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I am a prepper! Are you prepping for doomsday?

Posted on February 9, 2012July 7, 2017 by elizabethprata

Are you a prepper? It means someone who is prepared for a certain eventuality they believe might occur in their life at some point in the near term or the far future. Being prepped used to mean to be prepared for an operation, lol, but it also used to mean prepared for retirement with a good sized savings account and retirement plan. Preparing for retirement was what my generation did, penny by penny, dollar by dollar, over the course of a life.

Then it came to mean insurance. “Do you have insurance?” The boutique kinds of insurance were created and the people buying them felt prepared. Pet illness insurance, flood insurance where floods had not occurred before, hurricane insurance, term life insurance because we are living longer, long term care insurance to tide us over in the nursing home until the end. Life was getting more complicated so we had to be prepared for more things.

Now prepper means prepared for Armageddon. The secular world does not mean literal Armageddon. They do not think that is going to happen, of course. The prophesied battle of the last days where the world’s armies assemble for one last cataclysmic battle against the Holy Savior is what Armageddon really means. (Rev 16:16, Revelation 19:19-21).

What the world means when they say they are prepping for Armageddon is they are getting themselves ready to live through any number of earth-shattering, wide-scale cataclysmic events. We certainly have seen enough of them in the last few years. There was the Christmas Tsunami at Indonesia in 2004, and the March 2011 quake and tsunami at Japan. The series of quakes that occurred at Haiti and Chile and New Zealand at the beginning of last year. Tornadoes wiping out whole towns, one after another. Volcanoes exploding, spewing ash to halt half the world’s air travel. Floods covering a quarter of Australia. The world has seen death and destruction on a wide scale. We have seen that it can and it does happen. Now they are getting ready. Preppers have constructed a safety net for any and all contingencies.

Even Chevy got into the apocalypse game and presented (a winning) ad during the Superbowl. In this still clip, a man in a Chevy survived meteors, UFO invasion, earthquakes, volcanoes, a plague of frogs, fires, and civilizations’ collapse.

Here is the ad:

I like to read futuristic fiction. Last summer I read the classic Alas, Babylon, a 1950s era novel depicting the effects of a nuclear attack on the US. Despite being over fifty years old it consistently ranks in Amazon.com’s Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories list. The novel deals with the effects of a nuclear war on the small town of Fort Repose, Florida, which is based upon the actual city of Mount Dora, Florida. Despite being a bit scientifically inaccurate it does a good job of showing the collapse of society and the reformation attempts in the nuclear aftermath.

I also read One Second After, a 2009 novel by American writer William R. Forstchen. The novel deals with an unexpected electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the United States as it affects the people living in and around the town of Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was extremely realistic. The end of the book talked about the likelihood of a given population’s survival after an EMP with all the attendant collapses. The Wiki on this book states, “Refugees from the cities show up looking for food and shelter and the fight over scarce resources leads to confrontation, home invasion, and more violence-related die-offs. The community becomes an inviting target for free prisoners and organized gangs and more violence-related die-off. Ration cards are issued to conserve the little remaining food; regardless, the community slowly starves with the elderly the first to die off. Next parents starve themselves to save their children. Throughout this period suicides are common. After a year, approximately 20% of the initial population has “survived”. It was stated in the epilogue section from actual sociologists and scientists that such a die-off rate (80%) in the aftermath of an EMP is very likely. I recommend the book.

A few months ago I watched a very compelling, recent documentary called “After Armageddon” on the History Channel. It is a theoretical account of a worst case scenario for global disaster, this time, a pandemic thanks to a superflu. The live scenes of how this affects a family in Los Angeles were interspersed with interviews with real scientists discussing what to do and how to act at the various points of the flu’s run. The docu-drama shows in graphic detail just how fast normal society can break down. I thought it was very realistic. The video can be seen here, part 1/9.

There is a new television show now on the National Geographic channel, called “Doomsday Preppers.” The tagline goes like this: “Doomsday Preppers explores the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. Unique in their beliefs, motivations, and strategies, preppers will go to whatever lengths they can to make sure they are prepared for any of life’s uncertainties. And with our expert’s assessment, they will find out their chances of survival if their worst fears become a reality.”

An article about it opens, “A lot of people are terrified that, unlike Harold Camping, the ancient Mayans got it right and that the apocalypse (zombie or otherwise) will unfold in 2012. … Hence, the arrival of new show “Doomsday Preppers” (Tues., 9 p.m. EST on Nat Geo). Ordinary Americans who are readying themselves for disaster get to have their apocalypse survival plans evaluated by survival experts. On the series premiere, Kellene Bishop taught self-defense techniques to a group of women so that they could overcome their worst-case scenario, whether it be doomsday or attempted rape.”

The end of the world is equated to attempted rape. Uh, okayyyy.

The end of the world is touted as survivable. Uh…okayyyyy.

In another article about the new show they write, “The channel commissioned an online survey of 1,007 adults in the USA, and found that 61% of Americans believe the country will experience a major catastrophic event within the next 20 years, but only 15% feel they are fully prepared for it.”

I can guarantee that less than 15% are actually prepared for it. The article continues,

“In the series premiere, viewers meet a retired couple who have 50,000 pounds of food stored in their doomsday-proof home built of steel shipping containers, an an urban survivalist in Los Angeles prepping for a severe earthquake.”

Here is what is coming: “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. … Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.” (Revelation 16:18-20)

No amount of “prepping” will survive that.

Here is what will happen to that doomsday-proofed home: “Ezekiel 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.”

Every. Wall. Will. Fall.

It is part of man’s hubris to think he can outsmart, out-wait, out buy, and make an end run around what every heart knows is coming: their judgment. The air is ripe with expectancy. Chevy commercials, movies, books, television are focused on last days. They like to use the Mayan 2012 doomsday date as an excuse, but it is really because they know something is coming.

The 2012 Mayan doomers certainly are not helping this focus on doomsday, apocalypse, Armageddon, whatever they are calling it now. The Harold Camping ‘rapture May 21, 2011’ got them going. The endless stream of catastrophes have gotten everyone thinking about how best to prepare for the next one. But they are thinking along the wrong lines. I am prepped for doomsday. I am ready! Getting prepped doesn’t take a container house full of food. Nor does it take a grab bag and a bug out plan. It doesn’t take stockpiles or guns or puffed-up prep jargon and a Berky water filter in my Jeep.

It takes a second to prepare for doomsday. It takes a second to get prepped for eternity. One second. And one second after, you will enter a light and a joy that will last forever. All it takes is repentance.

If you repent of your sins and plead with Jesus to accept your apology (and turn away from the bad ways you act,- and we all act bad against Jesus, no one is sinless except Him), He will forgive you! You will be set forever. He will cherish you, provide for you, teach you, wipe the very tears from your eyes. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Repent literally means change. It means to change your mind that you are a good person and can stand before Holy God on your own merits. It is a change from old ways hateful to God to new ways pleasing to God with the aid of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It means change your heart from thinking you don’t need a Savior to a heart that cries in shame for its lack of humility toward Him and an acknowledgement of our need for Him.

The final 7 years is a judgment time upon the earth. It culminates at Armageddon with assembled armies literally thinking they can defeat Jesus (Rev 16:16). They don’t. But in between the opening salvo at the Tribulation’s start and the final Word at Armageddon (Rev 19:21), preppers who see their carefully constructed homes collapse in a moment (Isaiah 24:1,3) will sincerely wish they had done their one second of prepping: repent, and be saved. Christian preppers were ready for His return. They repented and were in Him, were in His gracious gift of salvation, sanctification, regeneration, and justification. They will be taken in the rapture to a glorious marriage supper (Revelation 19:7-10), and installed in their place He has been preparing (John 14:2), and given crowns and awards (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, Rev. 22:12). You have the option to choose which kind of prepping you want to do. You can go here to learn about what salvation is and what you are being saved from, or you can go here to watch NatGeo’s part 1 of Doomsday Preppers.

You can rely on your Chevy which man created, or you can rely on God, who created the world.

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eu, mark of the beast, prophecy

The European economy and Nebuchadnezzar’s statue

Posted on February 7, 2012 by elizabethprata

In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue, Daniel explained the meaning to the king. The statue was composed of four metals from head to toe, and each metal represented an empire. (Dan 2:31-35). The head of gold represented Babylon, the Chest and Arms of Silver represented Medo-Persia. The belly and thighs, or hips, represented Greece. The legs of iron were Rome. The Roman empire was divided, east and west as the eastern capital of the empire was stationed at Constantinople, now Istanbul in Turkey. The toes were said to be mixed iron and clay and very brittle, not holding together, and that is the Tribulation revived Roman Empire from which the antichrist will emerge.

The final piece of the prophecy involves a stone. “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” (Dan 2:34). The Stone comes and “and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” The stone that was cut without hands is Jesus, who is prophesied to have all the governments upon His shoulder (Isaiah 9:6). Mountains are usually symbols for governments. Jesus will rule and reign after He crushes the final kingdom at Armageddon.

So, are we there yet? Is the old Roman Empire revived? Yes. How do I know this? We see that kingdom has emerged now. If you look at the European Union you will note its government. It is composed of disparate elements which will be more disparate after the rapture and the antichrist seeks to unite elements which do not normally adhere and in truth will fall apart. The EU’s government is not a democracy. Not at all. Though there is a Parliament, in truth the EU is run by behind the scenes men in Belgium who were NOT ELECTED. Most of these men are former financial chiefs from the highest echelons of their former governments or from the extra-governmental International Monetary Fund or the European Central Bank. And the IMF and ECB run Europe too, anyway. The people of Europe who belong to the EU, five hundred million people, have no say in how their governments are run, really.

There are no borders in Europe. EU members opened their borders, so that anyone from “Germany” who wants to take a train to “Italy” or “Slovenia” will not have to have a passport stamped or go through customs. It is all one.

The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. Supranational means outside of national influence, or, higher than national. And you notice it says decisions, not votes. When 500 million people are ruled by a few men through decision whereupon they have no national accountability, it is an empire, and those men are kings of Europe. With that in mind, look at how the guys at Zerohedge phrase their post and presented a video in which economist

“David McWilliams succinctly explains how Europe has evolved from a democracy to a bankocracy, the implications of which lead to austerity for the people and a Franco-German imposition (the ‘fiscal compact’) that can only lead to social unrest and chaos. In this brief (and expertly illustrated) video, the Irish economist clarifies Europe’s ‘dirty little secret’ where economic policy is being run almost exclusively for the banks which, as we see in Greece and Ireland, means the political elite are becoming more and more detached from the people.”

Sovereign men who run large swathes of lands by decision, who are more and more detached from the people, are exactly the kind of governments we see prophesied in the last days, the antichrist’s government. Then, the rich buy their luxuries such as ivory, gold, silver, jewels, (Rev 18) and care not for the poor who work all day for pay that only buys a loaf of bread (Rev 6:6) and even then sometimes gets cheated out of it. (James 5:4). The wealth gap prophesied to occur is happening now, even as Europe revives its empire economically, politically, financially, governmentally…

EU unemployment all time high
“The number of unemployed people in Europe is reaching record highs as the economic crisis unfolds into one with significant social consequences.In eight member states alone, over 30 percent of young people under 25 are out of jobs. The worst affected continues to be Spain where half its young are jobless. Images of long queues outside unemployment offices paint a bleak picture in the Spanish state where almost a quarter of all its citizens are unemployed.”

The Baltic Dry Index is an indicator of global economic health. It has been collapsing–and though the Wall Street Journal is fairly staid in its use of language, they wrote that the BDI is not only collapsing, but “spectacularly” collapsing

Spectacular collapse of BDI
“The spectacular collapse in the Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the cost of shipping bulk freight, gives copper traders something to worry about, says Country Hedging’s Sterling Smith.The index is a proxy for moving goods around the globe and the now-30-session decline appears to indicate global commerce is stalling.”

After the stall…what? A monetary crash? An economic limbo? A financial revival? We don’t know exactly except for what Revelation 6:6 shows, that people will work all day and only be paid enough for a loaf of bread. And in Revelation 18:11-20 it shows economic Babylon’s fall but in that fall it shows that a healthy economic trade in luxuries had been going on. Revelation 13 shows that an economy exists, because no one may buy nor sell if they do not accept the mark of the beast (verse 16-17).

The Roman Empire has been revived, setting the stage for the above verses to be fulfilled.
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gay marriage

CA voter-approved gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional

Posted on February 7, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Photo source

“A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional because it violates the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law.” (online source)

The world’s version of perverted “love” ruling may stand for a while, but eventually, holiness will rule. God will remind one and all of how He wants His society set up. He is so gracious, giving us more time to come to repentance and to adhere to His standards!

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rapture

It is near, even at the doors

Posted on February 6, 2012 by elizabethprata

I have been studying prophecy for five years. That is not a hugely long time, but with not working during much of that period, and with not having children or family obligations, I’ve studied it night and day, intensively, like a person at a retreat or in seminary. The supernatural understanding the Spirit has given me of the bible and of prophecy itself in such a short time is a testament to His work in me. In other words, He brought me along fast.

I believe He has used me in this way, intensively and constantly and immediately, because time is short. I’ve always had a burden for the imminence of His soon coming since my conversion in December 3, 2003. My mission is to the fellow Christian through the accurate word of His prophecy. My job has been to put the sandwichboard over my shoulders that says “the end is near!” and ring the bell to apathetic Christians. That’s my mission: watchman, bell ringer, warner-exhorter.

There are some people who say that we should not say it is near, and they cite Mark 13:32, where it says ‘no one knows the day nor hour’. Or they cite 1 Thessalonians 5:1 where Paul said the day of the Lord will be as a thief in the night, a surprise. Or they cite Acts 1:7, where we are told we will not know the times or dates God has set by His own authority.

They are right.

If you meet up with anyone who knows the time, hour, or day, run, for they are false. However, we are told we will know the season. In 1 Thess 5:4; Luke 21:28; Matthew 24:33 we are told that we will know when it is near. In Luke 12:56 Jesus chastises those who failed to interpret the times the first time around, and didn’t know it was the time of the First Coming. He said they were good at interpreting the weather but not that it was the time of the Messiah standing in front of them.

In Luke 12 beginning in verse 35 there is a section called “Watchfulness”. Jesus says, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,” and later in vs. 37 He says, “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.”

So when you try to relate the imminence of the times don’t let anyone brush you off with the old chestnut, “we do not know the day nor hour” (Unless you have just told them a day or an hour.)

I feel the time is very, very close. I see the geo-political platform of the pieces coming together and I want to scream WAKE UP!” “BE READY!” Last night I watched Pastor JD Farag’s prophecy update and what he said in it, I could relate to in a big way.

He said he wants to scream, too. To those of us He is using in this watchman ministry, we see so clearly what the times are and the nearness of the end of the Church Age, and the beginning of terrible times for the left-behind population.

Pastor JD said that he has been studying prophecy for 20 years and walking with the Lord for 30, and never has he seen events line up like this. He remarked that 12 years ago he was traveling with another highly respected prophecy preacher and that preacher said given the global – political landscape at that time it likely would not be sooner than 10 years before the Lord came back. Pastor JD said that back then he agreed.

Though the Lord can come back any time, could have come back in the past and could come in the far future, he did give us signs. He not only gave signs but urged us to watch for those signs. So for prophecy students, it is not like we believe the end is near without reason. Ten years ago the signs were not there, though the biggest sign of all had been fulfilled: Israel was back in the land. But the rest? Not so much. We all knew that.

When I began my own studies five years ago I felt like the Lord would not come back for five more years. In other words five years ago it felt like the beginning of the season. Now five years later it feels like the end of the season. I could see the prophetic pieces at the end of my field of biblical vision but they were not close. Now they are. They’re excruciatingly close.

While the Lord may choose to defuse the situation and all go back to something akin to normal, that is His prerogative in His timing, would He?

Pastor JD said of the signs, the pregnant imminence, about heavy feeling, that though God could certainly pull everything back from the brink, it is not probable. Why? Think about this: Would Jesus taunt us with the rapture? Would he tantalize His bride with the nearness? Would he dangle the carrot in front of us, only to say, Nah, not now?

Pastor JD related the anecdote of when he asked his then-girlfriend to marry him. He said that after she’d said yes, he was counting the days until they would be man and wife. He loved her soooo much that the notion of being united under God was all he could think about. How much MORE, then, would Jesus feel about His bride? How much more anxious and eager would He be to take us to Himself and install us in the place He has been preparing for us? I agree with what Pastor Farag said. I think the matter is much too serious to play brinksmanship. I believe that there is only forward motion at this time, fast-forward.

Someone mentioned in another essay I’d read this week that “time is short. The spiritual electricity is in the air and we dedicated followers of Christ can feel it crackling all around us every day.” I agree!! Another prophecy preacher wrote, “The Rapture is at the door and Satan is fighting with a fury.” So true, the evilness is almost too much to bear. An anonymous commenter said on another post, “I have an incredible sense of urgency and “inner-knowing” that our time here on earth will be drawing to a close very soon.” Amen.

What this adds up to is the final decision. A person must decide if they will acknowledge their sins against Jesus and ask Him to forgive them, or not. Not doing so means they will be left behind when He comes very soon for us. He wants you! There is no sin you have committed in your life that Jesus will not forgive! The only unforgivable sin is refusing His pardon for your sins. He loves you and wants to take care of you and bless you and treasure you. Yes, YOU!

Though Jesus could settle the world and wait another 10 years, I truly think He will not. I really think this is it. Repent, for the kingdom of Jesus is at hand.

psalm 83

Iranian Parliament website outlines reasons to attack Israel

Posted on February 6, 2012 by elizabethprata

Israel National News reports: “The Iranian parliament’s official website has published an article calling on the government to attack Israel before the end of the year. According to Israeli TV Channel 2’s veteran Middle East expert, Ehud Yaari, the article cites three reasons for the call. First – a religious fatwa allowing such a strike. Second – threats from Israel regarding a planned strike on Iran. And third – Iran’s alleged military capability to carry out such an attack. The article specifies that the area between Lod and Jerusalem should be targeted, as well as Tel Nof Air Force Base…”

“…On Saturday, press outlets in Iran also widely quoted a blog post by Alireza Forghani, a computer engineer, who called upon Tehran to “wipe out Israel” by 2014. Forghani called on his leaders to target Israeli sites using land-to-land missiles. Ballistic Sijil missiles should be launched at Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, he suggested, as well as power stations and other vital infrastructure. Then, Shahab 3 and Ghader missiles should target the rest of Israel’s population centers. Nine minutes would suffice for ‘total annihilation,’ he predicted.”

New Gospel vs. Old Gospel and Paul’s warning to Timothy

Posted on February 5, 2012 by elizabethprata

Beth Moore preaches Beth Moore. Her studies and talks and tv show are solely about her. This is what a brother in the faith said yesterday, Chris Rosebrough, not about Beth Moore specifically but about the scourge of falsity penetrating the church these days:

“The old gospel is about humble, contrite and repentant faith. The new gospel is about audacious faith.”

“The old gospel is about repentance & forgiveness of sins by Christ’s blood. The new gospel is about behavior modification & the cross is not needed.”

“The old gospel was about our need for an imputed righteousness; the new gospel is about satisfying our craving for significance.”

“The old gospel regenerates sinners born dead in trespasses & sin. The new gospel improves the lives of people who are “basically good”.

“The old gospel was about penal substitution. The new gospel is about life coaching.”

“The old gospel was about sin; the new gospel is about meeting felt needs.”

“The old gospel was about an offended God; the new gospel is about a wounded and victimized humanity.”

Balanced against the old foundational doctrines like that, you can see easily that Beth Moore preaches a new Gospel.

The Word is pure and true. Jesus said that false teachers would come, that doctrines of demons would enter, that they would not stand for sound doctrine but want tickled ears and heap up teachers who preach it. Etc. His word is true and though it is devastating to see the impact of these false teachings, it is satisfying to rely on God’s word when it is proved true over and over again, even in a negative way like this issue is.

If you are not at a good church now, I can recommend some good and biblical preachers online.

John MacArthur
Don Green
Phil Johnson

Steve Lawson
Paul Washer
Justin Peters: “A call for discernment, a biblical critique of the Word-Faith movement”

They are also all over YouTube too. You can trust these preachers in how they handle the word. But don’t believe me, listen for yourself and be a Berean 🙂

Here is a wonderful preaching on The Dangers of Apostasy by Steve Lawson. I really enjoy Pastor Lawson’s preaching, I’ve listened to much of what is available online and then I listened to it over again! Here he delves into the verses from 2 Timothy 3:1-5,

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Pastor Lawson explains that the conditions Paul warns Timothy about in the the last days are not just societal conditions, but conditions of apostasy that will be present in the church. A must listen

The aggressive rise in falsity we detect in our church tells me that Jesus will soon come. O come Lord Jesus!!
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damascus, homs, prophecy, syria, UN security council

It’s all about Syria: Massacre in Homs, UN Security Council vote, prophecy nearing fulfillment

Posted on February 4, 2012 by elizabethprata

Sobering news today in the wake of the bloody massacre in Syria last night. Assad is hanging on and the world is tense and watching.

Last night I was relaxing while surfing the internet. I had my Twitter stream up, and suddenly all these tweets started coming in about violence in the Syrian city of Homs. Twitter was flooded with tweets and re-tweets of people saying that a violent battle was taking place. The tone soon shifted to people making an outcry that civilians were being massacred. The pain and outrage, distress and despair was evident in the people by the tweets I was watching scroll quickly up the screen. Hundreds upon hundreds of tweets rolled past my tearing eyes. Cries of shame upon Dictator Assad’s men who were killing innocent people. Reports of blood literally running in the streets. Mourning over children with no heads. Bodies piling up. A hospital obliterated. Many tweets contained links to videos and photos with appropriate warnings of the graphic nature of the images. I didn’t click on any of those but one did catch my attention: amateur video of a very large explosion at Hama. The Syrian inky night sky lit up orange as the entire horizon fired up from some kind of weapon of mass destruction. It was VERY disorienting to watch and read about a massacre in real time. Nothing can prepare you.

Some tweets:

My city is bleeding. We’re being attacked since 8 pm. 5 hours, 230 dead, 800 injured.
BBC’s Paul Wood breaks cover in Homs Syria. Reports Free Syria Army will begin “general assault” in next 24 hrs in retaliation for attack
BBC reports Homs “Does seem to have been sustained bombardment, large sustained attack”
The Syrian embassy in Tripoli of Libya is now under the control of Syrian revolutionists
Horror. GRAPHIC: Another video from Khaldiyeh, dead young men, many injured, people screaming
Jon Williams- Has Homs proved final straw for some? Syrian “Independence” flag reported flying over embassy in Greece.
Tunisia expels Syria ambassador over Feb 3 “bloody massacre” in Homs that killed over 200 people (via @AP)
Guardian news Top story: Fury over Homs massacre as UN security council gathers for Syria

Soon the tone shifted again to freedom fighters trying to organize worldwide protests at embassies outside of Syria. Some did respond, and were attacked, such as Greece. Others called upon the UN to shame Russia for diluting the latest resolutions condemning the violence.

People all over the world are asked to go to the Syrian embassies & protest Syria
They’re chanting “one solution, one solution – revolution, revolution” in Wash DC

One man tweeted, “Mankind has never been so connected as it is today. Yet, we stand powerless”. I understand his sentiment. We watch, we see, yet what can we as individuals do in the face of such vivid violence in real time? Some called for uniting at embassies around the world in protest. Greece and Washington DC, as well as people Spain responded and assembled in front of the Syrian embassy in their capitals. In other words, anger was palpable. I mourned, and soon I had to turn it off, the devastating implications of the massacre were too great.

“Today, European envoys to the Security Council said they would vote Saturday on a draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down amid talk that Russia would ask for a delay. The ambassadors spoke as they headed into an unusual weekend session. The urgency was heightened by an assault by Syrian forces firing mortars and artillery on the city of Homs.”

This morning “Obama said in a statement on Saturday that he condemns Mr. Assad’s “unspeakable assault.” He called for the Syrian leader to step aside and make way for a democratic transition.” This is essentially what the UN Security Council Resolution calls for.

UN web cams inside the voting chamber ahead of the vote show heavy lobbying of the Russian envoy to get him to soften his stance. A similar resolution was proposed to the Security council in October but members China and Russia vetoed it. They are trying not to have a repeat of that awful decision, particularly in light of last night’s massacre and the additional dead by Assad’s orders since October. Voting will occur momentarily… it is a tense moment for the watching world.

OK, I watched the UN Security Council vote live. Russia and China voted no, meaning they vetoed the draft resolution condemning Syria’s violence and calling for Assad to resign. Russia and China both are prophesied leaders players in future Middle East violence as per Ezekiel 38-39 and Rev 16:12.

I think often on the prophecy in Isaiah 17, whereupon Damascus will be destroyed, it will be a heap of ruins (V. 1).

This oracle in its entirety has a partial fulfillment in 722 and 732 BC of Samaria and Damascus. It is obviously a partial fulfillment because Damascus, though defeated by the Assyrians, the city continued to be a city under their rule. It was never razed to the extent that the prophecy indicates it will be someday. The middle of the chapter focuses on the defeat of Samaria, and then toward the end of the short chapter at verse 12-14a you see the following:

“Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more.”

Two thoughts here. One is that ‘the mighty rushing waters’ is always used as a metaphor in the bible for outcries, restless and angry multitudes upset about something. Certainly last night was evocative of that verse. Today might be worse, considering that Russia and China stand by Assad’s violence and outrages against the people.

Washington Post immediately reported, “Russia and China have vetoed a Security Council resolution backing an Arab League peace plan that calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. The other 13 council members, including the U.S., France and Britain, voted Saturday in favor of the resolution aimed at stopping the ongoing violence in Syria.”

What could God be doing, allowing such evil? How can any nation not condemn a leader massacring children? One answer is that we see the evil inside the Russian envoy’s and Chinese envoy’s heart that they would vote in this way. God is good and He allows the sins inside of us to come to their full fruition, eventually revealed to one and all. “But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them” (Eph 5:13)

France said of the vote, “France: “History will have no mercy for those who blocked the UNSC from bringing its support to the Arab League efforts.”

“Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” (Ezekiel 38:1-3).

It is interesting to think of the plan God has for Russia and for China (Kings of the East). I don’t know about history but I know that God will have no mercy on them. Ezekiel’s prophecy continues regarding Russia particularly, “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”” Gog is destroyed. Ezekiel 39:2 says that God will destroy five-sixths of their army. Then He gives burial instructions.

Secondly the verse that speaks of trouble coming in the evening and then by morning he is no more…what can raze a city that quickly? What would reduce a city to rubble so completely that it is obliterated? A nuclear device. I got to bed at night, on nights like last night, and I wonder, ‘Will Damascus be there in the morning?’ We are the final generation that will see these things come to pass (Matthew 24:34), we see the other signs, and at some point it will happen. What will be the final straw? Was last night’s massacre and today’s UN vote the final straw? I do not know, God knows. We trust Him and His perfect plan. Meanwhile, He wants no one to be lost, but all to come to repentance. Hang on Syrians! Jesus loves you! Look UP, for your Redemption draweth nigh, if you but repent and believe!

As for feeling powerless while watching the massacre unfold, we are not powerless. As the tweets rolled by, and the knowledge that many who had died fell into hell instead of heaven, I prayed hard. I prayed that the nearness of death would awaken many to His offer of salvation. I prayed that the seeds that have been left previously by missionaries and Gideons would sprout into understanding. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would grab those He is drawing near and they would respond with an eternity changing decision for Jesus. Prayer is the ultimate weapon. Trusting in His goodness even while dark evil lurks is the ultimate faith.
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bible jesus, children, millennium kingdom

If the Tribulation will be so horrible, why will God allow children to be born into it?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by elizabethprata

After the post I’d written about the news of child porn and the heinous acts from the California teacher, someone emailed with a very good question. I think those two articles and others like them, showing the deepening evil against our precious children in the world, makes us cringe to think of how bad it will be for them in the Tribulation. The question I was asked was, why will God allow children to be born during that terrible time?

It is heartbreaking to consider the heinous lives that children will live in the Tribulation. I can scarcely think on it.

Life has always been difficult for society’s most vulnerable. From even the beginning, the vast distance of time, children were sacrificed to Molech or to Aztec gods…made slaves…sold, given away. In the US in the 1800s Jacob Riis exposed the terrible child labor of kids working in dark factories and the awful societal conditions they lived in. Even today children are exposed to those same conditions, sold in Thailand, slaves in Indonesia, aborted in China…

Jacob Riis photo: Children sleeping in Mulberry Street (1890)

Let’s look at a couple of things. First, the facts. There will be children in the 7 year period known to us as the Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) but more properly known by its title “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” (Jer 30:7)

It is supposed by many (me included) that unborn and children who are too young to to make a conscious decision for Jesus that the Lord will take them in the rapture. However, the Tribulation is 7 years long and others will be born afterward.

In warning the disciples about the Great Tribulation which begins as the antichrist tears up the peace treaty and begins his persecution of the Jews by standing in the Temple declaring himself to be God, Jesus says there will be babies and toddlers on earth at that time:

Matthew 24:19: “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!”

He also said that as it was in the time just before Noah entered the ark it will be similar on earth before He comes a second time to Judge it:

Matthew 24:38: For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

And if they are marrying then it is presumed that progeny will result. So there will be kids.

The second question becomes, then, why? Why will God allow babies to be born into such dangerous times? Well, as mentioned earlier, times have always been dangerous for children: When Herod sought to maintain his kingship, hearing the Wise Men tell of a new king, Herod killed every male child in the nation under the age of two. (Mt 2:16-18)

Egypt’s Pharaoh sought to kill all the firstborn boys of Israel, which was a nation within his nation by that time. (Exodus 1:17)

In Lamentations 4:10, women in the besieged city cooked and ate their own children.

Though the Tribulation will be a time of unequalled distress on the earth, for all of man’s history, children have been at times a disposable commodity. It will be no different in the future. That is the nature of sin on a cursed and dying world- the vulnerable are at most risk.

We can answer the question of why will God allow the children to be born into the Tribulation period three additional ways. First the practical way:

There will be people left alive at the end of the Tribulation to enter the Millennium. The saved enter it, but are unglorified, real flesh and blood people. Those who make it through will live during the 1000 years. Isaiah 65:10 says that anyone who dies at age 100 in that time will be thought of as a child and if they are still a sinner they will be forever cursed. People will live a long time and they will repopulate the earth. Additionally, all those entering the Millennium as a child and those who are born during the Millennium will be given opportunity to become saved. The resurrected saints of Israel who live in the Kingdom will not be able to procreate because they will be glorified. So that is the practical reason. Repopulation.

Secondly, at the end of that time, there will be a short rebellion. The bible doesn’t say much about how people are saved in the Millennium, but God in His grace and mercy will give everyone a choice, to accept Him or reject Him. At the end of the 1000 years, satan (who had been locked up in the abyss since the end of the Tribulation) is let out to do his worst among the Millennium people who are living at that time. (Rev 20:1-3)

When satan is let out, though the people have been living on a perfect earth with a perfect Jesus ruling and reigning, they still have a flesh nature and some will succumb to satan’s schemes. Rev 20:7-10 shows us:

“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

In His longsuffering, the people, babies, and children who enter the Millennium, and their progeny who come after them, but are not glorified, are given opportunity to accept Christ as savior. Perhaps though we are not told in the bible exactly how they are saved we can surely see that the children are given an opportunity to grow up and to magnify His glory by coming to Him as a sinner seeking forgiveness- as any person throughout time has had the chance to do. In the Millennium their salvation would be even more glorious because Jesus will be visible as the High Priest! (Hebrews 7:11-13; Psalm 110:4). He is the better priest! Though there will be sin in the Millennium there will NOT be any false religion, because satan is locked up, and Jesus is present on earth. All the children who grow up in the Millennium will know only truth as their religion.

Imagine what it would be like for a 6 year old, born during the Tribulation and never knowing goodness or peace or Light, and then growing up in the Millennium with Jesus as their God and Savior in person on earth! THAT would surely glorify Him! And perhaps the darker side is the ones who reject Him in the Millennium demonstrate to others how powerful a sin nature is and why it must be dealt with so harshly. But even this shows His glory because it shows His holiness.

Third, God is good. He is the very definition of Good. Everything He does is good. He is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. So for whatever reason He is choosing to allow children to be born into a time of the worst suffering on earth there shall ever be or will be again, (Mt 24:21) it is Good, because everything He does is good. We just have to wait and see.
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bible, child porn, homosexuality, perversity, teacher semen

Sadly, I report two child pornography stories

Posted on February 2, 2012 by elizabethprata

Ontario child porn bust snares 50
“Police in Ontario are expected to release details Thursday morning of what could be the largest child pornography bust ever in Canada. According to Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Sgt. Pierre Chamberlain, police will release “results of a provincial-wide sweep of child sex offenders that occurred over the last couple of days in the province of Ontario.” Police have scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Vaughan that will include participants from more than 20 police departments across the country. “We’ll be drawing attention to the serious blight that is child pornography,” Chamberlain told CBC News. Police said they have taken more than 50 people into custody after raids across Ontario on Wednesday. Those arrested were not part of an organized child porn ring, police said. Members of the provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the internet have laid more than 200 charges while the investigation continues.” Video of the news spot at link

The CBC news spot video opens with this statement: “The victims are society’s most vulnerable, young children, even infants. The crimes against them, heinous.” The video reporter stated that child pornography doesn’t just include still photos of children in abusive situations, as most people suppose, but nowadays also includes live streaming of the abuse. Worse, “victims are increasingly younger, sometimes, even infants.”

In another story from California in the US, we read something that is positively sickening in its inventive evil:

“Teacher who ‘bound and gagged children, put roaches on their faces, and fed them semen’ jailed on $23 million bail“

This teacher had taught for 30 years in that school, and was held in high esteem by parents and community. The children victims ranged in age from 7 to 10.

A hallmark of Christianity is care for society’s most vulnerable– the poor, the widows, the children, and the oppressed.

For example, God regards equally the rich and the poor: “How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.” (Job 34:19)

So James warns us not to show favoritism, either: “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (James 2:1-5)

It is the same with the widows. They should be treated with honor, 1 Timothy 5:3; and they should be helped, 1 Timothy 5:16.

How widows were treated is a component of judgment:

“And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:5)

As for children, the Lord has a special place in His heart for them, because they are a special gift from His grace: if I may be so bold as to interpret thusly from the following:

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalms 127:3).

Children are capable of glorifying God and therefore should be brought to Him, (Psalms 148:12-13; Mark 10:13-16) and trained in His ways.

I’ve been speaking of progressive judgment. God does give individuals, and nations, over to their depravity. It doesn’t happen all at once. It is described in Romans 1:18-32. First we are told that God reveals His glory and His wrath in creation. Why? because God’s glory is obvious and man deliberately suppresses it. (Romans 1:18-20).

Not only to they suppress it, but they fail to give Him thanks and they fail to glorify Him, so then their thinking becomes futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. They start worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. In this, they think they are so wise, but they are fools. (Rom 1:21-22).

Next, because they cannot think straight, sinful desires of their hearts arise and sexual impurity enters in, and they degrade themselves with one another. (Homosexuality). (Romans 1:24)

But sin can always go deeper, and in the progressive judgment of God, the sinners are allowed to follow its natural course to shameful lusts, and “even” the women (mothers and widows, who are the moral compass of a family and thus of society) become lesbians. (Rom 1:26).

Finally, in verse 28-29, they end up with a depraved minds. They are out of their minds with degrading shameful lusts and cannot think of what is right and good any more. By now they are completely unmoored from anything resembling purity or goodness. “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity….”

Filled. No room to squeeze into a conscience anything good or pure, only depravity. Now, the verse says they exchanged normal lust for unnatural lusts to do with each other. Adults. But what about the terrible stories we read above, the shameful, evil, and degrading lusts perpetrated involving children? Given how the Lord feels about children, would it not seem that a special wrath would come upon those who abuse their own bodies with children in such a way? Paul finishes the chapter thus:

“…He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 2:28b-32)

They are brutal, depraved, “doing what ought not to be done”. They invent ways of doing evil. If ever there was a verse that spoke to my heart regarding these precious children subjected to trafficking, porn, and degrading bondage games, this is it. And we know that many people applaud these kind of activities, such as members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). We know that in dark corners of sticky, sour rooms, men will smirk and gleefully applaud the teacher’s inventiveness who subjected the children to what he subjected them to.

Are we at the point as a nation and a society where God has given us over to shameful lusts and deserved wrath? I would venture to say yes. Though I began the essay with the title “Sadly, I report two child pornography stories” I can end it with pointing to Jesus. HE is good, pure, perfect. He loves all His creatures, especially children. Though we suffer now in the fallen creation from witnessing such sin, He has vanquished it. If we are in Him, we are victors through Him of the victory over sin. (Romans 6:18). And there WILL come a day when he wipes sin from the earth!!!

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zechariah 13:1)

On His day, the Lord will put an end to sin (Daniel 9:24) When he calls for those who had believed in Him and whose names are entered in the Lamb’s Book of Life, He will install us in the place He has prepared for us, New Jerusalem, and nothing impure will ever enter it.

“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who is sinless, who takes away our sin, and with whom we will dwell in sinless purity forever!!

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fireball, sky quake, texas

Texas meteor and sky quake

Posted on February 2, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A bright green meteor and accompanying sky quake shook up residents of North Texas last night. Many amateur and professional videographers and security cameras captured the meteor as it swung low and long across the north Texas plains from San Antonio to Oklahoma City, a distance of nearly 500 miles.

News story out of Texas from WFAA:
“WFAA received more than 200 reports Wednesday night from people who said they saw what appeared to be a meteor streaking across the North Texas sky shortly after 8 o’clock. Many people also said they heard what sounded like a sonic boom (or booms) associated with the fireball, which was apparently witnessed all the way from San Antonio to Oklahoma City. The Federal Aviation Administration told TV station KWTX in Waco that it was a meteor.”

One woman quoted in the story described the meteor this way: “Dawn Caddell Delarosa was out sitting on her porch about 15 miles west of Denton. “It was HUGE. It was very low,” she wrote. “It came from the Southwest, went in front of our house. Both my husband and I yelled, ‘OMG, it is going to hit that plane?’ It looked like it got east of Denton when it exploded/broke apart. We could see all the little ’embers’ blasting southeastward. Those poor people in the plane. I bet they thought it was the end of their life.””

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(CBSDFW – Kevin Palivec, a former television photographer in the Abilene area captured video of the meteor on two remote cameras 60 miles apart. Images from the cameras show a bright streak passing overhead. Many people in North Texas reported feeling vibrations as the meteor passed. CBS 11 Chief Meteorologist Larry Mowry explained on Wednesday night’s newscast that the meteor has been identified as a ‘electrophonic’ meteor, one that can be heard as it burns up. He says these type of meteors have been known to give off radio waves.

Another sign. Wake up, and look up, for He is near, even at the doors!

Luke 21:25-28 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Matthew 24:33 “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

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