Posted in economy, european union, eurozone, prophecy

International alarm grows over fate of Europe’s failing economy

Posted on by elizabethprata

I had written last night that Greece was said to be defaulting. However, those reports were almost immediately retracted. I wrote that no matter if the default is now or later, it will come, given the numbers. The level of debt Greece is staggering under cannot be borne much longer. Nor can Italy’s, Spain’s, or even the US’s debt be borne by those nations much longer for that matter.

This Jefferies report quoted in Zerohedge lays it out clearly on how and why the European economic failure will be just as bad if not worse than the one the US suffered in 2008. Jefferies is a full-service securities and investment banking firm serving companies and their investors globally, not some pajama blogger or fringe guy who thinks he has a handle of geo-political economics. This is the real deal. In the report, Jefferies lays out the European end game.

“The bottom line is that it looks like a Lehman like event is about to be unleashed on Europe WITHOUT an effective TARP like structure fully in place. Now maybe, just maybe, they can do what the US did and build one on the fly – wiping out a few institutions and then using an expanded EFSF/Eurobond structure to prevent systemic collapse. But politically that is increasingly feeling like a long shot. Rather it looks like we will get 17 TARPs – one for each country. That is going to require a US style socialization of each banking system – with many WAMUs, Wachovias, AIGs and IndyMacs along the way. The road map for Europe is still 2008 in the US, with the end game a country by country socialization of their commercial banks. The fact is that the Germans are NOT going to pay for pan European structure to recap French and Italian banks – even though it is probably a more cost effective solution for both the German banks and taxpayers.”

It is a very good report. Even I understood it, and math and economics is not my strong point.

British economics reporter Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote about Germany’s and Greece’s mutually assured destruction. Pritchard is another guy I like to read. He is sound. He wrote,

Germany and Greece flirt with mutual assured destruction
Bild Zeitung populism has prevailed. Germany is pushing Greece towards a hard default, risking the uncontrollable chain reaction so long feared by markets.
“Whoever thinks that Greece is an easy scapegoat, will find that this eventually turns against them, against the hard core of the eurozone,” said Greek finance minister Evangelos Venizelos. Greece can, if provoked, pull the pin on the European banking system and inflict huge damage on Germany itself, and Greece has certainly been provoked.”

In the wake of all this economic news from Europe, Moody’s downgraded France’s largest banks today.

“Moody’s Investors Service downgraded two of France’s biggest banks Wednesday, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, citing their exposure to the Greek economy and the fragile state of bank financing markets. It kept a third, BNP Paribas, under review … France brushed off concerns about its biggest banks Wednesday, insisting that it had no plans to nationalize any of them despite a credit rating downgrade linked to their exposure to the limping Greek economy.”

The Polish Finance Minister warned that Europe was about to collapse, though his comments engendered a firestorm under which he ‘clarified’ and partially retracted. He said,

“While speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski warned that Europe was in grave danger of collapsing if the euro zone debt crisis was not resolved rapidly. Europe must be saved at all costs, he added. Anxieties regarding the euro zone debt crisis have been mounting this week. Many judge US Treasury Timothy Geithner’s announcement that he will attend a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Wroclaw this Friday as yet another sign of the seriousness of the situation. “We should not deceive ourselves, if the euro falls apart, then Europe will not survive the shock for long,” said Mr Rostowski during his speech on Wednesday. … Also speaking in the European Parliament on Wednesday, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso also underlined that Europe’s future was at stake. “We are facing the biggest crisis of this generation,” said Mr Barroso. “It’s a struggle for the political future of Europe, for European integration as a whole,” he added.”

It IS a struggle to hold things together when all the forces of evil, history, and prophecy are tearing them asunder. The final empire that reforms out of this crisis and emerges in the last days will fall apart, as well. This is foretold in Daniel 2.

Wayne Blank wrote, “In the Bible study Daniel’s Statue we looked at the curious prophetic symbol found in the book of Daniel. The vision of the statue was given by God to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in a dream. The dream was interpreted by the prophet Daniel. The statue was a composite, made up of different materials to represent the successive human empires that ruled the land of the Bible and beyond. With the starting point of the Babylonian “head of gold” plainly stated to us by Daniel, Bible History and secular history both provide us with the other pieces of the puzzle that fit perfectly: after the Babylonian empire came the Persian empire (the chest and arms of silver); then the Greek empire (belly and thighs of bronze); and finally the Roman empire (the legs of iron). The legs of iron terminated in the feet which were composed of a mixture of iron and baked clay. Daniel provides us with a fascinating description of the “feet.” The iron in the feet is described as a group of different peoples (nations) that despite their differences in language and culture, come together for a short time to fulfill an important stage in God’s plan. The “baked clay” in the feet is the necessary binding agent that holds the pieces of iron together. A common religion, led by a popular, and eventually great miracle-performing leader, is thought to be the baked clay.”

We do not know what the exact catalyst will be for the last Empire to emerge, nor are we told exactly when,  but we do know that it will happen. Will Europe collapse all the way, only for the antichrist to arise from the chaotic smoke of the falling empire? Will Europe hang on and the antichrist appear at the right moment to offer a solution so that it will not fall? Either way, the pieces are in the air and it is both exciting and unnerving to watch them play out their final arc in the face of bible truth.
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Posted in all this for a flag, end time

"All this for a flag" says Michelle Obama at 9/11 ceremony

Posted on by elizabethprata

It’s the eye rolling and smirk that gets me most. But let me back up. This thing isn’t conclusive, but the circumstantial evidence is heavy against Barack and Michelle Obama.

At the 9/11 ceremony in New York, during the bagpipe playing and flag folding ceremony, Michelle is seen leaning over to Obama’s ear and making a derisive comment. He smirks and nods, and in response, Michelle rolls her eyes and tut-tuts with a shake of her head. It appears she is saying, “All this just for a flag.” Lip readers on other sites confirm that is what she seems to be saying. It certainly doesn’t look like she is saying “I dislike bagpipe music.” Or, “I have to pee.” She really seems to be saying “all this just for a flag.” The body language around her comment seems to cement the derisive and disrespectful comment she appears to be making. Once you have the lip-reading translation and you match it to her lips and face, you can’t get the comment to say anything else. Watch and decide–

I am aghast and upset of course. I love my country and I love my flag. I work in an elementary school and I am proud to say that each day we salute the flag. It is a privilege to lead the children in saying the words that pledge allegiance to our beloved flag, clearly and firmly, as an example to the future generations.

In 2008, Obama failed to follow US Code which says to place his hand over his heart during a rendition of the National Anthem. 

“During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.” (US Code Title 36, chapter 10, sec. 171.)

I’ve been saying for a while that Obama is an enemy of the United States. If voting present nearly 130 times instead of voting  ‘aye’ or ‘nay’ wasn’t a clue, maybe standing on a platform with other Presidential candidates in 2008 and refusing to follow flag protocol should have been. His failure to take timely stands on issues important and imminent over the last three years, his in-absentia presidency with flitting off on so many vacations, and even the egregious partying on the taxpayer’s dime while the rest of us eat beans is a slap in the face to a nation of courageous men and women who serve, to hard-working Americans’ who work, to ailing and poor citizens who try.

“All this just for a flag”? YES. But end time prophecy shows us that no nation will be immune from living with what they deserve as sin rises so high it reaches heaven. That is, living with leaders who are even more corrupt, morally bankrupt, and spiritually abrupt than ever before. Why? “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” (1 Timothy 3:1-5).

And that goes for all flesh, but in my opinion these qualities will be amplified in the leaders who rule at the end time. Leaders always mirror of the society they emerge from and as the verse shows, the societies will be full of people like that, how can we expect anything different from our leaders who were formed by that same society? Nigerian military/politician Shehu Abdulqadr said, “The state itself is nothing but its leadership and a leader is a reflection of the society that produces him.”

American President Harry Truman said, “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

Treasonous enemy Obama and his America hating wife Michelle are a product of the times, enemies of the state, installed from within to destroy from within to purposely change things for the worse. They hate our ideals, and once again, it shows.
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Posted in bible jesus, european union, greece, one world economy, tribulation

Reports of Greece’s economic default quickly retracted

Posted on by elizabethprata

The economy is dying. We can hear the death rattle and see the seizing gasps.

We read that in America, poverty is rising to unprecedented proportions. We read heartbreakingly that almost one quarter of all US children are living in poverty. Income is plummeting, and job growth is stagnant with unemployment at new heights.

In Europe, the situation is worse. Far worse. The Euro-zone, that is, European nations that have linked up their economies under one currency, are defaulting or are at near default. Greece has been teetering since the crash of 2008. Successive bailouts by the wealthier European nations have proven fruitless. “The Greek debt-to-GDP is currently at 140%. It will be close to 180% by year’s end (assuming someone gives them the money). The deficit is north of 15%. They simply cannot afford to make the interest payments. True market (not Eurozone-subsidized) interest rates on Greek short-term debt are close to 100%, as I read the press. Their long-term debt simply cannot be refinanced without Eurozone bailouts” wrote economist John Mauldin recently.

The problem is if Greece goes, Italy and Spain might go. Italy recently turned to China for help and it looks like China will help. But is it all too late? Is the snowball too big and rolling down the hill too fast? Reports from The Netherlands tonight state that Greece is already defaulting.

Translated from Dutch:
FINANCE: GREECE GOES BANKRUPT
“The bankruptcy of Greece is under the Ministry of Finance inevitable. Sources that have reported to RTL News. The question of the ministry is no longer whether but how Greece went bankrupt. Greece would be impossible to meet all debt obligations. The ministry calls for a controlled form of bankruptcy to prevent panic. Problems occur in other countries…If not in a controlled manner is, other weak euro countries like Italy and Spain in big trouble. If these countries do not stand up, pop the eurozone apart and chaos is incalculable.”

Because economic news is so skittishly tied to the rumors that prop up stocks and finance, and any report as bombshell as this one would ignite the whole Euro-zone, the push-back was swift. Denials were almost immediate. The following headline is original to Business Insider:

THAT WAS FAST: Now The Dutch Are Denying Reports Of Inevitable Greek Default
“Update: Unbelievable, the report has already been rejected by the Dutch. The speed of rumor and rumor-denial right now in the markets is just bonkers.”

The international alarm is growing as euro zone crisis grows
“International alarm over Europe’s debt crisis hit new heights on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama pressing the bloc’s big countries to show leadership as talk of a Greek default escalated and markets heaped pressure on Italy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to quash talk of an imminent Greek default or exit from the euro zone, but confusion over whether she would issue a joint statement on Greece with French President Sarkozy sent markets gyrating up and then down.”

Why is there such panic over a Greek sovereign default? Here is a “REMINDER: Here’s Who Gets Crushed If Greece Goes Bust“
1. Japanese banks hold $432 million in Greek debt
2. Spanish banks hold $540 million in Greek debt
3. U.S. banks hold $1.5 billion in Greek debt
4. Italian banks hold $2.35 billion in Greek debt
5. UK banks hold $3.4 billion in Greek debt
6. French banks hold $14.96 billion in Greek debt
7. German banks hold $22.65 billion in Greek debt
8. Greek banks hold $62.8 billion in Greek debt
9. But banks in Europe have been working to cut their exposures
10. Greek Banks Downgraded by S&P
11. Moody’s expected to downgrade Soc Gen, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole this week
12. …

No wonder they are panicking. Globalization apparently has its downsides. So what do this have to do with the end time and then the Tribulation?

Revelation 6 and Revelation 13 and Revelation 18, that is the tie-in. Revelation 6 shows us that the Third Horseman is famine. “When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

A denarius at that time was an entire day’s wage. So people in the Tribulation are working but the inflation is such that it takes a whole day’s pay to get a loaf of bread. Revelation 13:16-17 shows us that the global economic system has been reformed into a tightly controlled, one-currency system overseen by one man: the antichrist. We do not have such a system now, but the world will when the Tribulation arrives. Last, Revelation 18:11-16 shows that despite the terrible poverty of most of the world crying for enough pay for a loaf of bread, luxuries are traded by people who are still wealthy. There is the abject poor dying int he muddy streets, and there is the grossly rich laughing it up during the most depraved tiem in all human history.

Things are progressing quickly now. Hal Lindsey’s report this week was tremendously informing of the untenable situation in Syria. It is called “Fortress Syria.” He lays out the pieces leading to the Isaiah 17, Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39.

In Israel, there are reports of unrest. Right wing extremists are turning from targeting Arabs to targeting their own Israelis.
“Extreme right-wing Jewish activists in the West Bank have moved from spontaneous acts against Arabs – following the demolition of Jewish homes by Israeli authorities, or terror attacks against Jews – to organized planning that includes use of a database of potential targets, according to new analysis by the Shin Bet security service.”

Rife with natural disasters, 2011 will become the most expensive weather year ever. Several volcanoes are waking up, “It has been almost 20 years since there has been any volcanic activity in these stretch of four volcanoes, but two are on yellow alert after signs that that dry spell of activity may be coming to an end soon. Ruiz and Machin are both on elevated alert status, but Machín is the more interesting of the two as it has likely been almost 900 years since it last erupted.” The magma dome on Alaska’s Cleveland volcano is growing, and the worst case scenario of La Palma in the Canary Islands shows growing quake swarm.

Things are falling apart. There is no other way to say it. Things and coming apart politically, economically, financially, and naturally. This is by God’s design. He allows sin to take its natural course, and that always means degradation of all things. Satan is in charge of this world and that means that evil reigns. God impacts the world at His decision and in His way and that means disruption of all humans systems. Why? because God is a Big Ole Meanie? No. Because His ways are best and ours are not. Because He has told us righteous ways of living and proper governments and we fail because we are sinful.

The things will fall apart and He will allow it because in the end, the government is on His shoulders. “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

“Politics and government. We seem to see them as necessary evils, bringing frustration in the present but still giving us hope for the future. Our contradictory attitudes about politics are revealing. We recognize the failure of human solutions, but at the same time we know something must be done to fix what’s broken in the world. What man can’t do, God has done; He’s given the Messiah.”

“The government will rest on His shoulders” affirms His lordship. This verse looks to a time still future when Christ will reign over a literal, earthly, geopolitical kingdom that encompasses all the kingdoms and governments of the world (cf. Daniel 2:44; Zechariah 14:9).

“In that day, the government of the whole world will rest on His shoulders. But until that time, His kingdom is in an invisible form (cf. Luke 17:20-21). The Messiah’s rule is over those who trust Him and obey Him as Lord. It’s currently an invisible kingdom, but will one day become visible and universal as His rule extends even over those who do not acknowledge His lordship in their hearts.”(source)

That time is fast approaching. I see it coming and I know the Lord is my friend. Is He your friend, or your enemy? Will He usher you into His kingdom and welcome you to His government? Or will He banish you into oblivion as an enemy? He leaves the choice up to you.
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Posted in end time, hell, judgment, sins

God is gracious, He won’t chase you forever

Posted on by elizabethprata

Did you know that you already know about God? That you have known about God since you were small? Yes, you have! God put knowledge of Him inside us all. “Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” We have a God-intuition, a sensitivity to a higher being that He puts within us, and goes a step further, and makes it evident.

He also makes Himself known another way, as well.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

What the verse is saying is that God’s attributes of creativity, intelligence, and love in preparing for us such a beautiful planet to live on are clearly seen simply by looking around. The verse also says that no one will have an excuse because it is so clear that God made the world.

He made this place for us, He loves us, and He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through Jesus, and be made righteous. He does not like it when you know all this, and you deny Him anyway.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18)

But wait! There’s more! He draw us to Him, too!! “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32). What He is saying here is that “After I shall have died and risen again, by the preaching of my word and the influence of my Spirit, I shall attract and illuminate both Jews and Gentiles.”

“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

When men suppress this knowledge, His wrath is revealed. Why? Because He also draws us to Himself, as well. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44). It takes work to suppress all this knowledge. It is hard to blot out the knowledge intrinsic within us, and external to us, and is being used to draw us to Him as well. Therefore those who suppress it, earn His wrath.

Wow. He goes to lengths and extremes to ensure that all people on earth have an equal chance to respond to Him. However, we know that some reject. Those who continually reject Him don’t have a lifetime to keep their option open. At some point it closes. Then He hardens your heart against Him.

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” (Romans 9:17-18)

He also gives you over to your preferences, whichever sin it is that you are indulging in besides repenting and turning to Him. When you persist in remaining in your sin, after an unknown period of time, He lets you remain in them and refrains from drawing you to Him any longer. See the following block of text from Romans 1:21-28:

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”

Three times it says that God gave them over. He gives you over to your lusts, your degrading passions, and/or your depraved mind.

Let’s use an earthly metaphor to make this initial pass at understanding the concept of hardening your heart and giving you over.

When you send in a resume for a job, and the prospective employer likes you, he calls you to set up an interview. If you receive the message on your machine, and ignore it, the prospective employer may become perplexed but if he is really interested in hiring you he may call you again. If you ignore his message a second time, how many more times do you think he will call you back? None? Likely. Even if he calls a third time and you exhibit no interest, it is more than probable that your prospects for employment in that company are now nil. And that’s OK. That is normal, and we give no quarrel to the employer because the lack of interest on the part of the potential employee was so firmly demonstrated.

Let’s say you had a date. You thought it went well, and you called back for a second date. But you do not receive a response. You may try again, and possibly again. How many times, really, will you continue to call, asking for a second date? Three? Four? Too many times and we’d likely call the police and resister a complaint for stalking. So it is normal to quit calling after one or two or possibly three tries.

So why do we charge God with abnormal behavior when He stops calling at the door of our hearts after a lifetime, decades of rejection? He instills within our hearts knowledge of Him, He imbues into the world knowledge of His attributes, and then He draws us to Him…over and over through the course of years. He goes the distance. We have no quarrel with Him when in His sovereign knowledge and power He decides to harden whom He will harden.

When you continually reject Him you run the risk of being given over to your sins, or having your heart hardened. As Barnes Notes says, “None can come at first, unless he be drawn by the Father; and none can continue, unless he continue under those sacred influences which God gives only to those who do not receive his first graces in vain.”

Are you failing to receive His graces? Do not think in your narcissism that God is a doormat beholden to pursuing you your whole life. He isn’t and He won’t. The problem is, we don’t know when the moment comes for each person who has rejected Him. I implore you not to take a chance. Don’t put it off until tomorrow. Your death may come. Therefore you should “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). In other words, sooner rather than later. The risk is too great.

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

The call to your heart is ringing now. Answer it. Please.
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Posted in 9/11, bible jesus, end time, repent

The day the tower fell

Posted on by elizabethprata

There was a recent event that was much on everyone’s mind. A tower fell suddenly, killing many. It was unexpected and shocked the neighboring counties to the core. The first chance they got, they put the question to the highest authority they could find, and the question was, were those who were killed deserving of such a death?

The tower was the tower of Siloam, and 18 were killed. The question was posed to Jesus. Here is His answer–

Luke 13:1-9- Call to Repent

“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Matthew Henry says, “Mention was made to Christ of the death of some Galileans. This tragical story is briefly related here, and is not met with in any historians. In Christ’s reply he spoke of another event, which, like it, gave an instance of people taken away by sudden death. Towers, that are built for safety, often prove to be men’s destruction. He cautioned his hearers not to blame great sufferers, as if they were therefore to be accounted great sinners. As no place or employment can secure from the stroke of death, we should consider the sudden removals of others as warnings to ourselves. On these accounts Christ founded a call to repentance. The same Jesus that bids us repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, bids us repent, for otherwise we shall perish.”

The verses continue,

“And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

A warning indeed. Is the Lord giving us ‘one more year’? A tiny season further to produce fruit? Is He waiting even now, but has determined to cut the time off if there is not any to bear? “Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” (Ecc 9:12).

This summary of the verse from Wikipedia of all places, says, “In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus mentioned the tragedy when he was told about some Galilean insurgents who were killed by the Romans. Those who told Jesus this may have expected him to say that their deaths were punishment for their rebellious and belligerent behavior. Yet, in mentioning the collapse of the tower of Siloam, Jesus taught that death can come upon anyone, regardless of how sinful they are. He went on to teach that the need for all people to repent is the true lesson from such tragedies.”

The wages of sin is death. That is why 9/11 happened. Because our default condition is evil and deceitful. We do not ask why this happened but should instead ask why does this not happen every day? Why are we protected to the extent that we are? Why should we enjoy pleasures and grace and His creation for one moment longer than we do? The Vineyard-keeper waits patiently for fruit, for growth, but oft times there isn’t any. We praise Him that He has not yet said ‘cut it down!’

One day the moment will come when He closes the church age and He calls His bride to Him for the consummation of the age. The vines will be cut down. The fig tree will be cut down. But He has promised a remnant. His people will be the stump and from that the Holy Seed will emerge. (Isaiah 6:13)

I read of an article about the one American who was off the planet on the 9/11/01 terror day. He took a photo of the tower in what they have come to believe is the moment it fell.

Remembering 9/11, Astronaut’s painful view from space

Is this what God saw when He looked down? A tiny planet, filled with teeming humanity, some his enemies and some His friends, killing each other in a false god’s name? But all of whom He loves?

Is this what God saw when He looked down at the moment His Son died, shedding a tear, as so evocatively portrayed in the Passion of the Christ movie?

Is my neighbor a worse culprit than me? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The warning is of repentance, and that by faith through Him no tower will ever be necessary in your life again. Why? HE IS THE TOWER.

“The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:3)

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10).

Be safe in your eternal destiny, and repent.
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Posted in 9/11, bible jesus, evil, prophecy

9/11

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was in my newspaper office. Tuesday is a big paper day, we go to print Wednesday morning. I rented the office from my friend who lived a big farmhouse, and she called me from her living room. I thought it was unusual that she phoned, being just a few feet away from me in the same building. But her voice evaporated all other thoughts. She said quietly but with fervor, “COME HERE NOW”.

The first plane had just hit the twin tower in NY. We watched with eyes open, breathing shallowly, standing with arms numbly at our sides…until the second plane hit at 9:03. Our eyes locked together, and we knew without saying a word that this was an attack. We also knew that nothing would ever be the same. We watched until another plane hit the Pentagon 34 minutes later. It felt like the world was coming to an end. It really did. We thought the world was ending. A knot was in my stomach and coherent thoughts refused to form in my head. We got our purses and the first thing we did was walk across the street to the hardware store and we bought the biggest flag they had. We went back to the office and put it up. Then we went to the bank to get money. Cash was going to be important if the electricity went out or we were ordered to evacuate. We didn’t know what was coming next and we wanted to be prepared. It could have been a nuke coming next, for all we knew. At the bank, they had the TV on in the break room with the door open and the volume up so customers could hear what was going on. A fourth plane had just gone down in PA. We saw the smoking crater. We knew that plane was part of whatever was happening.

We resolved that our freedom was under attack. Running a newspaper which reported the news and offered a platform for the people to speak their thoughts on any political or civic matter freely, we decided our most patriotic thing we could do to support the Constitution that day was to get the paper out. The terrorists were not going to stop the presses. They were not going to stop freedom from ringing out. And that is what we did.

Churches were full that Sunday, though a bit less full the following Sunday. By about four slim weeks, churches were back to their spotty attendance. Why is this? Why do people fly planes into buildings and kill others? Why is there murder? Why is there war? Why are there conflicts at every level? Because man is inherently wicked. Our hearts are evil above all things, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). Because man is basically evil. If we didn’t have laws and limits we would be killing each other at every moment.

Jesus is the hope we have to become good. Not on our own merits. We do not become good through our own efforts. No, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone.” It is not a popular thing to say, that we are not good, but we are not. [Click on the link for John MacArthur’s sermon the Sunday after 9/11/01 as he takes us through a biblical understanding of death, terrorism, and the Middle East]

I thank Jesus that He poured out His life so that we may live…and become righteous. “It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Even at that, our fleshly lives on earth are a struggle, a struggle against sin and growth in righteousness. I long for the day when flesh shall be glorified and sin shall be banished.

So people are evil, and we struggle against our nature. We want what we want and we sometimes terrorize or go to war to get it. Such will be the way, until the end. The end that comes before the beginning!

In the meantime, as we watch the death throes of this old world (which means the birth of the Glorious World!)…we mourn but also we love our nation America.

The song you are about to listen to is from a Las Vegas Diamond Rio concert. They received an immediate resounding standing ovation, and continue to do so every time they perform it!

Here in America, In God We STILL Trust:

The photo below has a wonderful story behind it. Please click on the link to read about the “Photo of eagle on Fort Snelling gravestone touches hearts, goes viral”

Minneapolis Star-Tribune story of the photo here

On the day of 9/11 there were people trapped above the strike zones who thought it would be preferable to hurl themselves out the shattered windows of the twin towers rather than burn to death. One photo in particular caught the world’s attention. It is called “Falling Man” and it seems that his graceful swan dive plummet was poignant in the extreme. Here is the back-story of that photo.

Five months after 9/11 the Superbowl came along, just as it always does. The Superbowl is noted for artful, funny, or avante garde commercial debuts, due to the high viewership of the game. Budweiser showed a commercial called “Respect” and showed it only once, then until now. Thanks to Youtube, the ad has resurfaced. It is sure to bring a tear to your eye. We remember American greatness, American products, American ways.

Jesus will return in glory with His glorified saints. He will institute new nations and new cities populated by sinless resurrected chosen ones. There will be no more war because our hearts will be made right with Him. There will be no more terror because we will want nothing, having been given it all by our Savior. If you bow low to the Savior, He will lift you up high. Please do it soon.
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Posted in san diego power outage

Massive power outage: San Diego is dark- UPDATED (Again)

Posted on by elizabethprata

3 million people are without power right now in San Diego. UPDATE: the outage widens, Widespread power outage reported in Southwest, affecting much of S. California, parts of SW Arizona; includes Phoenix and Northern Baja Mexico.

The officials are finally getting a handle on it:
A massive power outage hit San Diego County around 3:35 p.m. Thursday, and was felt from south Orange County to Arizona and Tijuana, halting phone service as well as radio transmissions. On one of the hottest days of the year, some 1.4 million customers were without electricity, according to a spokesman for San Diego Gas & Electric Co. An SDG &E spokesman said just before 5 p.m. that the outage could last into Friday after a “large switching station” in Arizona was knocked out. A “cascading event” overwhelmed the system, leading to “too many outages in too many places,” he said at SDG&E headquarters. The Escondido and Otay Mesa power plants were to be brought online first, “working from the inside out.”

“This was a fairly severe event,” SDG&E said at its Kearny Mesa base. This could be an extended outage, the spokesman said. “Just chill out while the power is out,” he said. He urged people to turn their air conditioning off in anticipation of the power being restored. SDG& E said it would post updates on Twitter at twitter.com/sdge. “We don’t know what happened to the line, all we know is that the line is out. We don’t know exactly why it went out. We have no indication that there is an act of terrorism at this time.”

“A ham radio operator told KOGO radio at 4:40 p.m. that the Coachella and Salton Sea power plants have gone down. No confirmation yet from officials. The San Diego Office of Emergency Services told KOGO radio that residents shouldn’t use landline phones or cell phones. Traffic accidents were reported in the Mission Valley area, and major backups were reported on local freeways as offices emptied early. Many radio stations are out, but KOGO said it was running on a generator. Los Angeles is not affected. All three trolley lines are reported halted. Lindbergh Field halted departures but not arrivals. San Diego State University shut down.”
——————————————

I’m hearing that the power is out in ALL of San Diego all the way to the border of Mexico and even some parts of Orange County…Reports coming in via @nbcsandiego that ALL San Diego Gas and Electric customers do not have power at this time. And no cell phones either. Our national grid is soooo vulnerable. No matter what the cause, whether terrorism or EMP natural cause such as a storm, it is still bad that an entire city and all the counties in between down to Mexico are in the dark.

News from Twitter:

RSF_Fire Rancho Santa Fe Fire
There is a massive power outage affecting most of San Diego County. We have no further information at this time but will provide updates.

SanDiego6 San Diego 6 News
Message from San Diego Fire Rescue to residents in San Diego: Don’t leave home if you don’t have to. Don’t call 911 for information.

ReadySanDiego Ready San Diego
All San Diego County residents please stay off your landlines and cell phones unless it is an emergency. Use text messages instead.

From SignOnSanDiego News:
“Power outages have been reported across San Diego County, from San Marcos to San Carlos, including much of the city of San Diego. A San Diego Gas & Electric Co. spokesman said utility officials were trying to determine the source and extent of the outage.” News 10 does not have much more info, here is a link
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Posted in jesus, prophecy

Atheists are gonna get religion

Posted on by elizabethprata

They’re going to get religion, and in a big way, too. Soon and very soon, after the rapture, the Antichrist is going to come forward, and the whole world will follow him. (Rev 13:3).

The. Whole. World. Christians won’t be fooled, of course, the ones left behind and converted to the Truth post-rapture. The Light will have opened their minds and they will have full faith in Jesus.

But the rest of the world whose minds are now and will still be blinded by satan (2 Cor 4:4), whose minds are closed, and who have the spirit of antichrist in them (1 John 4:3), they will follow the Beast. They will worship. They will be agog, mouths open, astonished at his seeming power, and they will cave. Atheists too, cave right in like big poofy marshmallows. All the supercilious, condescending reasoning they put forth as their foundation for refusing to believe they ever do anything wrong, that is, sin, will fall away at the first false miracle the Beast fools them with.

There is a reason they will follow the Beast. Because Jesus convicts us of our sins, people who are not saved writhe against this conviction. Here is what the bible says about it:

“And this is the condemnation: Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19-20).

The world, including atheists, will follow the beast because their minds are already blinded and in witnessing a few false miracles (2 Thess 2:9) they will have their “proof.” They will have their “evidence.” And best of all, this (false) messiah will not convict anyone of their sins. He will not even mention sins! It will be a sin-free, do as you please, go for it kind of religion. The Beast will even blaspheme God (Rev 13:5) and that will tickle the people even more. ‘Now here’s a god we can get behind!’ they will say.

So who is this Beast that they will follow?

He is known as the Antichrist, but he has many more names than that. As I mentioned, Beast is one (Rev 11:7), and it is one that is used more frequently in the bible than any other. About thirty times in Revelation the antichrist is called the Beast. It is nomenclature that is in Revelation for a reason. It is evocative of the thorough nature of the man. The synonyms for beast which is defined as crude, savage person, is “animal, beast, cannibal, creature, critter, degenerate, devil, fiend, lout, monster, ogre, ruffian, sadist, savage, swine, wild animal.” Pretty well sums up the guy.

And make no mistake, the antichrist is a man. One person. Other names he is called, from the Old Testament are Man of Perdition, The Lawless One, The Assyrian, and many other names. (2 Thess 2:8, Isaiah 10:5; 12 etc).

The attributes of the antichrist are of interest as much as his many names. Foremost, the coming antichrist will be proud. The world hates the meek, the humble, and they will exalt the antichrist for his proud words. The antichrist will exalt himself even more. (Dan 11:36; 2 Thess 2:3-4). He will speak great things and swelling flatteries. The people will buy it. Rev. 13:5,6; Dan. 7:8,25). So he will be proud and a blasphemer, his name suggests he will be vicious and brutal. He will also be skilled in flattery, ambiguous speech, and in intrigue (Dan 8:23).

All this is coming. Of the people who fall for his lies, they will be thrown in the lake of fire in the end, where the worm does not die and they will be looked upon with contempt by one and all. (Dan 12:2; Rev 14:11).

But you can have hope! You can always have hope in the glorious light. God’s good guidance is Light itself. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalms 27:1). In Him there is no darkness at all! (1 John 1:5). Do you wonder why you’re never satisfied, despite having a good job, a good hobby, good children, good everything? You wonder why you still feel empty? That emptiness is where Jesus wants to fill you with His Light, waiting to pierce the blind darkness of your mind and blast away the heavy crust of sin that imprisons you. Admit you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive them. Make Him your LORD. He is the Dove, not the Beast. His yoke is gentle. (Mt 11:30). “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 1:29)
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Posted in end time, israel, prophecy, turkey

"Turkey is No Longer a Friend of Israel" Says President of Turkey

Posted on by elizabethprata

Well. My previous post on Israel and Turkey became outdated almost immediately, like, in three minutes. I had mentioned that Turkish-Israeli relationship was deteriorating fast. A series of moves an comments over the last four days by Turkey indicated that their relationship was headed south. We know that the bible says in the end the two will be enemies. Turkey joins with other countries to attack Israel in the Gog-Magog battle. Ezekiel 38-39)

Now, Euronews reports the President of Turkey saying that his nation and Israel “are no longer friends.” This Euronews interview began with the contextual comment that “Turkey is transforming and developing economic and diplomatic relations with its neighbors, prompting many to talk of an axis shift. The Turkish President sat down for a candid interview with Euronews as to where the country might be heading next.”

The President emphasizes that he is leading his nation toward opening up relations with many, instead of being a dead end, Turkey is now more of a crossroads. Except, that is, Israel, I note. Turkey withdrew diplomats from Israel and has adopted a harsh stance in the last few days, In this interview, the President flatly admits that any friendship between Turkey and Israel is over. So the crossroads does not extend to Jerusalem, apparently.

When the interviewer asks the Turkish President about the Gaza Flotilla incident with Israel last year, he admitted that the incident irrevocably harmed their relationship. This admission comes at about 4:16. The interviewer follows up with the question, “Is Turkey’s friendship with Israel over?” and the President says, “Absolutely. Israel has lost the friendship of Turkey and of Turkish citizens.”

Here is the video if you want to watch yourself. It is interesting. The interviewer goes on with asking Turkey about Iran’s nuclear activity.

Turkey has the second largest military in NATO, after the US. Israel is not part of NATO. Things are lining up, folks.
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