games. However, a new kind of game in the sandbox of theology is emerging and that is the ‘bwaack bwaawck bwaawck! You’re too chicken to go through the Tribulation’ game.

Post-Tribulation doctrine believers, or believers who are not sure which stance to take on when the rapture will take place in relation to the Tribulation, level an accusation against Pre-Tribulation believers. They say that we are either chicken, or not a strong Christian, or have some kid of pride to even think we will escape all these things. (but we will … says Luke 21:36).

Theirs is wrong thinking. It actually is a kind of perverse, reverse pride in itself, something I’ll explain in a moment. I’d like to address several of the misunderstandings that a person who thinks these things betrays.

Chris Koelle, Book of Revelation, Graphic Novel

But first, to make something clear, far from being angry or upset that a person isn’t fully understanding of the biblical reasoning behind a pre-Tribulation doctrine, I am sad for them. It must be very scary to think that they are going to enter the worst time on earth where billions will die horrible deaths. But in these people who level sandbox charges of an ad hominem flavor, I ask for moderation and patience from you.

Now, in my opinion, a person charging pride or arrogance or chicken-ness in stating one will be removed prior to the Judgments, labors under one or more of the several following misunderstandings. They either-

-misunderstand what pride is,
-misunderstand what the Tribulation is prophesied to accomplish,
-misunderstand the Church Age believer’s position before Christ, or
-have a false or superficial understanding of just how bad the last 7 years will be.

First, what is pride? We already know that God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13). We are not talking about the kind of pride we feel about a job well done. The kind of pride God hates is pride that stems from self-righteousness. This is a sin, and God hates it because it is a obstacle to seeking Him. Pride is seeking satisfaction in something we have accomplished, instead of seeking to be weak so He will be strong in us. That kind of pride is giving ourselves the credit.

Having arrived at a doctrine via prayer and diligent study and which is supported biblically is not pride. It is study. As GotQuestions defines biblical study:

“First, through prayer and humility, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us understanding. Second, we should always study Scripture in its context, recognizing that the Bible explains itself. Third, we should respect the efforts of other Christians, past and present, who have also sought to properly study the Bible.”

I have done these things and I arrived at an understanding of when the rapture will take place. I am comfortable in my understanding and I adhere to it, because it makes sense in the large scheme of things- and by that I mean from Genesis to Revelation. (As a commercial for the bible- Genesis and Revelation are marvelous bookends, one is controlled Creation with a forward-looking redemptive intent and the other is controlled UNcreation with a backward-looking redemptive intent). I have a biblical response to support my Pre-Trib stance.

The second misunderstanding a person often has is a misunderstanding of what the Tribulation is prophesied to accomplish. The pre-church age and the current church age are different. Before the Church Age began (which started at Acts 1:8) God was working through His people the Jews to bring the message of salvation. As the blog Compelling Truth states,

“They were chosen as a nation to receive instruction on Who God is and how to worship Him. Their mission was to embody this knowledge by obeying the laws God gave them and spreading the truth about God to other nations. Since God chose Israel as a nation, His blessings and their obedience were to be on a national scale.”

However, the Jews rebelled, and they rejected their Messiah. The mystery then became that Jesus was going to use the Gentiles to bring His message. (Ephesians 3:6, 9, 11). He partially hardened the hearts of the Jews so that they would become envious. (Romans 11:7, 11).

“But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!” (Romans 11:12)

But make no mistake, God will release that hardening when the full number of the Gentiles comes in (Romans 11:25) and then His work with the Jews will resume. From the cross until now, He has set Israel aside in the timeline of things, in a 2000 year pause. This was so that He would build His church. That pause is noted in Daniel’s prophetic timeline, a chapter also called the Prophetic Clock and the Seventy Weeks of Daniel.

This was a very broad summary of the complex and wondrous plan of God regarding His people the Jews and His people the grafted-in Gentiles. But understanding that God has a plan for each, and that plan is not the same, is critical to understanding what the Tribulation is due to accomplish. So, what exactly is God planning, and why? The what is mainly contained in Revelation, though parts of what is going to happen are scattered throughout the entire bible (Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel, etc). The why is in Daniel 9:24.

Again, Daniel 9 and verse 24 has the specifics:

Credit

“The prophecy contains a statement concerning God’s six-fold purpose in bringing these events to pass. Most scholars believe that we are now living in a huge gap between the 69th week and the 70th week. The prophetic clock has been paused, as it were. The final “seven” of Daniel is what we usually call the tribulation period. Verse 24 says the seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thine holy city, 1) to finish the wickedness, and 2) to seal up the sins, and 3) to reconcile the iniquity, and 4) to bring in everlasting righteousness, and 5) to seal up the vision and prophecy, and 6) to anoint the most Holy.”

Note that the main intent is to resume dealing with Daniel’s people (the Jews) and the holy city (Jerusalem). The Tribulation focus is NOT THE CHURCH. Of course, all sinners who are left behind in the Tribulation will be part of the effects of His dealing with the Jews, and one of His intents is to stop sin globally, but the part the church plays in Hie eternal plan will have been accomplished when “the full number comes” in. (Romans 11:25).

In one sense, it is prideful to think that the church is the focus of everything all the time. It isn’t. We are a special blessing, and we are His bride, but He will return to working with His remnant the Jews during the last 7 years. It is their time, not ours! And that is to the glory of Christ, who will see His people finally mourn the One that they pierced and accept Him as their Messiah! They will come to accept Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10). God will restore their relationship with Him (Ezekiel 11:17).

The third kind of misunderstanding a person shows when they charge a Pre-trib believer with pride or  arrogance or cowardice for their beliefs is a misunderstanding of who we are in Christ. As Daniel’s verse explains, 3 of the 6 purposes of the Tribulation are to deal with sin. Though I pasted the verse above, here is what the NLT says-

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.” (Daniel 9:24 NLT)

However, those in the Church have a position before God: clean. (Revelation 19:8; Revelation 3:4; Isaiah 64:10). He has forgotten our sin. (Hebrews 8:12). They were nailed to the cross. (Colossians 2:14). He remembers them no more. (Hebrews 10:17). Why would He keep us on earth to punish us for our sins when according to Him, our sins are as far from the east as the west? (Psalm 103:12). If He keeps the Church, His Bride, on earth to punish us for our sins, then all those other verses become lies.

“Robe of Righteousness” by Lars Justinen

No, our position before Christ is clean, arrayed in White linens, the robe of righteousness. He is not going to drag His clean and washed Bride through the mud of the Tribulation to punish our sins. Our sins are finished. The sin of the Jews is not.

As an aside, oftentimes people make the mistake of using the word Tribulation as a general term for trials or trouble. The two words are different. Of course Christian people throughout the ages have endured trials or tribulations. But THE Tribulation is altogether different. The word that the Gentiles use comes from Matthew 24:9. In Matthew 24:9 Jesus did say “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” But the official term for the 7-year time period is “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” (Jeremiah 30:7). It is also known as The Day of the LORD.

Saying that THE Tribulation is the same as general tribulation is like saying that THE Antichrist is the same as an antichrist mentioned in 1 John 2:22. The pockets of persecution Christians have endured since the beginning are definitely not the same as the worldwide testing with a 6-point plan that the entire inhabited world will endure at the end of time. (Revelation 3:10). In the former, glory was brought to Christ via the deaths of the martyrs and the effect was to spread the Word. In the Tribulation/Time of Jacob’s Trouble, it is not glory but punishment and the effect is that the saints will be wearied (Daniel 7:25) and eventually overcome. (Revelation 13:7) so that satan’s sin will be made full.

As for the perverse, reverse pride in saying that a saved person of His church will go through the Tribulation, John MacArthur spoke to that.

“If a person comes along, and this is popular today, there are a lot of people who…who wanna go through the Tribulation. It’s become…got sort of a martyr complex, you know? In a very mechanized society and a…and very high-powered society and a very…a very easy kind of existence, a lot of people would try. They kinda think it’s neat to go through the Tribulation, and they see the movie about thief in the night, and they can see themselves running from the beast and all this intrigue; … sometimes I’ll listen to a Christian…those Christian television programs, and they’re talking about, “Well, you know, I’m not convinced that we’re going to be taken out. I think we may go through it…” you know, and it’s all very dramatic. Listen, folks, well, I don’t wanna be there. It doesn’t sound good to me at all. If I have my choice of being here with the beast, to be in Heaven with Jesus, it isn’t even a question.”

A person who even dares to think that they can withstand a moment of the Tribulation is wildly self-deluded. I say this lovingly but pointedly- the last 7 years will be hell on earth. The Holy Spirit will not restrain men from their evil inclinations. Everything will be happening. Child slavery, perverse molestation, bestiality, violence and gore unparalleled. Demons will chase you, the ground will collapse under your feet, the volcanoes will be going off, and probably Yellowstone’s supervolcano too. Half of America will be blown away. Sulfur will rain down from the sky. The sun will burn you to a crisp and there will be no water to drink. You will be cold, hot, hunted, starved, lonely and grossly diseased. And that will be just the first half. The second half will be worse.

Jesus said that it will be the worst time on earth that ever was or will ever be again (Matthew 24:21). You think you can withstand that? Half of the stricken cruise ship Carnival Triumph had a bunch of whiny babies on it that didn’t last 3 days before they turned into savages grabbing for the last lobster. You do not want to withstand 7 years of hatred and being stalked tot he death!! You most likely cannot. Most will not. The Holy Spirit will not be indwelling you to aid you in resisting sin, so you will not have His help there. If they are beating up innocents now just to see them bleed, and raping 100 year old women, what do you think they will do when the RESTRAINT is gone!?!?

They are going to tear out your eyes with their fingernails just to hear you scream, and get bored halfway through and wander off to do something worse to the next person.

No, I know I do not want to be here. Yes, I am a chicken. I am scared of all that. Any sane person would be.  Call me chicken, I am. I am strong enough to know my weakness. I am low enough to know my high position before Christ.

I also know that through years of prayer, study, and a contextual understanding, Jesus is going to call His bride home and consummate His long-awaited reunion. We will finally be called Wife!

“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

If you want to be punished, that’s your thang. If you think you’re strong enough to withstand hell come to earth, go for it. If you want to fling sand my way, go ahead. But please refrain from extra-biblical emotional remarks because after all, you’re the Bride too. We are one in Christ. I love all my brethren, even the ones with a martyr complex 😉 And I hope you would love me too, the big chicken 😉

Or maybe, we can simply share what we believe and why from the bible, and love on each other without the sandbox games?

Posted in florida, salvation, signs in the sky

Another meteor-fireball, this one in South Florida

Posted on by elizabethprata

In the wake of four unexpected and spectacular astronomical events this week, comes another. By the way, the Weather Underground blog says that “The odds of the largest meteor strike in 100 years occurring on the same day as the closest asteroid approach in 15 years are about 1 in 200 million”.

Earlier this week, an asteroid flew by earth at a mere distance of 17,000 miles, very close. It was the closest fly-by in recorded history of a non-satellite nature. In addition, on the same day no less, three major meteor sightings occurred. The one that happened in the Russian Urals was especially interesting, being the largest meteor to crash to earth in 100 years, injuring 1,200 people and causing absolute panic. The two other meteor sightings occurred in San Francisco and Cuba.

It should be noted that there is no ongoing meteor shower the earth is passing through. These space rocks just appear and suddenly they are crashing down on our heads.

One thing to notice especially of the Russian Meteor is the suddenness of its appearance. With all the satellites, NASA money to roam Mars, and telescopes looking at and radios listening to space, the Russian meteor snuck by them all and boomed into land before we could say Boy Howdy. Now if that doesn’t bode ill for the Tribulation, then what does? It made me think of Revelation 8:10-11,

“The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.”

Or Revelation 8:8,

“The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.”

These events will occur in the time of the Tribulation, the 7-year period where Jesus punishes the world for its sins via His wrath in a series of judgments from 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, and 7 Bowls. It has not begun yet but one can certainly see the suddenness of a burning mountain thrown into the sea could easily be a undetected meteor appearing out of nowhere.

Another meteor shower has occurred, this time in South Florida. They are calling this one a ‘sporadic’ meteor, because it is not attached to any known meteor shower happening anywhere earth. In other words, it appeared out of nowhere, all on its own. This just in:

Possible meteor shower sighting in South Florida
“Some South Floridians reported seeing bright, flare-like objects disappear into the sky Sunday night, in what resembled a meteor shower. The Coast Guard’s command center starting receiving reports of a possible meteor shower at about 7:30 p.m., said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Laberdesque. Laberdesque said the Coast Guard could neither confirm nor deny whether it was, in fact, a meteor shower. The Coast Guard sent out a helicopter to check on a report of a flare but found nothing. Laberdesque said there were no injuries and no boats in distress after the reported sightings. The Broward Sheriff’s Office also reported receiving several calls from locals claiming there were “lights in the sky.” On Friday, a meteor exploded about 15 miles overhead near the Russian town of Chelyabinsk. More than 1,100 people were reportedly injured.”

NBC Miami reported,
“South Floridians who happened to be looking in the right place at the right time Sunday night saw one spectacular light show – possibly a sporadic meteor. People called in, describing the flares “as orange or red fireballs in the sky,” Laberdesque said. The display was limited to the sky: No injuries were reported, Laberdesque said. A sporadic meteor is basically a rocky object that comes from the asteroid belt, said Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, based in Genesee, N.Y. The group logged 27 reports within about the first two hours of the event, he said. “This is a lot of reports to come in quickly,” Hankey said. Gauging by the reports, it happened somewhere over the ocean. “These fireballs are common,” Hankey said. “It’s rare for any one person to see one more than once or twice in their lifetime.”

http://media.nbcmiami.com/assets/pdk449/pdk/swf/flvPlayer.swf?pid=_yneGWiWDuuR

View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

They reported seeing it from Jacksonville to Key West, pretty much the length of all of Florida. I looked at the video, it IS pretty spectacular!

The most interesting part, to me, is where the newscaster says that because of our newly heightened awareness of meteors, that fewer people were scared, and more people correctly identified what it was. The citizen observer being interviewed confirmed this.

Are they becoming so jaded, so quickly, that seeing a spectacular sight that only occurs once or twice in a lifetime is now an “Oh, well, ho-hum, another fireball streaking across the sky”? I hope not.

The power of a creator God to alert His people to His presence should never get old, and hopefully would have the intent it should have: inquisitiveness toward the Gospel.

Pastor JD Farag reported that this indeed is happening. He is a pastor in Hawaii who gives a weekly prophecy update on Sunday evenings. He said that more non-Christians than Christians are seeking to know why it really does seem like it is nearing the end of the world. They sense that the things we have been saying are true and want to know more. This is a praise to the Lord, who seeks His sheep with all diligence. (Matthew 18:12).

As the gap between saved and unsaved grows ever wider, the fence-sitters will soon lose their standing and have to choose a side to settle on.

Source

The unsaved are looking up and seeing meteors. We Christians are looking up to watch for the coming of our Lord and Savior. May He come soon to collect His sheep! You can join us, by being saved today:

Posted in carnival triumph, christianity, mocking, MSNBC

MSNBC reporter takes mic from woman who is about to quote the bible

Posted on by elizabethprata
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

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

For a long time, America’s stand on religious freedom was a vanguard that allowed Christianity a more full expression than it has been allowed in other countries. It was only in my generation that public prayer was removed from schools (1962) and after that the slow but steadily increasing attacks of public expression of Christianity became common in the masses. I was born in 1960 so I have witnessed the movement of a tipping point from entrenched Christianity in all aspects of public and private life, to one of mocking and marginalization in the extreme. It’s amazing how fast Christianity has become hated in this most ‘Christian’ of nations.

Mocking and marginalization, of course, is not persecution. I am reading Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and what American Christians are experiencing is nothing like Christians have endured since the time of the Apostles up until now in other countries. But we are seeing a rapid decline in tolerance for Christianity, and Christians in general, and this will quickly lead to the prophesied persecution that will come upon the whole world. (Revelation 12:17, Revelation 13:7, Revelation 20:4).

I think Americans have been insulated from the very real fact of the verse which speaks to this. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

If you have been a Christian for very long, I know that you have heard a non-Christian either directly tell you or indirectly say that you’re a moron for believing in Christ. That is because it is written that they will say that. The verse above, where is says the cross is ‘foolishness’, comes from a Greek word meaning moron. Here is how Strong’s defines the word moros:

“dull, flat (“without an edge”); mentally inert, dull in understanding; nonsensical (“moronic”), lacking a grip on reality, acting as though “brainless”.

And that is exactly what the non-Christian thinks of us.

I noted on twitter that I believe bible prophecy. That was all I said. The response was this:

“You like most believers have clearly not read the bible. Scrolled to the bottom & clicked I agree like a software agreement.”

It is the usual charge: the non-saved (perishing) world thinks Christians are brainwashed into a kind of opiate-laden stupidity, not sheep, but dull cows, munching mindlessly on cud that pastors force feed us.

The simmering intolerance of Christians is a slow boil that is going to erupt into a fury when the rapture comes. The Restrainer (Holy Spirit who restrains sin) is going to allow sin to have its full measure. What satan has been quietly building in the hearts of the depraved is going to erupt in an indignant, latent ferocious rage that will shock the left-behind fence-sitters who convert early. Non-saved people already think we are too stupid to live. In the Tribulation, they will kill us. What we see in the news reporter is a live reaction to what Paul says is the stumbling block of Christ. (1 Corinthians 18:23).

In the following clip from Newsbusters, originally airing on MSNBC (a very liberal channel) you see an interviewer asking two young ladies of their reactions to once again being on dry land. The two were on the aborted Carnival cruise where the ship had a fire and went powerless for days in the Gulf. The news reporter’s reaction the moment the girl brought up the Lord and the bible is a classic, living example of the Corinthians verse. And, the verse she was trying to get out is above. This blog essay opened with it. Now, isn’t that a comfort and a nice thing to say? Yet the non-saved newscaster was too afraid to even listen to a word of comfort, benign as it was. Below is the transcript, in case you can’t watch a video, and the clip is after that. I have titled the clip:

Aaargh! For the love of Zeus, don’t quote the bible!

“As stranded Carnival Cruise passengers began finally disembarking in Mobile, Alabama, late Thursday evening, MSNBC had NBC News correspondent Mark Potter on the scene to speak with them. One young lady during her over three minute interview tried to cite a Bible verse that helped her get through the ordeal, but Potter pulled his microphone away and quickly ended the discussion (video follows with transcript and commentary):”

http://www.mrctv.org/embed/120006

MARK POTTER, MSNBC REPORTER: It sounded like you guys handled it pretty well. Were there some passengers who seemed to have a really rough time on board?

BRITTANY FERGUSON, RETURNING STRANDED CARNIVAL CRUISE PASSENGER: Oh, absolutely.

POTTER: Tell me about that.

FERGUSON: Well there, it was just really frustrating. There’s rumors going around because we’re completely disconnected. We had no idea if like, “Oh my gosh, do people even miss us? Do people even know about this?”

KENDALL JENKINS, RETURNING STRANDED CARNIVAL CRUISE PASSENGER: They’d be running “extended vacation.” I’d be saying, “Absolutely not.”

FERGUSON: Yeah, not an extended vacation.

POTTER: And would you do this again? Would you take another cruise, or is this it?

JENKINS: No. We’re thinking about teaming up and sell ours. So if anyone is looking for a discounted cruise, we got one.

POTTER: You’re not about to go back?

JENKINS: No, but one thing I do want to say that really made a huge difference in my time versus some other people’s time is we knew where hope was. We knew the Lord was in complete control of the situation. Our verse for the trip was Joshua 1:9 which is…

POTTER: [Takes microphone away] Okay, well thank you both very much. Enjoy your trip home to Houston and enjoy that first warm shower and that warm meal. Thank you very much. Thanks for talking with us.

JENKINS: [Before walking away] Joshua 1:9, look that up.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Posted in mark dever

Mark Dever on church numbers & growth

Posted on by elizabethprata

Wikipedia- “Mark E. Dever has been the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. since 1994, and is the president of 9Marks, a Christian ministry he co-founded “in an effort to build biblically faithful churches in America.”

“Dever’s main emphasis, as evidenced by 9Marks, is in the realm of ecclesiology. He aims to help Bible-believing churches become healthy by recovering a Biblical view of the church. The 9 marks he provides are his positive prescription for church health. He does not intend the book as a comprehensive ecclesiology or even a comprehensive diagnosis of all the problems that may be found in contemporary churches. The nine marks are:”

“Expositional preaching
Biblical theology
Biblical understanding of the Gospel
Biblical understanding of conversion
Biblical understanding of evangelism
Biblical understanding of membership
Biblical church discipline
Promotion of Christian discipleship and growth
Biblical understanding of church leadership”

I have his book 9Marks of a Healthy Church and it is very good. In this clip, Pastor Dever is in City North Baptist Church http://www.citynorthbaptist.com in Queensland, Australia speaking about church numbers and church growth. No matter how large or how small your church is, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to send just the right people to it, for the glory of Christ. Man-made plans and programs are a gross interference to His work. It’s only 9 minutes, please watch:

Posted in google earth, iran, israel, star of david

Google earth reveals Star of David emblazoned on Iran airport roof, Iranians outraged

Posted on by elizabethprata

Outrage After Google Image Reveals Star of David on Roof of Iran Airport
“Iranian officials reportedly are outraged after learning that a Google Earth satellite image revealed a star of David emblazoned atop the roof of the Tehran airport. According to Arabic language news outlet Al Arabiya, national leaders called for the immediate removal of the Zionist symbol after it was discovered on top of the main building of Iran Air. Although Israel and Iran broke ties more than 30 years ago, Al Arabiya reported that the Iran Air building was built by Israeli engineers before the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Citing local reports, it also said that not only did the Iranian government hire Israeli engineers to build the airliner’s headquarters, it also scheduled regular flights between the two countries.”

O, the horra.

I think it’s funnier that it took the Iranians 30 years to notice…

Posted in authority, discernment, hell, scripture, visions, wiese

Discernment: are people’s visits to hell actually true?

Posted on by elizabethprata

So many people these days have had a trip to heaven or hell. Jesse Duplantis, Beth Moore, Colton Burpo, Don Piper, Rick Joyner, Kenneth Hagin, Rebecca Springer, Richard Eby, Dr. Mary C. Neal, Kim Walker Smith of Jesus Culture … the list of people taking a tour of heaven or having had a personal visit from Jesus in another dimension goes on and depressingly on. And hell is not to be left out, either, several people claim to have been personally escorted by Jesus in the underworld as well, such as Victoria Nehale, Mary K. Baker, Bill Wiese.

So what are we to make of all this?

Lies. All lies.

Let’s take a look at the visits to hell. I’ve written several times about the trips to heaven. The bible says that even though you may have had a personal experience, we have a more sure word. Peter wrote that, and he was referring to his own personal visit from Jesus at the Mountain, and having seen the heaven glory and Jesus transfigured. Even Peter says that the word is more sure than a personal experience!

“And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:19-20).

Peter is saying that the prophetic word, which is the word spoken by the prophets, is sure. Remember Jeremiah 23:16, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.”

Peter is not saying we should not interpret scripture, he is talking about the source of it. In 1 Peter 1:10, Peter wrote, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,”

In other words, the prophets heard the word from the LORD, and they carefully searched out what it meant. The false prophets did not have to search out what it meant because they made it up. Explaining it was just as easy- they made up the explanations. And the word was almost invariably happy, too. See what Jeremiah says,

“They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” (Jeremiah 23:17).

Sound familiar?   I know that it does.

Peter’s credentials were impeccable, being hand chosen by Jesus and endowed with miraculous powers to heal, raise from the dead, and preach! Every single person who came after Peter has credentials which are less stellar, so by default, if he says not to trust his experience, we trust the bible and not our own experience. Otherwise you’re saying, “I trust Jesus Culture’s Kim Walker Smith’s experience of seeing a Gumby Jesus, she seems to be more credible than Peter.”

Laughable, isn’t it? The word is sure!

Now about the people who travel to hell, what of them? Well, those visions and visits are false, too. How do I know? Look at Lazarus.

“The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:22b-31)

If we are to believe the people who visited hell, then we are to disbelieve the holy word. First, because we would believe that Jesus changed His mind about sending people from hell to tell the story, and secondly that before, while we are told that people would not believe even a dead brother returned to life telling his family, but now they will believe an unknown person telling the world on Youtube.

Wiese says that he encountered Jesus in hell, who told him to tell other people that hell is real. This varies directly with the word. Do we have a more sure word, or do we not have a more sure word?

Some people are totally unbelievable and are obvious charlatans. Others, like Wiese, or Don Piper, for example, are likable and sincere. However, sincerity of their message does not make it true. Only the word is surely true, and if what someone says is against what the bible says, you must disregard the person’s message and not the bible.

However, isn’t that the point of what satan is doing, with all these Charismatic visions and visits? Even though Piper or Wiese’s message may be good, the source is demonic. Look at what Paul did when the fortune-telling slave girl followed him around.

“She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.” (Acts 16:17-18)

What was Paul’s problem? After all, she was saying something that was true. The problem is, her source was from satan, and a divided house cannot stand. Clarke’s Commentary says, “The Gentiles, finding that their own demon bore testimony to the apostles, would naturally consider that the whole was one system; that they had nothing to learn, nothing to correct; and thus the preaching of the apostles must be useless to them.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary explains, “Paul being grieved-for the poor victim; grieved to see such power possessed by the enemy of man’s salvation, and grieved to observe the malignant design with which this high testimony was borne to Christ.”

Isn’t the phrase ‘malignant design’ so very wonderful!

Matthew Henry says of the slave-girl, “Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers.”

So even though the message at one point or another from one false prophet or another, may be true, satan’s malignant design in using the message will always be dishonoring to Christ. Bill Wiese and Mary K Baker may be sincere, but satan’s design is to usurp the authority of the Word, just as he was trying to do against Paul (who was speaking the true word) in using the slave-girl who was possessed.

Be discerning about these visits to heaven and hell, and of people’s tales of visitations from Jesus in visions. It is not enough that their message borne from experience may seem consistent with the bible, the bible tells us that we have a more sure word in the Prophets. And that is enough, more than enough, for me. I hope it is for you too.
————————–

FMI:

Justin Peters essay “Your Best Afterlife Now: (An examination and critique of claimed visits to heaven and hell”

Tim Challies reviews Heaven Is For Real and 90 Minutes In Heaven.

Pertinent part begins at 41:14–

Posted in journalism

Best meteor headline goes to: Boston Globe

Posted on by elizabethprata

Romanesko has the story:
“Admittedly, I’m biased, as both a Thomas Pynchon idolator and Globe staffer (though I had nothing to do this hed and don’t know who did),” writes Mark Feeney. “But this hed for our two p. 1 stories today on the Russian meteorite has to be one of the year’s best. ‘A screaming comes across the sky’ is great in and of itself, being both accurate and vivid — and as any Pynchon fan can tell you it’s also the first sentence of his masterpiece, ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’”

See today’s Boston Globe front page (newseum.org)

Posted in john ratzenberger, what if...?

Christian Movie Review: "What If…?"

Posted on by elizabethprata

I am in the middle of a long weekend. At our school, they call it “Winter Break.” This means Friday and Monday off, around the time of President’s Day. So Thursday night was especially sweet, knowing I did not have to get up the next day, or the next, or the next, or the next.

Before I was saved, I was a movie buff. I loved movies. Foreign films, obscure films, blockbusters, you name it, I enjoyed them.

After salvation, the work of the Spirit kicks in and sanctification matures a person. Sanctification is defined “To sanctify means to be set apart for a holy use. God has set us apart for the purpose of sanctification not impurity (1 Thess. 4:7),”

This means that I no longer enjoy the things I used to enjoy because of the sin that is inherent in them. If is not holy, forget it.

The movie thing is a hard sin to let go. I love to sit absorbed for an hour and a half or two hours, cerebrally involved in a good movie that has good writing and good acting. I love to be mentally challenged. Documentaries were especially wonderful, because I love to learn. I cannot stand documentaries now because they are full of lies. Science documentaries that say dinosaurs roamed “millions of years ago” or canyons that were formed by river “erosion over millions of eons” or man “evolved from monkeys” are simply not true. So I don’t even waste my time.

Movies tend to be chock full of sin. (Same with books). What to watch that would be time well spent in holy pursuits, not be offensive to God, not put terrible thoughts into my brain, or weigh my heart down with dissipation? That one’s tougher.

Even harder is to tread the balance between resting too deeply (complacently) in Jesus and the comfort of His Gospel, and not swinging too far the other way and getting legalistic on myself. Downton Abbey is one my conscience pricks me with. The Christian Pundit wrote “Why I Won’t Watch Downton Abbey” and I agreed with each one of her points, completely. Yet I still watch! As a matter of fact I am looking forward to it. When will Anna call her husband “John”? Will Daisy leave the Abbey and work the farm? Will Lady Violet and Isobel ever be friends? O, the drama. I am a weak, weak woman, in love with pretty castles and nice gowns. I admit my superficiality…

So there’s Netflix. I can pick and choose after thoroughly vetting a show or a movie. To find an uplifting movie free from sin is asking almost too much. To find one meeting those qualifications that also has correct doctrine is like finding a needle in a haystack.

But I found one.

It is called “What If…?” The Internet Movie Database synopsizes the movie thus: “15 years ago, Ben Walker left his girlfriend and his ministry calling for a business opportunity. Now with a high-paying career and a trophy fiancé, he is visited by an angel, who gives him a glimpse into what his life would look like had he followed his calling.”

It is a combination It’s a Wonderful Life and Family Man. It is a time warping, parallel universe kind of peek into a life that has the other answers to choices you did not make in this universe. I loved Sliding Doors and Me, Myself, I (the one with Rachel Griffiths, not Me, Myself and I with JoBeth Williams and definitely not Me, Myself, & Irene with Jim Carrey!) And who doesn’t love Back to the Future and Groundhog Day? Talk about cerebral, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was also a great movie.

I saw all of those pre-salvation, mind you. I have not seen them lately with a more sanctified eye so I do not know if they stand the test of purity or not.

“What If…?” came out in 2010 and stars Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, and John Ratzenberger as the angel. The director is Dallas Jenkins, son of Jerry B. Jenkins of Left Behind fame.

Now, John Ratzenberger is just a sweet, peach of a charming man whenever he is in one of these films. I mentioned his work in the last movie review I’d written, WWJD II/The Woodcarver. He is a confident, wonderful actor. Kevin Sorbo is likable and I thought Kristy Swanson played the perplexed wife very well. And the kids were good too.

The one beef I’ve read from other reviewers is that God works all things for the good for those who love Him, and the movie makes it seem that our path in life hinges on only one right choice. That if you make one wrong choice, that’s it for you, no second chances. That view leaves God powerless to our choices rather than the architect of our faith and the sovereign of the world and the universe.

If the story was played that way, I’d agree with the negative comment. But the end shows that this is not what really happens. I won’t give it away, but it isn’t really an issue … you’ll see why.

I thought the modesty issue was well handled (only one shirt the wife wore was a bit low cut) but the replacement husband from the alternate universe slept on the couch. No profanity, and I didn’t catch any obvious sins aside from the obvious ones the movie people wanted to show us as a starting point for the journey of transformation in the main character (money loving, selfish, insider trading).

It is a funny movie, too. The protagonist’s first sermon on what turned out to be the first day at his new church was hilarious. He fell back to the only thing he knew: “Make more money so you can be happy.” LOL!

The touching moment were well done without being preachy. As much as I like preaching, movies are movies, not sermons. This is one place where well-meaning Christian movies often go awry, but not “What If…?”

For example, the display of deep humility Ben Walker showed when he overheard his wife praying for him, the embarrassment at recognizing how badly he’d bungled his daughter’s dating situation, the generosity of the smallest daughter’s offering of the piggy bank, even the length of time it took him to let go the things he’d thought were so precious, like his fancy car.

I enjoyed the scene at a hospital deathbed where he preached the Gospel in a solid way (parable of the laborers in the vineyard, Matthew 20:1–16). And I enjoyed the end very much.

I’d say that “What If…?” is an entertaining, well-done, safe movie for Christians and families. I hope you enjoy it too!

Posted in asteroid, signs in the sky

Signs in the sky- FOUR astronomical events stun the world: Asteroid flyby, meteors in Russia, Cuba and SF, all on same day

Posted on by elizabethprata

Yesterday an enormous meteor entered earth’s atmosphere, swung low, and for 32 seconds streaked across parts of Russia, astounding many. The sound boom and resulting shockwave injured over 1,200 people, and blew out 100,000 square meters of windows during the most frigid time in a Russian winter.

Other facts that came to light after the shock wore off and scientists zoomed to the place where it landed. Sorting through data, Russia Today reports that

“nearly 3,000 buildings were damaged to varying extents by the meteor shower in the city, including 34 medical facilities and 361 schools and kindergartens. … Buildings were left without gas because facilities in the city had also been damaged, an Emergency Ministry spokesperson said, according to Russia 24 news channel. The Emergency Ministry reported that 20,000 rescue workers are operating in the region. Three aircraft were deployed to survey the area and locate other possible impact locations.”

The UK Telegraph reports on the aftermath of the Russia meteor,

“The 55-foot rock, said by Nasa to have a mass of 10,000 tonnes, plunged to Earth in the Urals region on Friday morning, causing shockwaves that injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes in an event unprecedented in modern times. Nasa estimated that the energy released by the meteor’s impact with the atmosphere was 500 kilotonnes, around 30 times the force of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. It entered the atmosphere and broke up at an altitude of around 32 miles, causing a shockwave that blew out windows and set of car alarms in Chelyabinsk two and a half minutes later. Divers were this morning searching the Chelyabinsk region’s frozen Lake Chebarkul for a fragment of the meteorite. No fragments have been found in the region so far – despite some 20,000 rescuers and recovery workers being dispatched to help the hundreds of people injured. An army of glaziers were also being transported to Chelyabinsk to urgently repair the thousands of broken windows in homes as night time temperatures fall below -15C.”

This is a RT compilation of the sound wave blast. In looking at this you will understand why an “army of glaziers” is headed to the region.

Russia meteor sound blast:

But did you know that yesterday there were three other ‘signs in the sky’ as well? One other cosmic visitation was from the already-expected closest-ever flyby of an asteroid to earth. This also occurred yesterday. Asteroid 2012 DA14 skimmed by closer to our planet than any other known asteroid, ever. It flew low in Geo-synchronous orbit and could be seen with binoculars.

The Guardian reported,

“According to Don Yeomans of Nasa’s Near-Earth Object Observation Programme, an asteroid like 2012 DA14 flies this close on average only once every 40 years. This time around, however, the next one is due sooner than that. On 13 April 2029, Apophis will pass Earth closer than the ring of geostationary satellites. But, at an estimated distance of 19,400 miles, it will not break the record set tonight by 2012 DA14”.

It seems that there may also have been a meteor in Cuba as well. The UK Mirror calls it a “cosmic coincidence” (we know better don’t we?).

“The fireball – reportedly followed by a loud explosion some minutes later – was spotted above Cuba at 1am GMT yesterday. That’s 6,000 miles away from Chelyabinsk where a meteor left a 20ft crater and caused a devastating sonic boom at 3.20am GMT. China’s Xinhua news agency reported the bright spot in the sky was spotted in the Cienfuegos area, in central Cuba. One eyewitness said his house shook slightly in the blast and officials are scouring for any remnants of the object.”

Cuba meteor:

So, asteroid fly-by, meteor in Russia, one in Cuba, and … one reported in San Francisco.

Another Meteor Flashes Across Bay Area Skies

On the heels of a close fly-by of an asteroid 17,000 miles from Earth on Friday morning and a devastating meteor that landed in Russia, Bay Area stargazers caught a glimpse of another meteor Friday night. Social media users reported seeing the blue flash of the meteor flying west around 8 p.m. Friday night, and sightings were reported throughout the Bay Area, from Santa Clara to Fairfield, and even in the Central Valley cities of Fresno and Stockton. Jonathan Braidman, an astronomer with the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, said that it appears that the three astronomical events seen Friday are unrelated.”

They mean four astronomical events. They didn’t report on the Cuba meteor.

Here is a report on the San Francisco meteor

Peter preached that God will show signs of His coming. “And I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; (Acts 2:19)

Peter preached that at Pentecost about the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord will be the time when God personally intervenes on earth to deal with sin and sinners through His wrath. That “Day” has not begun, but with signs like these meteors and asteroids all occurring on the same day, it certainly seems near.

Since time is short, how should you live? Peter told us in 2 Peter.

Peter tells us that when we believe the end will come, and knowing about this fact, it changes a Christian’s thinking and his actions. In 2 Peter 3, Peter begins by explaining about the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is the 7 year out-pouring of God’s wrath upon the world. You believe that whether we are on earth at that time is not important. Here are several things Peter warns us about that should give us pause.

In verse 3 Peter warns that scoffers and mockers will come. These are not people scoffing at the notion of Jesus nor about Christianity in general. They scoff specifically at end time things!

“knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3)

If it wasn’t important to know about end time things, then first, the doctrines would not be in the bible. But since they are, they are profitable. (2 Timothy 3:16). Second, if they were not important, satan would not spend so much time mocking and scoffing and diverting us away from them! These things are of high importance. Every book except Philemon mentions the end of days.

Peter then sums up with an important question:

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,” (2 Peter 3:11)

He’s saying that our behavior changes depending on what our attitude is about these end time things. As Gill’s Exposition says, “what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? not as the scoffers and profane sinners, who put away this evil day far from them, but as men, who have their loins girt, and their lights burning, waiting for their Lord’s coming; being continually in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of their religious duties, watching, praying, hearing, reading; living soberly, righteously, and godly; guarding against intemperance and worldly mindedness, and every worldly and hurtful lust.”

Let us discharge our religious duties while we wait for our Blessed Hope!