Posted in bus monitor, humanity, karen klein, neverseconds

Is the bus monitor riding an "empathy bubble"?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Forbes Magazine asked the question today. But first let’s back up and do some explaining.

A few days ago a gang of middle school-aged students on a Greece, NY public school bus emotionally tortured and verbally abused the 68 year old female bus monitor, Karen Klein. The kids harassed her and uttered unconscionably cruel comments to her and about her, for no other reason than to have a laugh. The scene was video’d on a cell phone and uploaded. The Washington Post reported that the kids’ actions were a “feeding frenzy of cruelty.”

What happened next is something the kids didn’t expect: viral backlash. The video gained millions of views in just a few days and the reaction was bad- against the kids. Horror, shock, outrage at this level senseless cruelty and from some so young, really blew up what Forbes called an “empathy bubble.” Donations poured in for the woman. The donors who set up a donation page initially hoped to garner $5,000 so she could be sent on a nice vacation. To date, and the figure rises by the minute, the total is approaching one hundred times the initial goal, it’s at half a million dollars.

And that seemed to be the benchmark of where Forbes and the Post and other news outlets called it enough and seemed to want the brakes to be applied to this runaway donation craze. Their attitude is, ‘it’s great that good things are coming Karen’s way, but not TOO good. Let’s not go crazy here.’

Forbes said that this kind of reaction “is beginning to exhibit the “irrational exuberance” that drives bubbles in markets (tulip bulbs, tech stocks, etc.).” Washington Post reported, “With an original goal of raising $5,000 to send the victim on a “recovery vacation,” indiegogo.com has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Klein. That’s way beyond any typical vacation and way beyond any proportional response to the hurt Klein suffered. It’s not that her suffering should be minimized, but even if no more money is raised, that would be about tens of thousands of dollars per minute of verbal abuse by a bunch of children. Without, I hope sounding glib, where can I sign up for that deal? What’s going on here?”

I’ll answer that is a second. Or rather, Neverseconds…it is a similar story of unwarranted cruelty and international citizen support for the oppressed.

Source

BBC reports, “A school kitchen is to be built in Malawi and named in honour of school dinners blogger Martha Payne. The nine-year-old became an internet sensation after Argyll and Bute Council banned her from posting photos of her school meals on her blog. The ban was later overturned after a storm of protest. She has now raised more than £80,000 for the charity Mary’s Meals and recorded more than five million page views on the NeverSeconds blog.”

It’s the same old story- person goes about their business. Said activity interferes or threatens bureaucratic tyrants. Said tyrants temperamentally close person down. Storm of citizen protest pushes back the tyrants and they retreat to oppress another day. You can read more of Martha’s story, at my other blog.

So also thanks to the internet, Martha’s quest to raise 7,000 pounds for a kitchen at a Third World School and money to feed them school lunches has exceeded her goal…by almost ten times. Why the “irrational exuberance” toward the blogging project of a 9-year-old kid? What’s going on here?

Both stories had bullying at their heart. Who hasn’t been harassed at some point, especially in Middle School? Listening to the vile comments reminded me of the tough-as-nails stance you had to take very day just entering the Junior High School building. And who hasn’t been the recipient of heavy-handed bureaucratic tyrants squashing a dream?

I believe the exuberance showered on the kid blogger and the bus monitor happened because with all that is dark in the world all that is horrific, we want to demonstrate in some way that we are still human…humane. That we have compassion and care for fellow humans in this world, especially ones we identify with because of their experience of having been bullied. As the world grows more dark and more of the population is bullied more and more, the pendulum will swing crazily the other way.

Watch this 2-min clip from the movie Network. It is all the more amazing is that he said it 36 years ago–it could just as well be said today…


“I’m a human being dammit! My life has value!!”

Does it? Does it?

Jesus has been slowly lifting His hand of blessing upon the world, and revealing to us that indeed, we are sinful creatures. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, (John 15:5) and all our works are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We desperately want to cling to the notion that our basic humanity is good, our works are enough, and that at the bottom of it all, we can unite to make a better world. That we can define that “good,” agree on what it is, and stand on it, together. We reach out in sympathy and compassion to the recipients of cruelty, as if to prove to our own selves that we are not base animals but are caring beings.

The impetus for the wildly exuberant responses to these incidents promoted on social media is that they’ve touched that nerve. As the world becomes more animalistic, the more we want to prove to one and all, as John Merrick, ‘The Elephant Man’ did, “I am not an animal! I am a human being!”

Posted in end of days, prophecy

Why study prophecy?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Leonard Ravenhill used to say that the Puritan preachers were so heavenly minded they lived in eternity 6 days a week and came down on Sunday to preach. Those guys sure were fiercely intentional about their walk with God! I don’t think it could be said that the Puritans gained biblical knowledge for knowledge sake but failed to apply it, that is for sure.

In my opinion, the more you study the bible, including prophecy, the more you want to apply it. Why study prophecy? Why seek to be watchful and respect the signs? Aside from the fact that we are commanded to? (Mark 13:37).

I study prophecy because –

–it is part of the bible, God’s revelation of Himself through holy inspired word
–it is commanded (See above)
–it instills in me an urgency to live righteously and to witness. We don’t study just for the information and go our way. It has to affect our Christian walk, just as any scripture does.
–It comforts me to think of these promises being fulfilled:

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2)

If you are driving in a fogbank, you get disoriented. You slow down. You look carefully. You are on high alert. You see a fogline at the edge and you know how far to go.

When in the fog you look for distinct landmarks, but the fog may be so heavy you don’t see them unless they are large or unless they are close. Eventually you start to emerge from the fogbank and you can see more clearly, landmarks near and far.

It is like these days, we are emerging from the fogbank. The prophetic unclarity is lifting. And even this is a prophetic fulfillment:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4).

I’m convinced that the last 5 years’ sudden burst of interest in, understanding of and controversy about prophecy is that it is a progressive fulfillment of the Daniel verse above.

The knowledge that is increasing is not just worldly knowledge like what makes the sun work and how to beat cancer. It is also knowledge of the prophecies, and we are gaining that knowledge because it is the time of the end, and the fogbank is lifting. Christians see the signs, and non-Christians feel something is about to happen.

I liken myself and other watchmen to the fogline: we inhabit the edge, and sound the warning about going too far. ‘Your doctrine is drifting!’ we say. We do this because we are protectors of the truth, contending for the faith. We live on the boundary and when someone is about to wander off we sound the alarm, and their course is hopefully corrected… While everyone is coming and going and using their gifts in church, we keep watch for potential collisions.

I feel an ever burdened weight to speak and to write. Look at the following sermon excerpt regarding the burden Jude felt:

“Like Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians, “For necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16, nkjv), Jude felt the necessity—a heavy burden or mandate—to write. Agcho, the root of the noun rendered necessity, means literally “compress.” Jude recognized that he was a watchman for the truth (cf. Ezek. 3:16–21) who could not simply watch in silence as his readers slipped into error. His fervent passion for sound doctrine, especially regarding the gospel, made even the thought of false teaching a heavy burden on his heart (cf. 2 Cor. 11:28). And he and his readers would not be able to share a common salvation if they lost the gospel.” (source)

Again, why study prophecy?
–We are observing and studying not just for knowledge:
–to learn the entire sweep and scope of God’s promises,
–to instill a wonder at His sovereign hand from beginning to end,
–to create in us an urgency so as to live righteously and to share boldly,
–to be encouraged.

I have a sincere love of the brethren that we stay strong and thus receive the ultimate blessings of God: closeness with Him in light and in truth. As we all go down the narrow path toward glory, won’t it be wonderful on that Day when we are raised to heaven and there will be no more need for watchfulness. All will be clear sailing. No more wolves, no more false doctrine, no more false teachers, no more alarms. No more watchmen! Just a blessed rest and peace with Jesus.

source
Posted in billy graham, evangelicalism divided, lain murray

Some good stuff: recommendations

Posted on by elizabethprata
Roman siege and destruction
of Jerusalem (David Roberts, 1850)

If you wonder about the fate of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in prophecy, the prophet Zechariah has the entire sweep and scope of the past and future of Israel in one book. Last Sunday, Dr. John MacArthur preached on the prophecy of Zechariah regarding Israel’s national salvation in the last days. It is a great sermon. He exposits the text verse by verse, explaining what will happen in the last day, what will happen at Armageddon, and then the glorious afterward with the promise of national salvation fulfilled. His sermon is here: “The Salvation of Israel.”

This is a book with good reviews and is solid in truth. “Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the Years 1950 to 2000” by Iain Murray. It records the ‘history of the change within evangelicalism over the last 50 years is both impressive and frightening. He shows how decisions by some noted evangelical leaders in Britain and the U.S. for the sake of “unity” or “results” have compromised the church and watered down the message of the Gospel’ writes reviewer David Vosseller. This decline includes chronicling the history of unfortunate decisions by including well-known Gospel promoting pastors such as Billy Graham, J.I. Packer, and John Stott.

You might be surprised to find the beloved US pastor Billy Graham’s name listed in a list noting pastors who have declined toward apostasy due to their unfortunate ecumenical decisions, indeed, an entire chapter in this book is devoted to his decline, but his decline is a true one. Mr Graham is among those who at once promote the Gospel while simultaneously undermine it.

The book isn’t brand new but it is fairly new, but it does chronicle how apostasy happens and the danger of ecumenicalism, worthy subjects in light of today’s mainline church regularly blaspheming the Holy Spirit, how the emergent church model is a harbor for pastors without a pastor’s heart, and spiritual abuse. It’s come to this, and Murray was right.

Joel Rosenberg wrote, “A positive development: southern Baptists choose African American pastor as president who says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” He is Pastor Fred Luter.

Photo Christian Post

Mr Luter said, “There are a lot of things in this life … that I’m ashamed of. I’m ashamed of the number of babies that are being killed through abortion every year in America; I’m ashamed of the racism that still persists in our society; I’m ashamed that our elected government officials cannot put aside their personal agendas for the betterment of our cities, our states and our nation; I’m ashamed that brothers and sisters in the body of Christ can’t put aside their petty differences for the cause of Christ. Maybe if the world saw us getting along, … then maybe we can be an example; I’m ashamed of the number of preachers who don’t practice what they preach; I’m ashamed of the high divorce rate among Christian couples in America; I’m ashamed of our drive-by shootings; I’m ashamed of our child pornography. Yes … there are a lot of things … that I’m ashamed of. I’m so glad to proclaim that in spite of all the things I am ashamed about … I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!”

Me, either! How about you? Promote the name of Jesus everywhere, preach sin and redemption, grace and mercy, extol the virtues of a Spirit filled life by being salt and light.

Posted in christlikeness, grace, sin

Mortar and Pestle, a match made in heaven

Posted on by elizabethprata

A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances. The pestle is a heavy club-shaped object and the mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone. Inside the mortar is a substance to be ground down by the pestle.

I am the mortar. This sinful shell of a body is a vessel. Once, it was a vessel of satan’s, his playground of sin in me. Then Jesus’s grace saved me and He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell this poor vessel. The Spirit aids me in resisting sin, which this poor vessel stillcontains. This mortar still contains the substance of sin. It is unwanted material. 

The Spirit is the Pestle. He is the mechanism that grinds down that sin. (John 16:8). O, Holy Spirit, my Lord, My God! Grind down the sin in me today, crush it into nothing! Please make more room in me for growth in Christ-likeness! (Gal 4:19, Rom 12:2, Phil 2:3-5)

Posted in defect, MiG, prophecy, syria

News from the Middle East: Syrian jet pilot defects to Jordan, sources

Posted on by elizabethprata

Syrian MiG fighter jet pilot defects to Jordan: sources
“AMMAN (Reuters) – A Syrian MiG 21 fighter jet landed in Jordan on Thursday in what opposition activists said was the first defection involving an aircraft since the start of a 15-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. “The plane landed at King Hussein Airbase at 11 a.m. (4:00 a.m. EDT),” a Jordanian security source told Reuters, referring to a military airport 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the capital Amman. Syrian state television said communication was lost with a plane of the same model at 10:34 a.m. while it was on a training mission near the southern border with Jordan.’ “

Reuters Twitter Stream: “Activists say Syrian MiG-21 fighter jet defects to Jordan; Jordanian security confirms plane landed at a military airport – @Reuters”.

 A MiG of this kind, I read online, is an advanced fighter jet. A twitter person said the following:

“#Syria TV says contact lost with jet fighter. Oppn says Syrian MiG has landed in Jordan. Similar event was seminal moment in #Libya”

However, Jordan says the pilot simply made an emergency landing. But then, this article says the pilot has just asked for asylum in Jordan.

Here is King Hussein Air Base:

Source

There have been other Syrian defections on the ground, but the loss of a pilot and the plane is significant. As the Twitter person noted, this was a big event in turning the tide in the Libyan revolution.

Jordan’s role in prophecy is that it is not mentioned after Psalm 83, and there seems to be consensus that blowback from the Isaiah 17 prophecy fulfillment and the Psalm 83 prophecy fulfillment that results in Israel likely taking back land once promised to her. More explicitly, this prophecy states Jordan is the nation to be untouched and unconquered by the antichrist. (Daniel 11:41). When the Jews flee Jerusalem at the Abomination of Desolation, (Matt. 24:16) they flee to what scholars agree is likely Petra, (Rev. 12:14) at the southern end of Jordan. There, they are supernaturally protected by Jesus for the remaining 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation when Jesus returns to deliver them. (Isaiah 63: 1-6).

Events are moving quickly. Stay tuned, and stay in prayer.

Posted in heaven, jesus

Your new name!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is a prophecy to look forward to!

Believers, if you have been faithful and your persevering walk is evidence of that faith, you will be given a pass into eternal glory upon which the Lord of Hosts, the Ancient of Days, the Holy-Holy-Holy Lord has written upon it Himself, personally for just YOU!

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’’ (Revelation 2:17)

“But there’s an interesting little historical note, when a victor won in the games, whatever great games were being held, it was not uncommon for the victor to be given as part of his prize a white stone. And the white stone was his admission pass into the festival that was held following the games for all the victors. Could it be that the overcomer will receive the ticket to the eternal victory in heaven?”

Commentary on that verse:
“And then He says, “And a new name written on the stone,” and I read where they would do that. They would give the victor, like a trophy, a stone with his name and he alone could use it as his pass. “A new name written on the stone which no one knows, but he who receives it.” I can’t tell you how many people have asked me…what is that name? A lady will come to me any time I preach on the book of Revelation and say, “What is the name that no man knows?” Folks, I don’t know what the name is. If I knew what the name was then this verse couldn’t say what it says, it would have to say, “And no one knows except John MacArthur.” The only one who knows what it says is the person who receives it, that’s how personal it is. What it is to me is some kind of personal message from Christ to the one He loves which is given as an admission pass into eternal glory. I’ll know mine and you’ll know yours and we’ll know the Lord wrote them for each of us and for none of the others of us.” (source)

WOOP! It is huge to think of the precious Savior not only saving me, not only guiding and protecting me, not only providing for me, but when He brings me to glory (amazing!) He gives me a personal message just for me, out of the millions thronging there!

Friend, if you have ever been picked last, if you have ever had unwanted divorce thrust upon you, if you have ever been fired from a job, marginalized at home, or left in any feeling invisible and unwanted, THIS should pick you up. A secret message/name is waiting for you, just for you, with the Savior’s love and care personally imprinting it and gracefully extending it to you in heaven. What a day that will be!!!!!!!

Posted in demonic invasion, leroy ny, mass hysteria, tourette's

Leroy NY incident: diagnosis is in, it’s ‘mass hysteria’

Posted on by elizabethprata

On January of this year, I posted an essay which reported that students at a western NY high school in LeRoy NY had come down with…something. At that time, doctors, school officials, and parents were not sure what they were dealing with. A bunch of girls who attend the school suddenly started showing symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome. They began twitching, having tics, involuntary movements, and for some, their schooling was impacted. They had to drop out of sports teams or drop out of school entirely.

Then a teacher at the school came down with it, and several other people, including a couple of boys. At that point it made national news. The school had conducted tests to determine if their location was a cause. The famed environmental lawyer Eron Brokovich came on the scene to determine if there was an environmental cause. Doctors were consulted. Everyone came up with empty hands.

One doctor dared to state that it was probably a condition known as “mass hysteria” but that diagnosis was resisted. They decided to simply call it Tourette’s. At that point I got interested. Mass Hysteria is a real diagnosis, and is one that is at root of another famed incident: the Salem Witch Trials.

Here are the two previous essays I posted on the Leroy NY mass hysteria incident.

January 20, 2012: “Outbreak of mass hysteria (or demon infestation) in Leroy NY“
January 28, 2012: “Update on LeRoy NY Tourette’s outbreak”

There is new news of the incident. They found no toxins anywhere, the girls were not on drugs, vaccines were ruled out, Tourette’s doesn’t have sudden onset (they finally admitted) and eventually a diagnosis of mass hysteria was declared unequivocally this week:

“Mass Hysteria Confirmed in NY School“
“A bizarre illness affecting nearly 20 students at a Western New York Junior-Senior High school now has an official diagnosis: mass hysteria.The students, almost all of them girls, and mostly friends, began experiencing involuntary jerks and tics. Sometimes their limbs, neck or face would suddenly spasm; other times they would twitch, grunt, or shout. It was strange and troubling behavior, made all the more scary because it had no clear cause.”

“Mass psychogenic disorder is a rare — but not unheard of — phenomenon. The disorder is usually characterized by the mysterious spread of a variety of symptoms without a discernible cause. It frequently occurs in isolated communities. Teenagers and girls are also frequent victims. Collective hysteria can spread when a fear exists of exposure to a disease, combined with a contained, stressful environment.”

This is very interesting to me because as I mentioned in the two essays I linked to above, the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600s began in exactly this same way. Several teenage girls began manifesting symptoms remarkably like the girls in NY, and like wildfire, the ‘disease’ spread from house to house. The reasons for the hangings that resulted has multiple and complex reasons- cultural, religious, demonic, and societal. There was a feud going on between the merchants and the farmers. A growing town always fights over its direction (to develop or not to develop?) when they hit an important crossroads in its identity. The girls admitted to experimenting with voodoo with Tituba, their South American Indian maid who had been a slave in Barbados. Tituba had also made a witchcake containing dog urine and rye, which is fed to a dog in hopes of determining the person afflicting the sick. 

Boredom, pride, and covetousness, and gossip can equally be said to blame for the Salem incident’s catalyst. And satan is behind all of those, not to mention the localized practices of voodoo, casting bones, and fortune telling some of the girls and Tituba admitted to!

As the year of the Witch Trials crescendoed and then  ended with a whimper, the aftermath included church-wide repentance, and in particular, “On August 25, 1706, Ann Putnam Jr., one of the most active accusers, joined the Salem Village church, she publicly asked forgiveness. She claimed that she had not acted out of malice, but was being deluded by Satan into denouncing innocent people…” (source)

Any time there is unexplained mass illness it needs to be looked at carefully by the officials whose duty it is to serve and protect the vulnerable in our society. However in this day and age, demonic influence is rarely discussed as a possible root cause of the problem. It was all right for the “backward Puritcanical bible thumpers” to blame satan, but not today.

As I mentioned, the reasons that the Salem Witch Hysteria took off were complex, coming to the fore from a variety of factors. However, the Salem incident is listed today among the medical texts as a case of mass psychogenic illness. (source)

The same could well be true of the Leroy Mass Hysteria incident. There is one question I am sure was not asked amid the tests and diagnoses and reports that resulted in 6000 pages which concluded “We don’t know why this is happening”. Were the girls experimenting with tarot, palm reading, fortune telling or occult in any way? The answer would be very revealing.

Traci Leubner, one of the girls afflicted, said of the Leroy NY testing results, “It’s freaky, because they didn’t find anything. There wasn’t like a, ‘this is what happened’. It was kind of mysterious.” (source)

Please be in continued prayer for the Leroy NY girls and also for the vulnerable of our society everywhere. I long for the day when our children will be safe.

Posted in earthquakes in diverse places, end time

Of Brimstone and Earthquakes

Posted on by elizabethprata

One of the most interesting to me, and by the look of the blog statistics, others as well, is earthquakes as an end times sign. Jesus said that as a sign of His coming there would be earthquakes in diverse places. (Matthew 24:7). Of course, He gave other signs too. And also of course, one earthquake does not mean the end is near.

The end time is actually the time when Jesus ascended and will end when He comes back. So by that token, there have been many earthquakes over the last 2000 years. So what makes so many of us so sure that this is the end of the end time?

Jesus also said that the signs of His coming will be as birth pangs on a woman. (many parallel verses here.) The earth will travail and groaneth as in labor. (Romans 8:22).

You have to think about how labor pains work. The pregnancy gestates, at first unnoticed. Then the baby bump appears. It grows larger, seemingly slowly at first, then quickly. Finally the labor begins with the water breaking (I liken that to the rapture). After the water breaks the real labor has arrived. At first the pangs are painful but bearable. They come far apart. But then they increase with intensity and finally they are unbearably overlapping, painfully crashing one upon the other.

So in the early part of the century there was an earthquake or two here and there. But now, the quakes (and other signs too, I hasten to add) are all happening more frequently with more intensity. So let’s look at quakes.

There was only 1 major quake this past week. (June 10-16). “Major” quakes according to the US Geological Survey are quakes with a magnitude above 6.0 There was a 6.0 in Taiwan.

There were some smaller quakes in unusual places:

4.2 Pakistan
3.1 Dallas
2.5 Urban area Oklahoma City
2.8 near Oklahoma City
3.3 near Oklahoma City
5.3 Turkey-Iraq-Syria border region
2.6 Colorado
2.7 Colorado
4.0, 4.2, 5.7, 5.4, 4.6 Afghanistan

As I have been sharing, the end time prophesies are not just contained in Matthew 24. They are all over the entire bible. As a matter of fact, there is an end time judgment reference in every New Testament book except Philemon. And of course, Revelation is the granddaddy of the bible books with the most information in one place regarding the promises of God in the last days.

Mexico’s Volcano Popocatepetl

In Joel chapter 2 there is a reference to “columns of smoke”. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” (Joel 2:30-31).

The Hebrew word defines column of smoke as a pillar or palm-like tree trunk. It is a vivid picture, and can, in my opinion, be interpreted as volcanic column of ash and smoke. For the last three years, volcanoes the scientists thought were dormant have been popping back to life, sometimes very unexpectedly (Chile’s Chaiten).

Science fact of the day: Did you know that the biblical term for “brimstone” is the chemical element sulfur? Elemental sulfur can be found near hot springs and volcanic regions in many parts of the world, especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Hydrogen sulfide is the compound that smells like rotten eggs.

Smith’s bible dictionary explains: “Brimstone, or sulphur, is found in considerable quantities on the shores of the Dead Sea. (Genesis 19:24). It is a well-known simple mineral substance, crystalline, easily melted, very inflammable, and when burning emits a peculiar suffocating odor. It is found in great abundance near volcanoes. The soil around Sodom and Gomorrah abounded in sulphur and bitumen.” The bible refers to brimstone 14 times. The Lake of Fire burns with brimstone, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Though I don’t have quantifiable numbers, it seems that along with quakes, volcanic activity has dampened somewhat these last two or three weeks. The calm before the storm? Or the catching of breath before the next, bigger pang?

Posted in jesus, nephilim, petroglyphs

Ancient and startling petroglyphs found: perhaps of Nephilim?

Posted on by elizabethprata

There is a biblical subject I can safely say fascinates many Christians: the Nephilim.

The interpretation of Genesis 6:1-8 has in recent times been a controversy, but did you know that until the 4th century that it was uniformly – and correctly – interpreted with no controversy? The Septuagint actually translates ‘sons of God’ as angels, because that is who they are. Here is the text. It says what it says:

“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

The bible records after the Fall of man in Genesis 3 that there were sons of God who mated with daughters of man and spawned a race of giants. They were called the Nephilim. Many have ascribed the resulting hybrid race as the Nephilim but the word nephal means to fall, and I believe the Nephilim are actually the fallen angels who did the mating. The fallen angels/Nephilim who did the deed are in chains in the gloomiest dungeon now, as punishment for corrupting man, and as a warning to others who might try the same thing again. (Jude 1:6)

The topic has gotten an unsavory tinge to it not only due to the unwarranted controversy because of the incorrect interpretation, but because I would think also the sexual mating.

Let’s look at the verse. The angels mated with woman, and in the next verse God declared His Spirit would not strive with man forever. Then the verse says that they were the mighty men of renown, and the LORD declares the earth was evil, He was sorry He had made man, and He will wipe out man (except Noah.)

If the evil of man and the cataclysmic judgment of same was inextricably tied to the Nephilim, don’t you think it behooves us to study it?? Especially since Jesus said that the days before the next cataclysmic judgment would be like the Days of Noah??? (Matthew 24:37). Avoiding this topic makes no sense.

When I read archaeological sites and they present petroglyphs of ancient alien-like beings, I personally believe they are depicting the Nephilim who were on earth on those days. Nephilim are aliens: off-planet dwellers visiting earth, bringing with them their superior knowledge and powers, and shining with a bright light. After all, how did the Pyramids get built? What are the Nazca Lines? Why were there such advanced civilizations at places like Peru’s Machu Picchu or the US Southwest’s Anasazi, which mysteriously died out just as quickly as they appeared? When the Nephilim were on earth on those days, I am sure that they were plenty busy, and not just with women. They didn’t come here just to mate, but to thwart God’s plan. Remember, satan’s goal is to be like the Most High, to be worshiped. Satan has a plan, too. (Isaiah 14:13-15). The Nephilim were busy interacting with man in a way that would corrupt civilization in every arena, including spiritual as well as emotional, agricultural, geo-physical, sexual, societal… And by the verse in Genesis 6:5, they were successful.

There are ancient petroglyphs showing strange looking ‘alien-like’ beings. Often they are depicted with glowing heads or as shining beings. Also they are often depicted as being very large in size. Here’s one:

This one is also from Australia, where
the new petroglyphs were discovered

Today some ancient rock art was discovered that not only depict otherworldly type beings, but they are drawn in the act of having sex. The news articles (lol, the UK Daily Mail tabloid would be the first to pick up on it…) are snickeringly calling it “ancient porn.” The intricate paintings depict strange looking and rather large men having relations with women. Here is the news article link:

Aboriginal erotic rock art proves that – even 28,000 years ago – men had ONE thing on their minds

The area is only accessible by a 90-minute helicopter ride into the Australian interior. I thought that was probably the most interesting fact in the whole article. Though the article reports the archaeologists as dating the rock art to 28,000 years ago, Christians know that cannot be true. However it does indicate the ancient age of the art, raising the likelihood of it having been drawn at the time the Nephilim were on the earth.

Now, a caution. While I said up above that it behooves us to study the Nephilim, I meant from the bible. There are a host of weird and flaky websites that have wild theories and many frankly are spam sites. We study man’s fallen condition from his progression from his creation in Genesis 1, to his fall in Genesis 3, to the depths of corruption in Genesis 6. Chasing after ancient aliens diverts us from studying the Most High God.

Another note: The Daily Mail is known for its large photos with lots of short captions in between. If you click on the headline above from the Daily Mail, be aware that there is a large photo showing the large men in the petroglyphs and they all sport something else that is extremely large, too.

Here are a couple of links to essays that deal with the Genesis 6 text in expositional fashion. The information is from solid sources. Do go there and read them, if you have any questions about the interpretation of the Nephilim passages.

Apostates, Be Warned, Part 2

Who were the sons of God?

So that is your weird news of the day!

Posted in divination, fortune telling

Update on fortune telling class

Posted on by elizabethprata

I wrote yesterday about a situation that we have become aware of at our local library. A two-part class aimed at teenagers ages 12-18 was to be held on the subject of interpreting dreams, palm reading, and fortune telling.

Praise the Lord, the Library cancelled the class! Thank YOU for your prayers and concern!! Children were protected. Jesus’ name was proclaimed in the secular arena. It is all good.

I can’t overstress how serious the sin of divination is. (Explanation on what divination is at above link). Attempting to obtain information about our destiny, or about the other side apart from God revealing it to us is a horrific rebellion that He hates. He has called it an abomination, and forbids it in many scriptures in the Old Testament and the New.

Remember when Saul was told by God to kill all the Amalekites and their goods and cattle, but Saul coveted the cattle. His pride in victory over the fierce Agag pushed Saul to let Agag live and Saul took the cattle too. God was angry. He immediately rejected Saul as King. God said,

“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Sam 15:23)

God likened Saul’s outright disobedience to divination. Of course, both of those sins, rebellion and divination, are both acts that people perpetrate outside of God’s bounds.

As for the fortune telling, I had had enough. I drew the line. As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Starship Enterprise famously said:

“I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We’ve made too many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no farther! And I will make them pay for what they’ve done!”


Of course God will punish, not me. One can only take a quote metaphor so far. But the line was drawn for me on this subject of fortune telling, palm reading, etc. No farther! We must protect our children. We must stand up for Jesus!

I listened to Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus today. I looked into the writing of that old hymn. Here is the story:  Episcopalian Reverend Dudley A. Tyng (1825-1858) was a dynamic preacher known for taking strong stands against evil, no matter what the cost. His sermon regarding the evils of slavery in America is still in print today. This sermon resulted in him being removed from one of his pastorates. On Tuesday, March 30, 1858, Tyng preached a sermon on Exodus 10:11, “Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord”, at a YMCA noon mass meeting. Tyng delivered his message to 5,000 men that day. More than 1,000 of those men responded to the altar call, to receive Jesus as their Savior. Just over a week later, Tyng lay dying as a result of a tragic accident. His final statement, whispered to friends and family, was “Let us all stand up for Jesus.”

Now we just have to remain vigilant around here that the class doesn’t re-appear!

We all have our line in the sand. We make too many retreats. We make too many compromises. I will not sacrifice the children. I have nothing to fear wading into the battle, because Jesus is my Commander in Chief. And He has already won.