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God’s Four Sore Judgments- Pestilence

Posted on July 25, 2012March 25, 2020 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata*

This is a study of one of the LORD’S ‘Four Sore Judgments’, plague.

The LORD has “Four Sore Judgments” to which He sends at times upon the earth. In other translations they are called the “LORD’S Four Severe Judgments.” They’re mentioned in Ezekiel 14:21:

For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!

The four are Sword, Famine, Pestilence, and Beasts. Wesley’s notes says, “How much more – If they could not be able to keep off one of the four, how much less would they be able to keep off all four, when I commission them all to go at once.”

The Lord mentions three judgments together quite frequently, sword, famine, and pestilence. The judgment of beasts isn’t mentioned as much but usually when it is it’s with the other three, thus comprising the Lord’s Four Sore Judgments quartet.

If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague. (Jeremiah 14:12).

See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword, famine, and plague, the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. (Jeremiah 32:24).

But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine, and plague, so that they can tell of all their abominations among the nations to which they go. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 12:16).

Three of His judgments are usually enough to perform His will upon the people, as seen here in Ezekiel 6:12,

The one who is far off will die by plague; the one who is near will fall by the sword; and the one who remains and is spared will die of famine. In this way I will exhaust my wrath on them.

Revelation 6:8 mentions the beasts as the added 4th:

And I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

Plague and pestilence are interchangeable terms. In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (pp. 1280–1281), we read:

PESTILENCE Devastating epidemic that OT writers understood to be sent by God (Exod. 9:15; Jer. 15:2; Hab. 3:5; Amos 4:10), sometimes by means of a destroying angel (2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chron. 21:15). God sent pestilence as punishment for persistent unbelief (Num. 14:12) and failure to fulfill covenant obligations (Deut. 28:21) as well as to encourage repentance (Amos 4:10). God withheld pestilence from Egypt to allow for survivors to witness to His acts of liberation (Exod. 9:16). Earnest prayer averted pestilence (1 Kings 8:37); fasting and sacrifice without repentance did not (Jer. 14:12). Pestilence is often associated with war and siege conditions (Exod. 5:3; Lev. 26:25; Amos 4:10; Luke 21:11).

And this list of verses:

Plague or Pestilence, The
Inflicted by God. Eze. 14:19. Hab. 3:5.
One of God’s four sore judgments. Eze. 14:21.
Described as noisome. Psa. 91:3.
Israel threatened with, as a punishment for disobedience. Lev. 26:24, 25. Deu. 28:21.
Desolating effects of. Psa. 91:7. Jer. 16:6, 7. Amos 6:9, 10.
Equally fatal day and night. Psa. 91:5, 6.
Fatal to man and beast. Psa. 78:50. (marg.) Jer. 21:6.

SENT UPON
The Egyptians. Exo. 12:29–30.
Israel for making golden calf. Exo. 32:35.
Israel for despising manna. Num. 11:33.
Israel for murmuring at destruction of Korah. Num. 16:46–50.
Israel for worshipping Baal-peor. Num. 25:18.
David’s subjects for his numbering the people. 2 Sam. 24:15.
Often broke out suddenly. Psa. 106:29.
Often followed war and famine. Jer. 27:13. Jer. 28:8. Jer. 29:17, 18.
Egypt often afflicted with. Jer. 42:17, with Amos 4:10.
Specially fatal in cities. Lev. 26:25. Jer. 21:6, 9.
Was attributed to a destroying angel. Exo. 12:23, with 2 Sam. 24:16.
The Jews sought deliverance from, by prayer. 1 Kin. 8:37, 38. 2 Chr. 20:9.
Predicted to happen before destruction of Jerusalem. Mat. 24:7. Luke 21:11.

ILLUSTRATIVE OF
God’s judgments upon the apostasy. Rev. 18:4, 8.
The diseased state of man’s heart. 1 Kin. 8:38.

Source: Torrey, R. A. (1897). The New Topical Text Book: A Scripture Text Book for the Use of Ministers, Teachers, and All Christian Workers

It is a very dread situation when all four are unleashed. If you read Revelation 6, you will see that the four are unleashed all at once, or in very rapid succession. Jesus called it the worst time on earth there ever has been or ever will be. (Matthew 24:21). A quarter of the world will die when the seal is unsealed and these four sore judgments are commissioned to go all at once:

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7-8).

Sword is war, and war brings famine. Wars and revolutions interrupt supply lines, empty grocery stores, and ruin agricultural land. War makes food scarce, which depletes the body and opens it to more diseases due to compromised immune systems. War brings famine in that way.

The third sore judgment of the four that the LORD had linked in Ezekiel 14 is Pestilence. Pestilence has been present on earth for centuries and is is forecast for the people who dwell on the earth during the Tribulation in the future. (Revelation 6:8, Luke 8:11). According to the Greek word used in Luke 21, loimos, pestilence is a plague or a disease. Diseases are usually considered plagues when they are widespread and contain a high mortality rate. The American Heritage Medical Dictionary defines pestilence as “A highly infectious, usually fatal, epidemic disease; a pestilence.”

We see in this article of the outbreak of Influenza as WWI was concluding:

From 1917 to 1920, the virus infected one-third of the Earth’s population, which at the time was about 500 million people. If the same ratio of infections were to happen today, it would be the equivalent of 2.5 billion. That would roughly be the equivalent today of every man, woman, and child in Africa, Europe, and North America becoming infected.

The LORD promises to abolish the four judgments from the land someday,

And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. (Hosea 2:18)

What a day that will be!

I can’t say definitively that the COVID-19 virus is a judgment from the LORD, because I don’t know the Lord’s mind. We see from scriptural history, however, that He does send plagues for various reasons, all of them negative.

He is the Light. He is shining in heaven, and in the faces of each of His sheep. Soon, His light will be seen not by faith but by sight. Praise Him for His love and His wrath, for He is HOLY.

holy holy holy is the Lord verse

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*This essay was first published in July 2012 and was updated on 3/2020.

famine, revelation

God’s 4 sore judgments: #2- Famine

Posted on July 24, 2012 by elizabethprata

God’s Four Sore Judgments:

Introduction
#1: Sword
# 3: Pestilence
#4: Beasts

Yesterday I introduced a series examining the LORD’S “Four Sore Judgments.” In other translations they are called the “LORD’S Four Severe Judgments.” They’re mentioned in Ezekiel 14:21: “For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!”

Many bible scholars, pastors, and lay people feel and believe the rapture is going to occur at any moment. Please note however that the rapture itself has always been imminent. That means it could have happened at any moment over the last 2000 years. The first century church believed this, as Paul taught:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:11-13).

We are to be doing what Paul instructed in verse 11 & 12, while we are waiting for our Blessed Hope. They waited, and we wait. He is coming imminently.

If Jesus’s return for His saints was imminent 2000 years ago, how much more so is it today? We look at the signs of the Tribulation nearing and if the Tribulation is close how much closer is the rapture, which the bible teaches will occur prior? Jesus, Paul, and Peter warned us to remain awake and watchful. (Revelation 3:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 2 Peter 3:12). Don’t let anyone tell you that it is a bad thing to observe the times or see the signs of His soon appearing. It is commanded that we do so. On the other end of the spectrum, don’t let sign watching consume you, because as Paul said above in Titus 2, we are to go about living our lives to the utmost for Jesus (2 Peter 3:11), but soberly, watchfully, with our mind and eyes on the prize: which is Jesus. But do watch while we persevere in our waiting.

Here are examples of what I mean when I say the season of His rapture is close because of the Tribulation pieces coming together so visibly.

Famine is increasingly a part of the world’s vocabulary. Famine takes a long time to set up. It is a problem with complex and varied origins, relating to poverty, agriculture, weather, wars and more. Drought most often is the last symptom to appear before famine strikes hard and deep. War also is a catalyst for famine.

See Lamentations 5:9, which speaks of the sword and then the difficulty of getting bread:

“We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the desert.’

See the situation in Syria, the ongoing revolution which is causing hunger and grief. This is a story out of Homs, Syria about a month ago: “He said the situation was worst in Cairo Street, which divides two districts. “No one can cross the streets to buy bread, water or their daily necessities.” Locals have resorted to throwing supplies over the road because it is too dangerous to walk across. At 6pm one day in October, Jamal al-Fadel was struck by a sniper as he crossed Shrakess Street in Homs on his way to the bakery to buy some bread …”

“He fell to the ground in the middle of the road. People on either side of the street tried to help him but the sniper on the roof of the nearby post office building continued to shoot. They attempted to drag him to safety using a rope. Mr Homsi’s friend, Tarek al-Ajdab, moved closer, stretching out a hand to pull him to safety, but a sniper shot him in the head.” [source]

Ponder the Lamentations again, “We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the desert.”

Famine does not happen overnight. Drought starts it. Lack of water from above and below continues it. War exacerbates it. Unemployment pressures it. With the wars and rumors of wars increasing to a fever pitch all around the world, the famines are increasing also.

The pieces are in place for the great famine of the Tribulation to begin. Revelation’s Second seal unleashes war (sword) and the third seal unleashes famine. But the fourth seal combines sword, famine, pestilence and beasts, all four sore judgments at once. Some have said that the overview Jesus gives in Matthew 24:4-14 is an overview parallel to the Four Seal judgments of Revelation 6:3-8.

People like me who watch and see the trends and the pieces coming together see the individual preparations for sword, famine, pestilence and beasts at a level where they are almost combined. When Jesus unseals the judgments they will be ready to ignite into a conflagration the world has never seen before, no, nor shall ever see again.

Here is some news regarding famine of today:

The Price Of Corn Hits A Record High As A Global Food Crisis Looms
“Are you ready for the next major global food crisis? The price of corn hit an all-time record high on Thursday. So did the price of soybeans. The price of corn is up about 50 percent since the middle of last month, and the price of wheat has risen by about 50 percent over the past five weeks. On Thursday, corn for September delivery reached $8.166 per bushel, and many analysts believe that it could hit $10 a bushel before this crisis is over. The worst drought in the United States in more than 50 years is projected to continue well into August, and more than 1,300 counties in the United States have been declared to be official natural disaster areas. So how is this crisis going to affect the average person on the street? Well, most Americans and mo Europeans are going to notice their grocery bills go up significantly over the coming months. That will not be pleasant. But in other areas of the world this crisis could mean the difference between life and death for some people. You see, half of all global corn exports come from the United States. So what happens if the U.S. does not have any corn to export? About a billion people around the world live on the edge of starvation, and today the Financial Times ran a front page story with the following headline: “World braced for new food crisis“.”

Extended drought in US sends prices for corn and soybeans higher again; no relief in sight
“Prices for corn and soybeans jumped again as forecasts call for more blistering heat in crop-growing regions across the U.S.Corn for September delivery jumped 16.75 cents to settle $8.245 a bushel, the second straight day of record highs. August soybeans settled at $17.575 a bushel, up 23.75 cents and the third straight record-setting day.”

Famine anniversary: Somalis again dying on food walks; little rain, more violence
“The long, dusty walks from hungry homes to far-away refugee camps are again claiming lives in Somalia one year after up to 100,000 people died in the country’s worst famine in generations.”

GenerationS, plural. O, the woe!

Food prices soar as drought worsens
“NEW YORK (CNN Money) – As the Midwest continues to suffer through its worst drought in more than 50 years and corn prices near record highs, sixth generation farmer Pam Johnson stares out her window, praying for rain.”

Food price crisis feared as erratic weather wreaks havoc on crops
“‘What the world economy really needs right now is a break’, one economist says, but instead it appears headed toward upheaval.”

The world is not going to get a break. Upheaval is the only thing on the menu.

When we read of ‘record setting” so frequently, the records going higher and higher, and the unusual and ‘freak’ weather happening on a sustained, regular basis, then that is what I mean by the signs. I realize that when I use metaphors like ‘the bonfire is laid’ and the ‘match is lit’, that is it my opinion. I have no extra insight and no conversations with God to tell me this. But I have the bible and I have my mind and I have my eyes to see. I also have elder ordained brothers in the faith who are more knowledgeable than I am, saying the same thing. The rousing cry is gaining momentum from all corners.

What we Christian believers can do is trust the Lord all the more. He is our Savior and Lord, the Shepherd who guards His sheep. We might struggle with earthly needs but He will provide those and so much more will He provide spiritual needs: comfort, faith, strength, discernment, clarity.

For the unsuspecting world, the upheavals will be very trying. Immediately as these first four sore judgment seals are opened, a quarter of the world will die. (Rev 6:8). It will be the largest death toll in history.

Prophecy is part of scripture so we study it, but as with any scripture, it should be put into action. We are called to be Ambassadors for His name–

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

So our action is first to be sure we are in the faith, reconciled to Him. Then, be ambassadors, so He will make His appeal to the lost through us. Be strong and hardy, never quailing in public, instead, relying on His strength to be calm and loving, even when sin is rising so palpably. That means sin is rising in your co-workers, families, neighbors, too. Not just “out there.” Don’t fall into the trap of becoming angry. We are Ambassadors, remember.

Prophecy should give us a reminder of the times and an urgency to seek Jesus all the more so His light will be evident in us to others. And, be salt. The salt must be in the food. We have to stay in the world but not be OF the world. Don’t retreat, as much as we might want to. We are Christ’s seasoning in this lost world. Let’s flavor it with love and patience.

Next in the series examining the four sore judgments is “Pestilence.”

I wrote about what famine does to the body and how quickly starvation sets in, and how scarcity flows into its heightening, all from a biological perspective here:

“Looking at the coming Famine“

isaiah 17, syria

Syria and its chemical weapons

Posted on July 23, 2012 by elizabethprata

There is much talk today of Syria and its chemical and biological weapons. Syria promised to unleash chemical weapons if they are attacked. This open admission sparked a flurry of discussions, concerns, and reports. Lebanon, and the world, attacked Syria’s threat as monstrous. The US weighed in with saying that Syria’s threat was unacceptable. Israel’s Haaretz newspaper engaged in some hand-wringing, “Israel is unprepared to face the threat of Syria’s chemical weapons”, Netanyahu warns against Syrian weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, but in practice 47 percent of Israelis do not have protective kits and it will take two years to make all the needed ones.” There are warnings from the US to Syria not to use chemical weapons as a last-ditch effort to maintain Assad’s hold on the regime. HuffPo reports that Israel would strike Syria to secure their chemical arsenal. A few days ago, US and Israel discussed destroying Syria’s chemical weapons.

Suddenly it’s all about Syria and its arsenal of chemical weapons. But is it really so sudden?

I’ve been concerned about this for a long time. Two years, as a matter of fact. Let’s go back one year first:

One year ago I wrote the following:

If Syria’s regime fails, what happens to its chemical weapons? In that blog essay I excerpted the following news piece from the Washington Post–

Syrian unrest raises fears about chemical arsenal
“The Middle Eastern state with the dangerous chemicals was not Libya, whose modest stockpile was thrust into the spotlight last week because of fighting there. It was Syria, another violence-torn Arab state whose advanced weapons are drawing new concern as the country drifts toward an uncertain future. A sudden collapse of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could mean a breakdown in controls over the country’s weapons, U.S. officials and weapons experts said in interviews. But while Libya’s chemical arsenal consists of unwieldy canisters filled mostly with mustard gas, the World War I-era blistering agent, Syria possesses some of the deadliest chemicals ever to be weaponized, dispersed in thousands of artillery shells and warheads that are easy to transport.”

The article goes on to explain that Syria does indeed have sophisticated weaponry of the chemical and biological kind. We read:

“Deadly, large cache: “Syria first developed chemical weapons in the 1970s and slowly amassed a sophisticated arsenal under the close supervision of then-President Hafez al-Assad and, later, his son Bashar, the current president. Using technology obtained in part from Russian scientists, the Assads sought to create a strategic deterrent against Israel, its vastly more powerful southern neighbor, whose forces humiliated Syrian troops in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and captured the strategic Syrian plateau known as the Golan Heights. Many countries, including the United States and Russia, gradually eliminated their chemical-weapons arsenals, but Syria refused to sign the U.N. Chemical Weapons convention and proceeded to develop an ever larger and deadlier stockpile.”

In that same blog essay I also quoted a Jerusalem Post editorial that posed the scenario which we are seeing coming to the fore today:
“Further, a desperate Assad (or even post-Mubarak Egypt) might escalate to non-conventional weapons in a bid to retain power: the massive Israeli retaliation would end internal uprisings.”

BINGO! Last year’s speculation is exactly the news today. Most people do not know how sophisticated Syria’s bio & chemical arsenal is. Two years ago, on July 9, 2010, I wrote about these exact concerns from consultant to the NATO Defense Establishment in bio-warfare and counter terrorism expert Dr. Jill Dekker regarding the Syrian chemical stockpile. She stated,

“Contrary to how the US State Department and other agencies tend to downplay the sophistication of the Syrian biological and nuclear programs, they are very advanced. Syria has always had the most advanced chemical weapons program in the Middle East.”

At that time, Dr. Dekker said that Syria had shifted in their philosophy of using bio-weapons from special weapons to conventional arsenal, and they have the will to do it. “Why? Realizing they have no practical opportunity to reach parity with Israel or the US on conventional weapons, they decided to pursue bio-weaponry and were at that time fixing conventional missiles with a highly virulent anthrax germ with the help of Russian scientists. Ominously for the world, the US nor the UN were particularly reactive to the Syrians’ re-definition of bio-weaponry as conventional and offensive. Ominously for prophecy, the Syrians run their biological programs out of the Syrian Scientific Research Council (SSRC) in Damascus.”

I had linked to the entire interview with Dr. Dekker. It is in the New England Review, and you can read it here. It is chilling. Some more excerpts:

“Dr. Dekker’s answers give a foreboding picture of how large and refined the Syrian bio-warfare programs are and how little Western Intelligence knows about how the programs were developed. The potential exists for a significant WMD threat in the Middle East and the West, especially, against America.”

And this:

“Syria’s biological weapons capability today is closely tied to the former and current Soviet and Russian programs respectively, the DPRK, Iran and the former Iraq regime. A major concern is their strategic concept of use – which has gone from one of ‘special weapons’ to incorporation into their ‘conventional arsenal.’ That is a significant shift and one that seems to have eluded the US.”

“The Syrians run their biological programs out of the Syrian Scientific Research Council (SSRC) in Damascus. They have separate wings for separate pathogens. They also have a number of programs running in Aleppo. The Syrians are 100% committed to deniable operations as their modus operandi. Biological weapons, particularly those which might occur naturally, are the ultimate in deniability, for example, their cryptosporidium program for force reduction. The Wednesday Report noted a few years ago that in terms of the Syrian anthrax program, Syria has extensive expertise in the industrial cultivation of germs and viruses for the civilian production of anthrax (and smallpox) vaccines.”

“It also noted that Russian experts, contracted by Syria, are apparently helping them to cultivate a highly virulent anthrax germ for installation in missile warheads. Their pharmaceutical infrastructure is fully integrated with their defense structure. Syrians cannot reach parity with US and Israeli conventional weapons. However, they view their bio-chemical arsenal as part of a normal weapons program. This is a huge shift in thinking by the Syrian military. It means they condone the use of biological pathogens as ‘offensive’ weapons. NATO and the United States should be very concerned about that re-designation.’

I’m more than a little stunned and dizzied by these things coming true now. Remember, Damascus will be destroyed, it will be a heap of ruins. (Isaiah 17:1).

“At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more!” (Isaiah 17:14a)

Is now the time? Only the Lord knows. But the global concerns of Syria’s open admission and the heinous threat from Damascus just brought us that much closer.

apocalypse, death, judgment, sword

God’s 4 sore judgments: #1- Sword

Posted on July 23, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Introduction
Part #2: Famine
Part 3: Pestilence

Wm Blake, Death on a pale horse, c. 1800

Yesterday I introduced a series examining the LORD’S “Four Sore Judgments.” In other translations they are called the “LORD’S Four Severe Judgments.” They’re mentioned in Ezekiel 14:21. The four are Sword, Famine, Pestilence, and Beasts.

Clarke’s commentary explains, “My four sore judgments – Sword, war. Famine, occasioned by drought. Pestilence, epidemic diseases which sweep off a great part of the inhabitants of a land. The Noisome Beast, the multiplication of wild beasts in consequence of the general destruction of the inhabitants.” Wesley’s notes says, “How much more – If they could not be able to keep off one of the four, how much less would they be able to keep off all four, when I commission them all to go at once.”

It is a very dread situation when all four are unleashed.

The LORD has unleashed one at a time at frequent intervals throughout the bible, in both the Old Testament (For ex Genesis 41:56) and the New (Acts 11:28). Infrequently, the LORD has unleashed all four at once. One example is bringing Ezekiel’s prophecy of chapter 14 to fruition in around 586BC at Jerusalem’s fall. The next time will be during the Tribulation. (Rev 6).

The Tribulation will be a time when all four are unleashed full strength. (Revelation 14:10). Let’s look at the first of the four severe judgments: Sword.

What is the sword? Laying aside one of the metaphors for the Word, which is the Truth of Jesus, it also means war. Hostility, violence. Jesus stated this would happen as a result of His coming, in Matthew 10:34, where the bible interprets the word for us. It means the opposite of peace:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

That kind of violence is the result of wicked men rebelling against the Gospel. The Sword also means war when God purposely brings war about as a judgment. Sometimes war is the result of the men’s reactions and sometimes it is direct cause by God. Just look at Ezekiel 38, when God plainly states that He will put hooks and in the jaws of Gog and bring him to Israel for war. (Ezekiel 38:4). Also see Romans 13:4, God brings war on the evildoer as judgment. The verse shows us unequivocally that not only does sword mean war, but that He has the authority to use it for His own Good ends.

The Sword judgment is seen in the second Tribulation judgment/second Seal/second Horseman of the Apocalypse. See–

“When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.” “And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:3-4; 8).

The sword is an symbol of war, of military slaughter, and is used here as signifying that that period would be characterized by carnage. Absolute carnage. How do I know it is absolute? Because not only is the point of the Tribulation to bring sin to the fullness (Daniel 9:24a) but because the Revelation verse says peace will be taken from the earth. Nowhere will there be a cessation of hostilities. Nowhere will be safe.

The Greek word for “great” sword is megas, from which we get Mega. ” large, great, in the widest sense.” I interpret this to mean that war will occur in its fullest, widest, most pervasive, most saturation possible. You really don’t want to be here on earth when the Tribulation Sword is unleashed.

Jesus said that the time will contain wars and rumors of wars. (Matthew 24:6). Wars that are talked about happening, or about to happen. The climate will be of violence ongoing and more piling on- that’s what wars and rumors of wars means. The Middle East is a tinderbox today, and the situation there is similar to Europe just before WWI. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by one man was all it took to spark a global war of devastating carnage. As this history website states it, “Two bullets fired on a Sarajevo street on a sunny June morning in 1914 set in motion a series of events that shaped the world we live in today. World War One, World War Two, the Cold War and its conclusion all trace their origins to the gunshots that interrupted that summer day. ” The difficulty of Sword at this tenuous time is the fact that one shot out of a unexpected country could be THE thing which sparks pre-Tribulation wars, and will definitely spark post-rapture Judgment wars.

The thing to ponder is that the Aurora Theater Massacre redefined violence. One of those redefinitions is that no parent or child or person of any kind will ever feel relaxed in a place that is designed for relaxing ever again. Gathering in public space with a faceless multitude is increasingly dangerous. Attending sports games, concerts, parades, or even in the relatively smaller venue of movie theaters is taking a chance. But increasingly, staying at home is dangerous too. People are breaking in brazenly, whether or not there is visible evidence of occupation. Home invasions are at an all time high. And murders on the street are just as bad.

Now imagine that feeling of discomfort and vigilance extended to a hyper degree, knowing nowhere is safe, ever. Because peace will be taken from the earth, and His sword will bring constant hostility, violence and carnage.

That would be bad enough, but Sword is only ONE of the four sore judgments. As the LORD said in Ezekiel 14:21, ‘how much worse will it be when all four are unleashed?’

His judgments are sore indeed. But I am convinced of one thing. We persevering saints are walking through trials and praying for strength to encourage others in these dark days, it is a good thing that it is so dark. Because as my heart sees more sin, more evil, more trampling on Jesus’ name, and I cry out to the Lord, how much BETTER will our joy be when we see Him? The lower we see the world descending, the higher we will see Him when He calls.

The next of the Four Severe Judgments we’ll examine will be Famine.

apocalypse, arizona

UPDATED–Arizona haboob dust storms: rare, or regular?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by elizabethprata

UPDATE: Saturday July 21 there was a dust storm (AKA haboob) in the Phoenix Arizona area. There is another one going on in Phoenix now, July 23, 2012. It was a quickly developing storm that took weather forecasters by surprise. The photo immediately below does not depict the July 21 storm.

In learning that the average amount of these dust storms are two to three for any given summer season, the tally as of this moment is currently five. Just 12 hours ago it was four. Freak weather happening faster and faster. Today’s storm: (source)

————————–end update—————————-

On July 21, 2012, a massive dust storm hit Arizona. There are dramatic photos and videos of this storm event making the rounds on the internet. The July 21 storm was particularly harsh, and it knocked out power to thousands. These storms are called haboobs, from an Arabic word that means ‘blown.’ Winds can reach up to 50 miles an hour, and can obscure visibility to nothing in a matter of seconds. They can last a few minutes or up to three hours. The photos that are posted after the storm hits are often dramatic and eye-catching. Like this one at Huffington Post via AP from July 2011–

I’ve seen these photos for a couple years now. I got to wondering if haboobs are usual or unusual. (Usual). They happen in the summer, during what Arizona strangely calls their monsoon season, from June to September. They occur because there is a huge valley and air gets pushed down and thunder…well, you can read the explanation from a certified meteorologist here if you want.

I wrote about the July 2011 storm, here, in hopefully a straightforward, unspeculative manner. However, that storm, while occurring in normal manner at a normal time of year for haboobs, was especially ferocious. There were elements of that storm that seasoned weather forecasters had never seen before. One meteorologist is quoted in that article,

“But yesterday’s haboob was more like something you’d see in the Middle East or other arid regions around the world, said Ken Waters, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix. It was mind-boggling, just absolutely amazing,” Waters told OurAmazingPlanet. “I’ve been a meteorologist for years and I’ve not seen a wall of dust like that.””

We see prophetic events coming on us faster and faster now. We see the many earthquakes happen and we ask if they are happening more frequently now. (Yes). We see so many volcanoes erupting and we ask if there are more volcanoes erupting now. (Yes). So we always need to place an event in context and look at it from all angles before declaring that a single dust storm may be an omen of the Apocalypse. Are the events being described rare, or regular? Even if the event is common, were there elements of it that were unusual? What do people with knowledge say about the event?

We should do this so that we can share reasonable information with people. And the more reasonable we are the more credibility we’ll have. The more credibility we have, the more (perhaps) a lost person will listen. That is the goal.

Let’s take a look at haboobs of Arizona to see whether there is anything special to remark about.

We have established that haboobs are a regular feature of summer season in Arizona. The next question is, how many haboobs usually occur during the season? The Weather Channel’s Sean Breslin answers the question “Summer Arizona Haboobs: Rare or Regular?” saying that each season the area will see “a couple.” He noted that last year’s July 5, July 18 and August 18 storms were par for the course.

This article says that there are on average about three dust storms per year. OK, so a couple to three.

2012 has already produced four.

May 9, June 26, June 27, and July 21

That is one thing I look at, sheer numbers. Secondly, the haboob season is usually June to September and the first one this year already occurred outside the normal boundaries of the season. Then, look at a particular event to determine if there were unusual things about it. Last year’s July storm was particularly nasty, containing elements that meteorologists have not seen before, such as the height of the dust stretching into the atmosphere. Also the speed of the wind. And third, that storm produced more damage than usual.

This season there have been four already and the season is only half over. Also, there was an unusual event in that two of the haboobs occurred a day apart, back to back. As we go on with summer monsoon season in Arizona, now you have some background to let us know if more haboobs occur, it will be above the norm. It already is.

iron sharpens iron, sharp, word

The Word is the whetstone

Posted on July 22, 2012 by elizabethprata

We have heard it said, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

We have heard it said, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The Lord Jesus is the whetstone. It is HE who keeps us sharp. How? He is the Word!

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

“In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Revelation 1:16)

What am I trying to say? Read your bible. It keeps you sharp. If you don’t whet your sword, it becomes dull.

“For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ (Acts 28:27)

Sharpen your mind with the Word so you can turn around and sharpen another person. And we have heard it said, “As iron sharpens iron…”.

apocalypse, beasts, famine, judgments, pestilence

God’s Four sore judgments- Introduction

Posted on July 22, 2012 by elizabethprata

Part #1: Sword
Part #2: Famine
Part #3: Pestilence
Part #4: Beasts
—————
The rapture is an event that has no signs associated with it. It is based on the completion of the full number God has in mind to make up His church (Romans 11:25) and when that is reached He will tell His son to go get His bride. A trumpet will sound and with the voice of archangel, true believers will be instantly translated to an incorruptible body, meeting the dead in the air who shall rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16).

After this; “Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’” (Acts 15:14-17)

The remnant of mankind in my opinion in this verse are those who were not ready for the Lord when He called, being part of His bride, the global Church of born-again believers. This time is called The Tribulation (Matthew 24:9) or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), The Great Day of Wrath (Revelation 6:17), That Day (Joel 1:15) etc.

The bible has much to say about That Day. We are given graphic depictions of what will happen in it, for example, “their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” (Zechariah 12:14b). “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, ‘Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.'” (Revelation 19:17-18).

The rapture has no sign, it will be a sudden supernatural interruption of man’s life on earth. After this, the judgments will start. If we can see the set-up for the judgments happening, how much closer is the rapture? That is the only sign by which we may be able to tell the season of the Tribulation is closing in and thus that the rapture is even closer. “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4)

That is what this blog entry is about. So many people can clearly see the signs coming together for the Tribulation that we know and understand that the rapture is even closer. It is the season. It is the month. We don’t know the day or hour but it seems truly to be the metaphoric month, in other words, near. The return of the Jews to the Land in 1948 was a HUGE HUGE sign, and the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 was also huge. How close are we? Only God knows. The point is, be ready.

Therefore the judgments are near also. The fire circle is cleared, the stones are laid, the wood is placed, the tinder is on top and the match is lit. All that needs to happen to trigger the judgments is the lit match to be put on the tinder.

God judges and in so doing He has different judgments He dispenses. He has a set of four that He considers especially severe. Ezekiel 14:21 lists them: sword, famine, pestilence, and the beasts of the earth.

“For thus says the Lord GOD, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it!”

Wesley’s notes on Ezekiel 14:21 say, “How much more – If they could not be able to keep off one of the four, how much less would they be able to keep off all four, when I commission them all to go at once.”

During the Tribulation, in Revelation 6:8, the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse, the fourth judgment seal, lets loose these four sore plagues all at once.We will take a look at what the biblical application of these individual judgments were in the past and what the news shows us is the nearness of all four today.

Part 1 will take a look at “Sword” in the context of the final judgment, the Tribulation. Part 2, “Famine”. Part 3, “Pestilence.” And part 4, “Beasts.”

theology

Aurora Shooting: Christian mom who was there testifies to the Goodness of God

Posted on July 21, 2012 by elizabethprata

This Christian mom of two teenagers was in Theater 9 on Friday, July 20, 2012 when James Holmes opened fire on the audience in the United States’ worst mass shooting. She testifies to the goodness of Jesus through the massacre. It is a must read.

So you STILL think God is a merciful God?!
“So, you still believe in a merciful God?” Some of the comments online are genuinely inquisitive, others are contemptuous in nature. Regardless of the motive behind the question, I will respond the same way.

“Yes.”

“Yes, I do indeed.”

“Absolutely, positively, unequivocally.”

Read on to hear why. [Ht Kim at The Mystery of the Ages]

bible, comfort, inspired, joy, peace

How the bible’s word can comfort you

Posted on July 20, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

When times are good and nothing bad is happening, we can take anything, any philosophy or biblical doctrine, and in our leisure time we discuss it and mull over every minute detail. This is OK in the case of biblical doctrine. The Lord gives us time to examine the details. That’s good, to go deep.

But when tragedy comes, we don’t have time for close examination and hyper-detailed discussions over tiny threads of doctrine. Take the Titanic sinking. If I was in the water and someone threw me a life ring, I would not stop to discuss whether it was made of fiberglass or polyurethane or cotton. I wouldn’t have a discussion in the water with the next survivor over the fact that the ring is round and rather should be square. I would simply grab it and cling to it.

When tragedy comes, I run to the bible. I don’t study it. I don’t mull over the lexicon and the different word definitions. I don’t read the parallel verses. I don’t study the overview of the writer and his audience and the message’s purpose.

I just read it.

How does just reading the bible help when tragedy strikes? The bible is a supernatural book. It is from Heaven. It is not just words on the page. It is a heavenly sent Spirit-breathed and God-inspired book. One definition of the Doctrine of Inspiration states of the bible: “It is God superintending human authors, so that using their own individual personalities, experiences, thought processes and vocabularies they composed and recorded without error His revelation in the original copies of scripture.”

As John MacArthur restated it, “God spoke through men without violating their thought processes and their own vocabularies, and yet they were able to produce scripture without violating His truth.”

Thus, the words of God pierce the soul sometimes in ways we cannot articulate, but nonetheless speak truth to us. Here is a beautiful example of that.

I was teaching the first and second grades on Wednesdays night. I had a good-sized group of 6 and 7 year olds. Mostly boys. Active boys, lol. It never failed to impress me and the other leader ladies in the room how the children stilled to hear the bible lesson. Anyway, as we got ready this particular night to start the lesson, one thing the kids had to do was open their bibles and turn to the page of text from which the curriculum was to be taught. Because their fine motor skills were immature, they had a hard time with this. It took a few minutes to get all 12 kids opened to the right page and their finger on the right verse. Some kids got there faster than others.

I had one second grade boy who had turned to the verse very quickly and being in second grade, was able to read well. It was from Psalm 100:1-5

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

This boy re-read the first line by himself, in a quiet voice. I was watching him and listening. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands…” He stopped. He played with his shoelace and was quiet for a minute. Then he whispered aloud to no one,

“I like that. I don’t know why I like that. But I like it.”

THIS is why reading the bible on days of national tragedy or personal stress can help us. Mark 10:15 says, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

This boy allowed the Spirit to apply truth and beauty to his heart. He let the Holy inspired words wash over him and rest there, with no ability to articulate why it had blessed him, but he understood it was a blessing and he acknowledged it!

Romans 14:17 says that “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

To me this means not a joy we manufacture or feel on our own, but the joy in Him that the Spirit brings forth to us through His word. I don’t see supernatural things in the world today like the ancient peoples did, of rivers drying up or Red Sea parting or a plague of frogs raining down, but I do see the supernatural. This boy accepting with joy and peace the truth of the Spirit-inspired word to his heart and soul was a visible supernatural event of the Spirit’s work of comfort.

In the trying times, race to the bible. The Spirit wants to comfort you. Let Him. Read it as if it is the Titanic’s life ring surrounding your body, buoying you up over the cold waters that swamp you. Because, it IS.

aurora, shooting, theater

UPDATED- Aurora Colorado shooting

Posted on July 20, 2012 by elizabethprata

Many tears this morning for our evil, sinful dying world, and the people affected by the tragic and wanton shooting in Aurora Colorado. The only Light of this world is Jesus. ‘When the darkness closes in I will still say Blessed be the name of the Lord’.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19)

—————Update————–

OK I’ve had time to cry, pray, mourn, sing, run to the bible, and pray some more. That’s what I do on tragedy days.

Jesus is Good. How so, one might ask? Well, how many angels did He send to tend to the people who love Him? “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). If we were blessed with spiritual eyes being opened as Elisha’s servant was, (2 Kings 6:17) and God allowed him to see the myriads of chariots in the spiritual realms standing at the ready for battle, we might see legions of angels sent from on high at the command of God, to minister to those in pain and anguish in Aurora Colorado this morning.

He is Good because though the evil stain of sin and hate overspread the Mall in Aurora, His victory will out pace all that satan can do or ever thought to do. Satan is a loser and all his schemes and plans will fail. The Holy God of Israel has won! Take heart even in the darkness because He is the Light! He has the victory.

Therefore who can say how many miracles were given in grace to the people at the shooting location? Who can say how many medical miracles He effected through the hands and minds of the paramedics, nurses, and doctors? Who can say who many miracles were effected by His own hand, directly? Because He is good and loves us, we can have assurance that His eyes were on the situation.

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

What else is Good? We do not know how many people who were threatened with death at any second will re-think their time on earth and finally repent to Jesus unto salvation. He sends Gospel seeds which flower, and do so ever more when there is darkness and sin. This is so He can be glorified ever more brightly.

He is Good because He will accept true repentance from all who come to Him, even the shooter himself. His mercies are so far above us, we cannot conceive of a loving God such as this. Yet He does love us. He is Good because of this, caring for and redeeming a sinful humanity.

It is satan that is bad. But we are not unaware of satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11) and we persevere in love so satan will not steal the joy, even on a dark day such as this. My love for Christ does not depend on positive circumstances. Let our love for Him and our faith that He is working in this situation just as He always has in every situation, ever since He said, “in the beginning…”