Posted in end of days. prophecy, gog magog, isaiah 17, jesus

More ships from US, UK, France deployed to Gulf

Posted on by elizabethprata

Syria’s dictator Assad was called by the Arab League to step down. He refused. The pressure is rising. The violence is increasing. In other news from the Middle East,

US aircraft carriers to deliver ‘direct message to Iran’
“In an apparent show of strength, Washington is deploying a second carrier strike group in the Gulf. US officials also confirmed their commitment to maintaining a global fleet of 11 aircraft carriers despite budget pressure to cut the fleet’s size. … Panetta added that the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise is on course for the Persian Gulf – and will steam through the Strait of Hormuz in a direct message to Iran, AP reports.”

According to the Navy website as of January 20, 2012, the excerpt below show the following carriers and groups’ deployment. The Fifth Fleet is stationed in Bahrain in the Red Sea.

Navy status as of January 20, 2012

The European Union decided to implement oil sanctions against Iran over the next few months. The EU will also sanction the Iran Central Bank and to ban all trade in diamonds, gold and other precious metals with the bank and other public bodies.

In retaliation, Iran threatened, again, to close the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a natural chokepoint though which a third of all global oil is exported by ship.

In retaliation,  British, French ships join US carrier in Strait of Hormuz, “Earlier, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said a British Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll and a French vessel had joined the carrier group to sail through the strategic waterway.”

Oh, boy, they are really piling up over there.

But wait, there’s more! In addition to Argyll, the “HMS Westminster left Portsmouth for a seven-month deployment east of Suez, passing hundreds of relatives who waved off loved ones from the Round Tower.”

The areas in the world prophesied to be highly active in the last days are now in the news on a constant and center-stage basis. The battles to come, as described in Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39 are nearly here. The amount of world attention, diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, and war materiel being drawn into the exact sphere where the launching pad for the Tribulation will occur is absolutely amazing. It is all happening right before our eyes. The Epicenter is like a magnet and the rest are iron shavings being drawn inexorably toward the final confrontation.

It is not a confrontation with each other, but penultimately, they are being drawn into a confrontation with their own sin, and ultimately it will be  a confrontation with Jesus.

It is all happening right before our eyes. Look at it! Then look up, for our Redemption does not seem to be far off.
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Posted in discernment, watchman

"Asleep on the watch"

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Somebody please wake the watchmen! I would rather have sadness and grief with much tears, bringing us to repentance, than to continue to see the churches being infiltrated and assimilated by New Age Occultism, false teaching, heresies, philosophies of men and doctrines of demons as the watchmen sleep.” (source)

Another good article on the biblical explanation of what a watchman does from the Old Testament and New Testament, here.

Posted in forgiveness, gay, homosexuality, lesbian, sin

It’s 2012 and homosexuality is still a sin

Posted on by elizabethprata

Culture and Godliness are anathema. We do not belong to the world. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. (John 15:19). What God wants for His people and what the World wants for its people are distinct opposites. Just remember the scene from the Garden in Genesis 2 between the serpent, Eve, and Adam. So as we approach the end, we are reminded of Jesus’ words about the state of the culture at the time He calls an end to sin and He intervenes personally and visibly. These are known as the Days of Noah and the Days of Lot:

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” Luke 17:26

The Days of Noah were described in Genesis 6:5: “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”

Jesus also went on in Luke to say that despite the wickedness people would still be doing normal things and thinking these were normal times, just as those in Sodom did when Lot was called out if the city by the angel. “People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.” Luke 17:27-28.

As for Days of Lot, you remember that Lot hailed from Sodom, a most wicked city. That city was destroyed because of its sins, homosexuality being chief. Homosexuality is a judgment upon a progressively disobedient culture. (Romans 1:18-26 describes the effects of unbelief and its consequences)

Matthew 10:15 reminds us that the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah are still to come. ” tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” The cities themselves have been erased from earthly physicality but their sins have not been dealt with. They will be. And this is a reminder that they serve as an example to any nation who promotes, tolerates, accepts homosexuality (and any sin) to the degree that those two cities did. (Jude 1:7- “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”). In other words, Sodom is gone but not forgotten by God. And Sodom is gone but should not be forgotten by us.

Please keep those verses in mind as you read the following news excerpts from this week…

Why gay people make the best parents
“But research on families headed by gays and lesbians doesn’t back up these dire assertions. In fact, in some ways, gay parents may bring talents to the table that straight parents don’t. Gay parents “tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents,” said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. “That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement.” And while research indicates that kids of gay parents show few differences in achievement, mental health, social functioning and other measures, these kids may have the advantage of open-mindedness, tolerance and role models for equitable relationships, according to some research. Not only that, but gays and lesbians are likely to provide homes for difficult-to-place children in the foster system, studies show.”

Indiana unveils its first license plate for gay youths
“Indiana’s first specialty license plate that benefits gay causes is now available for purchase. Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokesman Graig Lubsen said the Indiana Youth Group plate has been available since Dec. 28. The plate bears a logo with hands in rainbow colors reaching up. Some $25 from sales of each $40 plate goes to the group serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The Indianapolis-based organization operates an activity center, helps develop Gay Straight Alliances in high schools and assists communities in forming youth services. The group serves about 1,400 youths and young adults ages 12 to 21, The Indianapolis Star reports in a Wednesday story. She said Indiana is the second state in the nation with a specialty plate benefiting gay youths. Maryland was the first, she said.”

Gay marriage gaining momentum in WA Legislature
“The last time same-sex marriage was debated in the Washington state Legislature, lawmakers voted to ban it. Fourteen years later, the issue is before the Legislature once again after a multiyear effort that has incrementally increased rights to gay and lesbian couples in the state. And this time around, it looks like Washington could very well become the seventh state plus the District of Columbia to legalize same-sex marriage.”

Rumor of the day: Obama to endorse gay marriage in State of the Union Address this week
White House won’t rule it out
“White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Friday he wouldn’t rule “in or out” the possibility of President Obama endorsing same-sex marriage in the upcoming State of the Union address. Carney made the remarks on whether Obama would announce support for marriage equality during the State of the Union address, which is set to take place Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, in response to a question from the Washington Blade.”

I’ve said before that governmental promotion of homosexuality will bring judgment upon the nation.

Whenever the Bible mentions marriage, it is between a male and a female. The first mention of marriage is in Genesis 2:22-24 shows the God-ordained model for marriage:

“The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

In passages that contain instructions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2-16 and Ephesians 5:23-33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. Biblically speaking, marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environment for that family. (more here).

That we are seeing such acceptance of homosexuality, transgenderism, lesbianism, and perverted lifestyles, is not just a symptom of the state of our culture, it is a judgment.

God in His mercy will forgive any penitent person when they appeal to God. If you are in a lifestyle that you know deep down is harming you, failing to bring fulfillment, and you want out, then throw yourself on the mercy of Jesus, who forgave your sins at the cross. He will forgive, then He will send the Spirit to help you resist the devil, and the devil will flee from you. (James 4:7).

If you are in one of these lifestyles and you do NOT feel it is harming you, if you think it IS bringing you fulfillment, then I submit that you are in deep danger of missing out on the universe’s greatest blessing, the blessing that comes after repentance and forgiveness by Jesus, His bringing you into the very family of God. Stop now and pray to Him before your heart becomes even more hardened to the soft influence of conscience, which is the Spirit telling you Jesus is near. Because once He gives you over to your desires, that’s it. (Romans 1:24)

If you are in a family where you are devastated to have a beloved family member involved in one of these lifestyles, then keep praying, pray! Jesus is bigger than any sin, and He hears the prayers of the righteous.
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Posted in costa concordia, shipwreck, sin

More Costa Concordia observations

Posted on by elizabethprata

It is now more than one week after the terrible shipwreck of the Italian passenger cruise liner Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast. The tragedy has captured the world, as shipwrecks always do. I’m sorrowful for the families of the victims who are still missing and those who are dead. I am sad for the wrecked lives of those who are related to the Captain, and I’m sad for the captain himself. I wrote last week about the bravado he displayed in using the cruise ship as a personal yacht and maneuvering close to the shore for a personal reason. I’d thought about Paul’s admonition to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that in the last days certain emotional conditions would be driving humanity; selfishness, greed, disobedience, hatred, brutality, etc. The captain’s behavior certainly illustrates several of the prophesied those conditions, and moreover, how the conditions of those who exhibit them affect all of us.

The UK Guardian has a retrospective piece called “An All-purpose symbol for our times” that is poetic at times and its tone the appropriate level of melancholy. In part, they wrote:

“A giant white ship lies on its side in the glittering Tyrr- henian Sea, the hi-tech wedding cake of its once-towering superstructure now food for thought and shellfish as it forms a man-made reef close to the dwarfed land. The wreck of the Costa Concordia is a grave to a still uncertain number of people, yet it is also a metaphor. Where other transport accidents might be discussed with muted horror and careful respect, a shipwreck brings out far more primitive and irrepressible responses.”

“When you look at pictures of the fated ship, from the shore, or the air, or even from space, the size of it is staggering – seeing these cruise ships sailing in and out of Venice recently, it was astonishing how their towering decks loomed above churches and dwarfed palaces. But as with any maritime disaster, the shell of the ship is also a mystery, concealing stories of horror and courage.It is impossible not to imagine the invisible world inside, flooded cabins, inverted restaurants, corridors become watery tombs. The imagination of disaster fills in the unseen details. Nothing grips the imagination like a tragedy at sea. George Orwell was a child when the Titanic sank. As an adult he wrote decades afterwards that it meant more to him at that age than any single piece of news from the first world war, which broke out two years later. He remembered how every detail in the newspapers of the Titanic’s sinking and the terrible struggles of the survivors haunted his young mind. Above all, he recollected imagining the last moment when the ship stood completely vertically in the water before plummeting into the depths, and the people still on board hung from railings high above the water.”

One by one: Infra-red footage shows passengers of the Costa Concordia queuing up (on the right) and then slipping down one-by-one (on the left) the belly of the ship via a rope. Source

“The giant cruise ships of today reflect our own society just as exactly as the Titanic reflected the world of 1912. The moral questions that hover over exactly what happened on the Costa Concordia inevitably resonate far wider than the incident itself.”

I agree. Though The Guardian remarked on the symbolism the global media is making about the shipwreck mirrored against the economic times, I’d like to make that observation balanced against our moral times. Courage, duty, man against creation, life, death all are part of the moral discussion and is relevant against what Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 3. Cruise liners are called “floating pleasure palaces” for a reason. They are designed with an intent to offer the maximum relaxing, hedonistic, pleasure-filled time of carnality that anyone can indulge in. It is the most carnal vacation, practically, that anyone can experience on earth. Thus, part of the discussion is hedonism, and how God views it. (James 1:13-14; Gal 5:16-17)

Ecclesiastes is a book that reveals the depression & melancholy that invariably results from seeking happiness in worldly things. Just about every form of worldly pleasure is explored by the writer in the pages of that wise book, and none of it gives him a sense of meaning. For those who embark on a cruise with a hope that this vacation, this indulgence, will give long lasting satisfaction, will be sorely disappointed.

I am NOT saying that the shipwreck was a judgment of God. Ship happens. I am NOT saying that taking a cruise means a person is unGodly or wanton. For many people it is a safe, affordable way to take a vacation, simple as that. But it could be ungodly and wanton, and for many it is. For even more people, that is the point of the experience. For those people, you might as well call the ship a ship of sin, because any temptation can be found within the ship’s halls. Everything about a cruise ship is designed with an intent to satisfy the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life. (1 John 2:16). Gambling, drinking, sexual indulgence, gluttony, adultery, fornication, immodesty, carnal entertainment … the list goes on. The News program 20/20 did a spot Friday night of the Costa, and also the cruise ship industry in general. I was shocked but not surprised to see video depicting the worst effects of sinful man in the cruise ship hallways, as drunkards stagger, vomit, fornicate, fight. The number of brawls amazed me, as the cruise industry admitted that free-flowing alcohol with no moral restraints inherent in such cruises invariably leads to more frequent brawling than the industry likes to admit.

Again, a cruise is and can be a wonderful thing. If you have gone on one and had a great time, then I am really happy for you. But they are also a carnal thing and even if you are steady in your moral compass you know you will be trapped on board a floating pleasure palace where others’ decisions to succumb to temptations will affect you. As it did to those on Costa Concordia when the captain, in the company of a young woman not his wife, ordered dinner with her an hour after the ship had hit the rocks and some passengers were only minutes away from dying.
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Posted in adler, assassinate obama article, cme, costa concordia, who is god

Incoming CME, ‘assassinate Obama’ brouhaha, good sermons, another Costa Concordia body

Posted on by elizabethprata

It is a rainy, eerily humid, storm-filled day here in north Georgia. We are under a tornado watch, which is unusual for January. The thunder is rumbling and it is dark out.

I am writing the weekly prophecy newsletter and brewing another pot of coffee. While I prepare, I often listen to a sermon or two. Today I am enjoying Don Green’s series. He began it last week, and its four sermons will explore some of the basics. He said that while it is important to acquire new knowledge of the truths contained in the bible, it is also important to go back to the basics. Don Green is one of the pastors who preach at Grace Community Church, John MacArthur’s church. The segments are under the umbrella of Grace Life Pulpit, being smaller bible study groups than the church-wide preaching MacArthur does on Sunday mornings at the regular gathering. Phil Johnson and Don Green alternate at the pulpit. Pastor green’s four sermons are titled:

  • Who is God?
  • Who are you?
  • What is sin?
  • What is salvation?

The first two are up on the website, here. I recommend them heartily. If you need a jolt to be reminded of Who God is, please listen to Pastor Green’s sermon. It is a blessing.

We are enduring thunderstorms and are under a tornado watch. This weather certainly is strange for January. But then again, all of the nation has endured strange weather. Anchorage, Alaska is laboring under the heaviest snowfall ever. Snow, ice and wind have grounded Alaska Airlines. Yet there has been little snow up until now in what they are calling an oddly warm winter. But that came to a halt in the lower forty as Seattle got hammered this week in a record-setting storm and those same storm winds are fueling the wildfires in Reno Nevada. The storm is also marching across the Midwest as Chicago deploys all its plows.

The Costa Concordia shipwreck continues to captivate the world. Just today, the 12th body was found. Sadly, it was a woman wearing a lifejacket on the fourth floor corridor evacuation point. It is haunting to think of those who obeyed directions to return to cabins, or who believed the lie for the first hour that all was under control. Worse, imagine being that women, waiting for rescue that never came. Last night marked the first week anniversary. Now the world’s attention is turning to the legal ramifications as the officials amass evidence about the captain’s behavior and the victims amass evidence for lawsuits. Christian Science Monitor has a retrospective article, “Costa Concordia wreck: What we know a week later.”

Professor Erik Klemetti has a blog entry on “Observing Volcanoes around the world” with photos and links to volcano observatories’ webcams. The Hawaii Volcano Observatory is celebrating its 100th year. Pretty cool.

We are awaiting the incoming Coronal Mass Ejection that was launched off the sun two days ago. A moderately strong M3 ejection, it is stated to be arriving today, sparking a geomagnetic storm. Certainly there will be gorgeous auroras at the poles. Cell phones will be affected. It is supposed to arrive about 5:30PM Eastern time.

The Publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times suggested this week that Israel’s thought-process for protecting their people from a nuclear Iran may indeed include, or should include, assassinating Obama. Publisher Andrew Adler “argues that there are essentially only three options available to Israel: 1. attack Hezbollah and Hamas; 2. order the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities at all costs; 3. assassinate Obama. Yes, you read “three” correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don’t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles? Another way of putting “three” in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives … Jews, Christians and Arabs alike? You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.”

Though this opinion piece is not available online at the AJT, you can read the entire document as an uploaded .pdf here at Gawker

This stance caused an uproar. Adler has since made an apology for the piece.

From reading the Adler piece, I think he was trying to say that one wonders why it is an option by Israel to allegedly murder successive Iranian nuclear scientists but that they would not consider assassinating a high-level enemy on the other side of the ocean. That Adler was saying if Israeli officials authorize that moral crossing of the line in one way, why not another? That in truth, would it not ever, ever cross the mind of a nation’s highest level officials to consider it an option to employ in the protection of their 7 million people?

Time Magazine wrote about the latest Iranian nuclear scientist’s assassination, “after an assassin in a passing motorcycle attached a magnetized explosive to the side of his Peugeot 405. “Yeah, one more,” a senior Israeli official said with a smile. “I don’t feel sad for him.” Wednesday’s attack followed the pattern of previous operations planned by Mossad and carried out over the past two years by Iranians trained and paid by Israel’s spy agency, according to intelligence sources.”

Now, though Time Magazine is considered a mainstream, credible media outlet, they did not name the ‘Israeli Official’ nor did they name the ‘intelligence sources’. Additionally, they simply made a statement that the assassinations were carried out “obviously” by the Israel spy organization Mossad. Those are not facts. Those are conjectures. Alternately, Adler was also conjecturing as to the thought process of Israeli officials. How far would they go in this covert-almost-overt war? was the point of his article. It is stated by Adler to be a Kobayashi Maru moment. This is a famous no-win test from Star Trek, in that as Star Fleet cadets are being tested in an unsolvable problem, Kirk redefined the problem and thus found a solution. Someone experiencing a Kobayashi Maru can be said to be between a rock and a hard place. No matter what you think of Adler’s piece, Israel is certainly between a rock and a hard place.

“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.” (Zechariah 12:3)

I hope you have a wonderful day, doing His will as we await His blessed coming.
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Posted in mass hysteria, nephilim

Outbreak of mass hysteria (or demon infestation) in Leroy NY

Posted on by elizabethprata

Mass hysteria outbreak reported in N.Y. town: What does it mean?
“Why did 12 teens from the same town in upstate N.Y. all begin to experience odd symptoms at once? Doctors say it’s an outbreak of mass hysteria. Last fall, 12 teenage girls from LeRoy Junior-Senior High School – located in a town about an hour outside of Buffalo, N.Y. – began to show symptoms similar to those of Tourette’s syndrome, including painful shaking and jerking their necks, Gothamist reported. Doctors were initially baffled. The condition was so bad for at least one of the girls that she has yet to return to school. School and state officials investigated the outbreak and school building for several months, and concluded no known environmental substances or infectious agents were found that could have caused the symptoms in the teens. “We have conclusively ruled out any form of infection or communicable disease and there’s no evidence of any environmental factor,” Dr. Gregory Young of the New York Department of Health told MSNBC.”

“Sanchez, a cheerleader at the high school, took a nap one day last October then woke up with uncontrollable tics and stutters. Sanchez and another girl on the show with symptoms, 16-year-old Katie Krautwurst, said doctors told them their condition was stress-induced. “They told us it was traumatic, but I really don’t think any of us had that traumatic of a life before,’ Krautwurst said on Today.

Tourette’s is genetic so it’s unlikely to be that since the symptoms don’t emerge all at once. Also, Tourette’s symptoms are 4X more prevalent in boys, so it is highly improbable to be Tourette’s because all the symptoms are in only girls.

“A day after the girls’ interview, Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, a neurologist at the DENT Neurologic Institute in Amherst, N.Y. who has treated several of the girls, decided to come forward to offer an explanation to quell the curious masses. Mechtler’s diagnosis? The girls may have a conversion disorder – also known as mass hysteria.”

Conversion disorder is a condition in which the person experiences blindness, paralysis, or other neurologic symptoms that can’t be explained by another disease. In other words, a catch-all diagnosis by doctors effectively shrugging their shoulders. The article continues, “the disorder often occurs because of a “psychological conflict. Mechtler told USA Today that when a conversion disorder occurs in a large group, its known as a “mass psychogenic illness,” because it affects groups of people in the same environment, such as in a classroom or office. “This is a unique situation, and it is unusual,” Mechtler told USA Today.”

Other Tourette’s symptoms include motor and vocal “tics”, twitches, blinks or vocal exclamations that the sufferer cannot control. Tourette’s is also characterized by behavioral symptoms like excessive-complusive disorder and attention-deficit disorder. Tourette’s sufferers may also be overly aggressive towards others.

Conversion disorder is marked by numbness, blindness, paralysis or fits. Also, outbursts, shaking and tics.

Now, the medical establishment said that what is happening in Leroy is unusual. The people in the town said it was unusual, so much so, that the school department held a meeting for the area’s concerned parents. It is unusual.

The Leroy NY made me think of our nations’ most famous case of mass hysteria with demonic influences underlying it, also incited by teenaged girls, was Salem Massachusetts. It happened in 1692 and it is known as the Salem Witch Trials.

“The traditional story about the beginning of the Salem Witch trials tells of a “circle of young girls” practicing voodoo and fortune telling under the direction of Samuel Parris’ Indian slave, Tituba. It is commonly suggested that the girls were interested in fortune telling because they wanted to know the occupation of their future husbands.”

“According Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum’s account in Salem Possessed, the outbreak at Salem began in the winter of 1691 when the girls of the village, aided by Tituba and John Indian, a West Indian slave couple, attempted to tell their futures by using a makeshift crystal ball.”

We know that this is occult activity, better known as a neon advertisement for satan to enter. (2 Kings 17:17; Lev 19:31; Is 8:19…)

Research indicates the Salem girls’ symptoms emerged quickly, similar to the Leroy NY girls’.

In this research it states, “Mary Beth Norton’s work, In the Devil’s Snare. According to historical fact, both Abigail and her 9-year-old cousin Betty began showing signs of illness in mid-January 1692. When their behavior turned erratic, Samuel Parris called neighboring Reverend John Hale of Beverly to observe the two girls and their afflictions. Reverend Hale writes that the girls, “were bitten and pinched by invisible agents; their arms, necks and backs turned this way and that way and returned back again so as it was impossible for them to do of themselves and beyond the power of any Epileptic Fits or natural Disease to effects.” Parris and other local ministers turned to prayer and fasting in hopes that Abigail and Betty would return to health. When the girls’ strange behavior continued, Parris summoned Dr. William Griggs to examine them. Dr. Griggs determined that the girls were under the influence of an “Evil Hand.”

The emergence of strange behavior related to demonic possession in Salem in 1692 as now in NY 2012 are similar. We look to the bible to see what demons can do. The Gadarene demoniac described in Mark shows how they can change the physiology of the one they possess:

Mark 5:1-20 is one of the most specific passages in the bible on demon possession and its effects. Some of the details about demons the Bible reveals in this passage are: (source)
–Devils enjoy or need to be near dead human bodies or tombs (vs. 2, 3, 5).
–They can cause unusual strength in the one they inhabit (vs. 3-4).
–They can make a person unreasonable or immune to sensible persuasion (vs. 4).
–They cause excessive crying (vs. 5).
–They cause sadistic and masochistic behavior (vs. 5).
–They have an affinity for heights (vs. 5).
–They recognize Christ as “the Son of God” and appeal to Him (vs. 6-7).
–They know they deserve torment and dread it (vs. 6-7).
–They have names (vs. 9).
–More than one can possess the same body (vs. 9).
–They desire to remain in the same geographical region or “country” they inhabit (vs. 10).
–They would rather indwell an animal body than none at all (vs. 12).
–They can cause animals to kill themselves (vs. 13).
–They desire to be in a body (vs. 13).

Mark 9:17-29 gives us even more details about devils:
–They can cause dumbness and deafness (vs. 17, 25).
–They cause rabid animal like behavior (vs. 18).
–They can indwell from childhood (vs. 21).
–They cause suicidal behavior (vs. 22).
–They resist leaving a body and violently “rent” it while leaving (vs. 26).
–There are different kinds of devils. Some have more power than others (vs. 29).
–Some can only be removed by prayer and fasting of believer (vs. 29).

Lessons from this incident: Demonic possession happens. It happened then, it happens now. Secondly, Ron Graham wrote an excellent article this week about the fallen angels, the Nephilim, and their human offspring, the human hybrids. In the article, he said, “But the dimension of the malevolent supernatural is invading our world and they are becoming more and more brazen with their antics, allowing many people to see things they don’t want to see, or hear things no human can explain.”

That is well said. Whatever is going in in NY, and medical science has ruled out disease and drugs, then perhaps we can remember that the days before Jesus returns will be like the Days of Noah, which in addition to being totally evil and cultural, moral, and spiritual decay were days that were permeated with demonic activity (Gen 6:1-2; 4,6).

 

Posted in desert, sahara, snow

Snow in the Sahara Desert

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Snow fell Tuesday in the Sahara Desert in western Algeria. A 24-hour cold spell brought snow and rain to the region. Strong wind blew the snow across roads and buildings in the province of Bechar.”

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Posted in moon, signs in the sun, stars

Signs in the sun, moon, and stars

Posted on by elizabethprata

“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.” (Luke 21:25)

Today: Sun uncorks aurora-burnishing blast at Earth– “The sun is still on the upswing of its 11-year cycle of solar activity, with more storms expected this year through 2014.” NASA reports “A long duration M-class flare began erupting on the sun at 8:42 AM ET on Thursday, January 19. The flare is shown in the above movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory in a combination of light wavelengths. An earth-directed coronal mass ejection was associated with the solar flare. NASA’s Space Weather Services estimates that it is traveling at over 630 miles per second and will reach Earth some time on Saturday, January 21, when strong geomagnetic storms are possible and viewers can be on the look out for increased aurora.”

“Last year saw two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses, meteor showers and a Sun spot cycle. One was the longest total Lunar Eclipse in 11 Years. Another was a “relatively rare lunar eclipse where the center point of Earth’s shadow is on the disk.” There was also a super moon where the moon appears to be bigger to the naked eye.”

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Posted in back to basics, discernment

Back to Basics: What discernment is

Posted on by elizabethprata

We in the body of Christ are not to judge those outside the church, (1 Cor 5:12). That is because, as Barnes Notes explains, “I have no authority over them; and can exercise no jurisdiction over them. All my rules, therefore, must have reference only to those who are within the church.” However, we inside the church are to judge for ourselves whether a teaching is true or not. (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).

Romans 12:9; 1 Cor 14:29; 1 John 4:1 also reminds us that we are to judge, discern, test, etc., the teachings we  receive. The Bereans searched whether Paul’s teaching was consistent with the bible, and tested what they heard against it. Paul applauded them for that. Given what we see from Christians today, even if they DO go so far as to test it out, if they find the teaching failed the test, they then remain silent so as to pursue a sense of unity. This is a wrong-headed approach. Any unity arising by silent believers suffering under a teaching they know to be false is a false unity. We are not told so many times in those verses above to test out the teachings we receive just so we can stay quiet about the false ones. We are to speak up.

We don’t use the heart to judge a teaching. Just because someone says their teaching is “from their heart” or it looks to us that it is heartfelt, or it touches our heart, we are liable to hear Jesus chastise us through His word, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” (John 7:24). Anyone can look sincere. Joel Osteen looks very heartfelt, his speeches come across as being from his heart. But are they consistent with what the bible says? No. Being discerning means looking deeper.

We are being gullible if we fall for the old “from the heart” standard. Why? Because the “heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can know it?” (Jer 17:9). The heart is the WORST standard to judge anything. Joseph Smith’s teaching is from the heart and his religion consigned many millions to darkness (Mormonism). Muhammad’s teaching is from the heart and many millions following Allah are likewise consigned to darkness. Oprah is teaching New Age ecumenism from the heart and also many who follow it will end up in eternal darkness. Being heartfelt has nothing to do with whether a teaching is right.

If a person’s standard to determine if a false teaching is

–from the heart
–the teacher seems like a religious person
–they are prospering so it means God is blessing them, so it must be good

then I submit that person is dangerously misled as to what biblical discernment is.

Those standards are exactly the opposite of what we should be using as a barometer for determining if a teacher is true or false. Discernment is not a “nudge from the Spirit,” because that calls for subjective decisions and as per the verse about the heart, subjective assessments on any given situation are not valid. The only way to practice discernment is to test against the bible. (1 Thess 5:21).

Tim Challies wrote a book about Discernment. He defines it this way:

” ‘Discernment is the ability to think biblically about all areas of life.’ A longer, more thorough definition might be something like this: ‘Spiritual discernment is the God-given, Spirit-empowered ability to understand and interpret truth, so that we can apply truth to our lives, thus bringing glory to God and furthering our enjoyment of Him.”

“The Hebrew word for discernment is used 247 times in the Old Testament. The word has been translated variously as understand, discern, and distinguish. The Greek word is used similarly in the New Testament. It too refers to a process of separating or discriminating whereby truth may be set apart in relief from that which is false. In short, discernment is a filtering process by which a person distinguishes and separates good from the bad, right from wrong, and truth from error.” (source: Tim Challies, “Defining Discernment” )

If a person does that, they are being led by the Holy Spirit. I pray you come to this understanding as well, and be unafraid to discern a good teaching from a bad, and to speak up about both. Praise good teaching, point out false teaching, and as always, pray ceaselessly. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Don’t fall prey to one of them. Be discerning.

Posted in anak krakatau, eruption, volcano

25 Volcanoes Showing Abnormal Activity; Red Sea has a new island; What would a Christchurch volcano eruption look like?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here are a few tidbits as I hastily get ready for work…but volcanoes have been much on my mind lately. They have also been much in the news…

25 Volcanoes Showing Abnormal Activity: Presidential Aide
Padang, West Sumatra. Twenty-five volcanoes in Indonesia are now showing abnormal activity or have been put on alert or watch status, presidential special aide Andi Arief said here on Saturday. According to official data, 25 volcanoes, including Anak Krakatau, are now under alert or watch status and they must be given priority with regard to disaster mitigation planning at district or city levels,” he said at a workshop on journalists’ role in disaster management.”

Red Sea has a new island
NASA announced today (January 17, 2012) that an underwater eruption of a volcano in the Red Sea appears to have stopped, leaving behind a newborn island. The island began forming in December 2011.”

Let’s pour tons of water into an active volcano to generate power
“Chalk this up under things that sort of seem like terrible ideas: geothermal energy developers are planning to pump millions of gallons of water into an active volcano in Oregon to see if they can somehow generate electricity without angering the gods. You may not realize that most of the western United States is covered with active volcanoes. This is “active” in a geologic sense, since with a few notable exceptions, nothing much has been going on for hundreds or thousands of years. But just because a volcano hasn’t blown up recently doesn’t mean that it’s not stuffed to the brim with magma, a fact that Iceland has been relying on to produce more geothermal power than it knows what to do with.”

What would a Christchurch volcano eruption look like?
“I’ve been asked to speculate on the appearance and effect of an eruption (should it ever occur) in the volcanoes immediately south and east of Christchurch, New Zealand. A few days ago, I wrote of a theory that the recent sequence of earthquakes around Christchurch (on the South Island of New Zealand) over the past 18 months may be the precursor of an eruption of the two (perhaps more) volcanoes that form Banks Peninsula.”

Here, Professor Erik Klemetti makes a lot of sense, as he always does, this time about Yellowstone caldera and conspiracies

Yellowstone: The Anatomy of a Supposed Volcanic Conspiracy
“As many of my regular readers know, I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet over the media’s (and public’s) obsession with the Yellowstone Caldera. Now, I truly appreciate what a geologically unique and powerful location Yellowstone is today — it is one of the few active giant caldera systems on the planet and it is located in the middle of one of the more populous (and powerful) countries on Earth. The caldera has the ability to produce a society-changing event where much of a continent could be rendered uninhabitable for years if not decades.”

Here is a piece I wrote a while back on the link between volcanoes and Revelation 6:12, which prophesies a link between a great earthquake and the sun going dark: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;” Of volcanoes, dry fog, and sun as sackcloth.
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