Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, mysterious boom, philadelphia

Mysterious loud boom in Philly causes panic

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’ve been reporting on a mysterious event that is happening in various US states at various times lately. It seems that a huge boom would occur that sounded like an explosion or an earthquake, but no explosion nor earthquake had happened. In some places it was proposed that a meteor had fallen but no meteor was in sight. Physical effects of these mystery booms are felt or seen, the ground briefly shakes, pictures swing on hooks, windows rattle. But there is no physical cause to attribute to the effects that are clearly seen and heard. Just a huge “BOOM”. You can go to this link for a round up of news excerpts that report on previous booms in the last two months or so.

Another one happened in Philly last night and this one was loud. It caused panic. It was clearly seen and heard, so much so that a multitude of rescue and first responder vehicles arrived at the scene. But there was no scene.

Mystery Boom Causes Panic in Northeast Philadelphia – Video
One witness: ‘It sounded like something above you, fell down.’
A mystery ‘boom’ that ‘may not have been explosion’ caused panic in northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County at approximately 9:30 PM, May 27, 2011, according to a local NBC report, with multiple fire trucks, EMS, and power companies racing to the ‘scene’. After reaching the area, no one could locate the source of an explosion. Also reported, house’s shook which led to speculation it may have been an earthquake. According to NBC 7 the USGS was unable to confirm the boom was an earthquake. Other speculation, a sonic boom which was heard in only northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County.
NBC 10 Philadelphia video news report:

‘Calls and emails flooded NBC 10 News after reports of several loud bangs. This is in northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County. Fire and emergency units raced to the scene but it is still not clear what has happened here.’

The local NBC reporter:

‘This is a very strange situation out here you can see behind me there are multiple crews from the fire department and the police department as well as crews from PICO and PGW. This is the area of 9th and Fairdale Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia. Here’s what we know, at about 9:30 tonight the fire department started getting multiple calls of what some people described as a possible explosion. Some people I’ve been talking to at the scene said that it actually felt like a minor earthquake. Whatever it was at this point investigators have not been able to determine what that explosion was or if it even was an explosion but people said it lasted only a few seconds.’

One witness: ‘It sounded like something above you, fell down.’ Another witness: ‘It sounded like something hit the building, like a car. It was just a shake and that’s when the cops and everything were here. And someone said a house blew up and everyone came running out and no one knows what it is.’—end of report—

As the witness said, ‘it sounded like something above you, fell down.’ Is it the voice of the LORD, warning us? Making His presence known? I don’t know but increasingly I am believing that it is. When one boom happens it is non-news, just a minor mystery upon which we shrug and go our way. When two happen in various places I go ‘oh well, that’s interesting.’ I begin to perk up at three, because in my mind, it is a pattern now. When 20 or 30 happen now THAT is something we all should pay attention to. That all 30 (or so) have no visible cause, and when the event is investigated by officials from all scientific disciplines and no cause is found, it makes for a good case that it is supernatural. The US Geological survey explicitly stated each time none were quakes. Police, gas line men, drilling experts, all say that in their sphere the boom was not man-made from their particular activity. Military bases were contacted and no hot military exercises were ongoing in that location nor were there sonic booms the sounds could be related to.

Is God calling attention to Himself? It could be. When all man-made and earthly causes have been excluded, you look up. The presence of God in the earth is real. “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.” (Psalm 29:5). His voice breaketh the cedars, He certainly can utter a sound again as He has done in the past and make Himself known. Prophetically, the end of the end time and certainly the Tribulation are a period when He has promised to make Himself known on earth to greater and greater degrees. It is a time when science and analytical rationality fly out the window as He supersedes these man made constructs and He demonstrates His power over both. As the witness said, if I may change one word in his observations, ”it sounded like something above you, came down.”

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Posted in end time, national debt, sins

National debt is piled up to the moon

Posted on by elizabethprata

I read this headline on Reuters the other day and it reminded me of something from the bible.

“Pile of debt would stretch beyond stratosphere“
“President Ronald Reagan once famously said that a stack of $1,000 bills equivalent to the U.S. government’s debt would be about 67 miles high. That was 1981. Since then, the national debt has climbed to $14.3 trillion. In $1,000 bills, it would now be more than 900 miles tall. In $1 bills, the pile would reach to the moon and back twice.”

last update: 2008

On an earthly level, this news depresses me. The national debt is an issue that is pervasive and very negative on the US and the world, but it is so nebulous that most Americans don’t, won’t, or can’t wrap their minds around it. The numbers become meaningless, after all, who can understand a trillion? But the profligate spending of the last generations has brought us to this. Though Bill Clinton made significant progress toward reducing the debt, the US government budget has actually not been balanced since 1957. That would be Eisenhower.

What does the bible have to say about living beyond our means?

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” (Luke 16:13-15).

It is plain to see that US citizens have served either one master alone (mammon) or have tried to serve two (Mammon and God of the Prosperity Gospel). The attitude of ‘more-more-more,’ of getting a bigger boat, wanton spending, shop till you drop, greed is good, Me generation has gone away from biblical principles of handling money. And our leaders (The Pharisees, metaphorically) love money even more and that is bad because they have control of the budget. Paul said that at the time of the end, we would be lovers of money:
“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” (2 Timothy 3:2).
 
But we are also told that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

As of 2008

 America is pierced with many sorrows. When we see homosexual marriage legalized, abortion increasing,  pornography becoming accepted and ubiquitous, we recognize these social ills as sins. But the money problem…it is more invisible simply because it is so nebulous. You can’t see a debt. You can’t hold a debt. Who does debt really harm, we wonder.
Money issues, unpaid debt, borrowing, lending at usury (credit card companies who charge 30% or more) and interest are all addressed in the bible. In certain circumstances, they are sins. Here is a good study on the monetary system that includes lending and debt that God initially set up.

In biblical times the Hebrews failed to obey the monetary laws God instituted, and today we are failing in the same way. We are failing so badly that the debt has piled up to the moon. This headline reminded me of several bible verses:

“I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” (Revelation 18:5). The Lord said in the next verse that they shall be paid back double. They did not know that they were borrowing against their sins at double interest rate!

Lest we tend to say that we ourselves, individually, have not piled up debt, nor lent, nor borrowed, nor spent, Prophet Ezra had a holy shame for the state of sin his nation was in. He prayed: “O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” (Ezra 9:6). Gill’s Exposition of the bible explains “our trespass is grown up unto the heavens; being done in an open, public, and insolent manner, and in such numbers, that they were, as it were, piled up in heaps, reaching to heaven, and calling down vengeance from thence. Ezra includes himself as being one of the same nation; and these sins being so common were become national ones, which involved all the individuals, and exposed them to the divine resentment.”

If our debt is piled up as high as the moon, our national sin must surely crumble down upon our heads at double portion! Do you have a holy shame for the misuse of the wonderful assets the Lord gave us? His grace is such that in God’s economy, debt is forgiven- sin debt that is, and His love extends even farther than from the moon and back: it extends to us and through us and for all eternity. Be wise in your financial dealings, pray to the Lord for our nation that the Pharisitical leaders who run things would have wisdom, and that we repent of individual and national fiscal abuse. Our gracious Lord hears our prayers. “O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, ” (Psalm 80:14)

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Posted in Uncategorized

Blogger is having issues again

Posted on by elizabethprata

There are login issues, and that means I don’t always have access to the administrative parts of the blog when I want in order to check comments or to post a new entry. Comments are not showing up, either. Blogger says they are working on these issues, so please be patient. If you do not see your comment, that is why. Unless it was a comment I deemed not appropriate nor discussion-enhancing and I deleted it. 😉

Have a great day everyone.

Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time

Into the tempest: would you cut away the lifeboat?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was reading Acts 27 this morning and the sea faring language was a wonderful refresher of days when I lived on a sailboat. I’m sorry for posting much of the chapter, but here is today’s text for discussion:

The Voyage to Rome Begins
1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. 2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. 3 And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. 4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5 And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. 7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. 8 Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

Paul’s Warning Ignored
9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.

In the Tempest

Source

13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands , they struck sail and so were driven. 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us , all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. 21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”

27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. 28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.”

A lee shore is when the wind is coming across your boat and driving it into the rocky shore. You run aground and the waves then pound your boat to pieces. A lee shore is a scary position to be in. It is hard enough for sailboats these days but back then square rigged sails couldn’t point into the wind even as much as triangular sails. In either case, with no engine all you could do is thrown out an anchor or two for drag, and try and tack away from the shore (making progress by long zig zags) by pointing into the wind as much as possible.

Now think about these sailors. It’s been TWO WEEKS! They haven’t eaten properly, then they ate nothing at all. You can’t cook when the seas are that rough. You can’t sleep, and all hands are needed to keep changing the sails for tacking. This is strength-sapping to the extreme and you are exhausted to begin with. You are literally battling the wind and waves, which, remember is late fall now so it is cold. [“After the Fast” is Yom Kippur, in Oct.] It is LOUD. A tempest isn’t quiet. The rigging squeals, the masts creak, the boat pounds into the waves, the spray hisses, the cargo shifts. The seas roar. Captain yells, and the men moan. It is loud. They threw off cargo, they threw off rigging, which meant spare sails, ropes, and other items needed for sailing the boat. They even tied the ship together with ropes! (“undergird the ship”) When all seemed lost, they got ready to let down the lifeboat.

These men were tired, cold, hungry, scared, and knew they were about to die. They had thrown off everything they could, and if they’d had Jonah on board, they’d likely have thrown him off too. When you are in that condition for as long as you are, it is survival mode. Your whole world narrows to getting through the next minute, coming up intact from the last wave. A lifeboat becomes your only vision, your only hope. Your only chance…and Paul told them to let it go.

Imagine the drama of that moment. The only thing between life and death in their view was that lifeboat. And yet…they listened to Paul and they cut it away.

Would you cut it away? Have you cut away all backups, lifeboats, safety nets? Are you making Jesus your only hope, your only life? He promised them life, and He promised you life eternal. His promises are good. If you are in the tempest, remember that Jesus is the lifeboat! And He will never leave your or forsake you.
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Posted in end of days. prophecy, post-apocalyptic lansdcapes, rapture, revelation

"Post-apocalyptic landscapes" during this, the pre-apocalypse

Posted on by elizabethprata

Do you know who said this?

“We are living at a time when mankind seems to sense that the end of all things is very near. Just about everyone has a theory as to how the world is threatened and when that end might come. The media and the Internet are full of doomsday speculations concerning the New Age “Mayan Calendar” and the year 2012. Some scientists predict that Global Warming could wipe out life on Planet Earth within a certain number of years. At the same time, politicians work to halt the proliferation of life-destroying nuclear weapons before it is “too late.” High profile news reports of economic downturns, crime, wars, tsunamis, earthquakes, and disease outbreaks cause people to question whether God is bringing judgment on the world.”

I agree with this statement. We ARE living at a time when mankind seems to sense the end of things is nearing. The person who said that is Harold Camping, from his website We Can Know. Though I disagree with Camping’s setting a date for the rapture, of course, I agree that the times are dire enough that people sense an imminence to…something. Christians know that imminence is judgment on the world, after the removal of the faithful believers in Jesus.

This year in the US is the most expensive year ever for natural disaster recovery. As I’ve mentioned before, reporters and weather men are running out of superlatives to describe the weather systems and disasters they are covering. “Worst ever” dropped off a long time ago. “Historic” got worn out fast as new events outpaced prior events, because history was made monthly or even weekly. Recently we were reading about ‘epic’ floods/tornadoes/landslides/eruptions/earthquakes. Even ‘epic’ doesn’t’ describe what we see anymore. This week, a new term to describe the devastation has arrived: “Post-apocalyptic”.

The Australian Broadcast Company wrote this of the damage in Joplin MO from this week’s tornadoes:
“The twister hit the town of Joplin with only 20 minutes warning, turning whole neighbourhoods into a post-apocalyptic landscape.”

The Book of Eli, movie

Time Magazine reporter observed:
“I saw a man sifting through the rubble of what used to be Affordable Mini Storage. He was going through the remains of his storage unit, searching for anything salvageable in the post-apocalyptic landscape of our home town. He picked up a toy from the debris.”

At Fox News, we read–
After daybreak, survivors picked through the rubble of their homes, salvaging clothes, furniture, family photos and financial records, the air pungent with the smell of gas and smoking embers. Some neighborhoods were completely flattened and the leaves stripped from trees, giving the landscape an apocalyptic aura. In others where structures still stood, families found their belongings jumbled as if someone had picked up their homes and shaken them.”

Joplin MO

Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’

Unfortunately for those who are already at a loss for words, the apocalypse hasn’t even begun. But the use of that term to describe in visual terms what we have never seen before is telling. All we have are movies to conjecture what a devastated world would look like, and many of us have seen those films or ones like them. Here is a scene from The Book of Eli, a film starring Denzel Washington that was released last Memorial Day weekend. The summary- “A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.”

The Book of Eli
Joplin MO

Japan tsunami damage:

Bloomberg News

From Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’

Each of these following three links uses the same phrase, that [parts of] Tuscaloosa Ala, Joplin MO, Denning Ark were “wiped off the map.”

Post-apocalyptic is a good descriptive term, and each of the real scenes and the movie scenes mirror each other in some way. However, the apocalypse has not begun. How will newscasters describe the real post-apocalyptic events when the real apocalypse happens, if they are already using up comprehensible terms that come short of offering understanding to the minds of viewers, stunned at devastation unlike anything we have seen before?

I am not making any hidden allusion that the movies mean something in today’s world. There is no hidden message here. The message is actually about language and the ability of men to visualize total earthly destruction without humanity’s extinction, which is what the Tribulation actually is. These movies did a good job of visualizing a post-apocalyptic world for movie-goers’ entertainment, but now it unfortunately has come close to the truth. No longer entertaining, hundreds of thousands of people are living it as reality. Reporters are increasingly at a loss to describe it. Mike Bettes of The Weather Channel is a veteran of thousands of tornado coverage stories, but in reporting Joplin MO tornado damage, he simply cried.

Folks, we are still PRE-apocalyptic. If you sense (correctly) that the real apocalypse is coming, whether you are of the ilk that believes in Edgar Cayce, Nostradamus, Mayan Calendar, Global Warming, the Final Imam, or Jesus Christ, you are correct, something is coming. I know what it is, too.

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

That’s the rapture! Though we do not know when that will be, we sense its nearness because our eyes are open and we see the signs the Lord said to look for appearing now with regularity and frequency. After the rapture, will be the Apocalypse. Here I quote Revelation 6-19, where the earth is devastated by earthquakes, 100 pound hail, disease, demonic attack on your physical person, torture, brutality, fires, and much more. Those two events will occur and you even have a choice as to which you would like to participate! If you sincerely believe you are a sinner rebelling against a just God, ask Jesus to forgive your sins and He will extend to you the pardon He bought for you in his own blood. You will be exempt from judgment and your sins will be wiped from the record. It will result in you being born again. You will enjoy a sweet and blissful time with Jesus in heaven while the apocalypse is happening down on earth.

Alternately, you can refuse to believe that you sin, that there is a Holy God who is judging you and will judge you, and you can choose to stay on earth for the apocalypse. If you like what you see in Japan, Joplin MO, Tuscaloosa, and Denning Arkansas, this option may appeal to you. If the reality of judgment begins to set in as it unfolds, you can appeal to the Holy Jesus and ask for forgiveness after the rapture, but do not wait until then. You may die, or you may have already been left with a hardened heart, Jesus having given you over to your desire to rebel and wallow in your sins. That is why we say now is the acceptable time of your salvation.

I plead with you to consider the reasons you are not saved but are reading this blog. The Spirit is pushing you, repeatedly, to understand the truths of His love, His justice, and His imminence. Do it today. He will not strive with man forever. (Genesis 6:3). You’ve seen the road ahead, and it is not pretty. You can traverse a road like Cormac McCarthy’s, which is broad and leads to destruction, or you can tread the narrow way which leads to eternal life and a street of gold. Your choice!
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Posted in end time, prophecy, spiitual warfare, victory

Spiritual warfare is real

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was at some friends’ last weekend, at our Sunday School party at their home. After dinner we played a bible trivia game. Here is one of the questions:

“How many angels are named in the bible?” At first blush the answer seems easy. Can you guess? Pause.

Answer: Three. Michael, Gabriel, Lucifer. Most of the teams gave the answer as two, Michael and Gabriel. Those two are easy to remember, but we forget Lucifer, who is that old serpent, satan.

Luke 1:19 we read of the messenger angel Gabriel-
“The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”

In Daniel 10:13 we read of Michael the warrior angel, who is an archangel-
“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”

Paul reminds us of the hierarchies of angels, both good and fallen:
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” (Colossians 1:16)

Ephesians 6 is the famous chapter where Paul reminds us that we are in enemy territory here on earth, that the territory has a hierarchy, and that we are always at war, (whether we know it or not):
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

We often forget about Lucifer as an angel, his name means star of the morning, or shining one. Isaiah laments Lucifer’s fall from the high holy place of guarding God’s throne, to his low position of evil rebel destined for the hell (Matthew 25:41).

Hebrews and Revelation together show us that about a third of the angels fell with Satan. (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 12:3-9). Hebrews also reminds “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2). If angels visit us and engage with us on a personal and even intimate level (‘hospitality’ translated, “in one’s home”, “receive as a guest”) then who is to say that we are always visited by the good angels? Sometimes we are visited by the bad ones, too. Probably more than sometimes, probably we’re visited by them often.

I was in another friend’s home the other night, and I mentioned that Dr. David Jeremiah’s latest series is on spiritual warfare. She replied, “Oh! I don’t even like to think about spiritual warfare!” I was stunned by this, she being a seasoned Christian. I remarked that we are at war whether we like to think about it or not! Because of sin, the earth is a battlefield. Satan and his angels battle for souls every day. 1 John 5:19 tells us that the entire earth is under the control of the evil one. In Luke 4:5-6 satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and in one of the temptations, offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus didn’t rebuke satan for making that claim.

In Ephesians, Paul tells us to pray and to wear our spiritual armor. 1 Timothy 1:18 Paul tells Timothy to prepare for the battle. 2 Corinthians 10:2-4 describes the kind of war we Christians are in. There is war-like language all throughout the New Testament, referring to the fact that we ARE in a war. It is a spiritual war, but a war that has eternal consequences for each participant.

I was struck by the two incidents this week- the bible trivia question about Lucifer where it was so easy to forget he is really an angel, and the Christian who dismissed spiritual warfare topics as something unsavory she doesn’t like to think about. Christian, be aware that we are dwelling in enemy territory, and this is not our home. We are unwanted intruders. We are under attack all the time. Not daily, but frequently and constantly. We are attacked by demons, by our own sin, and by the curse of the world. We are in a war and that war will not be concluded for us individually until we die or are raptured. That war for all of us as a body in Christ will not end until after the 1000 year Kingdom when satan will be let out of the pit, will foment one last war and he will be squashed and sent to the lake of fire forever.

But remember an even greater truth. Unlike every other warrior who ever fought in a war, we know the outcome prior to the war’s end! We may be battling, but “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Jesus won the war for us, on our behalf and in obedience to the Father’s will. Jesus is the victor, and through Him we win the war. So, battle on in confidence, but never forget we are in a war. Semper Fi!

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Posted in 12th imam, iran, prophecy

Forget the rapture May 21, it’s now the Mahdi June 5

Posted on by elizabethprata

Verrrry interesting article about what is happening in Iran, spiritually. I’ve reported before that there had been a rift between President Ahmadinajad and Supreme Leader Khamenei. I suspected that the rift began with the accidental release to the West of a documentary film outlining Iran’s deeply-held eschatological (end time) beliefs. Of those beliefs, one analyst wrote, “The Shia Muslim Iranians view the current events in the Middle East as confirmation that their end time eschatology is correct. This confirmation is fueling their fervor and inciting them to further the final events to prepare for the arrival of their ‘Mahdi’. As we know from the bible, the true events will include terrible wars, including Psalm 83 war and Gog-Magog- the latter of which the bible says Iran plays the major role. The purpose of the film is to make the case that Iran is prophetically destined to lead the war against Islam’s enemies, which is as a prelude to the appearance of the Hidden Imam, also called the Mahdi, who brings the final victory for Islam and reigns over the whole world. It uses current events to argue that “the final chapter has begun” and the Mahdi’s arrival is imminent”, and the documentary they produced goes on to explain how and why. I wrote more about the documentary here and here.

Then in the last few weeks we have not heard about the rift between the President and the Supreme Leader, until today. and again the news has to do with their eschatalogical beliefs in the final days. Remember, Iran is a theocracy, and the Supreme Leader is supposed to be the final word on all matters, including and especially religious. The author of this piece is ‘Reza Kahlili’, the nom de plume for the CIA-infiltrated agent who was the person to obtain and release the Iranian documentary “The Coming is Near” to the west and has been analyzing and reporting on the fallout ever since. The article below is more fallout, with ominous prophetic indications.

Ahmadinejad’s Team Expects Arrival of 12th Imam … on June 5
“Increasing tensions between Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intensified when hardline clerics exerted pressure on Ahmadinejad to obey the supreme leader as the ultimate authority. Those tensions were exacerbated with the arrest of over 25 of Ahmadinejad’s associates and loyalists, along with a high-level member of his inner circle. Supporters of the supreme leader are referring to Ahmadinejad’s group as “The Deviant Movement.” This “group” has announced that within the upcoming weeks a monumental event will turn the tide to their advantage. Based on a report from Iran’s Ayandeh, one of the officials within “The Deviant Movement” has informed his confidants that certain sources close to the “Mahdi’s Emergence Movement” have stated that an important event will soon change the course of operations to Ahmadinejad’s favor. According to interpretations offered by Ahmadinejad’s team, a high-ranking member of the Islamic Republic will meet with a climactic incident. This in turn will build up to the announcement of the “covert emergence” of the Twelfth Imam (or Mahdi) in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Hardliners critical of Ahmadinejad maintain that his team believes a covert emergence will commence on the 14th of Khordaad (June 5) in Medina, setting the stage for the announcement of the actual emergence in the next few years.”

“Certain accounts have chronicled that prior to the official emergence of the Mahdi, he will appear covertly in Medina, and during a period of one to three years he will lay the foundations for the actual announcement of his appearance. The Deviant Movement states that: “At the time of the covert emergence, his regent (i.e., the supreme leader) will be deposed from his position.” Previously, Ali Mottahari — a pro-supreme leader member of the Islamic Parliament — criticized Ahmadinejad:”

Ahmadinejad believes that the covert emergence has, in fact, occurred. Therefore, he acts like he no longer needs the supreme leader and that he can disobey him, as he is taking his orders directly from the Mahdi himself.

There is more at the headline link. Kahlili ends with this: “Since Ahmadinejad’s ascent to power, talk of the emergence of the Mahdi has increased. A number of hardliners, who are installed within the halls of the presidency, are attempting to utilize the Iranian and global situation to demonstrate the signs of the emergence of the Mahdi and to prove that the Rapture is imminent. As I revealed recently, a secret Iranian documentary, The Coming is Upon Us, details the last condition for the reappearance as the destruction of Israel and the conquest of Jerusalem by Ahmadinejad. He has been portrayed as the mythical figure in centuries-old Hadiths, Shoeib-ebne Saleh, the Islamic commander who attacks Israel in the End of Times and creates the needed circumstances for the reappearance of the Shiite messiah, the 12th Imam Mahdi. The question is: Will the rifts in the Iranian leadership push Ahmadinejad and his team to draw Israel into an unwanted war to prove that he is that mythical figure and to facilitate the Rapture?”

We know from prophecy that Iran will play  a major role in fomenting attacks against Jerusalem and Israel at large in the very last days. We know that the Arab world, with Obama behind them, are enemies of Israel who have sworn to wipe them off the map. “See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.” With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you—” Psalm 83:2-5, a prophetic Psalm of the future, and that future is now.

Has there ever been a time when nations in a frenzy talked so much of the imminence of the Lord’s arrival? Has there ever been a time when the prophetic pieces were lining up so closely? Has there ever been a time when millions eagerly looked forward as much as they do now to the appearance of their particular deity of worship? No. Now is the time. And time is running out. Therefore “for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION “–” 2 Corinthians 6:2

Now. Turn to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins, now. Forget rapture May 21. Forget Mahdi June 5. Today is the day of your salvation!

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Posted in housekeeping. blog, maintenance

Housekeeping

Posted on by elizabethprata

It has been a while since I refreshed things on the layout and widgets of the blog. I took a nice person’s suggestion and put a stand alone widget for the series I’d written called The Language of God. Despite the fact that the text color is black and nothing I can do seems to make it be blue for unvisited and then red when visited, they actually are links.

I changed the links on the right, of the end time signs Third Temple, Israel, etc. The pictures you see there under the headers are actually links to today’s news for each of the major signs. I hadn’t put in new links for a long time, I am sorry about that. I’ll be changing those daily or almost daily now that summer is here and I have more time.

I used to have a video bar but I thought it was slowing down the loading of the pages so I deleted it. If you want it back, let me know. If you want anything else, let me know. As always, thank you for reading and for making suggestions.

Elizabeth

Posted in language of god, still small voice

The Language of God: Still small voice

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is a series you might enjoy: The Language of God. In the bible, God spoke in a number of ways to His people, or to announce His presence, or His displeasure. Weather was one of the ways He spoke. Since God is the same today, yesterday and forever, it stands to reason that He might be speaking in some of the same ways today. But do we hear Him through the clutter? Do we listen for Him to speak in these same ways? The world has changed, but He has not. Here are previous entries in the series-

The Language of God: Thunder
The Language of God: Earthquakes
The Language of God: Lightning
The Language of God: Fire & Brimstone
The Language of God: Hail

Today we will examine the Language of God: The Still Small Voice!

It is a given that God is powerful. He has spoken in a number of ways that are loud! Thunder, hail, lightning, earthquake and fire are very noisy. You can’t miss hearing those! In addition, Psalm 29 shows us from His own Word more ways He speaks:

Psalm 29, various verses–

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory”

The cedars of Lebanon were sturdy trees up to 130 feet tall. It would take a mighty voice to break those!

But then there is this voice: “Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

The LORD breaks rocks! He topples cedars! He quakes the earth! The LORD is mighty, there is no doubt about that. But He is a personal God, too. He is not remote, dwelling on Olympus remotely and capriciously messing up men’s affairs for their own entertainment’s sake.

He is with us, that is His name: Emmanuel, God with us! When He wants to speak to our soul, to our heart, He speaks in a still small voice. He is loving of all humanity and He seeks to speak to us in the quiet of our hearts via the scriptures. To “hear” Him when you study, a person should be quiet themselves. “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

Though we pride ourselves these days on multitasking, we are really overdue for a de-cluttering. God comes in second oftentimes.

All that noise drowns out God’s still, small voice by distracting us from His word. When we start listening to other things besides God then the still small voice that penetrates the clutter will be satan’s, hissing, “Hath God really said…?” Once our ears are plugged up with secular, pagan noise, then our eyes are taken off God and we drift away from the straight and narrow path.

Get your attention away from the tumult of the natural and unnatural world, and carve out a quiet space to listen to God by reading your bible. One way we do that is in the prayer closet. When you pray, you talk, but then how much do you listen for a response? Do you stay in a pose of quiet contemplation, focusing on the attributes of God while you wait on Him? Or is there music going on in the background? Television? Is your cell phone on?

Another way to hear His still, small voice is by reading the Word. Again, make sure the tumult is off. Read, and when you feel an impression, or when it seems that you want to ponder a verse for a while, it may indeed be the still small voice of the Holy Spirit calling attention to a deeper truth He wants to impart to your mind by conforming you to Christ from what He has already revealed on the page.

I’m amazed by the speed and noise of our world today. When I was little, 40-35 years ago, the number one television program was Little House on the Prairie. If you watch it now, it seems unbearably slow and too stodgy and quiet. That is because it isn’t fast-paced, it didn’t have jazzy music and the editing preferred long slow scenes instead of quick cuts. But 35 years ago was not that long ago. Nowadays if something isn’t happening on the tv, DVD, Playstation, Wii, cell phone or Twitter it seems like life has stopped. Our brains have gotten used to faster and when we study the Bible life at that moment should be slower.

Our God is a personal God. He speaks to us in the quiet of our studying the Word. Shhh.

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