Posted in God, worship

Begin with God

Posted on by elizabethprata

“From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.” (Ezra 3:6)

What is happening in this section of Ezra, which is in the Old Testament, is that the first flood of returnees from the Babylonian captivity had just gotten back to the Land. The decreed 70 years separation/punishment/captivity for worshiping false gods and idols was over, (Jeremiah 25:9-12; Daniel 9:2; Jeremiah 29:10) and as described in Ezra 1:5, the Jews had been impressed upon their heart to return, and so they did.

They made a 900 mile, 9 months walk from Mesopotamia (Iraq) to their homeland for the express purpose of re-igniting proper worship of the LORD. With this in mind, when they got there and after being allowed a short time to set up living quarters and get the animals and families settled, they launched into the main task.

But note the verse: they began with making an altar. They did not lay the foundation first. They did not build walls. They did not build furniture. They put God at the heart and the start of it all.

Foundation is important! Without it, the structure will not stand. God will build the foundation. But first comes worship.

It is like that for unsaved sinners when they come to salvation. They do not need to visit churches and take time to decide which one is the right one, and then walk an aisle. They do not need to wait until office hours are re-opened and meet with a pastor. They do not need to wait and try and conquer this sin or that sin so they would be even purer before they come to the Lord. You can ask for forgiveness of sins right then, right there, right now. Worship the Lord first, and then He will build your foundation.

For the saved, forgiven Christians, if you have separated from Jesus for a while, you do not need to do any of the above, either. The Jews returning from Babylon already were headed for heaven and already knew the LORD. They had been selected by the LORD to return. (Ezra 1:5). But even so, they did not set up a training school for priests and wait to be blessed or preached to. They did not spend inordinate period developing plans and examining architectural renderings. They got right to the heart of it: worshiping the Lord.

I am not saying that not having a foundation is OK. I am not saying that all the rest of the things I mentioned are to be ignored. The returning exiles did not ignore them. But the first thing they did was begin worship. All good things always start from that one act: humble submission to the One true God. As long as He is the focus, He will bring the development of the individuals and the nation along as He wills.

So? What are you waiting for? Begin worship! What is worship? How is one to worship? Paul explained the elements of worship to us in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”

0. Understand that the one true God is the only One who bestows mercies.
1. Present yourselves. The Jewish exiles did just that in the Ezra verse.
2. A living and holy sacrifice means that you understand that by presenting yourself, you are submitting to the control of God for your body, mind, heart, spirit, and life.
3. Our spiritual service of worship is that He deserves our all. Nothing less. Service to Him is His right and our calling.
4. ‘Do not be conformed to this world’ in context of worship means you reject what the world has to offer and you instead seek what God offers from His world.
5. ‘Be transformed by the renewing of our minds’ means as an act of worship, we read the bible and allow His thoughts to engulf us, penetrate us, and aid us in resisting the world. Learning what He said to us and wants us to know is worship.
6. Prove what the will of God is, which is through our acts of submission and worship, to shine His light of glory back to Him. When people see us, they should see the glory and light of Jesus in us. Worshiping Him does that. It is a cycle.
7. The only things that are good and acceptable to God are the things of God, and in His strength. Without Him we can do nothing and there is no one good.

True worship is submitting to, and operating under and within the power and glory of God wherever we are, all the time. Not just in church, as important as it is to worship Him in open assembly, but also worship Him in life, with our lives. Worship comes first, because we begin with God!

Posted in homosexuality, pastor worley

Pastor Worley and his electrified fence for homosexuals

Posted on by elizabethprata

Yesterday a video went viral, having accumulated a critical mass that penetrated the top levels of news media, internet, and consciousness. A North Carolina Pastor said some terrible things about homosexuals

The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

Pastor: Build Electrified Fence For Gays So They ‘Die Out’ (video at link)

“A North Carolina pastor has come under fire after calling for gays and lesbians to be killed off by keeping them locked up behind an electrified fence. During his sermon at the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, Pastor Charles Worley said he figured out a way to “get rid of all the lesbians and queers.” “Build a great big, large fence – 100 miles long – put all the lesbians in there, fly over and drop some food,” Worley said during his May 13 sermon. “Do the same thing with the queers and homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out … and in a few years they will die out.” Worley went out to say that gays and lesbians will die off because “they can’t reproduce.”

Predictably, and rightfully, there is backlash. Today’s headlines state:

“Internet helps expose bigotry”
“Video shows pastor is a lost soul”
“Former Worley Church Goer Saddened But Not Surprised by Homophobia”

The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

True Christians know how heinous the pastor’s remarks are. Christians lament and sigh and mourn over incidents like these because first, remarks like this besmirch the holiness and the reputation of Jesus. Secondly, we know we have our work cut out for us doubly hard when hate speech like this comes across the boards, because we have to make up for it. Also, it IS hate speech, and the lost and the homosexual-pushing agenda folks simply lump his remarks into one bundle and soon we’re accused of hate speech even when repeating bible verses that state unequivocally that homosexuality is a sin. So this post isn’t for Christians. It is for the lost, who want to believe that like this pastor, all Christians have a flawed and twisted perspective on God’s mercy. Let’s dig in.

While the pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity, it is a fact that homosexuality is a sin. People who engage in it will go to hell if they do not repent. However, homosexuality is ONE sin. Unrepentant thieves will go to hell. Unrepentant adulterers will go to hell. Unrepentant liars will go to hell. (1 Corinthians 6:9). And so on. Yes, homosexuality is gross, and it is an example to the ungodly (2 Peter 2:6) of how far their perversion has gone (Romans 1:24-28) but is is a sin that Jesus can and does forgive. It always comes down to Jesus’s grace. As AW Tozer said, “For every person it must be Jesus Christ or eternal tragedy.”

Christians are not “homophobic“. “By definition, homophobia is fear of homosexuals, but its meaning has been broadened to include hate for homosexuals. Correspondingly, being homophobic tends to manifest itself through an outward demonstration or behavior based on such a feeling. This, in turn, sometimes leads to acts of violence or expressions of hostility. The truth is that homophobia is not just confined to any one segment of society. It can be found in people from all walks of life. Such hate groups have viciously attacked homosexuals and have used especially violent language in attempting to persecute and intimidate homosexuals. More often than not, Christians are said to be homophobic simply because they condemn homosexual behavior as sin. But the real fact of the matter is that the term homophobic is merely a “politically correct” scheme used by homosexual activists and supporters in their attempts to deflect a genuine criticism of an immoral and unhealthy practice.”

Christians have a fierce love for unrepentant sinners, having been sinners ourselves- and though we are repentant and forgiven we still struggle with our sin nature! Praise the Lordhe sends the Holy Spirit to live within us to help us resist it. We are familiar with the sin-struggle. Unforgiven sinners go to hell and hell is serious! We wish that on NO ONE. Jonathan Edwards captured the horribleness of it in his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God:

“It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For “who knows the power of God’s anger?”

We do NOT enjoy thinking of anyone in hell, and we do not utter words that indicate we want to hasten their eternal doom. The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

Before I was saved, I believed that all Christians were like Pastor Worley. It only confirmed my attitude that Christianity was just the same as all the hate I’d already experienced in the world, and therefore was not worth exploring. Attitudes like that pastor’s is what the world expects and it does much harm to the lost who need Jesus. Therefore, be Christlike, because He urges us to actions that the world does not expect. Who expects that if our cheek is slapped we give the other one to be slapped? Who expects love in the midst of enemies? Who expects meekness, humility, and service?

The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

Stating that homosexuality is a sin is not hate speech, it is the truth of Jesus. Stating that all homosexuals should be rounded up and left to starve behind an electric fence is hate in the extreme. Each person on earth was made in the likeness of God (Gen 1:27). Saved or not saved, we are to treat people with respect. 1 Peter 1:22 says how to treat believers, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” As for how we are to treat everyone, 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Matthew 5:16, James 5:16 are all good verses that instruct us on proper Christ-like behavior.

Focusing on the Matthew 5:16 verse, which says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” remember, it is all about the glory of Jesus. When you like a life of meekness and love, unswervingly adhering to His standards of uttering the truth in love, not hate, we shine more brightly for Him. And what seeker isn’t attracted to the light and not the dark?

Posted in comfort, grace, mercy

Wash yourself in the word, let its comforts engulf you!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Sometimes we know that God is so big, we wonder, how can He know us? Why does He care about little old me? Will He even remember me? We know He does, but sometimes it’s hard to think on, that He is so mighty but that He cares about even our daily provision. So when we offer each other comfort, we often turn to the wonderful verses about God knowing all about us. Here is one-

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7).

I am going through Ezra and I read Ezra 2 the other day. I was struck by the verses that make up the bulk of that chapter. It is the part where the LORD puts on the exiled Israelites’ hearts to leave Babylon. The 70-year exile is over and it is time to return, build the temple, and resume life as a person of God in the Land. Fifty-thousand people were to return. The Remnant.

“The number of the men of the people of Israel: the sons of Parosh, 2,172. The sons of Shephatiah, 372. The sons of Arah, 775. The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812. The sons of Elam, 1,254. The sons of Zattu, 945. The sons of Zaccai, 760. The sons of Bani, 642. The sons of Bebai, 623. The sons of Azgad, 1,222. The sons of Adonikam, 666. The sons of Bigvai, 2,056. The sons of Adin, 454. The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. The sons of Bezai, 323. The sons of Jorah, 112. The sons of Hashum, 223. The sons of Gibbar, 95. The sons of Bethlehem, 123. The men of Netophah, 56. The men of Anathoth, 128. The sons of Azmaveth, 42.” (Ezra 2:2b-24)

Look how exacting! Look how perfectly God’s records are kept! Look how much He knows! And it doesn’t end there. After the genealogies which comprise the bulk of the chapter are exhausted (so that the generations of priests and Levites will be able to maintain their claim to the office of Priest), we read how many singers and gatekeepers there were:

“The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128. The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, in all 139.” (Ezra 2:41-42).

And He is not done, after all the listings of the different types of servants, there is a list of how many horses and donkeys! “Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.” (Ezra 2:66-67).

Rather than wanting to hurry and read through these extensive lists, I slowed down and lingered over these verses. First, because if it is in the bible it is put there for a reason, likely, many reasons that prayer and meditating upon will bring out. Secondly, I like to picture in my mind the men whose names are listed actually gathering their sheep and packing up the donkey and the women un-pitching the tents. I like to imagine the scene so as to bring to life that this is a real event and these were real people. Third, I was simply struck at the exactitude of the Lord. His record-keeping is as exact and controlled as He is. Of course He knows us! He knows our struggles, our sins, our attempts, our repentance, our thoughts, our failings, our past and our future. He knows. And not only that, this great God of ours, He empathizes. How can such a High and Exalted God sympathize with our puny problems?

Here is how:

“Surely our griefs He himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4).

Because of this, He personally can sympathize with us. He is our great High Priest:

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Friend, if you are struggling, if you feel lost or alone, go to the throne of mercy. It is not far, only as far as closed eyes and clasped hands. We serve a great and holy God who loves us and knows us through and through. Let Him comfort you–

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Posted in fortune cookie or osteen, funnies, Uncategorized

Christian funnies and foibles

Posted on by elizabethprata

From Pastor JD Hall,

From Dan Phillips:

From Tim Challies; Fortune Cookie, or Joel Osteen? Click on the link to find out the answers

Question One- “Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.”
Question Two- “Do all you can to make your dreams come true.”
Question Three- “Take time to make a difference. Think about how you can make somebody else’s life better.”
Question Four- “Avoid focusing on the negative aspects of the past.”
Question Five- “You have something to offer that nobody else can give!”
Question Six- “When you can’t naturally feel upbeat, it can sometimes help to act as if you did.”
Question Seven- “To affirm is to make firm.”
Question Eight- “Relationships are more important than our accomplishments.”
Question Nine- “Somebody needs your encouragement. Somebody needs to know that you believe in them.”
Question Ten- “The best things in life aren’t things.”
Question Eleven- “You will produce what you’re continually seeing in your mind.”
Question Twelve- “Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”

From Funny Christian Stories

From Church Bulletin Bloopers:

–The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.
–During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
–Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack’s sermons.
–Please welcome Pastor Don, a caring individual who loves hurting people

In all seriousness, have you supported your Pastor today? Here are 14 ways to support your pastor. He is dealing with sick, hurting, weakening people. He is under attack from satan. He is working hard to prepare sermons and in hopes that the weak will be strengthened and the strong will be encouraged. He needs your support, prayers, willingness. We need all to stay positive and remember the promises of Jesus are true and because they are true, they lead to glory and joy!

Posted in end time, flesh eating bacteria, prophecy, Uncategorized

(UPDATED)Third Georgia patient comes down with flesh eating bacterial infection

Posted on by elizabethprata

Three Four people from Georgia have now been infected and are being treated for the dread flesh-eating bacterial infection.

1. Aimee Copeland was riding a homemade zip line near the Little Tallapoosa River near Carollton, Georgia May 1st when the line snapped, causing a gash in her left calf. The bacteria thought to have triggered the infection, Aeromonas hydrophila, thrives in warm climates and fresh (brackish) water, like the river where Copeland was kayaking and zip lining with friends.

2. Lana Kuykendall was infected on May 7th after she gave birth to twins at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

3. Bobby Vaughn of Cartersville, Georgia’s story– “Reports emerge of third flesh-eating bacteria victim with ties to Georgia.” Vaughn is a Cartersville landscaper who was injured at work May 4th when he fell from a tree and suffered a cut to his side.

4. UPDATE, A grandfather from Milledgeville (also not so far from Atlanta) is battling an infection of flesh eating bacteria. Shudderrrrrr…

The scale of miles between each location where the patient became infected is that each side of the triangle is roughly 50 miles from each destination. The distances are not long.

OK, one is a freak thing, two is something that makes me go HMMM, but three is a pattern. Three from the Atlanta area is just too close for comfort!

But now there is one in Long Island NY, a veteran fought for his life from a hospital bed warding off this weird bacteria. He survived. The article says that the bacteria “is rare”. I think they need to look up the definition of “rare” again. Four in the news in one week, suddenly, is not rare. It’s freaky…

I think of the verse that will be fulfilled in the Tribulation, the one where Jesus promised that there will be pestilences, (Luke 21:11; Rev 6:8). He created the entire world and all that is within it in 6 days. He can create a disease that will kill a fourth of mankind. Or He will allow a mutation of a disease that man in his own sin created, to kill a fourth of mankind. Or both.

What we have today is a flesh eating bacteria that is hard to handle in these relatively calm times with all the focus of the practicing experts brought to bear, with a total focus of curing the patient afflicted with it. A cure is almost too hard for them to manage now. Imagine when things are really chaotic and a quarter of the world is dying from plagues and wars and other deathly afflictions. If a person in the Tribulation catches this bacteria you will watch your flesh rot off while doctors are performing triage on patients worse off than you, until even they are overwhelmed with the flood of medical emergencies and finally practicing medicine as we know it sputters to a halt. If you believe I am overstating things, look what happened during Katrina.

I bring these unpalatable things to mind for you so as to think on His mercy. THIS is the age of grace, when repentance will bring joy and redemption to the penitent. Submitting to the loving care of the Savior brings to fruition for each individual all the promises of glory, peace, eternal joy with Him in heaven. Rejecting His offer of grace brings pain, death, and eternal separation from all his promises in hellish agony.

He said that he told us these things head of time so that when they came to pass you would believe. This presently ending of the Age of Grace is the last lead-time you will have to make these choices. (John 13:19). You can choose Jesus during the Tribulation, IF you survive any part of it, IF you don’t wait too long before all the world becomes deluded by the antichrist, IF Jesus doesn’t give you over to your perversions first, IF……

No, do it NOW. He loves you and wants you. He wants YOU.

Posted in mystery boom, Uncategorized

Mystery boom shakes Islands

Posted on by elizabethprata

Mystery boom shakes buildings
“The mysterious boom was heard across the Island… AN investigation has been launched into the cause of a mysterious boom which shook buildings across the Island on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of Islanders reported hearing a loud bang – similar to a sonic boom – at 1.04 pm. The boom was so loud it rattled doors and windows from Gorey to St Ouen and even measured on the Island’s seismograph in St Aubin. But despite speculation that the noise was caused by a military jet travelling faster than the speed of sound, Jersey Airport has confirmed that no aircraft capable of causing such a noise was in the Island’s airspace at the time. And Jersey Met Office has confirmed that it is unlikely that any meteorological phenomenon could have caused the noise.”

Jersey is an island off the north coast of France.

More news articles from this year about the mystery booms worldwide:

January 26, 2102– Strange noises in the sky: hums, booms, and other apocalyptic escapades

March 15, 2012–  Strange boom heard in GA, spiritual warfare ramping up

April 1, 2012:– “That noise was not thunder” a boom in the Poconos

April 1, 2012– Strange booms and loud rumbling sounds

Or do a search in the search box for ‘boom’. Therre are other essays about this worldwide phenomenon.

Posted in fallen angels, greece, prophecy

Greece, the euro, and self-delusion

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is an interesting article out this morning from Reuters.

“Greeks embrace some new myths about life with the euro“
“In a land of ancient myths, modern Greeks have created some of their own about their near-bankrupt country’s future as an integral part of a Europe that will never kick them out. Solemn warnings from abroad that Athens cannot stay in the euro while rejecting the terms attached to the billions offered to pull Greece out of its financial hole are widely disbelieved in a land that considers itself the envy of foreigners. However bad their prospects, many Greeks seem to think that since money to bail them out was found in the past, it will be found again, whatever politicians say. Nor do they believe that Europe will simply cast them loose, despite growing signs that Greece is heading for the exit from the single currency and towards the economic and social catastrophe that would follow.”

‘Never be kicked out’? ‘The envy of foreigners’?? ‘They will get more bailouts’???

How is it possible to be THAT deluded? There is a biblical answer to that, and one that the article’s headline alluded to. It is shown to us in Daniel 10:20, where there is a mention of a Prince of Greece:

“When said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.”

From Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, “But before he communicated to Daniel what would befall his people in the “latter days” (Daniel 10:14), he gives to him yet further disclosures regarding the proceedings in the spirit-kingdom which determine the fate of nations, and contain for Israel, in the times of persecution awaiting them.”

What is happening is that Daniel had inquired of the LORD. The LORD dispatched an angel to give Daniel the answer. But on the way, the holy angel was delayed in the celestial realms by evil angels who opposed him and tried to prevent the message from being delivered. Finally after 21 days Michael had to be sent to help the holy angel get through. And when the holy angel was finished speaking with Daniel, he said was going to have to leave and go deal with the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece.

We know that the princes spoken of are not in this context earthly princes like Prince Charles of Britain. They are angels. Daniel 12:1 speaks of archangel Michael being the “prince” who is assigned to ‘Thy People” the Israelites. It seems that there are evil angels and good angels who are assigned in a military type hierarchy to different regions. And Greece apparently has a very powerful prince assigned to it by satan.

John MacArthur preached on this verse, explaining,

“Now listen to this. Satan has an incredibly clever organization. He has set up a network of demons that are behind all of the activities of human history. There was a demon assigned to Persia. Verse 20 says there’s a demon to be assigned to Greece. The Bible says that all the gods of the nations are demons. And I believe without question, throughout all of human history Satan’s network of demons have been behind the scenes, endeavoring to do all they can to foil the plan of God. His task, this prince of Persia, was to hinder the will and the working of God in regard to Persia, to do all he could to hold back God’s plan.”

“And when Persia passed away, and Greece became the third great world empire, according to verse 20, there would be another demon assigned to be the power in Greece and he would have under him a whole plethora of demons to carry out his bidding. Is that an insight? God actually carries out His will through the angelic conflict. Incredible. And this angel says I’ve got to hurry and get my message so I can get back to the war.”

“And when I’m done with this Persian deal, Greece is going to come along and I’ve got to fight that one, too.”

So from the land that gave us myths, which are false religions and twists on His truth, we have an evilly powerful prince of Greece and his unholy minions who delude an entire nation. That’s how it’s possible to be so deluded.

Posted in end of days, jesus, prophecy, satan, tribulation

Tribulation overview

Posted on by elizabethprata

The verse below is meant to be (mostly) fulfilled in the Tribulation. The Tribulation is prophesied to be a period where many things will happen. One of them is that the earth and heavens themselves will be wildly disrupted and disfigured. Landforms disappear. Weather patterns evaporate. Celestial orbits cease. Plagues kill. And more.

The outline of what Jesus will be doing at that time is presented to us in Daniel 9:24. The Lord will do 6 things:

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city,

1. To finish the transgression,
2. To make an end of sins,
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity,
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness,
5. To seal up vision and prophecy,
6. And to anoint the Most Holy.”

Notice several things. First, it is a period where though the times seem chaotic, it is actually orderly. It is all in control of God. The three series of 7-judgments apiece (Seals, Trumpets, Bowls; perhaps four sets if you consider the Seven Thunders of Rev. 10:3-4) will be delivered in orderly fashion. The judgments unleash chaos, but their deliverance is orderly and controlled.

Another orderly aspect of the entire age, not just the Tribulation, is that He said it will take 70 weeks (70 bundles of 7 years, called shavua in Hebrew). This adds up to 490 years total for Him to perform the 6 things. The Tribulation is the time for it all to come crashing to a conclusion and so it is a time of demonstrable wrath and the culmination of the 6 things. In further orderliness, He stopped the clock at 483 years. Nowhere was it promised to be 490 consecutive years! But they should have known that, because the interruption was stated. In Daniel 9:25-26, a mere verse later, the angel told Daniel that after seven sevens and 62 sevens, “Messiah will be cut off (vernacular for died) and the people of the prince who is to come (antichrist) shall destroy the city.”

Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was 483 years to the day and then the clock stopped. Then Jesus took 2000 years to build His church, and when it reaches His quota, (Romans 11:25) He will snatch us away from this earth, and He will finish that last 7 years of the prophesied 70 weeks and accomplish the promised 6 things. (More here)

The angel also explained to Daniel that it is a time when God directs His attention to “your people” and “your holy city (Jerusalem). That does not mean He isn’t paying attention to non-believers or non-Jews during the Tribulation, or that nothing will happen to them during the Tribulation. Not at all. Jeremiah 30:7 calls it the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, though, and its point is for the LORD to finish His promises to His people. #1 is to finish the transgression which is to allow sin its full course unhindered (unresisted) by the Spirit- because they have rejected the Spirit. In other words, they will get what they asked for.

#2 says He will make an end to sins. This making an end to sins is an event that will affect everyone on the planet. God always sees the world through the lens of His people the Jews and through the central location of the Holy City. But all the world will be affected.

Note the progression of the 6 things. At the beginning, He allows the transgression to have its full expression. By the end, the Most Holy is anointed. The Most Holy is Jesus. Ahhh, what a day that will be! The Tribulation is the cap-stone to the final age of man where He allows the total outcome of rejection of the Holy Spirit to have its course. His Spirit does not strive with man forever, you know. (Gen 6:3a; 2Thessalonians 2:6-7). Like in Noah’s day, where all of man’s thoughts were only evil continually, (Gen 6:5) so it shall be again at the end of days (Matthew 24:37).

The Daniel 9:26 verse also promises that the end will come like a flood. This does not mean that there will be a flood of actual waters as in the first global judgment. As part of the cataclysmic geo-physical upheavals during the Tribulation there will be floods and tides and hurricanes and tsunamis, but He promised Noah that he would never drown the world again as a judgment. (Gen 9:13). Rather, the verse uses figurative language. The Hebrew word in Dan 9:26 is “sheteph; from shataph; a deluge (literally or figuratively) — flood, outrageous, overflowing.” He means that SIN will have its outrageous overflowing. Remember, the antichrist who overpowers the world is called The Man of Sin. (Rev 13:7; 2 Thess 2:3).

This flood language mirrors the language in Revelation 12:15. Midway through the Tribulation, the antichrist tears up the peace treaty he had confirmed with the Jews at the beginning of the Tribulation. He then persecutes them with all unholiness and evil. He goes after the Jews with an evil vengeance that makes the WWII Holocaust look like a picnic. “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.” Satan pours out his evil and sin flows over the world like a flood.

Floods have waters that rise, and rise and rise, eventually washing away all that is in its path. Even tsunamis which travel at jet speeds have waters that flow and rise accordingly. The end began when Jesus ascended, but it has been 2000 years and we can see that the flood waters of sin are not lapping at our toes…are not sweeping against our waists…but the flood waters of sin seem like they are actually crashing over our heads by this point in time. It seems the flood of sin in the world since the beginning is rising and rising, and now even crashing over our heads. It is like the famous photo of the lighthouse and its keeper:

But we are not destined for wrath! (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Though sin tries to engulf us, it will not prevail against His church! (Matthew 16:18). That is one reason we will not be here during the Tribulation, Jesus said that the gates of hell will never prevail against His church. (Mt 16:18). Notice where the keeper is: INSIDE the Lighthouse. Would you want to be anywhere else when the wages of sin try to engulf you? No. You would not survive that wave. You would not survive the hidden reefs under the wave. (Jude 1:12). Being in the Lighthouse is the only safe place to be, in ages past and in this present age.

Jude says, the apostates are “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (Jude 1:12).

Peter says, “These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” (2 Peter 2:17).

Isaiah says, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.” (Isaiah 57:20).

What of us, individually? His word says that Hades will not prevail against His church, but what of each of us in the daily struggle against sin? Some days it truly feels like it will engulf me. Here is the remedy: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

We are Light keepers, and our job is never more important than during the storm! We are in Christ as THE Light, but we keep His word hidden in our hearts. We are ambassadors of His glory and His truths. We keep His commands. We keep His flame alive on earth by staying in Him and close to Him. It is important to be brighter during the storm and so let us be bright, by being full of peace and joy in these stormy times. Let the waves crash! We have the eternal Strength of the Light. Let others see, and come to Him.

Posted in end time, prophecy, tribulation

End times signs in pictures

Posted on by elizabethprata

The End Time signs in photos. I know that volcanoes have always erupted. I know that earthquakes have always happened. I know that there have always been wars or rumors of wars. But I thought it would be interesting to put in some photos from today’s news stories that closely match prophecy, to give a different, and visual, perspective of the Tribulation.

Volcanic ash envelops Kagoshima city. Kagoshima city has received a heavy dusting of ash since yesterday due to eruption of Sakurajima Volcano–

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,” (Rev 6:12). A common side effect of volcanic eruptions is that when the ash is flung into the sky it darkens the sun in a phenomenon known as dry fog. I explored this in more detail, here. Or you can read about dry fog from a real science guy, here.

The BBC reported on the rare annular eclipse, here, and published this photo of the eclipse over Tokyo.

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,” (Luke 21:25).

Below, PM Netanyahu meets with Winston Churchill’s granddaughter Edwina Sandys. Prior to WWII, Winston Churchill spoke against appeasing Hitler and foresaw the dreadful effects of failing to stop Hitler’s ambitions in time. He was laughed out of the room, only to unfortunately be shown later how right he had been. The situation brings to mind Netanyahu’s current sole position in his speaking of how dangerous it is to appease Ahmadinejad, and how precarious it would be for the world to fail to stop Iran’s convulsive power, cult of death and ideological zeal as that was demonstrated in the Third Reich.

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”’ (Esther 4:14).

Thousands homeless in deadly quake in Italy: 3000 homeless, 50 injured, 7 dead. Historic buildings destroyed.

“There will be earthquakes in diverse places” (Mark 8:13b)

Food shortages in North Korea’s rice belt have become so bad that farmers there have starved to death. As the caption to this photo states, “Famine amid food: North Korean rice farmers are starving to death on meagre government-mandated rations. Picture: AFP Source: AFP”

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” (Revelation 6:5-6). [A denarius was a day’s wages].

Mexico’s Popocatepetl Volcano erupts dramatically at night

“And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.” (Isaiah 29:5b-6)

Posted in patrick heron

Suicide, follow-up

Posted on by elizabethprata

With all gentleness and love, I want to broach a sensitive subject a second time this week. The national and global suicide rate has been skyrocketing. Many of the people who have despaired of life are even youngsters, pre-teens. People are without hope, and in these troubled times it seems to many people a more logical thing to end it all. I am so saddened by unnecessary death, and even more so, people who are not saved thinking to end their struggle and pain only to find themselves in eternal pain…O! I am mourning these times! I am praying for Jesus to come! I am pleading with people in person and in prayer to live closely to Jesus and to stay in His light, for it is VERY dark out there! Even Christians are despairing and some are talking of ending their lives.

I first noticed the phenomenon by reading the local paper and saw that there were an unusual number of people in my area who took their lives recently. Then, a buddy from Ireland sent a video he produced on the topic, because his heart had been burdened with seeing and understanding the same things. His video is below. Suicide is increasing. Then, another buddy, this one from UK, sent a note about the unusual number of suicides in her area. We read in the news this week about RFK’s wife hanging herself. Last, it was noted at church prayer meeting about the number of suicides lately in and around our county.

So earlier in the week I wrote the piece I linked to above. In it there is a checklist of things to look out for in people who may be considering killing themselves. I ask you to please keep the checklist committed to memory so that if you see a dear one self-harming or hear of a loved on speak of suicide you will know how important it is to launch into action and into prayer.

But now here is another plea. Dr. Patrick Heron uses the scriptures to plea for your soul and for all who are in despair. There is NOTHING happening to you on this earth that Jesus does not know about and does not care about. He cares about YOU. And in the next life, you shall be in incomparable glory! But in HIS timing, not yours.

What does the bible say about suicide?

Why should I NOT commit suicide?

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)