Posted in bible jesus, prophecy, satan, slander

Satan’s merchandise: lies and gossip

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m in the midst of watching The Fuel Project, a series of short videos explaining the roots of satan’s evil and his influence in the form of all the false religions of the world from Genesis to Revelation when he is finally defeated.  Kim from The Mystery of the Ages sent it to me and I’ve watched 40 parts already and have found it to be interesting when describing the secular and biblically sound when referring to the bible.

In the first 7 parts, Satan’s fall is explained, why and how. The narrator focused on Ezekiel 28 and especially verse 16 to describe how satan convinced 1/3 of the angels to follow him into rebellion against a Holy God whom they personally knew and  worshiped. I’ve often wondered how angels who saw God’s power in the creation (Job 1:6-7) and who visited the throne room (Ex 37:9) could possibly follow satan? What did he tell them exactly to make them a better offer?? That is answered in Ezekiel 28:14-16 —

“You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned.”

The scene here is a prophecy against the King of Tyre. The previous chapter is spent lamenting the city of Tyre (Lebanon) and its earthly ruler. But as we know from so many examples and passages in the bible, satan is often the puppet master pulling the strings behind the power that is shown through the earthly ruler. The Prince of Persia is another example. Satan is the power behind the throne, so to speak, in many cases. He is the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), prince of the powers of the air (earth and near environs; Eph 6:12) and at one point remember, he offered Jesus every kingdom on earth (Mt 4:8-9).

In the Ezekiel chapter the scene sifts from the earthly ruler in the flesh (Prince of Tyre, ch. 27) to the supernatural power of the King of Tyre (satan, ch. 28). It is said that wickedness was found in him and through his “widespread trade” he was filled with violence. In this case, the widespread trade does not mean economic traffic. Does one believe there were shops in heaven, with checkouts and money exchanged? No, surely not! What would satan possess that would be better than hat the angels already had? No, instead, the phrase widespread trade comes from the Hebrew word r’kullah, the main word rakil, meaning slander.

Satan went on a whispering campaign against God, the same as he did later to Eve (“Hath God said? Genesis 3). he went around and around and around ceaselessly to the angels, whispering that God was a tyrant, He was egotistical, He was withholding from them the good stuff, whatever that was. With Eve we know satan insinuated God was withholding the knowledge of good and evil. Whatever satan said to the 1/3 of the heavenly host that ended up following satan, it was lies and we know that he was a liar from the beginning.

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44). Devil means slanderer.

Revelation 18:12-14 alludes to this satanic lying bill of merchandise. When Babylon the false economic system is fallen, satan is accused of trading in “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.” The last phrase, souls of men, is a merchandise not in the physical but in the celestial. A good, short study on ‘Satan’s Celestial Slander’ is from Dr. Richard Davidson from Andrews Theological Seminary (7th Day Adventist) here. If you want a thorough examination of the Hebrew word for merchandising used in this context of Ezekiel 28 and the wider exhortations in the bible not to be a slanderer, go here. (Truth Magazine).

A whispering campaign according to Wikipedia, is “A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them.” Whisper campaigns are considered unethical, but are used frequently in political campaigning as a strategy. If you apply all the corruption, lies, and unethical behavior from any current Presidential campaign in the US to satan’s original merchandising campaign of busily flitting from angel to angel, painting himself as the better candidate for God-hood, you have the idea of the meaning behind the Ezekiel verse and satan’s method of achieving it. No wonder there are so many prohibitions against slander in the bible!

Agostino Carracci, Whispering Angels

His relentless whispering campaign worked. A third of the angels were swayed, followed satan, and are now forever damned.

If you also put in your mind the energy expended in any political campaign, and think of the Ezekiel verse where the visual image is of satan going all around heaven whispering his bill of goods to the angels, several other scriptures come to mind.

Job 1:1 “The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Job: 2:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

Dan 12:4 “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.””

It is the eternal restlessness of a fallen angel, now a demon, who seeks his will above all and is relentless in stalking the world and its inhabitants. One of the names for satan is Beelzebub (Baal-zebub) and the entire name is Lord of the Flies and zebub means fly. This kind of fly is a hard-to-kill, strong and biting fly that lives entirely by sucking blood of cattle or people. It is the zebub and also known as tsetse fly in Africa. Satan was given that name because he was supposed to be able to be lord over these much-feared flies that caused destruction to cattle and sickness to people. It is one of the reasons God sent a plague of flies to Pharaoh, to show HIS mastery over the flies in the face of helpless false gods. This name was given to the god because he was supposed to be able to avert the plague of flies which in that region was to be feared.Flies never settle for very long Anyone who is not saved will feel that eternal restlessness n his spirit as well. Satan is truly Baal-zebub, Lord of the Flies.

That is satan, flying here and there, to and fro, roaming up and down, claiming blood from victims and buzzing in your ear. There are two lessons here. One: satan is relentless. Flies always come back to garbage no matter how often you swat them away. Second: satan’s lies are powerful. He cold sway angels who knew God in person, in heaven, for perhaps eons. Do you think he cannot sway you? I know he can sway me, if I let him. I use my flyswatter often: studying the Word. It is, after all, how Jesus rebuffed that pestilential fly, He repeated the Word back to satan in each temptation.

Jesus has won the victory. Satan is merely a created being who was completely crushed at the cross and only has been in his frenetic death throes this last 2000 years. But the time the Tribulation comes, he really panics, for he knows he has but a short time. (Rev 12:12). For us, though, beware slandering each other, engaging in ‘widespread trade.’ Do not be a fly, going here and there, whispering things that murder someone’s reputation. Certainly be sterling in all your communications about the LORD. Because His are perfect unto us! And that is a campaign worth participating in!






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Posted in forgiveness, resign, sexting, sin, weiner

Weiner to resign, but go easy on the chortles

Posted on by elizabethprata

NY Congressman Anthony Weiner is resigning today. I am glad for this.

Weiner has spent the last three weeks battling for his job, which is representing the people of his constituency. It might be said that he definitely failed the moral standard of proper representation. On May 27th, he posted a prurient photo of himself on his Twitter timeline, apparently making the mistake of publishing it to all 47,000 of his followers instead of to the young woman to whom it was intended privately. Oops.

Weiner’s first response was that his account had been hacked. Then attempts were made to shift the blame to “conservative bloggers.” Two days later, when reporters were pressing Weiner on the point, he refused to answer, even calling one reporter a ‘jackass.’ On June 1, Weiner went on national television and said that the photo was not of him. The boom was lowered on June 6th when Breitbart published more photos of Weiner sent to different women. He finally admitted that he did the deeds being reported. It turns out that he had contacted an underage girl, many times, and police investigated. A photo of his naked genitalia surfaced he’d sent to someone and was published on the web. He had sexted a porn star and then asked her to lie. Other women were coming forward to say that he sexted them also, one from the local area.

He said he had an “addiction.” His colleagues said he needed “help.”

The country was transfixed, giggling like junior high school boys and pointing fingers. An ethics investigation was ordered by the Speaker of the House. Allegations were made amid growing calls for a resignation.

Finally, three weeks after it began, it was over. Weiner quit today. Now he will return to the home that he shares with his pregnant wife, and try to pick up the pieces. All he ever knew was politics. No one knows what fallback plan Weiner has. I dare say, no one cares.

Let’s list the sins: adultery, lying, lewdness, profanity, abuse of power, child endangerment, dereliction of duty. Wow. That’s, that’s…just like a sinner. The default condition of all unsaved people is a sinful heart, mind, and soul. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. “[T]he mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Romans 8:6) and ““But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14).”

What are we to expect from one who is dead in his sins? It is struggle enough when we have the aid of the indwelling Holy Spirit to avoid sin, as Paul well knew. (Romans 7:14-25). Without the Holy Spirit there is no hope to avoid the ever deepening descent into the pit of sin.

One wonders about the coming tortured silences inside the Weiner home tonight, as his embarrassed wife, pregnant and bulging with their child, considers her options. Without Christ, there will be almost 100% certainty of a divorce, adding another sin to the pile. With Christ, it will be hard enough for that couple…and their child.

We know the famous line in the bible, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7). Even those of us who have the Spirit in us because we repented and were forgiven, are sinners. I don’t like what he did, not one bit. I was disgusted personally and embarrassed nationally. But there is a cure for the sin nature, we can be cleansed and made a new creature in His likeness. Having so recently been on the side of the reprobate mind, at open hostilities with the Lord, I remember well the perplexing and unwanted draw of sin for a season, so sweet at first then so bitter. Yes, Weiner needs help. Yes, he has an addiction. His addiction is to sin and satan, and the help he needs is Jesus. I pray that many will pray for him and not mock him. Let he and his wife be bathed in prayer and let those Gospel seeds take root in them for a magnificent regeneration.

As John Bradford sat in his Tower of London jail cell in 1553, a reformer against the Pope, he looked down at the courtyard and saw a prisoner going to his execution. He famously uttered, “There, but for the grace of God, goeth John Bradford.” That phrase is an idiom now, shortened to “There but for the grace of God, go I.” At one time we Christians were all in chains, all being led to the execution and death of our spirit. But for the Grace of God we all go. But it is His grace that saves us. I pray that the grace of God shines on Anthony Weiner, a flawed, sinning, reprobate person in need of Jesus’ intervention as much as we all do, and did. So go easy on the chortles, and pray for the man instead.






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Posted in earthquakes, earthquakes are increasing, prophecy, tornadoes increasing

Are the number of earthquakes going up, or not?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I like charts. I like graphs. I like the presentation of large quantities of data in visual form. It’s just neat.

But there is a danger in charts, numbers and statistics. You’ve heard the phrase, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” It was popularly attributed to Mark Twain. It’s a phrase “describing the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments, and the tendency of people to disparage statistics that do not support their positions. It is also sometimes colloquially used to doubt statistics used to prove an opponent’s point.” Says Wikipedia. Two people can use the same data to prove opposite points- if you are unscrupulous. And there are a lot of unscrupulous statisticians, governments, and officials these days.

I read about earthquakes and volcanoes and tornadoes and unemployment and I know from past experience having been a reporter, that it is always in the Officials’ best interest to hide, manipulate, and change data. Did you ever wonder why Educational Standardized tests were radically changed every few years? Because it is a general good statistics practice to keep the testing methods the same for at least three years so as to get a baseline. So quite often, the test is changed and in year four and you suddenly find you can’t compare apples to apples anymore and the data comparisons are tainted.

I also know of cases where the data being compared was deliberately manipulated. “They wouldn’t do that!” you gasp. I know. You’re shocked, shocked. But it happens all too frequently. As a matter of fact, data manipulation is usually the default these days. For example, a School Superintendent I know who worked far away and many years ago, was sharing the proposed budget for that year with the community. He had “helpfully” put the information in graphs, and comparing the graph of the last two years with this proposed year, the budget didn’t look like it was going up very much. But he had left out certain information and it turned out that the data being presented for the previous years was actually a combination of a decade while the data for that year as stand-alone. Or something like that. In any case, it was a pure manipulation, which as a reporter, I exposed.

John Williams is a statistician and an economist who got tired of the Government changing its presentations for Unemployment every few years. For example the unemployment numbers for last year suddenly didn’t include short-term discouraged unemployed anymore. Those millions of folks were just dropped off the counts. Of course this flattens the spike, and makes it appear that there are fewer unemployed than there are. In 1994, they dropped off long-term unemployed, as if they simply didn’t exist. Williams decided to calculate unemployment the same way they have always been calculated. His website states, “John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics” is an electronic newsletter service that exposes and analyzes flaws in current U.S. government economic data and reporting, as well as in certain private-sector numbers…” It is known locally as Shadow Stats.

When the United States Geological survey answers the question in April 2010, “Are there more earthquakes” this way, you just have to scratch your head: “China’s tragic magnitude 6.9 earthquake on April 13 and the recent devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Mexico, and elsewhere have many wondering if this earthquake activity is unusual. Scientists say 2010 is not showing signs of unusually high earthquake activity. …With six major earthquakes striking in the first four months of this year, 2010 is well within the normal range. Furthermore, from April 15, 2009, to April 14, 2010, there have been 18 major earthquakes, a number also well within the expected variation.” What USGS doesn’t say is that the yearly average of ‘major’ quakes (7.0 mag and above) according to their own data was already exceeded by that point. He was comparing apples to oranges by comparing annual averages to expected variations.

What I always do it go to the raw data. I compare apples to apples, meaning, I compare a decade’s worth of activity to a decade’s worth of activity. I am consistent in the way I count. I use official sources where possible. Where there is a baseline, or an average, I use that. And generally, the longer the trend, the more stable the data. Comparing 2009 and 2010 earthquake activity doesn’t tell you as much as if you compare ten years’ worth. That is why the USGS data is so valuable, it goes back 111 years.

I have personally read these excuses from officials in answering whether there are more quakes, or volcanic eruptions, or tornadoes:

“It only seems like there’s more tornadoes because there is a higher population in the Midwest than there used to be.”
“It only seems like there’s more earthquakes because there is an increase in instruments placed around the world.”
“It only seems like there are more volcanic eruptions because there are more people in the areas where volcanoes are.”

Naw, there’s more of everything. Here is data, by the numbers:

EARTHQUAKES (As of June 15, 2011)

Source United States Geological Survey. Click on table to enlarge. One thing to let you know: for EQ’s in the 6.0-6.9 range for 2011, I put it in red even though it hasn’t exceeded the yearly average yet, because I wanted to highlight that we are only halfway through this year but quakes in that magnitude range already exceed the number of quakes that size that occurred in ALL of 2001. Also that the quakes for that particular magnitude are running way above normal pace compared to the yearly averages.

TORNADOES (June 1, 2011)
I was pleased to see that someone at Weather Channel experienced in meteorology and tornadoes in particular, decided to just do some data counting and did it with integrity. This is a ten-year look at tornado averages and the comparison to this year is amazing. The resulting article shows that the number of tornadoes is wayyyy up.
Source, Weather Channel: “Expert Says 2011 Tornadoes 106% Above Average”

VOLCANOES (Dec 31, 2010)
Source Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program. As of Dec 31, 2010

Unemployment, from John Williams’ Shadow Government Stats (SGS)

John Williams’ explanation-

“The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers. The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the BLS broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment.”

 Bank failures 2007-2010, source FDIC

 The same data of bank failures but in a line chart. Just a different visual presentation

I guess the lesson here is that statistics can be massively manipulated. That the government isn’t telling us the truth about unemployment the economy, and the number of natural disasters. Just like the biblical Bereans, who were commended for checking the scriptures daily to see if these things were true, be a civic Berean and check the data yourself. In some of these cases, I literally and personally counted each item. Others, such as USGS earthquakes you can search by year and a total result would be given. Be diligent, suspect the government at all times, and be relieved that you know you can ALWAYS trust the Lord!

PS: you can use any of the charts. I’d appreciate a link back. If you use Shadow Stats’ unemployment chart you have to link back to ShadowStats.






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Posted in eclipses, prohecy

Eclipse! Darkest night in 100 years, blood red moon in OZ

Posted on by elizabethprata

Blood on the moon: 2011 Lunar Eclipse takes Oz
“The solar eclipse today may have already meant bad tidings for grounded Australian airport shut-ins. Ash from the Chilean volcano could turn the lunar eclipse blood-red in The Land Down Under, according to Australian scientists. The volcanic ash that has delayed hundreds of flights across Australia will provide midnight moon-watchers with an extraordinary view of the eclipse. Usually, dust and ash in the air turns lunar eclipses a copper color, but because of the excess of ash in the atmosphere over Australia due to Chile’s Puyehue volcano, the moon is expected to shine bright red. A popular superstition in both Australia and the United States holds that “blood on the moon” is a bad omen.”

Hmmm, not just copper, but blood red. “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” (Joel 2:31)

Joel’s blood red moon is an occurrence that will take place in the Tribulation, so today’s blood red moon does not have specific prophetic significance because we are not in the Tribulation yet. However, there are some prophetically interesting things about this lunar eclipse.

–It is one of four this year along with 2 solar eclipses. NASA explains “Four partial solar and two total lunar eclipses take place in 2011. This 4:2 combination of solar and lunar eclipses in a single year is rather rare.”

–It will be the longest lunar eclipse in a decade. NatGeo says “Rare” Lunar Eclipse Wednesday” (Longest in 100 years, as this newscast states) Eclipse to last nearly two hours and should be especially dark. “The path that the moon is taking through Earth’s shadow is almost directly through [the shadow’s] center, making for the longest possible path and so the longest duration,” said Ben Burress, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. “The last eclipse that was as long as this one was in 2000, while the next won’t be until 2018, so this makes it a somewhat rare event.”

–The eruption at Chile’s Puyehue volcano on June 4 is interrupting flights at New Zealand and Australia as the ash makes its way across the southern hemisphere. This will cause the moon to appear as blood red.

–Jesus told us that as we approach the Tribulation and then, throughout the Tribulation, the celestial bodies would be shaken. It stands to reason that the ‘rare’ number of eclipses, and the ‘rare’ length of the eclipse and the ‘rare’ blood-red and not copper color would be indicators of prophetic warning. He holds the celestial bodies in His hand,

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
      Before the difficult days come,
      And the years draw near when you say,
      “ I have no pleasure in them”:
        While the sun and the light,
      The moon and the stars,
      Are not darkened,
      And the clouds do not return after the rain;
        In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
      And the strong men bow down;
      When the grinders cease because they are few,
      And those that look through the windows grow dim;
 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed!
(Ecclesiastes 12:1-2;6)






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Posted in boise industrial park, china, end of days, kings of the east, prophecy

America’s light on the hill is going out part 3; Boise Idaho, China’s beachead in America

Posted on by elizabethprata

In part one of this series, I explained what hegemony is and demonstrated the decades of American hegemony and America’s influence in the world of business, finance, diplomacy, and economy. In part two I noted that American hegemony is in decline and showed the prophesies related to the rise of Asia in the last days. In this third and final part, I now show that today’s news is a strong indicator that the final days prophesies of the rise of the Orient are here.

America’s glory is fading because we fail to give glory to God

Der Spiegel, the German weekly, has an article outlining a mega-industrial park slated to be built in Boise, Idaho…by China. The Industrial park will be as large as Amsterdam and will have a special zoning attached to it. It will be a self-sustaining city, right down to its energy needs. I am not making this up. The article likens Boise as a Chinese “beachhead for America” and “establishing a foothold,” though the German article notes that the military-type idioms used by the Idaho Statesman newspaper regarding this project caused such an outcry that the newspaper online webpage took down the quotes. Here is an excerpt from the Google-translated article:

“When Americans speak of Boise, they think of potatoes, jazz and the hinterland. The provincial capital of the state of Idaho produces mostly messages of limited scope. But soon expected to make the city between Seattle and Salt Lake City big headlines. For Boise (pronounced Boisi) is facing a controversial career as China’s beachhead in America. The dimensions are enormous: around the factories in Boise is a complete technology zone planned to warehouses, wholesale centers, logistic hubs and entire neighborhoods with their own energy supply. It’s an economically self-sufficient city, an island with an area of ​​129 square kilometers. This corresponds to the size of Amsterdam. The leading local newspaper, the “Idaho Statesman,” is talk of a Chinese special economic zone on American soil.”

For the Chinese, it makes sense. Boise is the largest city between Seattle and Salt Lake. The plot of land upon which the industrial park will be built is just south of the Boise airport, which is only 45 minutes in air miles eastward of Seattle. The land values in Boise, however, make the 45 extra minutes of airtime extremely attractive.

On the American side, Idaho has a higher unemployment rate than the US National average of 9.1%, of 9.7%. People are broke. There is even a story in the Idaho Statesman that people are stealing newspapers to get the coupons. It is so sad that the same generation who had strength of will to oppose Russia and foment the collapse of Communism, is the one where we voluntarily gave up land for a Chinese beachhead to hasten our own downfall. Is it justice that where we once sought cheap land in hapless, economically deprived nations to make American clothing lines in sweatshops will now be done unto us? No, you say?

American constructions companies whose bosses are crying for lack of ability to feed their families will be only to happy to accept dollars from the Chinese to build an industrial park. Do you think the sub-contractors who need the orders will refuse to make the purchases? Do you think the people stealing newspapers so they can get the coupons will refuse to labor for the Chinese?

The Statesman quotes a local official on the project, saying ““I think China’s coming over here shows they are willing to collaborate on the reinvigoration of the American industrial base,” said Jeff Don, CEO of Eagle-based C3, which is acting as an Idaho representative for the Chinese company, called Sinomach for short.”

I think that the official has never heard of the Trojan Horse.

More to the point of the end times, though, in the days of the Tribulation, the Kings of the East are extremely active. They mount an army of incredible numbers.

“And the sixth angel sounded, and I 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.” (Revelation 9:13-16)

Perhaps the staging area and beachhead for this future campaign is helped along by labor and cheap land in the once powerful and shining America, whose light is slowly but surely winking out.






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Posted in china, end of days, end of days. prophecy, kings of the east

America’s light on the hill is going out; China in prophecy – part 2

Posted on by elizabethprata

Earlier today I wrote part one of the decline of America’s hegemony, and noted potential impacts from this decline in influence in all areas; diplomatic, cultural, economic, etc. It was a prescient piece. Today we read in the Financial Times of London,

“The global order fractures as American power declines” and it is the first time a Main Stream Media outlet has likened the US definitively to ancient Rome.

“Harold Macmillan, the prime minister who watched US power rise as the British empire crumbled, used to say that Britain would play ancient Greece to America’s Rome. These days it looks as if Rome is declining too. The US finds it increasingly hard to drive forward its vision of international trade and economics over the objections of big emerging-market countries. The Visigoths and the Vandals who sacked Rome and undermined its empire, though far more cultured and sophisticated than their popular reputation, were unable to replicate the Pax Romana order it had established. European territories previously under Roman rule fractured into an unstable array of weak kingdoms and embattled city-states. Similarly, the vacuum created today by the erosion of US hegemony and the turmoil in the eurozone is resulting in stasis rather than a new direction.” …

“Emerging markets talk in general terms of increasing their power in the [international monetary] fund. Yet votes and executive board seats are already being shifted – admittedly painfully slowly – away from Europe towards middle-income countries. Many emerging markets would prefer to remove the US’s veto power over important decisions by cutting its share of the vote to below 15 per cent but no credible voting formula has been or will be devised to achieve that. China’s diplomatic efforts within the IMF in recent years have largely been negative, trying to get it to pipe down about the renminbi. Doha is dying but the emerging markets at the centre of the talks – India, China and Brazil – have not sketched a replacement.”

Remember, nature abhors a vacuum. Soon there will be a replacement. It looks to me that China would be that replacement, given the influence that the Asian nations will have in the prophetic: In other words, the barbarians are at the gate and we are now the huddles masses cowering behind fortresses which are crumbling.

Here is a short study on China (Asian/Oriental nations) in prophecy. There is more to show you about China in current news, which I do in the final part of the series. Let’s get a background in events of the Orient in the biblical past and the prophetic future. From bible.org:

China in Prophecy

“Scriptures rarely go outside the confines of the ancient Roman Empire in predicting future events. An exception to this is the statement found in Isaiah 49:12 relating to the ultimate regathering of the nation Israel, “Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.” Although it is not possible to be dogmatic as to the precise reference of “the land of Sinim,” conservative scholarship has generally agreed that the most probable explanation is that this refers to the ancient land of China.”

The Magi From The East

“One of the most familiar Biblical references to the Far East is related to the visit of the Magi as they brought gifts to the Christ child. According to Matthew 2:1, 2, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”

“It has been commonly held from the times of the early church fathers that these strange visitors came from the area east of the Euphrates and probably from ancient Persia. The Persian origin of the Magi was suggested by such men as Clement of Alexandria, Diodorus of Tarsus, Chrysostom, and Cyril of Alexandria. Somehow the Messianic hope had been transmitted in some form even to this distant land. The star appearing over Bethlehem prompted their journey and inquiry concerning the birth of the King of the Jews. The fact that they wanted to worship Him and recognized Him as the King of the Jews reveals that the basic facts concerning the Old Testament were more widely known than is commonly realized. As in the case of the reference to the land of Sinim, the story in the New Testament gives added support to the conclusion that the Bible includes the Orient in its world-wide view.”

Daniel’s Prophecy Of A Military Invasion From The Far East

“In Daniel’s prophecy of “the time of the end” beginning in Daniel 11:35, a king is pictured in the Mediterranean area who engages in a military conflict with the king of the south, the king of the north, and a military force from the east. … In the prophecy it is stated in Daniel 11:44, “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” Although the information given is meager, in the light of the context it appears that these tidings concern a military invasion from the Orient.”

The Great Army From The Orient

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 Euphrates River

“Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water to prepare the way for the kings from the east.” (Rev 16:12) “The fact that the rise of Asia has occurred in our twentieth century with so many rapid and unexpected developments is another evidence that the world is moving toward its final climax and the end of the times of the Gentiles. In Asia, as in other parts of the world, the stage is being set for the final drama in which the kings of the east will have their important part.”

I’ve given only excerpts here. The Bible.org study of the nations of the Orient in prophecy is much richer, if you go to Bible.org and read the study there you’ll get the full flavor. In the next part of my series, we will look at today’s news which supports the notion that America, the world’s only superpower for decades, is in decline as the prophetic nations of the Orient are rising up.
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Posted in a city upon a hill, china, end of days. prophecy, end time

America’s light on the hill is going out- part 1

Posted on by elizabethprata

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus tells his listeners, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” In John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon “A Model of Christian Charity”, Winthrop told the future Massachusetts Bay colonists (Puritans) that their new community would be a “city upon a hill”, watched by the world. Winthrop’s sermon and subsequent likening of America to that city upon a hill, gave rise to the firm and generational belief in Americans that the USA is God’s country because metaphorically it is a Shining City upon a Hill, an early example of American exceptionalism. Or rather, it was.

In last Saturday’s Prophecy Newsletter (email me to sign up) I spent a good deal of time in the opening segment setting a context for the decline of America’s hegemony (influence). I defined hegemony, and I spent noted the fact of it happening and the possible outcomes of such a decline. It was a prescient piece. Today in the Financial Times of London, a similar article appeared. Here is part of what I wrote in the Newsletter about hegemony, and in the next part of the blog entry (Part 2) I’ll offer excerpts of the Financial Times’ analysis of the global economy on a precipice with America’s decline, the Orient in prophecy, and I’ll also share some astounding news about the rise of China, in America.

————-America’s Hegemony and Decline————

Hedge-EM-onee

Wikipedia does a decent job of defining hegemony. “Hegemony is the political, economic, ideological or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over other groups. It requires the consent of the majority to keep the dominant group’s leader in power. The term is often mistakenly used to suggest brute power or dominance, when it is better defined as emphasizing how control is achieved through consensus, not force. … hegemony describes one state’s predominance over other states.”

It can be said that America has wielded —

–political hegemony, diplomatic influence to determine a course of action. America has been the singular hegemonic influence of the Middle East peace process since 1948 but that hegemony is almost gone now. The US wields almost no influence in diplomatic arenas any more.

–cultural hegemony, “the imposition of its way of life, i.e. its language and bureaucracies (social, economic, educational, governing). When the Coke logo shows up on pygmy men’s tee shirts in interior Papua New Guinea jungle, you know the hegemonic influence is complete.

–sociological hegemony: The US’s version of English is known and used worldwide, in many cases as a default language. An example would be aviation, in which the default language worldwide is English. All air traffic controllers speak English on the job. In English is the lingua franca in Europe’s business landscape, firmly entrenched nearly everywhere as the international language of business, finance, and technology.

For decades, for all of my generation and perhaps the one before, the world bowed to the American brand. America’s hegemony was understood to be the default condition in all spheres of life, including cultural, geographic, sociological, diplomatic, technological, economic and financial. America was it! Capitalism and liberal democracy swept the world, if not in fact at least in ideals. However, since the economic crash of 2008, we begin to see a post-American world in which the US is no longer the world’s only superpower. In this 2008 article asking the question of whether America’s hegemony in economics and finance will be crushed by the 2008 crash, “The critical point here, and the one which could bear significant consequences, is the existence, within the US economy, of structural weaknesses that enhance the current distress and limit the scope for future policy action.”

Yes, policy action over the last three years has been stymied by our decline in influence. So the answer to that question from 2008, is yes.

In this article from Global Geographic Times, 2009, by Zhang Wei, the statement is made in the headline: “For Humanity’s Sake, Put an End to Western Hegemony“. “Some Westerners believe that human history will eventually fall completely into a Western pattern and that in the future, the West will unquestionably lead the world. The truth is that any religion, theory, or ideology – including democracy and market capitalism – once it’s pushed to the extreme and regarded as fundamental to all else, triggers an irrational response by its followers. The outcome of this is never good, and is often crushing defeat. That is the position the West confronts today, with the plight of the Iraq War, the failure of the “color revolutions” and the financial tsunami. How can world history possibly end up following the Western model? Developing countries that choose to imitate the West have seen almost all their attempts fail. The world’s peoples continue to explore and test alternatives to development, and humanity’s exploration of the political future is far from exhausted.  “Western civilization has arrived at a crossroads. One road leads to a resentment of the world, aggression, indifference, neo-conservatism and violent liberalism. And the other road … to the building up of oneself through diligent striving, optimism, rationality, sympathy, equality, and a coherent, mutually-affirming society.” It so happens that this other road coincides with the idea of the “harmonious middle way” advocated by the Chinese.”

We ARE at a crossroads. It so happens that this crossroad is coming into view at the end of the Church Age, but it is still a crossroad nonetheless. America’s hegemony in all the arenas mentioned above is declining, as the Chinese model rises. As the world realizes that the Western model is failing, they will explore others that suit, including not only the Chinese ‘harmonious middle way’ but the Muslim jihadi way, and perhaps once again flirt with the Iron Curtain Communistic/Marxist way. As vultures and jackals circle a wounded tiger, so the nations who have either enjoyed America’s hegemony or have hated it, are now ready to pounce, stripping influence from our spheres and ripping it to pieces until only white bones are left, the meat picked clean. America is wounded, and it is my opinion that this trajectory will result in a bleached, bony carcass in the Tribulation. The results of our decline in influence will have devastating effects on the world.

The most obvious effect of our loss of influence is in the diplomatic arena and also perhaps by association, military, is that we can no longer protect Israel to the extent that we once did, even if our current occupant of the Oval Office would want to. (And it seems he does not want to, in my opinion). It is no sure thing that America’s influence of other UN Security Council permanent members against a Palestinian State, coming up in the  July-Aug time-frame, will yield any “NO” votes at all. It is obvious that our influence as a Quartet member in direct peace talks has vaporized, along with respected George Mitchell, who resigned.  Once the loss of strength is deemed to exist in the American will and execution of military force to protect our Israeli ally, then the jackals will pounce. They are circling already.

In February of this year, the voice of the Muslim Brotherhood Youssef al-Qaradawi, the Muslim televangelist whose program Sharia and Life has been the no.1 hit on Al Jazeera for the past fifteen years “Calls for Establishing a United Muslim Nations“. Qaradawi said “establishing a United Muslim Nations is the only alternative to the hegemony of the West.”

Solomon was the richest king, wisest priest, and much loved by God. His kingdom was influential and the envy of all around. It lasted 40 years, falling from its seeming permanent pinnacle to a divided land under his son. At the end of his life, Solomon wrote about the folly of earthly grasping, and wise once again but only because of the pain of wrong choices and advanced years of bitter experience, noted that-
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

America is wonderful and I love it. But America is not my church- I do not worship it. My residence is not this country. It is in New Jerusalem, where He has been preparing a place for me. It is time for us to get used to the sad fact that America’s season, long and glorious though it was, has fulfilled and is finally ending its purpose under heaven. It is time for others to rise now, to be used in all His purposes for bringing about the end of days. The Kings of the East are restless…He is raising them up even as America sinks. Rather than bemoan the fact that America’s hegemony is in severe decline, I praise Him that we were used at all for a Godly purpose, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.’ (Ecc 3:11). Friends, glory in His work, do not grasp for a temporary nation under God on a dying earth. “Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together
with toil and grasping for the wind.” Ecc 4:6
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Posted in bible, messiah, prophecy

Pray boldly, in confidence and thankfulness

Posted on by elizabethprata

We are humble before the Lord, but we should also look to the examples of our fathers and mothers in the bible to remember how strongly and boldly they prayed. In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah is praying in thanks to the LORD for the gift of her son, but the song is so much more than that. Did you know that this prophetic prayer is the first time we read of a someone uttering the “MESSIAH’ or the “Anointed” in the bible? Here is the song, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, then some commentary about it, to encourage you

Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
“Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
“The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Beautiful! In the bible, ‘horn’ is the symbol of strength. Hannah is not magnifying herself when she says that her horn is lifted high. She is saying that in Him, she is strong.

Clarke says, “she describes the promised Savior of the world as a King, before there was any king in Israel; and she first applied to him the remarkable epithet Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek, and Anointed in English, which was adopted by David, Nathan, Ethan, Isaiah, Daniel, and the succeeding prophets of the Old Testament; and by the apostles and inspired writers of the New.”

As Barnes Notes describes, “The song of Hannah is a prophetic Psalm. It is poetry. And it is prophecy. It takes its place by the side of the songs of Miriam, Deborah, and the Virgin Mary, as well as those of Moses, David, Hezekiah, and other Psalmists and prophets whose inspired odes have been preserved in the Bible. The special feature which these songs have in common is, that springing from, and in their first conception relating to, incidents in the lives of the individuals who composed them, they branch out into magnificent descriptions of the Kingdom and glory of Christ, and the triumphs of the Church,”

Matthew Henry says, “Hannah’s heart rejoiced, not in Samuel, but in the Lord. She looks beyond the gift, and praises the Giver. She rejoiced in the salvation of the Lord, and in expectation of His coming, who is the whole salvation of his people….And here is the first time that we meet with the name MESSIAH, or his Anointed.”

Pray boldly, pray confidently. Know that your Savior, long prophesied from the time of Hannah, has come. The Kingdom she has alluded to, is soon to come. Picture the words from her mouth as musical notes wafting through time, woven throughout the pages of the epochs of the bible, to land in your heart, today. Love the Lord in all praise and confidence.

A biblical study on Hannah, here.

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Posted in end of days, end of days. prophecy

NASA makes unexpected finding: this sunspot cycle may be the last one

Posted on by elizabethprata

“If we are right, this could be the last solar maximum we’ll see for a few decades,” Hill said. “That would affect everything from space exploration to Earth’s climate.”

NASA scientists made an announcement today at 1:00 regarding the fact that “Astronomers would unveil a “major result” regarding the sun’s 11-year sunspot cycle. The announcement will be made at a solar physics conference in New Mexico, according to an alert released today (June 10) by the American Astronomical Society. The discussion will begin at 1 p.m. EDT.”

That press conference occurred and Yahoo science.com and Space.com report the results this way.

“The American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin has just made a major announcement on the state of the sun. Sunspots may be on the way out and an extended solar minimum may be on the horizon. Some unusual solar readings, including fading sunspots and weakening magnetic activity near the poles, could be indications that our sun is preparing to be less active in the coming years. The results of three separate studies seem to show that even as the current sunspot cycle swells toward the solar maximum, the sun could be heading into a more-dormant period, with activity during the next 11-year sunspot cycle greatly reduced or even eliminated. The results of the new studies were announced today (June 14) at the annual meeting of the solar physics division of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held this week at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.”

“Currently, the sun is in the midst of the period designated as Cycle 24 and is ramping up toward the cycle’s period of maximum activity. However, the recent findings indicate that the activity in the next 11-year solar cycle, Cycle 25, could be greatly reduced. Cycle 25 may not happen at all. In fact, some scientists are questioning whether this drop in activity could lead to a second Maunder Minimum, which was a 70-year period from 1645 to 1715 when the sun showed virtually no sunspots. “We expected to see the start of the zonal flow for Cycle 25 by now, but we see no sign of it,” Hill said. “This cycle, number 24, may be the last for some time, he says. If the models prove accurate and the trends continue, the implications could be far-reaching.”

“Scientists know of at least three periods with little or no sunspot activity. All three appear to have been associated with cooling on Earth. However, the details remain unclear.” “If we are right, this could be the last solar maximum we’ll see for a few decades,” Hill said. “That would affect everything from space exploration to Earth’s climate.”

Personally, I am always tickled when scientists think they know how the universe works and then are shown up to have in fact known nothing close to what they think they do. I think quantum physicists are more honest about their understanding of the world than astronomers and astro-physicists. Quantum physicists at least say they don’t know. Sadly though, neither group usually acknowledge God at the root of their particular discipline of science.

In today’s case, scientists found unexpectedly that this solar sunspot cycle may be the last. The Tribulation period will show men, all men-including scientists- just who is at the root of all physical laws. Nature will not act the way it has been. There will be no wind. No wind means no sailing, no precipitation cycle, and drought. The sun, moon, and stars will be struck. (Rev 8:12). The sun will heat up and scorch men. (Rev. 16:8-10). Eventually the sun will go dark completely. (Joel 2:31). In other words, the anomalies, or the “unexpected result” in the scientists’ parlance, we are seeing now at the close of the Church Age are indicators of more anomalies to come. And come. And come. Until nothing makes sense any more.

Here is a photo to remind us all of just how powerful and awesome God is, and how puny we are. And despite this puniness, He holds us in the palm of His hand, a cherished child.

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Posted in creation, eternity, starry night, van gogh

A starry night breaks into eternal day

Posted on by elizabethprata

I run this blog at direction of the Holy Spirit. It is aimed at lukewarm Christians to examine themselves in the context of the times, and repent so they will not be left behind. It also examines the signs so that a non-believer wandering by might be moved by the many proofs that God is active in the world and is winding down the clock. Sometimes the emotions evoked by the times, the signs, and the reality of judgment is pretty brutal. But brutality and reality is not the only thing the Lord shows me.

Do you have an idea of how fiercely I love Him? Of glorying in the opportunity to plumb His umplumbable depths? Of the mystery and majesty of the relationship of man to Savior through His blood? Of how I am in eternal gratitude to the work and grace of the Holy Spirit?

I’ve been on a run lately. I have been listening to John MacArthur’s series on Creation, as well as reading some books on it, discussing it with friends, and defending it in public. The Spirit also gives me a lot of science interests to study up on. Given the way I came to the Lord, through rationality and science, I see God in science more often than not. I got interested in quantum physics a few weeks ago. Also nanotechnology. I wrote about a quantum leap and its relation to the Rapture an also the dissolution of the universe as prophesied in 2 Peter 3, just a few weeks ago, here. Lately I’ve been studying about Richard P. Feynman, the Nobel winner for quantum electrodynamics, and also the father of nanotechnology.

In the Genesis sermons, we were up to Creation Day 6. The testimony of God in the book of Genesis 1 is incredible and humbling, and…words fail me in thinking about the creation. But the more I study it, the more it makes my heart beat in love for our Creator. The sermons for Day 6 were split into part one and part two, because the text is so rich. MacArthur was preaching on the trinity, the “Executive Divine Council” as he calls it, and the reasons for the creation of the earth and humankind in the first place. We learned about the Personhood of the LORD, and about His relational capacities, and man’s place within them. The creation series of sermons build, and build and build toward this one singular moment where God personally made man. God did not say in the passive tense “Let there be”, as He had in the previous Days, He said “Let Us make…”. MacArthur used a LOT of science in his lessons, which is one reason why I like Him. The crescendo of the weeks of listening and study were bearing down on this moment.

You know how you feel when you are inside a crescendo…a symphony or a lecture or a book or a cooking lesson…something you are doing that is reaching its denouement. As I was listening and pondering, a sudden flash of insight came around the corner of my brain. Like a comet streaking into view, I call these flashes “incoming!” and revel in what they have to reveal.

As I was immersed in science and theology, listening to the words tumble out of the laptop speakers art came to mind, clearly and with force. Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” came to my eyes. It is a piece of Post-Impressionism I had never gravitated to nor examined very much. The very painting has itself seemed to achieve a cliche and in so achieving, is more easily dismissed. Which I had done.

I am not a huge fan of the Impressionists nor the Post-Impressionists, preferring the structured scientific styles of the early Renaissance painters and sculptors. But all of a sudden as I was listening to the purpose of the creation the answer came to me in Starry Night. It is a picture of eternity, of the relational communications between and among the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God. It is a picture of active and moving atoms in the unrolling of creation and man’s place within it. I can’t bring you into the thought any further because it was more of an insight in the comet’s vaporous tail than solidly examinable as the ball of ice that is its head. It just seemed suddenly to me that the painting was a study in matter, and molecules, and eternity, and creation, and relationship of the Divine and man’s smallness in all that context, but of his uniqueness, too.

Of course, I was intrigued and studied the painting and its origins further. I found Professor Albert Boime of UCLA, lecturing in the Social History of Modern Art. In his paper, “A History of Matter and a Matter of History” (can be read in .pdf, here) the following phrases in his famous paper discussing “Starry Night” seemed to me to capture the essence of what Van Gogh was showing us and was consistent with the insight given to me in the flash:

“apocalyptic exaltation”
“the celestial pageant as a source of moral energy”
“astronomical metaphors for religious experiences”
“work under the great starlit vault of heaven a something -which after all one can only call God and eternity- and its place above the world”
As Van Gogh said, “I was thinking of eternity the other night…”
“threshold of eternity”

The son of a pastor and deeply religious but as we know, troubled, Vincent Van Gogh showed us a glimpse of eternity in that painting, an insight into the mind of God. I wonder what it was like for the thinking population at that time. Evolutionary theory with all its pointlessness and Godlessness was beginning to permeate society. Evolution versus new advances in astronomy that showed the parade of celestial bodies in their courses. At the same time scientific advances with the telescope and photography of the heavens was making astronomy more interesting than ever. Jules Verne was writing books about trips to the moon and spiritism was coming into play to fill the religious vacuum caused by evolution. At the time when scientists were looking within and looking up, there was a disconnect with what evolution was telling them and what the heavens were telling them (Romans 1:18-22).

The truth of Romans 1:18-20 must have created a cognitive dissonance unlike at any other time in history.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

In the painter’s own words, he said of Starry Night, “…A kind of painting giving greater consolation.” It does give greater consolation. It does. Van Gogh was seeking a “divinity manifested in everyday life” we are told, and in Starry Night, I believe he found it.
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