Posted in alice and wonderland party

White House throws secret, over the top Alice in Wonderland Hatter ball

Posted on by elizabethprata

White House threw secret ‘Alice in Wonderland’ bash during recession

“It was the tea party the Obamas just couldn’t resist. A White House “Alice in Wonderland” costume ball — put on by Johnny Depp and Hollywood director Tim Burton — proved to be a Mad-as-a-Hatter idea that was never made public for fear of a political backlash during hard economic times, according to a new tell-all. “The Obamas,” by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor, tells of the first Halloween party the first couple feted at the White House in 2009. It was so over the top that “Star Wars” creator George Lucas sent the original Chewbacca to mingle with invited guests.”

“White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,” the book says. However, the White House made certain that more humble Halloween festivities earlier that day — for thousands of Washington-area schoolkids — were well reported by the press corps.” [more at link]

So they knew it was inadvisable, but rather than let their conscience prick them and abandon the idea, they went ahead with it, but in secret. It is the new leadership doctrine seen more and more around the world, and never more evident than in Obama; “Let Them eat Crumpets.”

Here is one line from the story that you should read:

“Fruit punch was served in blood vials at the bar.”

Is judgment long in coming? Surely not. We have received the leadership we deserved.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/white-house-throws-secret-over-top.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in enemy, iran, neighbor, uss stennis

Stennis rescues Iranian fishermen aboard pirated vessel

Posted on by elizabethprata

This week, in wonderful news and an unintended demonstration of US Military capabilities and intent, the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier stationed as part of the Fifth Fleet at Bahrain, came to the rescue of an Iranian fishing vessel which had been overcome by Somalian pirates. The pirates had been using the Iranian fishing vessel as a mother ship to stage further piracy and for sea-borne support of their operations. The Stennis steamed in, rescued the 13 ship’s crew, got the pirates, distributed food and water to fishermen and pirates alike and secured that patch of sea for safety’s sake. Just days before, the USS Stennis had been harassed by Iranian navy in the Strait of Hormuz during Iran’s war games, and telling them to stay OUT of the shipping lanes, which in fact is a de facto declaration of war

On the USS Stennis Facebook page, “We are ready hope that America sleeps well tonight knowing we’ve got the watch”–RDML Faller USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Strike Group Commander

“This was an opportunity to help hostages in need—had no bearing on nationality”–CDR Ellinger, Commanding Officer USS KIDD (DDG-100)

The NY Times wrote:
“ABOARD THE FISHING VESSEL AL MULAHI, in the Gulf of Oman — Senior Iranian military officials this week bluntly warned an American aircraft carrier that it would confront the “full force” of the Iranian military if it tried to re-enter the Persian Gulf. On Friday, Fazel Ur Rehman, a 28-year-old Iranian fisherman, had a warmer greeting for the carrier task force.“It is like you were sent by God,” said Mr. Rehman, huddled under a blanket in this vessel’s stern. “Every night we prayed for God to rescue us. And now you are here.” In a naval action that mixed diplomacy, drama and Middle Eastern politics, the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis broke up a high-seas pirate attack on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, then sailors from an American destroyer boarded the pirates’ mother ship and freed 13 Iranian hostages who had been held captive there for more than a month. The rapidly unfolding events began Thursday morning when the pirates attacked a Bahamian-flagged ship, the motor vessel Sunshine, unaware that the Stennis was steaming less than eight miles away. It ended Friday with the tables fully turned. The captured Somali pirates, 15 in all, were brought aboard the U.S.S. Kidd, an American destroyer traveling with the Stennis. They were then shuttled by helicopter to the aircraft carrier and locked up in its brig.”

Go Navy!

I can’t wait for the day when we are all truly brothers. When there are no enemies, and when THE enemy is banished forever. When we can all unite hands and hearts irrespective of nationality, praising the glory of God purely. Back in 1979 Iran in effect declared war on us when they captured people from a diplomatic ground, supposed to be internationally neutral and any peoples on it free from arrest, violating centuries old principles. According to diplomatic and military definitions, they are an enemy of the US.

In Luke 10:25 -28, we read, “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

The lawyer was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. But then the Lawyer went on, going from testing to justifying, “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?””

Jesus answered with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans, people who lived in adjacent Samaria, were hated by Jews. This hatred was longstanding. The Samaritans were descendants of the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh and was part of the northern kingdom of Israel. The southern kingdom of Judah was to the south. The northern Samaritans were conquered by Assyria, most carried off, those who remained intermarried with the pagans and also began worshiping the foreigners’ idols. The southern Jews hated the northerners for not being full blooded Jews and for opposing their own repatriation when Judah was later carried off and then years later tried to re-settle the lands. The Jewish saying, “With whom you have no dealings” refers to the Samaritans. In other words, they are driven to hatred by ethnic and racial barriers. Jesus was saying that it isn’t the unknown enemy whose individual face you don’t see who is easy to hate, but the ones near to us who look and act different. But they all are our neighbors.

Acts of kindness, doing good to those who curse you, giving the enemy the very shirt from your back, is a demonstration of God through us.

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44)

“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:” (Proverbs 25:21)

I’m not naive. I know that war exists and we are asked by the government or by self-defense to protect our land or property or persons from invading enemies who want to do us harm. But the remarks after the incident was made public, that the Navy is there to protect one and all irrespective of race of ethnicity, the Iranian government’s rare extension of thanks were all remarked upon. Imagine how much MORE it would be remarked upon if we were to show the love of our neighbor or our enemy, if it was at the behest of God and not the US Government. It is an unusual thing to love an enemy, to give him food and water, to help him in a moment of need. People notice.

In the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Jesus said to go and do likewise.

Jesus said to love our neighbor, and to love those who persecute us. I know it’s easy to generalize about the bad actors in the last days and the upcoming Tribulation. “They flew planes into OUR buildings!” They kill fellow Christians!” But when the Navy sailors got on board the Iranian fishing vessel, we were all brothers. Not necessarily brothers in Christ, but neighbors. We saw the faces of the young fishermen, we hugged, we rejoiced in release from harm’s way. We restored husbands to families and sons to mothers. In looking at the wounded man on the road to Samaria, the Samaritan saw simply an individual person in need, not a faceless, hated enemy. He gave him water to drink and food and brought him to safety.

When the crafty Lawyer said “Who is my neighbor?” seeking an excuse not to love someone, Jesus, in effect, turned it around and asked, “Who is your enemy?” Who can we legitimately identify as a person NOT to love?
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/stennis-rescues-iranian-fishermen.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in blood guilt, prophecy

Is there blood on your hands?

Posted on by elizabethprata

In Acts 18:5-6 Paul said that blood will be on their heads.

“But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

So, what did he mean by that? He was referring to the prophecy in Ezekiel 33:1-9, a passage known as The Watchman’s Duty

“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’

“Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. “But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.’

What does this mean?

Matthew Henry Commentary, Ezekiel 33:1-9
“The prophet is a watchman to the house of Israel. His business is to warn sinners of their misery and danger. He must warn the wicked to turn from their way, that they may live. If souls perish through his neglect of duty, he brings guilt upon himself. See what those have to answer for, who make excuses for sin, flatter sinners, and encourage them to believe they shall have peace, though they go on. How much wiser are men in their temporal than in their spiritual concerns! They set watchmen to guard their houses, and sentinels to warn of the enemies’ approach, but where the everlasting happiness or misery of the soul is at stake, they are offended if ministers obey their Master’s command, and give a faithful warning; they would rather perish, listening to smooth things.”

Last question, does this apply to us today? We are not God-ordained prophets as in the Old Testament,  and we are not apostles like Paul. Are we under an obligation that failure to meet will result in our own blood? Or theirs?

Here is how John MacArthur answered that question in his sermon on the passage:
“People say to me, “John, do you believe the Bible teaches individual responsibility?” There it is, my friend. If you die without Jesus Christ, your blood is on your own head. And I can say to you this morning what Paul said: “I’m clean. I presented you the Gospel. What you do with it will determine your eternal destiny, and the responsibility is your own.”

Now, our own salvation is assured, secure and eternal. Nothing we do can cause it to be lost.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a deposit.” (2 Corinthians 1:21)

“Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14).

And the LORD’S election of those whom he will have in His kingdom are sure. Nothing we do, or fail to do, will cause one of His sheep to be lost. Nothing hinges on us. However, we are, after all, under a specific commission to witness.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:16-20)

Go. Make. Baptize. Teach. Obey. Command. Pretty strong imperative and verbs there.

I don’t know the final answer. I do know that we cannot claim Old Testament irrelevancy just because there are no God-ordained prophets any more, because the statement Paul made about blood-guilt in Acts 6 is New Testament, and it was not the only time he said it. He also said he was clean of blood guilt in Acts 20:26-27.

I think it all comes down to indifference. It comes down to the level of indifference we have for the commands of God, and for the destiny of the lost. And the risks we are willing to take in disappointing the one who shed His own blood for us. That’s all. I have no answers. Just food for thought.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-there-blood-on-your-hands.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in evil, first responders, perilous times

First responders on the front lines in perilous times

Posted on by elizabethprata

I know that we all read headlines these days and just shake our heads in shame and agony, seeing the tragedies of the world deepen and become worse daily.

–Police kill armed 8th grader dead in TX school…
–Texas Family Killed by Relative Dressed as Santa

Those are just two headlines, but I don’t need a slew of them to make my point. I want to focus on the heartache of the First Responders. We automatically feel bad for the families and relatives of those who experience such incomprehensible tragedies. But in these days of worsening horror of man leveled against man, First Responders choose to wade in, restore peace, protect us, and carry the bodies away. I can’t imagine what emotions the policeman is feeling who had to shoot the armed 8th grader. He will have to live with that the rest of his life. I can’t imagine the scene the first responders had to deal with when entering the home of the slain Santa family, those images will be burned in their hearts for the rest of their lives. I can’t imagine the terror of a wife of a cop who sees her husband put on his uniform and head out for the day, knowing that the smallest incident could erupt into unimaginable horror or death. I read of the 53 arson fires over four days in Los Angeles and know that many firefighters worked themselves to the bone in protecting life and property. These days are so precarious.

It hit home to me as I read the political news last week of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz doing their naval war exercises. The Fifth Fleet is stationed at nearby Bahrain, and several US ships were mentioned in the news by US media and alluded to in Iranian media. One of those was the ship USS John C. Stennis. I began to think about the men and women on the ship, out there, protecting us and protecting & supporting our deployed troops in Afghanistan. That global spot was tense and could erupt into violence and war at any moment. And yet there were thousands of US navy troops in that very spot. I needed to make these people seem more real to me, and not just be part of a cold, factual news article I read and then move on. These are our people.

My family served in the US Military, my dad and uncle were in the Navy, my other uncle served many years in the US Coast Guard. But the men in my family had served before I was born or while I was very little. All I remember of my uncle’s Coast Guard service were the shiny belt buckles lined up in his drawer that he let me look at sometimes. I feel distant from those who serve and protect us, both at home and in the military. But I feel close to them in heart, especially as the days become more dangerous. What can I do?

Then I saw on Facebook that the USS Stennis has a page. I joined it. I look at the photos of the navy men and women on board, I watch the video they put up about the daily lives of the ship’s crew. On one of the first days after I’d joined the Stennis facebook page, there was a poll, ‘What drew you to ‘like’ the Stennis page?’ Answer choices were something like ‘serving on the ship, had served on the ship, family member serves on the ship, patriotic fan.’

I clicked “patriotic fan”. It is a very small thing I can do, but at least when I see the photos and comments and articles the Stennis officers put up, I can take part vicariously in their life, supporting them invisibly but fervently, from afar. At least I can leave a comment or two now and then thanking them for their service. Most importantly, I can put some faces in my mind as I pray for them.

Please remember as the days worsen that those on the front lines and who wade in to unutterable violence and horror do so out of duty so that we are protected, so that we have a place to turn to when or if we are harassed or attacked or threatened. All too sadly harassment and attacks are happening in the most benign of places these days. In our own rural county there was an attempted child snatching right from a backyard. I can’t imagine the terror in the hearts of the police who responded, chasing after the man who thankfully ended up leaving the child behind as he fled. Other police blotter news from our little county that is downright startling recently shows that an AK-47 gun was stolen from a bedroom. Great. So now they have that to worry about.

There was a good article in the NY Times yesterday that was also put up on the Facebook Stennis page today, “Work as Usual for U.S. Warship After Warning by Iran“
“ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN C. STENNIS, in the North Arabian Sea — If Iran’s warning on Tuesday to this American aircraft carrier was intended to disrupt the ship’s routine or provoke a high-seas reaction, nothing of the sort was evident on Wednesday.The American aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, in the North Arabian Sea, is carrying out its normal operations after Iran warned the ship not to re-enter the Persian Gulf.Steaming in international waters over the horizon from the Iranian fleet, the John C. Stennis spent the day and the early hours of the night launching and recovering aircraft for its latest mission — supporting ground troops in Afghanistan. All visible indications were that the carrier’s crew was keeping to its scheduled work, regardless of any political or diplomatic fallout from Iran’s warnings.”

It was comforting and reassuring to read this. I firmly believe that our military are saturated with earnest, hardworking and diligent men and women. I feel the same about first responders, EMTs, police, ambulance, emergency room doctors and staff, etc. Is there a way that you and I can show demonstrable support to these people? I know that it’s pretty lame to click on a Facebook page to ‘like’ and to make a comment. But at least now I have some names and some faces, I have a picture in my head of their lives aboard, and their challenges and triumphs. I can pray specifically.

Please be sensitive about our first responders. They see evil doings that are worsening each day (2 Timothy 3:1-5) and soon as the tribulation begins will be worse than man has ever seen or done. (Matthew 24:8, 21). They carry the people’s hurts and wounds and harms with them in their mind and their heart. They do it because they have heart to protect and to serve. They run in where we run out, and they look where we turn our eyes. Love them, and pray for them. It is a harsh world, and they are on the front lines of an evil rising that “has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Mt 24:21b)
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/first-responders-on-front-lines-in.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in judge not, paul washer, voddie baucham

Random quotes

Posted on by elizabethprata

From Denny Burk
Why Abortion Is the Sacrament of Feminism
“Frederica Mathewes-Green explains why abortion remains the sacrament of feminism. The fact that she was once an ardent feminist herself makes her perspective quite compelling. She argues that feminists sought to be equal to men with respect to having a career and having a promiscuous sex-life. The main obstacle to those two goals was the possibility of a pregnancy. So abortion became the necessary condition for careerism and promiscuity. Women could not have complete sexual and professional freedom without unfettered access to abortion on demand. She writes:”

“Thus these two bad ideas come together, pressing in like the jaws of a vise, and making a woman feel she has no escape but abortion. Feminism sought (1) increased access to public life, and (2) increased sexual freedom. But that participation in public life is significantly complicated by responsibility for children, and uncommitted sexual activity is the most effective means of producing unwanted pregnancies. This dilemma—simultaneous pursuit of behaviors that cause children and that are hampered by children—inevitably finds its resolution on an abortion table.”
———————–

By Phil Johnson:

Salt of the earth
“Notice, furthermore, that the clauses “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world” are statements of fact, not imperatives. He doesn’t command us to be salt; He says that we are salt and cautions us against losing our savor. He doesn’t command us to be light; He says that we are light and forbids us to hide under a bushel.”

“Jesus was saying that a corrupt and sin-darkened society is blessed and influenced for good by the presence of the church when believers are faithful servants of their Master. The key to understanding what Jesus meant is verse 16: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Personal holiness, not political dominion, is what causes men to glorify our Father who is in heaven.”

———————–
From Ray Comfort

On Matthew 7:1
“People tell me, ‘Judge not lest ye be judged.’ I always tell them, ‘Twist not Scripture lest ye be like Satan.” ~Paul Washer

———————–

Voddie Baucham

On Matthew 7:1
“This text is not about making judgments, this text is about passing judgments. There is a difference between making judgments, and passing judgments. Passing judgment is number one, looking beyond what a person says or does into the very heart of the person as though you have the ability to discern why they do what they do, and two, the foundation under which it is being done…”

———————–

Cotton Mather, Puritan, 1663-1728

In oberving the rising trend in the colonies, Mather said, “Religion begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother.”
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/random-quotes.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in Young couple surprises teen with adoption

Morning cry-athon: "Young couple surprises teen with adoption"

Posted on by elizabethprata

Got this from Challies.

THE POWER OF LOVE! God’s love, when we allow it to fully flow through us and when we heed its call, is the most powerful force on earth. Please remember that … it is all about love.

Young [Christian] couple surprises teen with adoption
“NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) – Nineteen-year-old Meredith got a very special holiday surprise in November, a forever family to call her own. Zach and Anna Dennis allowed Meredith, who is nine years younger than them into their home in October. She had been living with her grandparents and then roommates but says she was making “poor decisions.” Within a month, Zach says he knew it was God’s calling to have her in their lives permanently. “My heart was broken she had to live that long without parents and anybody would have to go through that,” says Zach Dennis. “In the last two months, she’s blossomed and it’s amazing to see. The emotional moment was put on YouTube, where it garnered over 16,000 hits in about two weeks.”

“…Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11)
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/morning-cry-athon-young-couple.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, fish kill, weird

Tons of dead fish appear on, then disappear from Norwegian beach

Posted on by elizabethprata

On January 2 I wrote about millions of dead herring that had overnight washed up on a shore in Norway. I’d mused that 2011 opened with bird deaths and then fish deaths, and 2012 seemed like it was a mirror of that weirdness exactly one year prior. Now, more weirdness: from the same spot in Norway-

“Tons of dead fish appear on, then disappear from Norwegian beach“
Tons of dead herring that washed up on a Norwegian beach on New Year’s Eve are now gone, and no one is sure how they got there or where they went. Local resident Jan-Petter Jorgensen told Norway’s TV2 he went to look at the thousands and thousands of fish after seeing a Facebook posting about them, according to a report on The Foreigner. Joregensen said it was fortunate the icy cold prevented the mass of dead fish from raising a stink. “It is 15 degrees below zero today, so the cold means they don’t smell. Nevertheless, the smell will be pretty intense in the long run,” he said, according to The Foreigner report. Turns out that wasn’t a problem. Views and News from Norway reports that as of Tuesday, most of the dead fish were gone, perhaps pushed out to sea by tides and winds. The local mayor said they’ll likely sink in the ocean, according to the report. Why they came to be on the shore remains a mystery.”

From the Norwegian news outlet Views and News from Norway:
“UPDATED: Thousands of dead herring, known as sild in Norwegian, covered a beach in northern Norway over the New Year’s weekend and no one is sure how or why they landed there to die. One senior marine researcher said he’s never seen anything like it, and then the dead fish disappeared as mysteriously as they came.”
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/tons-of-dead-fish-appear-on-then.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in rapture

Everything is gradual…except the rapture

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was thinking the other day about the suddenness of the rapture. In life, everything we do is gradual. There is a process. We grow up. That takes decades, and usually we don’t even notice the growth at first. You know what I mean if you ever saw your nephew after two months and you see how much he has grown but you don’t notice as much with your own kids.

We cook, that is gradual. We seek employment and get trained, gradual.  There is nothing that we do or see or experience in life that takes place in the blink of an eye, certainly nothing as momentous as the rapture.

Paul wrote: “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The word twinkling is from rhipto, meaning ‘instant.’

Do you know what the strongest muscle in the body is? The muscle that lets your eye blink. It allows you to blink up to 5 times a second.

“The human eye can blink much faster than a second, and, in fact, it’s perfectly possible to blink several times in a single second. On average, a human eye takes between 300 and 400 milliseconds to complete a single blink. That’s roughly between three-tenths and four-tenths of a second. So, logically speaking, a person may blink two and three times every second and barely notice it because the blink takes so little time.” (source)

THAT is how fast it will happen. So the generation that is raptured (I believe it will be us) will be doing normal things (yelling at husband, sleeping, commuting to work, changing the diaper) and the next blink will find us face to face with Jesus, in the air.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 17-18)

I wrote about the change our bodies will go through from a scientific perspective, ‘the quantum leap’, here.

Edwin Abbott’s 1884 novella, Flatland is a true classic. There is no one more math-averse than me, but this little book is a social satire, math explanation anyone can understand, and theology. Few regard it as theology, more as math and social satire. But Abbott was a theologian and this book explores the difficulty in startling clarity and ease of understanding how hard it is for finite minds to envision and comprehend the God-dimension. It is a story of a land where everything in two-dimensional. The story is told by A. Square.

Blogger J. Max Wilson (a Latter Day Saints blog), says of the book, “Flatland is an ingenious socio political satire, an amazing treatment of the issues of faith and reason, a brilliant examination of prophets and revelation and how our limitations make it nearly impossible for us to comprehend things that are, nevertheless, true.”

I agree.

In the first part of the book the protagonist has a vision of being sent to lineland where everything is one dimensional and trying in vain to explain his own world of two dimensions to all the lines and points, who don’t get it.

Wilson explains, “In the second half of the book, the protagonist relates how he received a visit from a being from the three dimensional world (a Sphere), how he was called as a prophet to preach the gospel of three dimensions, and his rejection by the people of flatland who cannot comprehend what he means by a “third” dimension.”

The moment when the Sphere comes to Flatland is analogous to Christ coming and manifesting to us in our dimension.

You can download it as a free ebook from Project Gutenberg here.

So there is the attempt at understanding the rapture and God’s dimensions in science through the quantum leap, through math analogies in Flatland, through art as in Salvador Dali’s ‘Crucifixion’ in four dimensions, and of course we attempt to understand God’s dimension biblically/theologically.

I can’t seem to get beyond the enormity of leaving behind three dimensions (plus time) and entering the eternal, incorruptible, and the sinless in the blink of an eye. No matter the scientific, mathematical, artistic and theological attempts to explain the reality of God, nothing can adequately do so, because in this current age, we live by faith not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7). Yet we are told that in the blink of an eye, we will live then by sight because of our faith! It will all be reversed. Faith becomes sight. And it will happen in 1/500th of a second.

Wow.

Posted in prophecy

About prophecy:

Posted on by elizabethprata

“But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, And they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.” Micah 4:12

When God reveals the future, His purpose goes beyond satisfying our curiosity. He wants us to change our present behavior because of what we know about the future. Forever begins now; and a glimpse of God’s plan for His followers should motivate us to serve Him, no matter what the rest of the world may do.

NIV Life Application Study Bible, p. 1460, RE Micah 4:12