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Nemrut, Easter Island, Great Pyramid, and strange monuments to a god

Posted on October 28, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

On Sunday, October 23, 2011, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey. Shortly after the quake this headline appeared:

“Turkey fears volcano eruption” – “Turkish seismologists fear that the earthquakes that hit the province of Van on Sunday can cause eruption of Nemrut volcano located northwards of Lake Van, PanArmenian reported.”

So I became curious as to what the volcano Nemrut is. Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program describes it as a stratovolcano whose last known eruption was 1650. Huh, I learn something every day. In the course of looking into the volcano Nemrut I discovered some interesting archaeological things. Now, I’ve posted before about the interesting tableau at Gobekli Tepe, also in Turkey, 300 miles from where the earthquake struck and the location of Volcano Nemrut Dagi. I’ve mentioned that tradition holds that the Garden of Eden was in Turkey as well. Nemrut is another interesting archaeological place. It is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is often called “Turkey’s Easter Island” because of the colossal statues. “The stone heads rise high over the surreal rocky scenery of Mount Nemrut in eastern Turkey, and what is most characteristic is that they resemble things that are thousands of kilometres away from Europe.”

They date from the Commagene-era, 1st century BC. Wikipedia explains their purpose and origin: “Antiochus is famous for building the impressive religious sanctuary of Nemrud Dagi or Mount Nemrut. When Antiochus reigned as king he was creating a royal cult for himself and was preparing to be worshipped after his death. Antiochus was inspired to create his own cult in the Greek form of the religion Zoroastrianism. Antiochus left many Greek inscriptions revealing many aspects of his religion and explaining his purpose of action. In one inscription, Antiochus wrote erecting his tomb in a high and holy place should be remote from people and should be close to the gods and be in rank with them…”

Leaving Mount Nemrut, ‘Turkey’s Easter Island’ for a moment, let’s look at the monuments at the real Easter Island. The statue heads are called Moai, and they actually have bodies. They’re not just heads.

“Moai are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. The 887 statues’ production and transportation is considered a remarkable creative and physical feat. The tallest moai erected, called Paro, was almost 33 ft high and weighed 82 tons.”

Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Ph.D., reports from The Easter Island’s Statue Project Excavation Season IV July-August 2011, “Our three main goals for statue (moai) RR-001-157 were to audit our drawings of very complex stratigraphic profiles, augment our existing photo-documentation as follow-up to Conservation Season II, and then to backfill the statue. We accomplished all of these goals.” They found unique petroglyphs on some of the statues’ backs.

Wow. Now that photo looks to be from a few decades ago but you get the idea of how tall the statues are.

Doesn’t that photo above from the blog Love These Pics remind you of the silent sentinels at Nemrut? Click on the link to see 24 more incredible photos of the Easter Island Moai.

It is so interesting that these monuments are erected at the four corners of the world. Most are false monuments to self as god, or to a false god. God has placed within us a desire to worship something greater than ourselves. (Acts 17:27; Ecc 3:11). What we do with that desire makes all the difference. Antiochus erected monuments to himself as a god at Nemrut, Turkey. Pagan worship at the High Places had become synonymous throughout the land- and the bible condemns it.

“The ancient Canaanites, and other nations, worshipped the heavenly bodies and their idols upon hills, mountains, and artificial elevations. The Israelites were commanded to destroy these places of idol worship, De 12:2, but instead of this, they imitated the heathen, and at first worshipped Jehovah in high places, 1 Samuel 9:12 1 Kings 3:4, and afterwards idols, 1 Kings 11:7 2 Kings 17:10,11. Here also they built chapels or temples, “houses of the high places,” 1 Kings 13:32 2 Kings 17:29, and had regular priests, 1 Kings 12:32 2 Kings 17:32. Different groves were sacred to different gods; and the high places were inseparably linked to idolatry.” (source)

Now about these monuments, I often wonder about the Great Pyramid at Giza. Is it a pagan monument, or an homage to the One True and Great God? There is an obscure prophecy about Egypt, the Hebrew name, Mizraim. (Gen 10:6) and a monument. The prophecy is from Isaiah:

“In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.” (Isaiah 19:19-20).

The name Mizraim is thought to be a dual of matsowr; Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt. The land of Egypt used to be in two parts, Upper and Lower Egypt, and the Great Pyramid at Giza stands at the border of these. Nowadays, Egypt is one nation and the Pyramid is in the center of the nation. That is how a monument can be at the heart of the nation AND at the border. The Great Pyramid is at the center of the world, actually.

“The Great Pyramid stands at the exact centre of the world. It is midway between the west coast of Mexico and the east coast of China. Between the north cape of Norway and the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It stands at the intersection of the 30th parallel, both latitude and longitude. The Great Pyramid was the highest buildings in the world for thousands of years until modern man began building skyscrapers such as the World Trade Center. If it were compared to a skyscraper, the Great Pyramid would be 42 storeys high. It contains enough stone to build a six foot high wall from New York to Los Angeles.”

The Great Pyramid is “different from all the other pyramids in Egypt. For one thing it’s made of stone, not bricks, and is the only one that’s not solid. There’s a series of passageways and several chambers inside. All of the 80 or so other pyramids came later, are grossly inferior copies, and unlike the Great Pyramid were used as gigantic headstones covering the tombs of the Pharaohs. (The Great Pyramid never served as a tomb.)”

“The Great Pyramid originally had a face of polished white limestone consisting of 115,000 stones finished on all six sides to within .01 inch of perfectly straight. Cut on a bevel, they fit together with seams of less than 1/50th of an inch. They were then cemented together and polished to a high sheen. It’s said that the pyramid shone as if made of light itself and could be seen from over a hundred miles away. The entire structure rests on 4 foundation stones that fit into sockets cut into the bedrock. These stones are designed to compensate for changes in temperature. They keep the pyramid square and level at all times, and in fact it’s square on every course. It faces due North more accurately than we can position buildings today so that each side faces the four cardinal points of the compass. Its shadow has predicted equinoxes and solstices.”

Jeremiah 32:20 says [O Great and Mighty God]… “who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day.” Does this prophecy and the one from Isaiah 19:19-20 reference the Great Pyramid? If they do then the Great Pyramid is an appropriately erected monument to the LORD while all others are pale counterfeits. I researched for three hours this morning in attempt to resolve whether the Great Pyramid is pagan or Godly and was unable. Of course better people than I have researched these things. Let me know if you know the answer!

Since the bible tells us we have a God-sized hole inside, desiring to worship something greater than us, it makes sense that humankind would build monuments. The fact that these strange monuments litter the world from Easter Island to Asia and places in between are a testament to that. Whether the supernatural eerie perfection displayed in the Great Pyramid is Godly at least we know that the Temple Solomon built was the most beautiful and Godly-designed monument in the world. He was the architect. His very Being was present there. Soon we will be where He is, and His hands once again have made a monument to Himself as a jewel, which is New Jerusalem sparkling and holding His precious cargo inside: us.

Sorry to be so wandering in this blog entry. I just wonder about these monuments’ origins, and I ponder whether the Pyramid is the monument the prophesies mention as being the one that was set in Egypt for a sign and a wonder. Anyway, here is more information about Egypt in prophecy and in biblical history:

Egypt and the King of the South
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bible, bible jesus, occupy wall street, one world economy, prophecy, socialism

Occupy Wall Street: class warfare plus wealth transfer equals antichrist conditions

Posted on October 28, 2011 by elizabethprata

The last years in this age on earth will be ruled by an evil dictator over a global economic empire: The Antichrist and the one world economic system. The current economic turmoil, riots, ‘occupations, and wealth transfer is part of that last days scene, soon to be fulfilled. Before we look forward to examine these things, let’s take a look back.

First, let us go to 2008. Obama is a Presidential candidate, campaigning. Many people suspected his socialist leanings from having been associated with socialists, (duh), allied with ACORN, with community organizing, and when he said to Joe the Plumber, “let’s spread the wealth around.” There was a severe pooh-poohing when the normal-thinking people said “AHA! Socialist! We knew it!” Socialism was dismissed as passe and Obama’s connection with it ignored.

Nowadays, socialism is far from passe. It has become de rigueur. Imagine that. It is accepted, desired even, by these thousands of ‘Occupy’ folk. In just three short years, capitalism and corporation have become dirty words while socialism has been dusted off and given a new shine.

Let’s go back even further to 1919-1920 and the rise of Italy’s Benito Mussolini. Mussolini became a dictator at home and an international ally of Germany’s Hitler throughout the Thirties and the Second World War.

“The Socialists, which by then had become the largest party, spoke theoretically of revolution, alarmed the conservatives, who quickly associated them with Communists. Thousands of agricultural and industrial strikes in 1919 and 1920 created a climate of class warfare and continual violence. Mussolini quickly shifted from leftist to rightist politics and began to gain support from middle-class industrialists who were fearful of working-class agitation and who objected to the agricultural strikes.” Sound familiar? (Source: “Western Civilization: Since 1300 By Jackson J. Spielvogel.”)

What is socialism? And what is its connection to the current violence in the Occupy Wall Street protests and riots? More importantly, is there a connection to the Tribulation and the last economic system yet to be fulfilled?

First, what is Socialism? “It is an economic doctrine, egalitarianism is the driving force behind socialism and communism. It is economic egalitarianism that seeks to remove the barriers of economic inequality by means of redistribution of wealth. … The problem with this doctrine is … a mistaken premise in economic egalitarianism which asserts that the rich have gotten their wealth by the exploitation of the poor.” (source GotQuestions.org). We’ve certainly heard enough about that lately. They say “greedy corporations” are to blame for the mess we’re in. They say ‘evil banksters’ put us here and we need socialism to get us out, because capitalism ain’t working, they say.

The Tribulation will have a one world economic system. There will be very poor people, working all day just to buy a loaf of bread. (Rev 6:6). There will be the very rich possessing vast wealth, (Rev 18:17a) able to live luxuriously and trade in luxuries at will. (Rev 18.) The Occupy Wall Street protesters’ hated “1%” will not disappear, but get wealthier and stronger.

The problem is, the Occupy Wall Street misguided are barking up the wrong tree, and in the end will not bring about their desired reforms but are in fact providing the platform for the Antichrist to appeal to the masses who clamor for ‘social justice” (code for ‘I want your money’). They will simply be on the losing end of a great wealth transfer, which history shows us happens every time socialism is attempted. Their grimy faces, currently spouting Hate Capitalism at filthy parks will soon be grimier, clutching the bars of the estate begging for scraps, much as Lazarus did at the Rich Man’s gate, and the dig licked his sores. (Luke 16:19-31). Such will be the fate of Occupiers who call for evil corporations to be done away with. The Antichrist will comply- and then take the money for himself. But I get ahead of the story.

The connection to the current violence in the Occupy Wall Street protests & riots to the end time is seen in the following videos. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. (Winston Churchill)

THEN

You didn’t know that America was engaged in violent class warfare in the Depression-era, did you? It was about Labor gaining a foothold, then a stranglehold on corporations. But it was not just about that. The Cleveland riots began as protests against foreclosures and evictions in a depressed housing market. By February of 1931 “Food riots” begin to break out in parts of the U.S. In Minneapolis, several hundred men and women smashed the windows of a grocery market and make off with fruit, canned goods, bacon, and ham. One of the store’s owners pulls out a gun to stop the looters, but is leapt upon and has his arm broken. The “riot” is brought under control by 100 policemen. Seven people are arrested. The Humboldt Park 1932 riot was over rotten food.

The point is, and this should come as no surprise, “Research Shows That Austerity Can Lead to Riots“. Writer Alain Sherter said in that article of austerity and anarchy, “Such events have many causes, of course. But one key contributing factor is economic shocks.”

NOW

Even the language is the same. Skulls cracked then, skulls cracked now. Though ostensibly these altruistic Occupiers want financial justice for all, what they are really showing us is that they’re poor (in their own eyes), or they’re lazy, (relying on government programs which are now in danger of being cut, and/or a simple refusal to work for their wage) and they want what you have. And they’re gonna get it, even if they have to break the law to do it.

I’d posed three questions,
What is socialism?
What is its connection to the current violence in the Occupy Wall Street protests and riots?
Is there a connection to the Tribulation and the last economic system yet to be fulfilled?

In the third question, yes, there is a connection. The Tribulation is about wealth transfer, because the time period is first ruled by the antichrist under the influence of the devil, (Rev 13:5-8) and later is ruled by the devil himself. The devil wants to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10). So of course he wants to steal your money, your comfort, your hope, and eventually your life. So, yes, he wants to destroy all the world’s governments, economic systems, values, and finances. His plan for your life is to either take all from you or get you to sacrifice God’s blessings on you. The protests in America now are not directed against the President, they are directed against God’s blessings on this nation.

This effort will culminate in the Mark of the Beast, (Rev 13:16-17) which forces a person to accept the mark of worship and be able to participate in the last economy, or to refuse the mark of worship and starve or be beheaded, whichever comes first.

Between now and then, the economic situation will become more dire, which sparks more people to violence, which diverts resources of police and municipalities, which allows for higher crime elsewhere, while thousands are occupying parks and refusing to contribute to the very economy they want to become healthy again, and end up in freeloading and perversity, yearning for a leader with an answer. It is a downward cycle we saw with Mussolini, Hitler, and will find its culmination in the antichrist. It is not only started already, it is well on its way toward that imminent fulfillment:

This week the Pope called for economic justice and a centralized world bank. Funny, because the Vatican already IS a vastly wealthy centralized government. However, corporatism and big government go hand in hand. “The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a “global public authority” and a “central world bank” to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises. A major document from the Vatican’s Justice and Peace department should be music to the ears of the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrators and similar movements around the world who have protested against the economic downturn.”

As for the violence, Jesus said, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” (Mt 24:12). The rise of flash mobs and the helplessness of store owners to stop them is a smaller version of what has been given rise now: Occupy Wall Street mobs who practice lawlessness in an entire city or large parts of cities, and outnumber the police. Instead of fifty unruly teens storming the store against one store owner, it is 5000 unruly freeloaders storming a city block against an entire police force. Even HotAir said that resistance is futile. Futile was their word.

“The fences came down at Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza Wednesday evening during a general assembly meeting among “Occupy Oakland” protesters. At least 500 protesters gathered at the plaza to reclaim the site of their encampment, which was raided by police early Tuesday morning… At 7 p.m., around 50 to 100 protesters succeed in tearing down sections of the fence on the opposite side of the plaza from where the meeting is taking place. … With public officials facing pressure from all sides in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and other “occupied” cities, the lesson from Oakland will most likely be that action will largely be futile without a large police presence extending for considerable time to come.”

So we have economic depression, austerity abhorrence, riots, impotent municipal government to keep law and order, calls for wealth re-distribution, and disdain of capitalism. These conditions gave rise to evil dictators in the past, only too willing to exploit the misguidedness and greed of the people in prior times, and it will do so again. Except this last dictator will be the personification of evil.

Wouldn’t you rather get to know the personification of Goodness? Jesus is that personification, literally incarnating into humanity to teach us what is needed to be cleansed from our misguidedness and our sins. Doing so is very simple. Not easy, but simple. “Believe on the One He has sent”, and be saved. (John 6:29; John 3:16-17). Salvation means you’re saved from hell, and to be saved you must first recognize what will send you to hell: your sins. If you want Jesus to forgive those sins, then be sorry you committed them and ask Him to cleanse you. He will. But don’t wait too long. The antichrist is knocking at the door, and soon, Jesus will let him in.
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famine, food scarcity

Food scarcity, famine, and high prices (UPDATED)

Posted on October 27, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Update at bottom

The Tribulation will be rife with plagues, and one of them is famine. (Rev 6:5-6). People will be hungry. They will die from it. Others will hang on, a full day’s wage paying only for a loaf of bread. Scarcity will be the word. Jesus foretold it also in Luke 21:11, “There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

The world has experienced a plethora of natural disasters that have disrupted food growth. Other disasters have set up conditions (such as drought or flooding or acreage loss) that prevent food growth. It has been a perfect storm of conditions to set up the imminent fulfillment of the above prophecy.

Food prices are another thing that needs a look at. Despite massive losses of rice, soy, corn, beef and other commodities, prices have remained uncomfortably high but at least steady. According to the Wall Street Journal, that is about to change.

Prices Rising, for Better and Worse
Surge in Food Inflation Hits Both Consumers and Retailers
“Stable food prices have been a silver lining in the weak economy. That is changing fast. The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday said it expects retail food prices to increase 3.5% to 4.5% this year, after climbing just 0.8% in 2010, the slowest rate since 1962. The midpoint of the new USDA outlook signals the sharpest acceleration in the food inflation rate from one year to the next since 1978, and makes the increase itself the biggest since 2008, when prices rose 5.5%. The agency issues a monthly forecast for retail food inflation, which has been building for several months, and had been predicting an increase of 3% to 4% since February.”

It’s not only prices that are rising, but packaging is getting devious and deceptive. At one store I regularly shop, an admittedly huge deal has been the corn flakes. The box was 24 ounces, huge, and the price under two dollars, usually $1.95.

This time, I saw the tags lining the shelf, the sale starburst with the large price being touted, “ROLLBACK! $1.85!” ‘So,” I thought, “They lowered the price.” I stretched up to grab a box and immediately noticed it was smaller and lighter than the one I have at home.

When I got back to the house, I pulled down the corn flakes I already had. Yup. Here is the evidence:

The old box was 24 ounces. The new box is 18 ounces. They shrank the box by six ounces! Egregious.

The Center for Media and Democracy wrote in 2008:
“Sneaky Manufacturers Shrink Packaging, While Keeping Prices the Same“
“Prices of your favorite grocery items are skyrocketing, but you probably don’t know it. Many companies are using a sneaky way to raise prices without driving customers to less expensive brands: they are shrinking their packaging. A jar of Skippy peanut butter, for example, is the same height and circumference it has always been, but now has a hidden, inward “dimple” on the bottom that decreases the amount the jar holds by two ounces. Boxes of breakfast cereal appear to be the same height and width they’ve always been, but manufacturers have reduced the boxes’ depth from front to back, decreasing the amount of cereal they hold. Rolls of Scott toilet tissue contain the same number of sheets as always (1,000), but the length of each sheet has been cut from 4 to 3.7 inches. A “six ounce” can of Starkist Tuna now holds just five ounces. When asked about the shrinkage, most companies point to higher costs for ingredients, manufacturing and fuel. Dan Howard, a marketing professor at Southern Methodist University, says the only way consumers can fight back against this sneaky way of increasing costs is to refuse to buy from manufacturers who engage in this deceptive tactic.”

It’s six of one, half a dozen of another, as the old saying goes. Whether you raise the prices or reduce the packaging, food is getting more expensive. It’s just simply getting harder to live. But they ain’t seen nothing yet. Repenting will take care of the worries anyone has about living – in this life or the next one to come. 🙂

Jesus is waiting for you.

UPDATE: The Arab Herald reports:
Thai floods may cause global rice shortage
Thailand’s flooding has wiped out as much as 14% of paddy fields, drastically reducing the export capacity of the world’s biggest rice exporter and potentially increasing global food prices. The worst flooding in the country in 60 years has destroyed 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) and as much as 7 million tons of crops, the government says.

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bible, last days, prophecy, rapture

I believe the rapture will be soon

Posted on October 26, 2011 by elizabethprata

People have been asking about the imminence of the rapture. I personally believe it will be soon. I am not the only one who believes this. Hal Lindsey has been in a prophecy ministry for 50 years and believes it to be very soon. Jack Kelley has been studying it for over 20 and has said “soon.” The two guys at the net’s oldest rapture website, Rapture Ready, have been studying last days doctrines for over 25 years and believe no other time has been as ripe as this one. Pastor JD Faraq says we are in the last moments of the last days.

All the prophecy teachers I read say that we are in the prelude stage to rapid fulfillment of the prophesied Tribulation Time and very near the rapture. Jack Kelley summed it up thus: “For what it’s worth, I believe the world is experiencing the prelude to the seal judgments right now. They haven’t begun yet but the conditions necessary for them to happen are rapidly being met. It won’t be long until everything’s in place.”

Hal Lindsey: “As I was preparing for tonight’s program, I was struck with the speed with which the events are taking place precisely as the prophets predicted millennia ago.”

The Rapture Ready guy said in August of the disasters this year: “It seems that we’ve reached a point where the kindness of God must be at a limit. If we can have nine calamities in less than eight months and still not get man’s attention, any more warning would be pointless. Only God knows for sure, but I think the judgment stage is very very near.”

Then someone pinned me down and asked about timing. “Months, or years?” they asked. So I’ll go out on a limb and if having to choose between months or years, I’ll say I think we have months to go. I could well be wrong, it may be years. No one knows, because as Romans 11:25 instructs us, the fulfillment of the church age is dependent on a number God has in mind for His church, not a date nor an event. When the full number of Gentiles has come in, then we will be raptured. Acts 15:13-18 picks up, “after this I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down”.

But I do not think I am wrong about the months part and here is why:

1. I don’t believe the world can sustain too much more sin for too long. I’m not talking about pollution, but spiritual pollution and the chaos it brings. Things are stretching at the seams as it is. For example, in one city, the street lights were re-possessed due to unpaid electrical bills. Another city, this one in GA, deleted the entire public bus system. Topeka is so overwhelmed with crime they just announced they will no longer investigate nor prosecute domestic crimes. Detroit closed literally 50%, half, its schools. Children are being molested, kidnapped, and killed at an enormously high rate. There was an attempted kidnapping in my county in broad daylight and police and sheriffs sent out an urgent plea for witnesses. Ever growing numbers of people are dying from attempted theft of copper from electrical transformers. A few weeks ago several people in a nursing home died from overheating after copper was stolen from AC units. In other places, the entire AC unit is taken- one church had theirs stolen 4 times. A humane society lost all its dogs when their AC was stolen. No where is safe any more. Thieves are getting bolder, flash mobs are getting more violent, Occupy Wall Street is spreading around the world, chaos is almost or actually in fact broken out. Rome was on fire from riots. This level of crime and chaos cannot be sustained for long. Of course it will be completely unleashed after we are gone and the Restrainer is removed. If feels soooooo pregnant.

2. I think the rapture will be soon because the isolation of Israel is almost complete. Every Middle East nation mentioned in Tribulation or last days prophecy is in place to fulfill their prophetic roles. For example, Turkey recently quit seeking the West after 50 years of trying and is now overtly Muslim. After 100 years of enmity Turkey and Armenia suddenly made up. Iran is in possession of nuclear bomb making materials. Russia is revived (Gog-Magog) and is empire building. And so on. None of the above was even thinkable as short as five years ago.

3. The natural disasters have gotten to a point of severe intrusion on daily life to most of the global population. They are happening in almost overlap fashion, one upon another, stilling whole swathes of transport and impacting food production to a near-famine degree. I include the US in this position. Did you know that right now a third of Thailand, especially Bangkok, is flooded? We don’t read in US media about the flooding in Thailand and the impacts to world rice production and to factory production of parts that we need, but it is going on, all that and more.

4. We can see clear indications over the prophetic horizon of imminent Seal Judgment fulfillments. (Rev 6). Jack Kelley mentioned that as well. If the Seal Judgments can almost be seen, and the church will be removed before the Tribulation begins, how much closer is the rapture? Close.

5. The attacks on the rapture doctrine are ramping up incredibly in these last ten years. It is almost a fever pitch now. If you even mention rapture these days, among Christians, you get the two-head look or an argument. Though the pre-tribulation rapture is not a foundational issue that should divide the brethren, a close and literal honest reading of the bible would clearly show that there will be a rapture and that it will be prior to the Tribulation. Satan’s use of doubt on this issue has allowed Replacement Theology to creep in (proposes that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan); it steals the Christian’s hope, it causes doubt and division, and lays the groundwork for a host of other false doctrines to enter in.

If I am wrong it impacts my faith not one bit. I will say the ‘Lord is coming soon’ until we are raptured, whether that be tomorrow or 10 years from now. But I don’t think it will be that long. Look for Damascus to be destroyed as a startling sign of the rapture’s imminence. I think that will happen soon…
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theology

Blog Stats

Posted on October 26, 2011 by elizabethprata

I’ve posted one thousand, three hundred and one times (1,301). That’s a lot of ideas. (Holy Spirit gave them)

Almost a million people have visited this blog. That’s a lot of people. (Holy Spirit sent them)

My first post was just over two and a half years ago. That’s a short time. (God knows the day and hour.)

I am so blessed when I see that many people have visited here. Even if they came to read a weird entry on UFOs and were not looking for Christ at all, the plan of salvation is prominent, and resources for left behind and tribulation chronology are listed up top. Just seeing the banner art of Jesus coming in the clouds might be enough to convict a person.

I’m humbled to see the Holy Spirit working in this blog as He does in so many others whose message is consistent with the Word. There’s lots of blogs that get less traffic and lots of blogs and websites that get more. The numbers don’t matter as much as the gratitude I feel for being used to promote Jesus and His message to us all, which is “Repent, then look up, for our redemption draweth nigh!”
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dead birds, fish kill

More dead animals washing up

Posted on October 25, 2011 by elizabethprata

Oh how His creation is groaning!

Illinois officials report major fish kill on Little Wabash River
“Officials with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois EPA are investigating the source of a major fish kill along the Little Wabash River in White County. Local sportsman Jack Emery of rural Carmi said he first started hearing about dead fish appearing in the Little Wabash a few weeks ago. However, in the past few days, the number of dead fish has exploded into the thousands.”

Some thoughts

Posted on October 25, 2011 by elizabethprata

I usually do a ‘Friday This and That’ of random or disconnected ideas in list and excerpt form, because I’m really tired on Friday nights and have little cognitive ‘get up and go’ by that time. But this Friday I’m going to be fine, because we’re off from school. And, I’m tired tonight so here are some this and that thoughts. And the news, you know? Even though it’s only Tuesday, it is pretty heavy already. Gaddafi and sharia and suddenly inflating volcanoes and Thailand inundated and a hurricane at the doorstep and Turkey quake and [drawing breath] I could go on but I won’t. So here are a few thoughts.

We know that New Jerusalem is transparent. “having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.” (Rev 21:11). “The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.” (Rev 21:18). Recently scientists learned that gold, when reduced to the nano level, becomes clear. Not opaque, but transparent. This scientific article explains: “If, however, you shrink gold down to a nanoparticle, its properties change dramatically. Its color changes, it becomes a very good catalyst, and is no longer a metal – instead it turns into a semiconductor.” I wrote more about it here.

I personally believe that the city is transparent so that the glory of God can be seen at all times.

But what about privacy? Max Lucado says of the transparent city, “Arguments will cease, for jealousy won’t exist. Suspicions won’t surface, for there will be no secrets. Every sin is gone. Every insecurity is forgotten.”

Remember, before the fall Adam and Eve were naked and they were not ashamed. We will not be naked. The Tribulation saints are given garments of white (Rev 6:11) and so are the elders, (Rev 4:4). I believe we will have white robes too. Even still, there will be no need for privacy because there will be no shame. We will see God’s glory everywhere, bright and sparkling.

I watched a very good half hour prophecy update from a very good pastor. Pastor JD Faraq in Hawaii made an interesting connection to something in his latest videocast. I’ve often said that making connections to things that exist is one thing, but making a connection to things that do not exist is another. But what isn’t seen, or what isn’t said is just as important as what is seen and what does exist. Pastor JD said that when Saddam Hussein was killed there were many effigies of President Bush that angry Muslims burned. However, there have not been any effigies burned of Obama after Bin Laden and Gaddafi were killed. Have you noticed that? I hadn’t but when Pastor JD said it I suddenly realized that he is right. No effigies.

Is it because the Muslims understood we were a strong nation with a strong alliance to Israel. Nowadays they understand we are weak and not a friend of Israel.

He also said that the Occupy Wall Street protest isn’t protesting the leader of America. They are protesting the blessings on America.

Why do we learn prophecy? What is it good for anyway? “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.” So you may believe! (John 14:29).

Do not lose heart. Many prophesies have been fulfilled. Many more will be. The church has been redeemed but we are waiting for full repossession. We will be claimed though. How do we know this? The sure word of God.

“Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11)
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bible, days of lot, gay kiss sparks outrage, homosexuality, jesus, judgment

Gay kiss sparks outrage

Posted on October 24, 2011 by elizabethprata

Lots to discuss here.

Homosexual kiss at school assembly prompts student walk-out, parental fury

“Members of the football team stomped out of a Hartford, Connecticut, high school assembly when a pro-homosexual advocacy play featured two boys kissing on stage. When the actors locked lips, reports Vanessa de la Torre for the Hartford Courant newspaper, “a piercing clamor rang through the auditorium. “There were screams and loud voices and a bit of feigned or real disgust. Dozens of students, mostly male and a few in their Owls football jerseys, hurried out of their rows and walked out. A few jumped over seats to leave.”

The play was a fantasy portraying the world as entirely homosexual, and the few heterosexuals that existed were in the closet, ashamed of their non-gayness. Of course, we know satan’s agenda is to aim for exactly that. He comes to destroy the family to destroy the purity of marital sexual unions between the God-ordained one woman-one man inside of a marriage that God outlined for us. His agenda is to introduce perversity in all arenas and to saturate the culture with anything sexual goes.

It was good to see that there was a furor over the perverted display of males kissing in an auditorium where impressionable youth were attending. It was even nicer to see that it was in a school in New England, and not even the bible belt. The comment that ‘all the play was trying to do was instill a sense of empathy toward gays and lesbians,” was replied to by the principal that “our kids are not there yet.” Well, good.

While we have empathy for gays who are in sin as we do for any person caught in sin, we do not celebrate sin. We do not accord it a normalcy. We do not allow it to pass without comment. And when it occurs in the church, any sin, any church, it defiles the church. Immorality in a church must be judged. (1 Corinthians 5:1-12) while immorality outside of the church will be judged by Jesus.

I listened to the trailer for the documentary “Agenda: Grinding America Down” and in it the statement was made that in just 40 years we have gone from Norman Rockwell’s America to Hugh Hefner’s America. So true. Within one generation the nation’s morals have completely swapped, and who is to blame for that? Not the president, not the government’s policies, not the parents so much, but satan. We fight not against the president. We fight not against the politicians’ policies. We fight not against parents or leaders or bosses. We fight against powers and principalities and spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12). Satan knows what God expects and as a result he does the opposite. (John 10:10). Look how much we have let him.

Jesus mused to the Disciples that just prior to His Second Coming “will the Son of Man find faith upon the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Of course He knew the answer: the answer was no, not so much faith at all. He said as a matter of fact, that it will be as it was in the Days of Lot. (Luke 17:28-29). So, what were the Days of Lot like?

Lot was Abraham’s nephew who decided to go live near Sodom, (Gen 13:10-13) the worst city there ever was or ever will be, except for Babylon. Sodom and Gomorrah’s depravity had reached such a level that there was an outcry against the cities and their sin was a very grave. (Gen 18:20). The angels that had ‘come down’ to see what the outcry was about and to judge the cities. However all the men of the city, from every quarter, surrounded the house, demanding that Lot present the “men” (angels) so that they could be raped. The perverted lust was very real and had turned the men into a mob, with violent rape threats made against Lot when Lot refused(Gen 19:4-5) The door was bulging with the pressure of the men trying to get at the fresh meat of new men to rape. (Gen 19:9).

Their perverted lust was so great that even after the angels struck the men blind, they still tried to get at them! (Gen 19:11). The mob wore themselves out trying to find the door.

The lesson here is that proper lust, when perverted, is a sin and sin, as we know, leads you. You become a slave to it. (John 8:34). The story of Sodom is one that shows us the bottom of the pit of where sin leads: to an out of control person and then to judgment.

Expand that picture of the men trying to get into the door where fresh men were staying, with a mob blindly clawing their way to the door and trying to batter it down. That will be the scene many times over when the Holy Spirit Restrainer is removed from the earth at the Rapture and men’s passions and perversions get out of control during the Tribulation. The days of Lot.

I’m glad to see a semblance of restraint in Connecticut at that assembly-play and an outcry against such blatant sins. And I assure you, the outcry was not because the audience lacked empathy for the gays and lesbians portrayed in the play and by extension, all gays and lesbians, it was because there are still some people left who say such things are sins, and not to be tolerated. And let me assure you of this, the play organizer and writer was not trying to instill a sense of empathy for gays and lesbians, he was trying to desensitize us to the potent effects of perversion, to normalize it. I’m glad there are still some people around who just say no to sin’s drug of perversion and depravity.
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mary's belt, sacra cintola

The Belt of the Mother of God

Posted on October 23, 2011 by elizabethprata

I spent quite a bit of time in Europe, traveling. I wasn’t saved then. I visited many churches, chapels, and cathedrals in Italy and France. One thing that always puzzled me was the veneration of relics.

Holy relics are defined by Wikipedia as something that “in religion, is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions. The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae, meaning “remains” or “something left behind” (the same root as relinquish). A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.”

Part of a body of a saint. I can’t tell you how many times, in Catholic churches in some small Tuscan town, in a jar of liquid at the altar there would be a shriveled finger or a gray toe from some supposed saint. Ew.

According to Catholic, Greek, and other traditions, the mother of Jesus was a virgin all her life. This, despite the teaching of the bible that Joseph ‘knew her not’ until after Jesus was born, indicating that they did have marital relations. “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.” (Matthew 1:24-25, emphasis mine)

This indication is supported by the fact that the bible further says that Jesus had brothers and sisters, and they are even named.

“Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?” (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). And again in Matthew 13:54-58 where his brothers are mentioned and named and his sisters mentioned too.

Well, Catholics and the Greek Orthodox believe that Mary was ever a virgin. Here is a prayer from the a pastor of a Greek Orthodox church related to Mary worship:
“O EVER-VIRGIN Theotokos, shelter of mankind, thou hast bestowed upon thy people a mighty investure, even thine immaculate body’s raiment and sash, which by thy seedless childbirth have remained incorrupt; for in thee nature and time are made new. Wherefore, we implore thee to grant peace to the world, and great mercy to our souls.* THE MOST VENERABLE and full of grace Belt of our Blessed Virgin Mary, which is found at the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi in Agios Oros (Holy Mt. Athos), is the only precious souvenir that survives from her earthly life.”

Theotokos is the Greek title they give Mary. Appealing to Mary to bestow peace on the world usurps Jesus’ place as the identified Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6). Imploring her to give mercy usurps Jesus as the only giver of mercy: “To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.” (Daniel 9:9). The prayer mentioned Holy Mt. Athos, that is the church that houses her belt. You heard me. Her belt.

It’s bad enough that millions worship Mary in place of Jesus. But for those same many millions, they also worship her belt as a holy relic, the belt itself able to perform miracles and wonders. Mary worship is idol worship. Mary’s holy belt is idol worship. The bible says not to do that. It commands us not to do that.

Exodus 20:4-5 — “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”

Here is the story of Mary’s belt.

Supposedly, when Mary died, Thomas missed the funeral. He came hurrying back, only to find her tomb empty. He searched for her and found the place where she was ascending to heaven. He called out, and Mary either descended on a little detour, or while on her way up, took off her belt and cast it to Thomas.

Today, people pray to the belt and ask it to bless them with children. Here is a video of the displaying of the belt. It is held in a church in Prato, Italy, and taken out and shown 5 times per year.

Now, the folks at Prato, Italy say that they have the entire belt, and the folks at Athos, Greece say they have the entire belt, which makes a dilemma. But nevertheless, throngs at both places clamor to see it at the duly appointed times per year it is taken out of its reliquary and shown to the people. The explanation from the Greek Orthodox pastor concludes: “…the Church attributes it honorary worship, as it does to the Holy Wood of the Cross of the Lord. The Holy Belt has the unique grace to cure women’s sterility as well as cancer patients, with a ribbon that has firstly been blessed on the Belt and is subsequently worn by the sterile women and patients.”

So why this explanation about Mary’s Belt? Because it is on the move. It is entering Russia and everyone is very excited about the belt’s appearance for the first time in that country.

“Putin welcomes Greek ‘fertility-boosting’ relic to Russia“
“Vladimir Putin on Thursday welcomed to Russia a highly revered Orthodox relic credited with fertility-boosting powers as his country struggles to halt a population decline. The relic venerated by believers as the belt of the Virgin Mary arrived on loan from violence-hit Greece in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg where hundreds, mostly women, waited patiently to pay their respects. … Monks from the Vatopedi monastery accompanying the (relic) showed Vladimir Putin the reliquary containing the belt,” the Russian government said in a statement. Arriving in Russia for the first time from its home on Mount Athos in Greece, the relic, whose full name is the Belt of the Mother of God, will remain in Russia’s former imperial capital until Monday. Hundreds of people, mostly women, were standing in line in Russia’s second city, also Putin’s hometown, to see one of the most treasured Orthodox relics, which is believed to have miraculous powers to boost fertility.”

The Voice of Russia says simply: “Mother of God’s belt comes to Russia“

“Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has met a delegation of Greek monks in an airport in St. Petersburg. The delegation brought a belt which is believed to have belonged to Mary, the Mother of God, to Russia for worshiping. It is the first time that this relic is brought to Russia.”

It was stated several times that the object is brought so they could worship it and so they could ask it to perform miracles of fertility. That makes it an idol and them idol worshiping idolaters. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) has a piece on Mary-worship here.

There is only one true God. There is only one intercessor between God and man. There is only one who bestows mercy There is one who covers the whole world with protection. It is Jesus. Not Mary.

If you watched the video above of the priests marching around the Prato square and the priest lifting up the belt to the people, you likely saw how ridiculous the spectacle was. It was ridiculous because God said not to worship anything other than Himself. And yet they hold up this garment and follow it. It is a direct rip-off of the biblical incident described in Mark 5:25-30:

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”

Jesus later explains to the woman that it was her faith that made her well. It was not the garment. (v. 34)

Is it any wonder, then, that the world mocks us as ridiculous people? Isn’t worshiping anything aside from the one true God blasphemous, too? I’m not down on Catholics or Greek orthodox. I’m UP on Ten Commandments and the One True God.

bible jesus, circumstances, prophecy

A God thing

Posted on October 22, 2011 by elizabethprata

God speaks to us in many ways. He speaks foremost though His son’s Word. (Hebrews 1:2). Sometimes He speaks through another person, oftentimes if they are speaking of a verse themselves. He speaks through circumstances, such as through tragedy or chastisement. (James 1:2-5). Personally, I enjoy the song service at church or on the radio in listening to traditional hymns. (Ephesians 5:19). Most hymns are based on scripture, either directly or paraphrased. Listening to these hymns gives me an opportunity to meditate on them all day, (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2).

Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Psalm 4:4

Sometimes I hear a hymn playing in the background of my dreams as I slumber at night. When I wake up, the song and its lyrics are strongly in my head, and I wake up humming. Aside from the fact that it is a joy to wake up with thoughts of Jesus on my mind, and gentle words that uplift and exalt Him, I also enjoy when these things happen for another reason.

I take it as a prompt to investigate what the Spirit wants to say. Therefore I go to my computer and bring up YouTube and listen to the song that was in my head, and read and sing the lyrics. Then I pray for the Spirit to open me up to a deeper understanding of the practical application of what He wants from me. Sometimes as I read a devotional or a bible chapter that day, or even a year later, the Spirit will then make a connection. It is how He grows us. It took me a long time to learn to pay attention to these prompts. It is the way He conforms us to His thoughts. (Romans 12:2).

So today I was blessed with the hymn “I Surrender All” in my head as I awoke. I got up and I listened to it on YouTube. I thought about the word surrender in relation to my life with Jesus. I prayed, asking Jesus to root out areas where I have not surrendered, where I would be holding onto flesh and selfishness. I hummed it as I made French Toast for breakfast. I then let the day begin and other thoughts come into my head as the more pragmatic things of the day crowded out the spiritual thoughts. ‘Change the sheets’, ‘it’s a nice day I think I’ll go out and take some fall pictures’, ‘what am I going to put in the Prophecy Newsletter today?’ And so on. But before I got up to do these things I decided to put on Pandora radio so I could listen to it as I made the bed and went about the morning chores.

I have had a computer problem for the last two weeks and only got my laptop back from repair a few days ago. I haven’t used Pandora for all that time.

I have ten stations. The way Pandora works is that the last station I’ve left it on will begin playing a mix of songs related to the theme I’d chosen. There is an endless amount of songs on each station, I can listen all day and rarely is one repeated. I brought the station up and pushed back my chair to start chores. The first song was “I SURRENDER ALL.”

I cried in awe and humility. I love how the Spirit works.

How has He been speaking to you lately?
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