Posted in end of days. prophecy, gog magog, gray whale Israel coast, turkey

Turkey-Israel relationship deteriorating

Anyone who reads the bible knows the end from the beginning. In many cases we don’t know how the LORD will perform a certain thing that is prophesied to come to pass, but we know it will, because He said it will. In other cases, we do know how, we know who, and we even have a general time frame when.

For example, we know that Israel and Turkey will wind up enemies. In Ezekiel 38-39 it is prophesied that Turkey will be an aggressor against Israel, along with Russia, Armenia, Iran, Libya, Sudan and others. (Ez 38:3-6). They attack Israel. It is a surprise attack, at a moment when Israel thinks she can let down her guard. (Ez 38:11). Therefore it is especially devastating, and Israel almost loses the battle. But the LORD intervenes personally and Israel is saved. The world knows it is the LORD’s power that defeated Israel’s enemies, and not anything else. (Ez 38:22-23; Ez 39:6)

So over the last decade as Turkey had moved to a more democratic and less Muslim form of government and civic outlook, and seemed to be gravitating to the West in their persistent requests to become part of the EU, people who study prophecy knew that it would not last. We just did not know when the relationship would dissipate into a downward spiral of mistrust and hatred. It seems that that time is now.

Just before the Labor Day weekend, Turkey recalled its Ambassador from Turkey and began to engage in a diplomatic cold war. Arutz Sheva reports:

“Turkey Declares Diplomatic Cold War on Israel“
“Turkey has unofficially declared a diplomatic cold war, recalling its ambassador and threatening to charge Israel in the International Court. Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Friday that Ankara was not only recalling its ambassador but also “will reduce its level of diplomatic representation in Israel to that of second secretary, a lower rank than consul. … Turkey is suspending all military agreements with Israel…”

The split has begun. Even more dramatic, was two days later when Turkey shockingly harassed incoming Israelis at the airport. Yedioth News reports,

“Israelis held in Istanbul airport“
About 40 Israeli passengers on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul were held for several hours by local police on Monday after their passports had been taken away from them. The passengers said that the Turkish police officers were disrespectful, claiming that such an incident was unprecedented. “I think that the police officers didn’t even know what they were looking for,” one of the passengers told Ynet. “They apparently got an order to detain us, one by one. Everyone was in shock; we didn’t know what they were going to do to us. Obviously this was done intentionally in order to create an unpleasant feeling.”

In addition to personally harassing Israelis, the Turkish government decided to harass Israel militarily, also.

Turkey navy to escort aid ships to Palestinians in Gaza
Turkish officials tell Hurriyet Daily News that Turkish navy will strengthen presence in eastern Mediterranean Sea to stop Israeli ‘bullying’.

In an even more provoking mood, Turkey is planning to visit Egypt, but to also visit the Gaza Strip. This is one step too far, as Israel is concerned.

‘Erdogan visit to Gaza would hurt Turkey-US ties’
“A senior Israeli official on Sunday warned that it would be a diplomatic mistake for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit the Gaza Strip as reports in the Turkish and Arab media suggested he was considering doing. The Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on Sunday that Erdogan will pay a two-day visit to Egypt beginning September 12 and may subsequently cross the border into the Gaza Strip. … Turkish Deputy Premier Bulent Arinc stated that the visit was expected to produce important decisions reflecting the strength of relations between Turkey and Egypt.”

And today, the Washington Post wonders, “Turkey and Israel: Can they repair the relationship?“

They sum up, “With Erdogan in charge, a return to the good old days is highly unlikely. But Turkey, for now at least, needs to perform a balancing act — remaining on good terms with the United States, feeding its domestic audience a steady diet of anti-Zionist rhetoric and not entirely jettisoning the relationship with the Jewish state. With Syria’s Bashar al-Assad under siege and the rest of the Middle East convulsed in turmoil, Turkey may find it unwise to sulk for too long. Who knows which of Ankara’s allies will survive? Perhaps cooler heads and a desire to keep at least one foot firmly planted in the West will temper the Turks’ response.”

Hope springs eternal, doesn’t it? I hope that the people in these nations will find peace, I pray that they do. But any lull or temporary softening of the harsh stances will be short lived, because we know the end from the beginning.

Egypt suffers dreadful losses during the Tribulation, and a final defeat as a nation by Israel. (Isaiah 19:16-17). However, the LORD blesses Egypt at the beginning of the Millennium, along with Israel and Assyria. Egypt turns to the LORD en masse. They still must endure a 40 year desolation, (Ezekiel 29:8-16) they are welcomed back to the LORD after that.

Turkey does not fare as well. At the Gog-Magog battle, “I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him.”

The above articles all happened within the last few days. The relationship between Turkey and Israel is devolving fast. Hopefully the rapture is right behind.
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Posted in earthquakes, end of days. prophecy, end time

Updated earthquake data. Lots more quakes in the last two weeks since last update

A major quake at Sumatra Indonesia just now…

Average amounts of quakes in the 6.0-6.9 magnitude range annually number 134 on average, according to the USGS statistics. I posted about the major quake at Vanuatu on Aug 20 and I’d updated the data through that date at that time. Through August 20 the USGS annual average for quakes in that magnitude range was already exceeded, the number of quakes in that range numbered 140:

Since Aug 20 through today, there have been ten more quakes in the 6.0-6.9 range. So the data after only 15 days is outdated again. With the 6.6 quake at Sumatra a few minutes ago, we now have had 150 this year considered ‘major quakes’.

Here is the updated chart through today, Sept 5, 2011.

Since Aug 20 there had been 11 quakes in the 7.0-7.9 range. The annual average is 14. In the last two weeks we have had three more, so we now equal the annual average. There is still a quarter of the year to go. With so many earthquakes over the last two weeks, is there any doubt that with a quarter of the year left to go that all averages will not only be be exceeded (which hey already are) but will be crushed? There is no doubt in my mind.
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Posted in bible jesus, faith

How to find faith?

If, as people say, ‘a god’ does exist, then it stands to reason He is far above us in ways and thoughts. And if He is far above us in ways and thoughts it stands to reason that He is perfectly holy, just, and wise.

It also stands to reason that if He is so far above us, then we are below Him in ways and thoughts and wisdom. We are not equals, that is for sure.

Now, the standout attribute of our God (not ‘a god’ for He is the only one) is that He is holy. Holiness is described as “A quality of perfection, sinlessness, and inability to sin that is possessed by God alone.”

What is it that makes Him holy and us not holy? Our sin. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that displeases God. Since we cannot go through life perfect, then we sin, and we displease God. Our sins keep us from having a relationship with Him. It’s like every sin we commit is a brick in a wall between us and Him. If we die with that wall there, it stays there for eternity and we have to go to hell and be separated from Him forever.

But He made a way for us, sinful though we are, to have a relationship with Him, and that is through His son Jesus. He said to His Son, (Hebrews 5:5; Psalm 2:7) ‘I am going to ask you to set aside your divinity, pour yourself into human flesh, and live a life on earth, be accused though you are sinless, and die a terrible death on the cross. Once your blood is shed, it will pay the debt humanity owes me for their sins and they will be covered.’ Jesus said ‘OK.’  After Jesus died on the cross and was buried, on the third day God made Him come to life again and He dwells with God in heaven, and welcomes believers home to Him when they die! (Hebrews 1:3) It’s just great.

What I just said is re-stated from Ephesians 2, also

All a person has to do to find faith is to believe that Jesus was and is the son of God, died for our sins, and rose to life again. If you believe that then by default you also believe that you know you’re a sinner and you ask Him to forgive the sins. Because His blood covers you, your confession and belief will enact your pardon. The wall will come down.

Jesus says that once you believe, THEN He makes all the truths of the bible come alive in your brain. The bible will no longer be a dry, dusty, incomprehensible book but the Living Word from a Living God who loves us. You know what else He does for us after a you believe? He sends the Holy Spirit to be inside us to help resist sinning. Oh, we still sin, we’re human after all. But the more we submit to the Spirit’s leading, the less we WANT to sin, and the more He helps us resist it. Like I said, it is a relationship.

For that relationship to begin, you must first understand that you sin. Do you believe this?

How can a person obtain faith? “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”—Romans 10:17. Charles Spurgeon preached on this topic, “How can I obtain faith?“. Click the link to read the whole sermon. He began with saying this:

“It is difficult to make men understand that the salvation of the gospel is not by works but entirely by grace, that it is not presented to men as the reward of their own endeavors, but is given to them freely upon their accepting it by an act of simple faith or trust in Jesus Christ.”

THAT’S IT!! That is all there is. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The Word has qualities to it that pierce biology, settle in the soul, inspire the spirit to truth and burst away refusals. Here is an example of this.

I teach first and second graders on Wednesday nights. We are going through Psalm 100. Psalm 100 begins:

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.”

I ask the kids to bring their bibles and we all open them to the page and we read it together, even if they can’t read, they have the bible open and in hand. After we read the Psalm, there were a couple of minutes of transition time when the other teachers were passing out stuff. One 2nd grade boy who was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of me kept reading the Psalm 100:1 over and over again. Then I heard him muse quietly aloud, “I like that. I don’t know why, but I like that.”

I know exactly what he means. I love that phraseology, too. There is something beautiful and soul-stirring about certain phrases in the Word. They are so soul stirring, a seven year old will be moved by it. He could not articulate why he liked it, it was beyond his cognition, beyond his ability to form into words, but his soul stretched out and embraced the words and they sustained him as soul-food before my very eyes.

Faith comes by hearing the Word. I hope you have enough of the Word in you to share it so that those who ask, and those even within ear-shot, will hear. “For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.” The Word is the axe that tears down the wall.
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Posted in iran, nuclear, quake swarm

Finishing my random dribs and drabs

Remember this week I posted about a mystery bubble cloud that freaked out the Beijing people who had witnessed it? It turns out a similar cloud had occurred over Hawaii in March and it started making the rounds on the internet in June. The astronomical observatory atop Mauna Kea caught it.

Some have proposed that it is atmospheric effect from an intercontinental ballistic missile’s fuel ejection. Others, that it is the remnant of a failing satellite crashing to earth. Who knows? That would make a lot of missiles being launched, though, if you ask me.

Did you know that there is an earthquake swarm going in in West Bohemia? It is at the German-Czech border and “the activity started in the evening of 23 August and is almost continuous till now. Almost 10,000 events were recorded in total up to now.  Already six Mgt 3.0 events and hundreds of Mgt 2.0 events occurred. To see location of epicenters visit the page “Map of actual earthquakes“.

And there is also a swarm going on in the Canary Islands, by the way, where the piece of land is hanging by a thread and if it slides into the sea the resulting tsunami could wipe out the east coast. I am not making this up, nor is it a conspiracy. It happened before. El Hierro reports, “The volcanic activity, principally at the convergence of the three ridges, resulted in the continual expansion of the island. A mere 50,000 years ago, as a result of seismic tremors which produced massive landslides, a giant piece of the island cracked off, crashed down into the ocean and scattered along the seabed. This landslide of more than 300km3 gave rise to the impressive amphitheatre of the El Golfo valley and at the same time caused a tsunami that most likely rose over 100 metres high and probably reached as far as the American coast.”

Maybe this is one of the ways that the prophecy “And all the islands flee away” will come true. (Rev 6:14; Rev 16:20)

620 Earthquakes Recorded On El Hierro In The Canary Islands
“The Canary Islands Government has said it is monitoring an earthquake swarm on the small island of El Hierro where in excess of 620 tremors of low magnitude have been recorded in the past week. Earthquakes, measuring between 1 and 3 on the Richter Scale, continued on Monday and more have been registered again on Tuesday. The majority of earthquakes are being recorded at a depth of between 5km and 15 km. The Ministry of Economy, Finance and Government Security Canary has convened the first ever meeting of the Steering Committee and Volcanic Monitoring, reflected in the Specific Plan Protection Civil and Emergency for Volcanic Risk, given what it described “the significant increase in seismic activity”. A statement (translated from Spanish) issued following the meeting outlined: “This committee met (Friday) at the headquarters of the Directorate General Security and Emergency Tenerife, established after the assessment of information gathered from seismic and volcanological last July 17 by the National Geographic Institute (IGN) and Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands, the situation is total normal for the green light for the information population, activating mechanisms for monitoring and oversight needed to coordinate the actions of self civil population and information contained in the Plan.” “According to data provided by the seismic monitoring station IGN’s located in Valverde, one can conclude that from the noon on July 17 there has been a significant increase of low magnitude seismic activity in the municipality of Border of the island of El Hierro.”

Huge waves are hitting the coast of California. This happens a lot, lol. What makes this series of storm waves from New Zealand unusual is that the waves are in the top ten percent of wave heights for his particular kind of weather system. “Collins said southern hemisphere storms routinely produced waves in California, but this latest one was in the top 10 percent of known waves.”

One surfer has already been killed. This news article shows a map of where the most dangerous waves and rip tides are occurring.

In ominous news, “Iran’s nuclear plant connects to electric grid, the country says“.
Iran says its Bushehr nuclear power plant is now online, making it the first Middle Eastern country to produce commercial electricity from atomic reactors. … “The announcement comes just two days after an IAEA report said Iran continues to defy U.N. resolutions aimed at curbing its nuclear program and cited increasing concerns it may be developing nuclear weapons.”

So Iran is finally nuclear. Not good.
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Posted in bible jesus, end of days, end time, prophecy

What is ‘the end time,’ exactly?

Here are a few random things I’ve been meaning to get to. First, some definitions.

I was writing the Prophecy Newsletter yesterday and explaining what the ‘end time’ is, and it occurred to me that it might be good to put on here too. The term comes from, in part, Matthew 24:1-8, when the Disciples asked Christ about the end of the age. They were sitting on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem at the time so Jesus’s answer, one of the longest He delivered anywhere in the New Testament, is called The Olivet Discourse. The NASB’s header to the beginning of His answer is:

Signs of Christ’s Return

“Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

So when the disciples came to Jesus when they were on the Mount of Olives, they asked him three things; when will You come, what will be the signs of Your coming, and what will be the signs of the end of the age? If Jesus’s answer in Matthew 24 was to be ONLY the time of the Tribulation, He would not have included the sign of the Temple being thrown down, something that happened about 40 years later. Matthew Henry commentary explains, “The prophecy first respects events near at hand, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ’s kingdom in the world; but it also looks to the general judgment; and toward the close, points more particularly to the latter.” This is because the end time is technically the time between His first coming (Ascension) and the Second Coming (Return). The prophecy as Henry says points particularly to the latter period because that is what birth pangs do. A woman does not feel the pangs throughout her entire pregnancy, but at the end when the birth is about to occur and gestation is over.

Now, there is “Day of the LORD” spoken of in the bible (1st use, Isaiah 2:12). Depending on the translation, it is mentioned between 23 and 27 times throughout the Old and New Testaments. Barnes Notes explains, “The Day of the Lord” is any day in which He avengeth sin, any day of Judgment.” However, all of human history is hurtling toward one particular Day of the Lord, the LAST DAY! God has judged many times in the past, in discrete moments, such as the earth swallowing Korah (Numbers 16:30-31), and in wide-open moments such as the Flood which swallowed the whole earth (Gen 7:6). But the Day of the LORD spoken of by the prophets in most cases refers to a 7-year period of judgment in which God will judge sin. It is also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). We get the word ‘Tribulation’ from Matthew 24:29-“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

There is also referred to the time of ‘distress.’ It’s from Daniel 12:1, the angel tells Daniel, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

There will come a moment when the LORD dissolves the world and heaven (2 Peter 3:10) and makes a new one (Rev 21:1, Isaiah 66:22).

So the end time is a long period of devolving creation that meets the time of tribulation and ends with the one moment the LORD dissolves the world and makes a new one. In very rough, general terms.

Since Jesus likened the time to a woman in birth pangs it is instructive to look closely at His analogy. The gestational period is long, but we can see by the baby bump outside the mother just how things are progressing. When the signs indicate that the gestation period is nearing the end, we expect other signs, such as the baby moving lower, and the water breaking. The actual birth begins when the labor pangs grow in intensity and frequency, but no birth can be timed exactly. Some women are in labor for a day, others for three days. So at all phases of the gestation, labor, and birth, we can see the signs but  not know the lengths of the periods it will take to complete. Even the last day, His Second Coming, will not be a day known in advance, but a day that no one knows the day nor hour. Only the general imminence.

As we see the signs grown in intensity and frequency, we wait for the water to break, which in my opinion, is the rapture. The sudden bursting-in of the LORD into this world and physically removing His church will be a dramatic moment in which all earth’s inhabitants will know something extraordinary has happened. After that, the events described in so many of our Old Testament and New Testament books will again alert the populace that something supernatural is happening. It will all happen faster and faster until the dramatic moment when the lights go out (Mt 24:29), and after an unknown period (Mt 24:36), likely a very short period, HE COMES to judge the earth.

So that’s the end time. Are you ready?
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Posted in new star, supernova

Witness a supernova tonight!

From EarthSky:

“On the weekend of September 3-4, 2011 – if you live in the northern hemisphere, and if you have patience and a good pair of binoculars – you’ll have an opportunity to witness what the ancients might have thought was a “new” star – a star that pops into view suddenly where no star was before. We today know it as an exploding star, or supernova. Astronomers believe it might become the brightest Type 1a supernova of the last 30 years.”

1. Which way do I look? The supernova – called Supernova 2011fe by astronomers – is located near the familiar Big Dipper pattern in our skies. At this time of year, the Big Dipper can be found in the northwestern sky in the hours after sunset.

2. What time of night? Don’t wait too late at night, or the Big Dipper will have set below your northwestern horizon.

3. How do I recognize the Big Dipper? The Big Dipper consists of seven fairly bright stars in a dipper pattern. Notice that the Dipper has two parts – a bowl and a handle.

4. How do I find the supernova in the Big Dipper? You want to be looking at the last two stars in the handle of the Dipper. These stars are Mizar and Alkaid. Pretend you are drawing an equilateral, or even-sided, triangle on the sky, using Mizar and Alkaid to mark two points of the triangle. The supernova will be located at the third point of your imaginary triangle.

5. Can I see the supernova with the eye alone? No. No one knows exactly how bright the supernova will get, but you’ll need binoculars or a small telescope to see it.

6. What will the supernova look like? The supernova will be seen in our sky superimposed on the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101). The supernova resides inside this galaxy. That’s why the chart above shows the site of the supernova as fuzzy. The galaxy is fuzzy. The supernova will look just like a star, like a pinpoint of light. The sky experts at Skyandtelescope.com say you’ll probably use the supernova to find the galaxy – not the galaxy to find the supernova. If your sky isn’t dark enough, both supernova and galaxy will be tough to spot.

7. What size binoculars do I need? You probably have a pair of 7X35 or 7X50 binoculars lying around your house. Will they be strong enough to see the supernova? The only way to know is to look. If you have larger binoculars, use them!

8. Can I use my telescope to see the supernova? Absolutely. Skyandtelescope.com says the supernova should be well within the limits for a 4-inch ‘scope – that’s a very small telescope.

9. Will I see the Pinwheel Galaxy behind the supernova? If you are looking in a very dark sky, you might see a wispy patch behind the supernova. That’s the galaxy! You’ll need a small telescope to see the galaxy well.

10. Can I see the supernova from my backyard? Maybe. A tip from veteran skywatchers: pack up a picnic supper, grab the family and head out to the country to see the supernova. State parks are a great place to set up. You’ll have a much better chance of seeing it, and you’ll enjoy the view so much more.

Astronomers say the supernova will remain visible with binoculars in our sky for about a week to 10 days – say, the first 10 days of September. Are they right? Only time will tell.
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Posted in bible jesus, chastity bono, chaz, God, homosexuality, transgender

Transgendered Chastity Bono and "Dancing with the Stars", God, and culture

Chaz. Chastity Bono. Sonny & Cher’s daughter…who chose to reject her biologically determined gender as a woman and surgically become a man.

Chastity as a child:

Chastity as a woman:

Chaz as a man:

Cher’s celebrity daughter was tapped to become a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, a long-running successful reality game show. The outcry was immediate. AFP reports, “The 42-year-old LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activist formerly known as Chastity Bono is the first transgender contestant on the US version of the globally popular reality television series. He’s the only child of entertainers Cher and the late Sonny Bono, and his debut on prime-time television comes hard on the heels of the release of his autobiography “Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man”. “I’m an activist, first and foremost,” said Bono when ABC television, part of the family-oriented Disney media empire, introduced its 12 couples who will tackle the tango, the foxtrot and samba when the series begins September 19. “I will look at this as just a wonderful opportunity to kind of bring my message to even more people than I’ve had the chance to.”

The backlash against this decision to place a transgendered person front and center in prime time apparently stunned Hollywood. There were immediately over 1000 comments on the show’s website. Most of the comments accused the show of pushing a homosexual agenda in prime time. Chastity’s eagerness to visibly tout his transgenderism as stated above belies the show’s denials of having an agenda. GLAAD also says that the inclusion of openly gay judge Carson Kressley and the lineup of dancers including Bono is a ‘major step forward.’ Step forard in what? In pushing the agenda. In this article, the show’s producers seek to address the backlash, unsuccessfully. One commenter said,

RACAsper said, “I fully respect ABC’s Freedom of Speech. They are free to choose whomever they want for whatever reasons they want. I am also free to turn off the show. I am free to state that I am tired of their never ending assault on moral values. I am tired of hastily flipping the channel when ABC and the other networks show a ferociously violent, sexually charged, or deviant clip from their latest show. They keep pushing the envelope and now they’ve gone too far in my book.”

Why is presenting gay, lesbian, and transgendered people ‘an agenda’? Because the attention paid to their agenda, or as it is defined, ‘set of goals of an ideological group’ is disproportionate to their population number. There are only 400,000 people in the United States who define themselves as biologically born in the “wrong” gender. The population in the US is 300 million.

More to the point, the issue isn’t just numerical, it is moral. People intuitively react negatively when confronted with the sexual sins of homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenderism, because they’re gross. They defy God’s plan. He foreknew each person He was going to make, and he formed us in the womb (Jer 1:5;  Psalm 139:13; Ephesians 2:10). He doesn’t make creative mistakes. If He knew us before He made us then He knew whether we were going to be a woman or a man. If we emerge from the womb and then grow with the mindful decision that we are not the gender we are then it is our mistake, not God’s.

This is not to take away a person’s pain as they grow and feel they are trapped in a wrong body. That struggle may indeed be real to them. But just as many people have struggles, such as unwanted sexual urges toward an opposite or the same gender, toward a desire for alcohol, or for material things that eventually swamp them (Hoarders) it just means they must work harder to resist these urges and wants. The flesh wants what it wants but that does not mean that it should get what it wants. People who succumb to these fleshly desires are to be looked on with compassion, for we all sin. But when looking upon these sins, we exclaim and cry out that God is not to be mocked, and the distortion of transgenderism is an affront to many people who love God and His sovereignty.

In old, staid Maine, a transgender argument is bubbling up now. A family who has a transgendered boy-to-girl is suing the public school system for denial of bathroom access.

The child, who is a twin, was said to have started playing with ‘girl things’ at age three. At age nine, he called himself a boy-girl. The next year, at age ten, he said he was a girl trapped in boy’s body. Eventually, the adjudicating panel ruled against the school district.

How does a child that young know what it feels like to be the wrong gender, or to know what is good for them? We don’t let a ten-year old cross the street by themselves, let alone decide to cross their gender! Allowing a child to distort their God-given biology is a recipe for disaster!

In this Bangor Daily News article accompanying the transgender article above, this doctor (who is the doctor for the aforementioned transgendered child), says “The attempted suicide rate for people who go untreated and unsupported is 45 percent. This population has one of the highest suicide rates of any population in the world. Once they walk in the door for treatment that kind of depression ends.” The implication is that because this small population of transgendered folks is so highly depressed, due to the denial of their expression of their switched gender, they commit suicide. Might I suggest the opposite: they are suicidal because they are living a life that is contrary to their intended gender and satan has instilled in them this dissatisfaction with God’s plan?

The article goes on to interview Dr. Scott Leibowitz, a psychiatrist at the Boston Gender Management Service Clinic. He says, “Gender identity typically is formed around age 3,” he said in a phone interview in August. “It usually presents when a child makes it known that how he or she expresses gender does not match society’s expectations of how that gender should behave.”

Society DOES have expectations of how a gender should behave, and that is for a reason. God’s reason. He made man to be have dominion over the animals, and to provide for the family. He made the woman to be the helper of the man in those endeavors, and to keep the home. He made children the product of their union. When someone chooses not to behave according to their God-given gender, society reacts negatively, and rightly so. As evidenced in the Chaz ‘Dancing With The Stars’ debacle, we are revolted.

In this Christianity Today article, “Peter Sprigg, Family Research Council (FRC) vice president for policy in Washington, D.C., says, “The pressure for acceptance is ultimately a challenge to the authority of Scripture and a violation of natural law. In the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender movement there is a tendency to continually push the envelope in trying to demand the acceptance of what most people perceive to be unusual behavior.”

“God planned for me to be a man before I had ever been created,” Jerry Leach, director of Reality Resources, a ministry in Lexington, Kentucky, to people dealing with gender confusion says. “There was not a woman inside my body longing to be expressed. There is no human condition outside the redemptive circle of God’s love and power.”

The question is often asked, ‘is homosexuality a greater sin than others?” It is answered in a Q&A session by John MacArthur this way:

“Categorically, no, and I’ll tell you why. Because when you have any listing of sins in the Scripture; for example, in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 6, he says in Verse 9, “Do not be deceived,” 1 Corinthians 6:9, “Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Categorically, you’ve got everything in the same list, … Some would even use those words to refer to people like transvestites or what are they are called today, transgender people, but when you look at a list like that, you see that they’re are all outside the kingdom, so, categorically, they’re all in the same situation. They’re defined by their sin. ”

Then he goes on to describe five kinds of wrath related to sin, especially the sin of homosexuality, and one of them is a kind of wrath that is the wrath of abandonment to a reprobate mind:

“Well, there are five kinds of wrath. There is eternal wrath. That’s hell. There is, I guess what we could call eschatological wrath or the wrath of the last days, the wrath described in Revelation 6 to 19 … so there is eternal wrath; there is eschatological wrath.”

“There is also what I could call cataclysmic wrath, the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, … and in history, God has judged whole civilizations through cataclysms that took unbelieving people and catapulted them into eternity, such as Pompeii, which was a city literally notorious for its vice, so you have eternal wrath; you have eschatological wrath; you have cataclysmic wrath.”

“Then you have what I would call natural wrath, and that is the wrath of God that comes in a sowing-and-reaping fashion. If you are a drunkard all your life, you may die of cirrhosis of the liver. If you live in sexual sin all your life, you may shorten your life and die of some venereal disease, including AIDS, so there are certain things built in. “Whatever a man sows, he reaps.” That’s another kind of wrath, but the wrath being spoken of here [of homosexuality] is the fifth kind. It’s the wrath of abandonment.”

“It is that judicial act of God, whereby He lets the sinner go. In other words, He stops convicting. He stops calling.” In other words, he gives them over to their reprobate mind, defined in today’s language as “to condemn strongly as unworthy, unacceptable, or evil”.

It seems to me that it is a terrible kind of wrath to be abandoned by God to one’s sin. There does come a time when He stops calling a person toward repentance, and there comes a time when he stops calling a nation toward repentance, too. As we see the warped agenda from a tiny minority of transgendered people has become loomingly disproportionate in secular culture, we must wonder how long the Lord will continue to bestow mercy and how soon He will give us over to our refusal to accept His ways.
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Posted in birth pangs, end of days. prophecy, end time, pre-tribulation rapture

Record shattering events continue to increase in economic damage and personal pain

The Weather Channel reports: “August 2011 set records in several locations for torrid heat, torrential rain and river flooding. You can thank, in part, an exceptional Plains drought and Hurricane Irene. Plotted on the clickable map below are locations that set notable records during the month. Sun icons denote heat records, rain icons denote rainfall records, wave icons denote flood records, and, oh yes, there was the strongest earthquake in the East since World War II also plotted.”

The costs of Hurricane Irene, which made landfall his week and raked up the eastern seaboard, may become one of the top ten most expensive natural disasters in US history.

The Weather Channel continues, “August 2011 continued a torrid, record-breaking summer in the Southern Plains, rewriting the record books in many parts of Texas, Oklahoma, as well as parts of Louisiana, Kansas, and New Mexico. Looking at the month’s temperature departures (i.e…how far above and below temperatures were compared to 30-year averages), your eye immediately is drawn to the “big red spot” in the Southern Plains. In fact, when grouping June-August together, called “meteorological summer” by us weather geeks, it was the hottest on record for many cities in Texas and Oklahoma.” Remember the tornado outbreak that razed parts of the US Plains, including Joplin MO? That occurred in May, just three months ago, but it seems like it was in a different epoch because so much has happened between then and now.

There are more graphics at the Weather Channel web page, hit the above links for more information. I think any person can see that the weather is going kerflooey and that the only debate among the lost is the source of the record shattering events. As I wrote earlier this week, some think the cause of our constant record-shattering weather is global warming, others think it is the approach of 2012 and a fulfillment of Mayan prophecy, but others know that it is God warning us. For Christians, there is no debate. We are nearing the end.

The Tribulation will be a time of even greater earthquakes (Rev 6:12), even worse floods (Rev 16:20), even more terrifying things than the UFO sightings, mystery bubble and other unsolved events. These events will be so terrifying that people will heave instant heart attacks just by experiencing them (Luke 21:6). There will be pain so bad that people will gnaw their tongues (Rev 16:10) and scream they wish to die, but they cannot (Rev 9:10). So now is the time of warnings, while we can still bear the events and have sentient thought.

I write the same thing over and over here on this blog, “God is warning us, are you ready to deal with your sin?” and I guess that is what a drum beat is. Sounding the alarm is not something you do once, but you do over and over until people pay attention. The Wall Street Journal made mention of that fact in their Hurricane Irene article this week, saying, “Steady Drumbeat of Hurricane Warning Finally Lulls City That Never Sleeps“

I pray that the steady drumbeat of God’s warnings will finally awaken many, to enjoy the peace that comes with reconciliation with Jesus as He forgives you of your sins when you confess. I don’t write of the terrible judgments to come because I enjoy it, but to show you the unalterable fact that they are coming, they will happen. If you think they are awful things, just wait until you are experiencing them, not just reading about them on some blog, or even better, in the bible. The Book of Revelation is not poetry, it is not allegory, it is not  a parable, it is a history told in advance. It will happen, just as all the events in the past the bible describes happened. It will be the most awful time on earth that ever was or will be (Matthew 24:21). The horror of the 7 year Tribulation is soon to arrive but Jesus made a way to escape the wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9), and that is by confessing you are a sinner in need of Jesus to forgive your sins.

When you are an unforgiven sinner, a wall is between you and Jesus, and that all becomes permanent at death. Don’t let that happen to you. I’ll re-use Mr Reagan’s famous line here: “Sinner, tear down that wall!!” Do so by clasping your hands and telling Jesus you know that you think, say, and do wrong things, and that you know these evil things are keeping you from a righteous relationship with Him. Ask Him to forgive you of these things, and He will. He will send the Holy Spirit to come into you to stand you up in righteousness and grow you in His likeness. As was tweeted this morning at the Truth Matters conference, “Unlike any other religion in the world, ours is a reconciling God. God is our Savior!”
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Posted in china, rapture

Why China is getting tough, and what it means for prophecy

Yesterday I read a good article in The Diplomat, an international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region. It offers analysis and commentary on events occurring in Asia and around the world, on Geo-political trends throughout the Asia-Pacific, defense and intelligence, environment, human security and development etc. The title is “Why China is Getting Tough” and offers an incisive analysis of the recent aggressive stance that China has adopted. They report, “In recent months, China has adopted an increasingly aggressive posture across the Asia-Pacific region – from provoking fights with neighbours in the South China Sea, to introducing provocative new military systems, to holding joint military exercises with Pakistan on India’s border. Why now?”

Good question. Why is China getting tough now? Several reasons. Remember, nature abhors a vacuum, and there does exist a vacuum in the Asia-Pacific theater.

“China’s regional environment has grown more accommodating this year as Japan and the United States have become increasingly unable to fulfil their traditional roles of balancing Chinese power in the Asia-Pacific. Tokyo’s troubles began when a number of public scandals led to growing dissatisfaction with the Kan administration.”

Second, “The onset of the Arab Spring, meanwhile, forced yet another US administration to turn its attention to the Middle East at the expense of the Asia-Pacific, a trend exacerbated by the decision to intervene militarily in Libya.” So the vacuum deepens…

Further, “Developments elsewhere in the region also seem to be working in China’s favour. For example, the so-called reset in US-Russia relations has steadily deteriorated in recent weeks… Despite stamping out calls for a Jasmine Revolution, the Chinese government continues to face an unsettling domestic situation…” and it is true that oppressive governments that face trying times at home often foment external situations to claim their attention and rally the populace, such as military incursions.

The article goes into good detail in a readable way, so I recommend reading the full article.

All this to say, that in the time of the end (The Tribulation) we know that the Kings of the East become a major military force. As Bible.org says so well, “One of the significant developments of the twentieth century is the political and military awakening of the Orient. The great nations of Asia east of the Euphrates River, slumbering for centuries, are now beginning to stir and to become a major factor in the international situation. The geographic immensity and the millions of humanity involved make it inevitable that any future development embracing the entire world must take the Orient into consideration.”

Israel and the Orient have had little dealings with each other. In fact, China and Japan and Korea were and still are in some cases very insular. It was quite a surprise in 1941 when Japan attacked us at Pearl Harbor. China, despire having ‘opened’ to the world recently, is still inscrutable. South Korea is a closed country.

Bible.org goes on to say “Two important passages in Revelation, namely, 9:13-21 and 16:12-16 contribute to the conclusion that one of the large armies employed in the final world conflict will be a military force of great power which comes from the Orient. The first intimation of this is found in Revelation 9 where it is recorded that John:

“heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates, And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them…” (verses 13-16). Though there were not two hundred million people on earth at John’s time, now China has two hundred million in their army.

The passage goes on to describe the character of this army and the conclusion that one-third of the men were killed in the resulting military struggle. “A later development in prophetic fulfillment is portrayed in the sixth vial described in Revelation 16:12-16. There it is recorded, “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared” (Revelation 16:12). Revelation 16:14 reveals that this movement is part of a world-wide gathering of “the kings of the earth and of the whole world” in order that they might participate in “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

Grant Phillips asks, “Are We in the Last Days?” “Some prophecies of the last days to consider in answering our question are weather patterns, the economy, society, placement of countries who will come against Israel, modern day technology that provides the means for fulfillment of end-time prophecies, but especially those concerning the State of Israel. In addition to all this though, the beginning Scripture passage of this article should answer this prevailing and burning question. Are we in the last days? If we are now seeing signs that are preparation indicators for the Tribulation, can the Tribulation be that far off? Since the Rapture precedes the Tribulation, then obviously it would be even closer.”

It is the $64,000 question. Actually, it is the priceless question. It is the eternal question. Get ready. He is coming, whether you are ready or not.
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Posted in fractals

Random this and that

I’m constantly amazed by Jesus. I feel such strong emotions while worshiping. I am amazed that the love of Jesus and from Jesus can be so universal, so powerful, and the desire to worship Him the best way I can is so permeating, that it transcends my very brain structure and pierces every biological limit. I feel sometimes that I love Him so much I am about to burst! I feel close to Him in a great and wonderful way.

I like to read a Pastor’s blog that has a goal of encouragement. It really does meet that goal every day, for me at least. He is a good writer and what he writes about is uplifting. It’s “Pastor Paul’s Blog” a pastor from LaSalle, Quebec, Canada. Yesterday he wrote about “Letting to of our victim mentality” and its main message was having strong faith and taking bold action on that faith, because Jesus is there to sustain us. The message reminded me of a person who always has the opposite message:opposite: Beth Moore, who is always telling us that we are victims. Victims of falling into pits. Victims of circumstance. Victims of our past. But I prefer the message of the Pastor who says that of anyone who could legitimately claim victimhood, Paul, when on the boat in the storm took such a bold stand for Jesus that the sailors on the ship cut away the lifeboat. They did not look at their past and moan about it. They did not look at the storm and cry about it. They looked past the storm, and chose to depend on the promises of Jesus. Now that’s strength!

I watched a documentary about Fractals last night on NOVA. It was pretty interesting. I remember when I used to subscribe to Smithsonian Magazine in the 1980s, the cover at one time featured this new geometry. I read the article bug didn’t understand it. I said to myself that someday I was going to study it again, and I guess that was last night. Fractals as I understand it, is a geometry that brings to visual life in this dimension the curvy geometry, as opposed to straight geometry such as Euclidean geometry. Of course, that is a gross oversimplification, but to add to the confusion, it also brings to life the half dimension. Fractal geometry isn’t 2 dimensional, or three dimensional, but somewhere in between. NOVA’s program description is “You may not know it, but fractals, like the air you breathe, are all around you. Their irregular, repeating shapes are found in cloud formations and tree limbs, in stalks of broccoli and craggy mountain ranges, even in the rhythm of the human heart. In this film, NOVA takes viewers on a fascinating quest with a group of maverick mathematicians determined to decipher the rules that govern fractal geometry. For centuries, fractal-like irregular shapes were considered beyond the boundaries of mathematical understanding. Now, mathematicians have finally begun mapping this uncharted territory. Their remarkable findings are deepening our understanding of nature and stimulating a new wave of scientific, medical, and artistic innovation stretching from the ecology of the rain forest to fashion design. The documentary highlights a host of filmmakers, fashion designers, physicians, and researchers who are using fractal geometry to innovate and inspire.”

If you zoom in on a fractal, it will look like the bigger fractal, and zoom in again, it will retain its look, and over and over and over, to infinity. Look for yourself, an interactive fractal zoomer widget, here at NOVA.

What I found interesting is that the pattern of branching in tree growth is similar all over the tree, and the pattern of trees in the forests as they grow replicates the same pattern as tree branch growth. Also interesting is that the closer you zoom in on a fractal, the more same it is. Fractals are repetitive, iterative, and, well, here is what NOVA explained: “Applying zoom-ins and different iterative prisms to the numbers in the boundary area of the Mandelbrot set has revealed that this region is a mathematical strange attractor. The “strange attractor” name here applies to the set because it is self-similar at many scales, is infinitely detailed, and attracts points (numbers) to certain recurrent behavior.”

In other words, the patterns in the numerical representation of the geometry of the fractal is orderly, and infinite. Just like God. his patterns at the visible level and the invisible level are magnificent. This orderliness did not come from chaos (like a “big Bang”). It came from an orderly mind. God’s orderly mind.

At school, I was walking down the hallway leading a group of kindergarten kids. One little guy fell down. I turned to see him getting up. I asked if he was all right, and he said that he was except his hand hurt a little. I said “How did you fall down, anyway?” He said, “Like this,” and proceeded to show me by falling down again. I laughed all day over that one.

At church tonight the kids were great. I am always astounded by how the kids have strong spiritual connection to the Truth. For example, I asked the kids to listen to Psalm 100. I re-read it, emphasizing all the words “His”. His gates, His people, His sheep, His pasture. I asked them what they thought about what I read. That’s all I said. Immediately one of the kids said, “Well, God made it all, so obviously, it’s all His.” These kids are seven years old.

We’re closing on on another day, if it not be the rapture tonight! Have a good one, and see you tomorrow!
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