Posted in God, islam, jesus, muhammad, Obama

Blasphemy is on everyone’s lips

Posted on by elizabethprata

It seems that everywhere these past days I read a news story which now affords Muhammad a respect and title he had not been given before. We see more and more often in the newspapers and in media the Muslim man named Muhammad called ‘The Prophet Muhammad’ and not simply Muhammad. They even use a capital P. Entertainment Weekly referred to Muhammad this way. National Public Radio referred to Muhammad this way. The NY Times referred to Muhammad this way. And many others. Obama referred to Muhammad that way just today at the UN. (But ‘Jesus Christ’ was all our Savior got for a title from Obama, not Messiah Jesus or Savior Jesus or even Prophet Jesus. Only ‘Jesus Christ’).

Nowadays when Muhammad is referred to in print or video news items, increasingly he is accorded that elevated status and title.

I believe this is significant. (Jude 1:18; 2 Peter 3:3). It signals a shift away from Christ and toward Islam, which is really a prophesied shift away from the true religion toward a coming false one. At the end of the end, there will be a one world religion, and that religion will be worship of the antichrist (really, satan-worship). (Revelation 13:3-4). Worldwide hatred of anything having to do with Jesus will be the order of the day. (Revelation 13:7-8).

Also significant, is the global push for about instituting some kind of restriction of speech about Islam and specifically Muhammad. On Friday, September 21st I’d posted a news blurb about the Muslim call for a global blasphemy law. I’d mentioned that the Muslim nations had successively made that call at each session of the UN but it never had gotten anywhere. The motion had always died. But it has revived with a bang.

If you think for a moment how ridiculous this is and how obviously it betrays Muslim intention to dominate the world. How can a religion pass a law? How would they enforce it? Can a person mot a Muslim even blaspheme a person or object in which they do not believe? Sharia is their goal. Sharia is the moral code and religious law of Islam, governing every aspect of a Muslim’s life & is based on the Koran).

Here is one news blurb about the global blasphemy law from today-

Muslim-led nations seek global ban on insults of Muhammad
“As the U.N. General Assembly convenes this week in New York, several leaders of mostly Muslim nations are suggesting that the world body consider sanctions on blasphemy, amid widespread protests against an amateur movie that denigrates Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will focus at least part of his remarks on the film when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.”

It’s one thing for people of another religion to lobby for certain rights to the UN, which has no sovereignty over the United States (for now) but it is quite another for citizens OF the United States INSIDE the United states to lobby for the same.

Leaders of Kansas City Muslim group petition Obama to limit free speech of American citizens
“The leadership of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City have launched an online petition campaign for President Obama to back a bill to limit the free speech of American citizens they deem offensive.”

Back at the UN, “Blasphemy campaign threatens to derail UN“
“The demand for limits on anti-Islamic expression is coming from leading Islamic groups such as the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation, and leaders as diverse as the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Egyptian President, Mohammed Mursi, and the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

Hmmm. Interesting leaders it is coming from…Iran-Turkey will form an alliance to attack Israel in the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 37-38, and Egypt will participate in the Psalm 83 war against Israel. (I believe the Hagrites referred to in Psalm 83 are Egyptians. Hagar was Egyptian and she got an Egyptian wife for her son Ishmael from Egypt (Gen 21:21).

With all this blasphemy talk on everyone’s lips, I could not help but remember the prophecies in Revelation 12 and Daniel 7 & 11. In Revelation 13 the antichrist is given a great mouth to boast blasphemies against God. In Revelation 13:5-6 blasphemy is written three times. In Revelation 13:1 he is also called a blasphemer. Daniel 11:36 prophesies that he will say unheard-of things against the God of gods! Thessalonians 2:4 says he will oppose God and exalt himself and proclaim himself to be God! Blasphemy defines this coming Man of Sin! Blasphemy saturates every moment of the Tribulation!

How is all this significant? I’m not sure of the big picture yet. I feel that this global blasphemy push and the elevated name in print are something though. In one sense, it is significant because it shows how global the ummah really is. Ummah is an Arabic word for nation or community, and of course it means nation or community of Muslims. They truly see themselves as a global community of peoples, not just a local coalition of peoples. That is what Ummah means. Why else would Muslims in Sydney march against a movie made by a US resident and shown in Egypt?

As a matter of fact two days ago the Prime Minister of Pakistan called for the Ummah to unite.

“Time for Muslim Ummah to unite; seek permanent solution to end Blasphemous acts: PM‘
Responding to the uprising against the Youtube video about Muhammad (“Innocence of Muslims) the PM said, “Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the Muslim Ummah needs to stand united and seek a permanent solution to ban hate speech that sows seeds of discord.”

He noted the ‘blasphemy’ also. The word blasphemy is on everyone’s lips today but it was on Jesus’s 2000 years ago. The Tribulation will be characterized by true blasphemy, against the one true God.

Christian blasphemy is defined at CARM as “speaking evil of God or denying Him some good which we should attribute to Him.  It could also be understood to be acting in any impious, mocking or contemptuous way toward any member of the Trinity.1 The word blasphemy comes from the Greek word, blasphemia, meaning “curse” or “vilifying.” 2 Blasphemy arises out of pride (Psalm 73:9,11), hatred (Psalm 74:18), injustice (Isaiah 52:5), etc.  Christ was often mistakenly accused of blasphemy by Jewish leaders (John 10:30-33).”

Muslim blasphemy is defined as “Blasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. The Quran and the hadith do not speak about blasphemy. Jurists created the offence, and they made it part of Sharia. Where Sharia pertains, the penalties for blasphemy can include fines, imprisonment, flogging, amputation, hanging, or beheading. Muslim clerics may call for the punishment of an alleged blasphemer by issuing a fatwā.”

One thing all this blasphemy talk is doing is heightening the lost people’s sensitivity for holy and unholy speech. We are beyond politically correct or incorrect speech. Now the global conversation is all about holy or unholy speech. The blasphemy talk also frames debates in religious terms.

Here is what the bible says about the coming blasphemy, the real blasphemy!

“And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.” (Revelation 13:1)

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.” (Revelation 17:3)

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” (Colossians 3:8)

I think the blasphemy talk emerging worldwide is important. We are heading toward a dark time when blasphemy against a non-existent god via a pedophile false prophet will likely protected speech but blasphemy against a Sinless and Holy God will be ripe on everyone’s lips. And watch for how people from this day forward refer to Muhammad, either verbally in news stories or in print. It’s no longer Muhammad but The Prophet Muhammad. The wicked are addicted to blasphemy:

“Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.” (Psalm 74:1)

May the Holy God of Israel and He who is the Light of the World come soon!

Posted in theology

Yom Kippur begins today

Posted on by elizabethprata

At around noon EST, the highest holy holiday in Israel begins, Yom Kippur.

“Also known as Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora’im (“Days of Awe”).

“Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person’s fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to “seal” the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God.”

Source- Wikipedia.

Further Resources:

Judaism 101: Yom Kippur
Jewish Virtual Library: Yom Kippur’s importance

News for Yom Kippur:

Yom Kippur: 64% fast, 46% pray
“Public consensus over Day of Atonement continues: Even those who don’t mark day in traditional manner devote it to ‘quality time’ with themselves or their family; only 0.5% of Israelis plan to travel”

Opinion piece: Jerusalem Post: “Time for Atonement“

Gnosticism infiltrating the highest holy day for Jews, too:

Manayunk congregation’s Yom Kippur service will take a nontraditional, meditational turn

I feel the Yom Kippur holy day is a time for high alert. Remember, 39 years ago, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel on this holiday. Be in prayer for the Jewish people, and the lost Muslims too…

Posted in lightning, prophecy, suddenly, SUV

Lightning hits SUV as it is driving

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is one lucky driver. A driver of the SUV is apparently OK after a lightning bolt hit his vehicle directly. It happened so suddenly!

Our very lives on earth could be over that quickly! Or, the rapture could happen that fast! Look at these verses at supernatural things that happened suddenly:

“But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.” (Isaiah 47:11)

“While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

At the Mount of Transfiguration-
“And suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them conversing with Him.” (Matthew 17:3)

“Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,” (Luke 2:13)

“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:39)

“And passing through the first ward and the second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. This opened to them of itself; and, going out, they passed on through one of the streets, and then suddenly the angel left him.” (Acts 12:10)

“And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:3)

When God purposes to do something it happens suddenly.

Babylon fell in one night. (Daniel 5:30-31)

In modern times, “less than five years after Gorbachev took power, the Soviet imperium in central and Eastern Europe had fallen apart, followed by the Soviet Union itself in 1991. If ever an empire fell off a cliff — rather than gently declining — it was the one founded by Lenin.” (“Complexity and Collapse: Empires on the Edge of Chaos” by Niall Ferguson.)

And what of the United States? Could a lightning bolt hit us and we collapse just as suddenly as the former empires? Some say that the US has been in collapse for four years and that all it would take is one tiny push to get us over the edge. Ferguson goes on in his 2010 piece to say:

“OVER THE EDGE”
“If empires are complex systems that sooner or later succumb to sudden and catastrophic malfunctions, rather than cycling sedately from Arcadia to Apogee to Armageddon, what are the implications for the United States today? First, debating the stages of decline may be a waste of time — it is a precipitous and unexpected fall that should most concern policymakers and citizens. Second, most imperial falls are associated with fiscal crises. All the above cases were marked by sharp imbalances between revenues and expenditures, as well as difficulties with financing public debt. Alarm bells should therefore be ringing very loudly…”

And Mr Ferguson wrote that two years ago, in 2010.

He continues with a reminder

“that empires do not in fact appear, rise, reign, decline, and fall according to some recurrent and predictable life cycle. It is historians who retrospectively portray the process of imperial dissolution as slow-acting, with multiple overdetermining causes. Rather, empires behave like all complex adaptive systems. They function in apparent equilibrium for some unknowable period. And then, quite abruptly, they collapse. To return to the terminology of Thomas Cole, the painter of The Course of Empire, the shift from consummation to destruction and then to desolation is not cyclical. It is sudden.”

That series of paintings by Thomas Cole is called The Course of Empire. The five-part series of paintings were completed by Cole during the years 1833-36. Wiki explains, “It is notable in part for reflecting popular American sentiments of the times, when many saw pastoralism as the ideal phase of human civilization, fearing that empire would lead to gluttony and inevitable decay.” I gotta say, they were right. The paintings are truly remarkable in the way they illustrate the lightning bolt suddenness and chaos of collapse. The are titled: “The Savage State”, “The Pastoral State”, “The Consummation of Empire”, “Destruction”, “Desolation.”

Jesus said people would be going about a normal life and caught unaware of the sudden changes. “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” (Luke 21:34-35).

Suddenly as that lightning bolt! Are you ready?

Posted in glorification, sanctification

In through the door of justification, out the door of glorification. What’s in between?

Posted on by elizabethprata

We enter the door to the Kingdom over the threshold of “Justification.” Justification is-

“…to justify is to declare righteous, to make one right with God. Justification is God’s declaring those who receive Christ to be righteous, based on Christ’s righteousness being imputed to the accounts of those who receive Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though justification as a principle is found throughout Scripture, the main passage describing justification in relation to believers is Romans 3:21-26: “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

“We are justified, declared righteous, at the moment of our salvation. Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous.”

It is all about justice. The Lord declares us pardoned and free from the penalty of our sins, and therefore justified. Justice has been served- not because of anything we did, but because of Jesus taking on the penalty from God for all the world’s sins.That’s a lot of wrath, and Jesus took it.

At the moment of justification God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell inside us.

God justifies.

When we exit this life we are glorified. Glorification is “the future and final work of God upon Christians, where he transforms our mortal physical bodies to the eternal physical bodies in which we will dwell forever.  1 Cor. 15:42-44…” (source). God removes all sin from us and changes our sin-nature to a perfect nature. It is a change in body and soul. More here.

God glorifies.

In between the moment of justification (pronounced righteous and free from the penalty for sin) and glorification (the removal of sin from our soul and the creation of a new eternal body) is sanctification.

Sanctification “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), and being such we are called to do good works (Eph. 2:10). Sanctification follows justification. In justification our sins are completely forgiven in Christ. Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire. True sanctification is impossible apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross because only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life.” (source)

“Sanctification also refers to the practical experience of this separation unto God, being the effect of obedience to the Word of God in one’s life, and is to be pursued by the believer earnestly (1 Peter 1:15; Hebrews 12:14).”

This is the one part of the process where we have input. The Holy Spirit is in charge of the process, but we don’t lay down and let sanctification drip on us and absorb it by osmosis. The reason sanctification is messy and hard is because we participate in it.

Think of the book “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan. Christian walked, wandered, got back on track, slept, was vigorous, was inattentive, was purposeful…it took a while to get there, and his walk wasn’t straight all the time. At times it was even circular.

Even Paul said found it difficult to walk the straight arrow of sanctification at times. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15).

We do not do anything about our own justification. That is a declaration from God based on the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. We can’t do anything about glorification, because it is the Creator who makes us our new bodies. But sanctification… we engage with the Spirit in the process.

The bible says we are to pursue sanctification earnestly. In the practical, this means, do we pray ceaselessly? Do we walk closely with Jesus? Do we repent to Him of our sins? Do we study diligently? The more we put in, the more we are sanctified.

The Bema seat award ceremony will reveal to us the fruits of our participation in the sanctification process. (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; Rev. 3:11-12.) From the time we walked through the door and were justified and to the end at the rapture when we’re glorified, how much of what we did for Jesus as the Spirit sanctified us was motivated by love for Him, and how much of was motivated by love for our own selves? How much did we do and how much more could we have done if we had been more vigorous for Him? Will you have moved away from the door of justification and toward the other door? Or are you still hovering at the entry, not doing much and not allowing the Spirit to set you apart for good works? All will be revealed.

The more we participate in the sanctification process by praying, walking, submitting, and working, the more we will be rewarded.

So that’s justification, sanctification and glorification. Search these things out to see if they are true! 🙂

Posted in israel, noise, Obama, rapture

Obama’s message to Israel- I’m not listening

Posted on by elizabethprata

Obama finds the world too noisy. Like a defiant child with fingers in his ears, he goes LA LA LA to Israel as Israel says ‘the world will change when Iran gets the bomb…’

Tonight on the news magazine program 60 Minutes, Obama said

“When it comes to our national security decisions — any pressure that I feel is simply to do what’s right for the American people. And I am going to block out — any noise that’s out there,” Obama says, according to AFP.

Isn’t that special. Our strongest ally in the most hostile part of the world is…noise. But will that classy and professional “I’m not listening” approach work when Iran bombs US?

Iranian general threatens pre-emptive strike against Israel, attacks on US bases
“In circumstances in which [the Israelis] have prepared everything for an attack, it is possible that we will make a pre-emptive attack,” he said, according to a translation posted on the website of the Egyptian daily, Al-Ahram.  He added that Iran would also attack US bases in the region, saying that the ensuing military engagement would “turn into World War III.”

Pray to God that we can bear four more months of Obama or four more years- whatever God’s plan is. Pray for our troops on bases in harm’s way. Pray for the world, especially if Iran gets the bomb. And I think they will. Pray for the rapture!

Posted in bible, jesus, judgment, rob bell, satan

Back to Basics: Who is Satan?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Satan is real.

He was God’s covering cherub, the highest of the high, and the most beautiful. (Ezekiel 28:14-17). This means he is an angel and therefore a created being under God’s sovereignty. The eternal clash between good and evil is not one of equal opposites, but one of rebellion of a created being against an uncreated, holy God. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

We hear satan’s actual voice three times in the bible. Once in Genesis 3:1-5 when he is talking with Eve in the Garden of Eden. There, he insinuated to Eve that God is not good enough to her by not letting her have all the fruit of the Garden. The second time we hear him speak, it’s in heaven to God about Job. (Job 1:7-11). There, he told God that God was being too good to Job. The third time is when satan tempts Jesus. (Luke 4:1-12). In that scene, he used several the schemes in his arsenal (temptation of the body, temptation of power, temptation of testing God) and when he failed, he went away until another opportune time. (Luke 4:13).

These scenes tell us that satan has many schemes in his bag of tricks, he is not hesitant to use them against people, or Jesus or even GOD, and that he never quits.

Satan is mentioned in the Gospels twenty-nine times. And twenty-five of those times, Jesus is the one talking about Satan. Satan is mentioned in seven Old Testament books and every New Testament book.

Satan is a real person. He is not allegory, a metaphor or a figment. If you believe he is an allegory or figment or just an evil force, then you destroy the integrity and truthfulness of every NT book, each Gospel, a quarter of the Old Testament, and the character of Jesus. It is not possible to disbelieve satan is real but also believe the rest of the bible is truthful, historical, prophetic, and the word of God.

Satan is not in hell. He is not the ruler of hell. So where is he? He is roaming up and down upon the earth. (Job 1:7, Job 2:2; 1 Peter 5:8). Satan is the prince of the air. (Ephesians 2:2). Satan is in heaven accusing the brethren. (Revelation 12:10; Job 1:6). God has granted limited and temporary sovereignty to satan, for he is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). From this we see that satan has been granted much latitude by God on earth, the air and in heaven.

Satan is busy! He is accusing the brethren, roaming the earth, fighting the holy angels, sowing tares among the wheat, polluting the doctrine. He is wreaking devastation and destruction. (John 10:10). And much more!

What is satan’s destiny? When satan rebelled in the primordial past, God prepared hell for satan and his angels. (Matthew 25:41). There will be no offer to repent and no opportunity to come to salvation. The devil and his angels’ futures are fixed. (John 16:11). Meanwhile, God uses their evil for His good and glory.

During the time since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, satan has been allowed latitude in each of the three spheres of earth, air and heaven. However, midway through the Tribulation, he will be thrown out of heaven and access will no longer be granted to him or his angels. Perhaps satan thought he would be able to go on like this forever. God’s patience is longsuffering, but it does have an end, and satan gets tossed. He and his angels will be furious and will wreak that fury on the population of the earth. Woe to them! (Revelation 12:7-17).

At the conclusion of the Tribulation, satan will be thrown into the abyss and locked up for 1000 years. When 1000 years is over, he will be let out for a little while to foment one last, short, rebellion. (Revelation 20:3; 8). After that time he will be thrown into the lake of fire, the place prepared for him in the primordial past. His angels will be thrown there too, (Revelation 20:10) along with every person who followed him. (Revelation 20:15).

To all the precious brethren, fighting and strong or struggling and weak: he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. We need not fear satan, but we do need to appreciate his capabilities and thus rely on the Holy Spirit more than ever. And to the lost: make no mistake, satan is real.

Rob Bell casts aspersions on the Holy Word. In his infamous book, “Love Wins“, Bell wrote about hell and by definition, satan,

“‘A staggering number of people have been taught that a few select Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear.’ “

Oh, woe to those who disbelieve Jesus’s words about future judgment for sin and His word to John in Revelation about the Book of Life. If your name is not written in it, you will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever.

Mr Bell believes love wins: and he is right, it does. Look at the cross! God’s love of humanity- expressed through Jesus-  triumphed over evil and sin and death! (Colossians 2:13-15). However, Mr Bell believes love and holiness are mutually exclusive. They are not. Holiness wins too. (John 9:39). All one needs to do is look at the lake of fire- the place prepared for the devil and his angels, and all those who follow satan. (Matthew 12:30-32). Unless you believe in Jesus, you are actually following satan by default. When you die, you will follow satan right into the Lake of Fire.

Now for some encouragement to the brethren:

“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 4:4)

“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31).

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Thanks be to God for Jesus!

Those are a few facts about satan. As always, read the word for yourselves to see if these things are true.

Posted in bozra, jews, sela, tribulation

"Petra By Night" – from The Jordan Times

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Jordan Times:
In Petra, visitors find more than one way to explore a world wonder
by Muath Freij |
Sep 22, 2012 | 22:59 Updated: Sep 22, 2012 | 22:59


‘Petra by night’ is one of many different ways tourists can see the archaeological wonder in a different light (Photo by Muath Freij)

PETRA — On donkeys, on foot, by day or by night, Petra offers many perspectives from which to observe its archaeological treasures and natural beauty.  Speaking to The Jordan Times on a recent visit to the Kingdom’s most famous tourist attraction, visitors from around the world all had different stories to tell about what struck them most about their experience there. 

For Paul Scanlon, an Australian who was visiting Petra for the first time with his wife, the most memorable moment was riding a donkey up and down the steep, rocky mountains to get to the monastery.”Riding the donkeys to go to the monastery was scary and exciting at the same time,” he told The Jordan Times.  His wife Kathryn, on the other hand, said seeing Petra at night was the highlight of her visit. 

“It was so beautiful to go through the Siq, which was lit up with candles,” she said.  “What I liked most was the bedouins singing and playing flutes and other traditional instruments. Also, it was really beautiful and generous that the bedouins served us tea, which was really delicious and wonderful.” 

Her husband agreed, adding that the quiet, peaceful atmosphere of Petra by night was something to behold.  Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, the entrance to one of the new seven wonders of the world is open to tourists after dark for a special programme called “Petra by night”. 

Visitors walk through the Siq, their path lit by rows of candles, to the treasury for a candlelit concert of folk tunes played on traditional instruments by bedouins from the area. 

After the performance, a bedouin tells stories about the culture and folklore of the Nabataeans, the people who built the ancient city and passed some of their heritage on to those who live in the area today.  For some visitors, learning about the history of the city and its significance is an important part of the Petra experience. 

Claudgia Bertinato, a tourist from Brazil, decided to hire a guide to show her around the city.  Although hiring a guide was a bit expensive, she said, it was well worth the price. “I preferred to get a guide because I wanted to learn more about Petra and its history. Also I did not research Petra before coming, so I wanted the guide to clarify more about it. My guide was really helpful and he even took photos of me,” she told The Jordan Times while walking with her guide. 

Bertinato added that she preferred to walk throughout her tour of the city, rather than taking the horse-drawn carts and donkey rides on offer, because she wanted to go at her own pace and see every detail.  “When you go fast or use a carriage, you miss things. I did not want to miss any sight in this beautiful city.”

——————–end article—————-
Petra is more than a world wonder, it is a place God intends to use, as scholars conjecture based on biblical evidence, to hide His people while the Tribulation is going on.

Just imagine when this glorious, ancient city place will be lit by candles by a million or so Jews who have fled there at the Holy Spirit’s urging and the word of Jesus, (Mark 13:14) who will then be supernaturally nurtured by God throughout the remaining three and a half years of the Tribulation! (Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14-16).

Posted in birdsong, dawn chorus, end time, new jerusalem

Imagine the dawn chorus in heaven

Posted on by elizabethprata

I love the pre-dawn. It is quiet and cool and dark but the light is coming, and already is.

I live in an area which is fairly rural, and there is not much traffic. Though I live on a major artery in the county, there isn’t enough traffic even during the day to really bother me. However, in the pre-dawn, there is none at all. I can hear from afar off the dogs bark, cows moo, occasional owl screech, an early rooster…

At about 6 am there is always one bird. From out of the darkness, suddenly, there will be a happy series of chirps. He is loud, and the sound is joyous to me. Not to anthropomorphize too much, but the bird really does sound happy. The piercing, lengthy call sounds like he is waking up his brethren. Perhaps it is an ovenbird.

After the first bird goes first, then in a few moments the dawn chorus begins. The dawn chorus is a worldwide event. At Cornell, they wrote, “The dawn chorus is one of the most conspicuous vocal behaviors of birds, and one of the least understood. Near sunrise, birds often sing more loudly and vigorously than they do at other times of the day.”

I like to think they are thanking their Creator. He knows them, and I like to think they know their Creator back. God says, “I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.” (Psalms 50:11). We know that all creation groaneth in travail until now, (Romans 8:22). They groan…do they sing in joy as well?

Birds suffer for man’s sin, (Genesis 6:7; Jeremiah 12:4; Ezekiel 38:20;Hosea 4:3). The bible says they flee away when calamity comes as well. (Jeremiah 4:25; Jeremiah 9:10)

Yet they sing:

10You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. (Psalm 104:10-13)

Imagine the ‘dawn chorus’ in heaven! Birds will sing all the time because there is no dusk and no dawn, only day! (1 John 1:5, Revelation 21:25).

I believe that in heaven when He brings His bride to her place and presents our dwelling place to us, our rooms will not have screens on the windows. Because why would they? No biting insects or animals will creep in and harass us. All creation will be reconciled to its Creator and there will be no reason to have bars or screens to keep things out, or in. Maybe a bird will swoop in to my room and sing in joy at the perfection of the Creator and gladness to be part of it, and I will join. Together we are all groaning now, but the Day will come when we will all sing in joyous praise to the One who made us. Birds too.

In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the first bird each morning, knowing that before the day’s groaning begins, there is joy in creation among the created.

Posted in love of money, service

Botched Spanish Fresco becomes international sensation

Posted on by elizabethprata

Botched Spanish Fresco Becomes International Sensation

“It turned a small church in Spain into an international laughing stock: a badly restored fresco of Jesus Christ that ended up looking like strange-looking monkey. But the awful work of art also did something else: it turned the Misericordia church into a tourist attraction, with hundreds of tourists flocking to Boria, a small town in Spain, to see an artwork gone wrong. And the church has even tried to cash in on its new-found infamy – it charges visitors 1-Euro to see the botched painting. The distorted image then began appearing on T-shirts and cellphone covers, coffee mugs and wine labels. It became an icon used to sell products around the world.”

“Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), completed in 1930, made headlines last month after Gimenez, a parishioner of the church, decided to restore it to her former glory. The 80-year-old parishioner instead turned the fresco of Christ wearing a crown of thorns into a disfigured, overweight she-man with a double chin and no beard.”

Now she has hired lawyers to see if there is copyright infringement on “her” work. “If she has rights, said lawyer Antonio Val Carreras Rivera, Gimenez could pursue payments from those using the image to sell products, although whatever she earns would go to charity.”

Call me skeptical, but if she wanted the money to go to charity she could refrain from hiring lawyers and do without the entire legal brouhaha altogether and let the church simply donate directly from what they take in.

This is the kind of thing I’d mentioned last night about people going C-R-A-Z-Y. The human behaviors of sacrifice, humility and others-centeredness has turned into ‘I want to make a buck and I’ll run over the next guy to do it. I have rights ya know!’

Paul warned Timothy that in the last days there would be godlessness. When a society is without God there is a demonstrable decline in human behavior. That is just how it is. Jesus said so in Matthew 24:12, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” It is a causal relationship. The word lawlessness in Greek means both illegal, and sinful behavior.

Godlessness in the Last Days

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

Paul said “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4). In lauding Timothy, Paul said of others, “For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 2:21). The Pharisees loved money. After they heard Jesus tell the parable of the dishonest manager, they sneered at Him, and the verse in Luke 16:14 directly says they sneered because they loved money.

Instead of being grateful for the unexpected windfall, instead of using the attention to talk of charitable needs in the community, instead of simply pointing to Christ and sharing the Gospel, the issue has become a fight over personal rights and money.

The fresco fight reminded me of the times, because it is prophesied we will be constantly tempted to act in our own interests. We need to always put Christ first. He came to serve, not to be served. (Matthew 20:28). I need to remind myself of that frequently, so I am not making myself an exception in this post. If we are slaves in Christ, and we are, (1 Corinthians 7:22) we have no rights- except the privilege to fulfill what He gives us to do. This is loving others, even our enemies, humility in thought and deed, and selfless service.