Posted in rapture, staying strong, witnessing

Stay on the right track!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Watch this, the first three minutes, and then I’ll explain something.

I know, last week’s news was pretty dark, right? It really was. The blog was full of terrible things happening in the world. I pondered last week’s news all this week. I am gaining a new understanding each day, thanks to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble- “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it” (KJV). (Jeremiah 30:7). And again in Matthew 24:21, “He said “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” How can we comprehend a time that will have unequaled suffering? A time that has never been so bad on earth and never will be again? Students of history may be familiar with the Dark Ages, as Wikipedia says, ‘a period of supposed intellectual darkness that occurred in Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire from the 5th to 15th centuries AD.’ It was a time of wars, rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, barbarians sweeping down from the Mongolian steppes or the German Alps and razing whole cities and populations. It was a time of bubonic plagues where the dead were stacked in the streets. A time of sudden fires and early death and child mortality and torture and Inquisition and witchcraft and sickness and gloom. The Tribulation will not be equal to that. It will be worse.

Jesus spent a great deal of time not only in Chapter 24 of Matthew explaining in detail about these things, but in most of the bible. All of the Old Testament gears up to the time of this Tribulation. How? The Church Age is a time when the Age of Law was paused for 7 years. The Tribulation is actually a resumption of the Old Testament, God finishing His business with the Israelites for the last 7 years. We HAVE to know about it. We HAVE to understand what is coming. Why?

I believe it is important first and foremost to have a solid understanding of the end times and upcoming Tribulation because they are in the bible. Period. Everything in the bible is profitable for knowledge and education and reproof (2 Tim 3:16).

I believe it is important to know these things to even greater detail because we are that generation who will see the end of the Church Age and be raptured. We will experience an unequaled event that all of human history since the beginning has been aiming toward. We are that generation who will personally experience, alive, the result of Jesus’ ministry on earth and on the cross: redeeming humanity with His own blood. We are the generation who will be going about our daily business, like every other generation that ever lived since Adam and Eve, but who will experience the interruption of time as Jesus Himself breaks through the veil and calls us up, snatching us up from the earth in a powerful event that defies all science, reason, and comprehension. Of course we should know about that moment, being the glorious recipients of it, and therefore can experience a great anticipation, joy, and hope that we can share with others in this dark time.

But should our knowledge of end time events stop there? No…

The Tribulation is God’s judgment for sin. We are sinners. It is only through the grace of Jesus that we will not be experiencing that 7-year period of darkness and horror that we want to shy away from and not know about. But we must have clear eyes and stare steadily into the train wreck that is coming, knowing we will be saved from that wrath (1 Thess 5:9) but understanding thoroughly that if we were not saved we would be experiencing it ourselves, and justifiably so! Who are we to say, ‘thanks Jesus, now I turn from the bible’s descriptions of what will happen to everyone else because it upsets me too much to see it beginning to be played out on earth’?!

Finally, the scene from the movie Fireproof comes to mind. That is the clip, above. That was the latest movie from the Christian folks from Albany GA in which Kirk Cameron starred as a firefighter whose marriage was falling apart. There was a scene where two cars had crashed and one was crumpled and stuck on the train tracks. Two women were in the car. They were trapped in the vehicle. At first, one firefighter was talking to the woman, asking her if she was OK, telling her the method he was going to use that would free her. Then two other firefighters arrived on scene. A bunch of bystanders started milling round, in the background, not saying or doing anything, just watching. A few walked away, likely not wanting to see the physical results of what may happen next. The three firefighters then heard a train whistle. They could not see the train but they heard it. They began to hurry, hurry to get the car off the tracks, knowing there was no time now to get the women out of the car. As the train rounded the bend, some bystanders came to help, and they grunted and sweated to get the car off the tracks. More joined, still more. At the last second they got the car off the tracks just as the train came by, saving the women from sure crushing- just as surely as people will be crushed by 100lb hailstones (Rev 16:21) or houses falling on them (Rev 11:13) in the Tribulation.

These days are like that scene. People all around us are trapped in their sins, in bondage and chained to the tracks. Many Christians are simply bystanders, looking on but doing nothing to really help the ones in the path of destruction. Some walk away. But at first one helped then another and another. They risked themselves to help. Don’t leave the job of salvation to just the fire chief (pastor) but it is all our duty to help those in the path of the wreck. Don’t peer at people in a crushed car (the enslaved unsaved) and say “Ew, that’s gonna be a mess” and walk away, covering your eyes even though you hear the train whistle. People all over the world are trapped in their sins just as the women were tapped in the car in the movie. Are the bible verses about the Tribulation and the news of today that match upcoming Tribulation events not worth reading because the grisly aftermath is easier to visualize now that the train is almost upon us? Let it not be so!

It takes all of us Christians to do the job: obeying the Spirit, being strong, and actually DOING something to help all the time everywhere, even though our eyes may be looking upon something unsavory or terrible while we do it. But we will not be helping if we never look at the train and know it’s coming, nor if we refuse to stalwartly look at the coming indicators of the aftermath, by contrast knowing their fate!

The directions are simple: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2. The more grateful you are, the more joy you have in what you have, and joy in what is to come.

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Posted in gratitude

Time for Gratitude

Posted on by elizabethprata

I wrote this on my Quiet Life blog and I really don’t like to repeat content, but I think it is important to stay focused on not only the time, it IS near the end, but also the blessings we have in this time. No matter what the circumstance of our lives, the one constant is Jesus and the blessings He gave us and the blessing He is to us. Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25) sang while chained in the lowest prison. They sang. Times are dark but there is always something to be grateful for that the Lord hath provided. When we are joyful and content even in hard circumstances, and express that joy in gratitude to the Savior, people listen as the prisoners and jailers listened to Paul and Silas. It makes an impression. I was moved to write about my blessings and put them on the secular blog, but the blessings stem from Jesus and therefore I am doubly grateful. I appeal to you, find something to be grateful for and thank the Lord. Then do it publicly. Here is what I wrote:

It’s the end of the year. I mean the Georgia educational system school year. We start in August and we end in May, a month’s difference than the school year I was employed by in Maine, which was on a September to June schedule.

End of year usually means reflection on the past and reviewing hopes for the future. I substitute taught in this system for two years and this year I got the permanent job. It has regular hours, medical benefits, and is clean work. More importantly, it’s with kids, my calling and first love. It was a miracle that I got this job last July in a tight economy with many qualified applicants. I am grateful for it and count it as a blessing.

Best of all, I work in a school system run by people I admire and respect. I admire my principal who is a woman of great skills, passion for children, and integrity in her work. She is loyal to employees, but fair, and has high standards. I enjoy that she is approachable and that she runs a tight ship. She is also a Christian. What else can an employee ask for? Nothing.

I enjoy that the Superintendent is a moral man, a Christian who is also a man of great skills, has integrity, and is fair with high standards. It is important to me that I am part of a system that is run by people I respect. It is a terrible thing to be embarrassed by your boss. Rather, in my case, I have people whose example I strive to live up to. This is a blessing.

The school year beginning was a scary one for me because it has been 21 years since I was employed as an employee. I have either run my own business or have freelanced most of my life. But the people I work with are tremendous. I enjoy all my colleagues. They are good people! They are local moms and grandmoms, community members in this small community with whom I go to church, and see at the library, the Rec Department, the store. They are friendly and warm. They welcomed me, a stranger, into their fold and I am grateful to know them all. It is a blessing to like the people you work with.

After school today, the last day, I went grocery shopping. I value that I have a good, locally run grocery store just two miles from my work, and that quality, affordable foods are offered there. This is rare these days, that I can not only afford food, but I have access to GOOD food. I really love that a local family owns the store and they are civic minded. I would frequent their store even if it was not close, for this reason. I am grateful that I have good food in my fridge. I just finished scrambled eggs with fresh tomatoes, toast, and home fries. That’s more than a lot of people get in a week.

I am really grateful that I have a solid bible-believing church to go to. This is rare these days. It is helmed by a wonderful pastor who is loving and friendly but also extremely knowledgeable about the bible and preaches with a passion and love for Jesus that just makes you love Jesus more. I enjoy the folks at my church and in my Sunday School class, who again, welcomed me into their world lovingly and openly. They have helped me when I needed help and I know they are there for me if I need help again, as they know I would help them too. It is a blessing to really like the people you worship with.

I am blessed I live in a place like this:

It is my back yard. I’m not homeless, and I don’t live near a quarry, or a garbage dump or live in a place like Tijuana or Calcutta. The Lord gave me a beautiful, peaceful place to dwell when I am not at worship or work. What a blessing.

No matter the tumult in the world, I am richly blessed in my sphere and I know it. Summer itself is another blessing. It is glorious around here, and just 4 miles down the road is a State Park with a river to swim in and a waterfall to enjoy. Thank you Lord for the riches you’ve given me, and I am grateful.

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Posted in libya

8.4 quake in Libya? (UPDATED)

Posted on by elizabethprata

Update at end-
Romanian quake seismos report an 8.4 quake off the coast of Libya. I am not familiar with this quake reporting organization, though I do use USGS, RSOE (Bulgaria) and Edinburgh Global Earthquake report and none of those report this quake. It could be a false positive result, but anyway, thought I’d pass it along.

Here is the screen shot:

source: http://www.infp.ro/


An enterprising youtuber emailed the earthquake site and a response was returned, apparently because of the huge interest the reading had gotten all over the world. Here is the response, and yes, it was a false reading. “This message is an error that has been generated by one of our data providers that operate an automatic location system. Automatic systems can sometimes generate false detections, and wrong magnitude. This detection is not associated to a real earthquake. So there has not been any M8 in Lybia. Normally we let this kind of information, even if it is wrong, on our web site because it is only published in our “For Seismologists Only” page with an associated disclaimer. But this time we decided to remove it from the web page as many people were wondering if there was a M8 in Lybia.
Best regards, Gilles”
so that answers that. I was interested to see the huge eruption of interest the potentiality of such a quake had gotten. I am just as glad that it wasn’t a quake, nor what was another possibility, a nuke, which sometimes gives off eq readings…

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Posted in ignorance, left behind party, may 21 rapture

May 22 "Left Behind" parties all the rage

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is out of Salem, Mass. today –

“It’s Sunday, May 22, 2011: Do you know where your soul is?”

“If it remains here in the mortal realm, you’re invited to a “Left Behind” party. The Gathering, a non-denominational Christian church in Salem, is planning the party for anyone who’s still around after the rapture that’s been predicted by Harold Camping, president of the Family Radio network based in Oakland, Calif. A handful of evangelical Christian churches, and Camping’s religious broadcasting network, say that true believers will be with God after Judgment Day comes on Saturday, May 21, while the rest of humanity will suffer in the ruined destroyed world that remains, until the world ends on Oct. 21. The Left Behind party in Salem is based on two ideas: First, that Saturday isn’t the end of days, and second, that God isn’t going to take a small population to heaven and exclude the rest. “We want to present just the opposite view, that God doesn’t want to leave anyone behind,” said Pastor Phil Wyman of The Gathering. Wyman said the idea of some people being raptured and others left behind — which Family Radio has publicized on billboards around Massachusetts and other states — doesn’t mesh with his concept of God’s love and grace.”

May 21 date may or may not be the time of the rapture. That is because it is not a date, it is a number. God has a number in mind for His church. We do not know what that number is, and we do not know how close we are in reaching that number. “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25.) The term full number in the Greek is a nautical term meaning that a ship could legally not set sail until the full number of crewmen were on board. I wrote lots more about the issue here. If you believe that it is a date, then you are obviously ignorant of the information, as Paul said.

That said, let’s look at what this pseudo-pastor has said. He said in effect that God loves us all so much, we’re such good guys, that He wouldn’t leave anyone behind, right? Well, He does love us, that is true. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. But wait, there’s more! “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:17-18) You must have your sins forgiven through Jesus’ work on the cross before you are released from condemnation. Just being ready to accept God’s love without accepting your own sins isn’t going to cut it. So, yes, you will be left behind.

Everyone who espouses liberal theology like this pastor does always leaves out the most important attribute of God. Holiness. We live under the love and grace of a HOLY God. People don’t like to talk about holiness these days because that would mean understanding that they themselves are not holy but are in fact sinners. Compare these two verses:

“And one called out to another and said,” Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

That is the fact of the matter. He is incredibly holy. No words can describe how His glory in perfection and holiness makes all our deeds, thoughts, works, and words as unclean rags. Did you know that the Hebrew translation of filthy rags are the used rags women had worn for their menstrual period? Our deeds to a Holy God are no better than a used tampon. We are THAT unclean.

Finally, this notion of partying. Jesus said that the time of the Tribulation – which begins after the real rapture – will be so bad that if He hadn’t cut short the days no one would survive. Do you know how bad it will be? It will be so bad that immediately after the rapture wars will begin that kill one quarter of the world’s people. (Rev 6) That is 1.7 Billion people. A war in Israel happens, in which Israel is victorious (Gog-Magog, Ez 37-28) and it takes 7 years to bury the dead, that is how many dead there will be. Birds will be gorging on dead flesh (Ez 39:17). Cities will be flattened. Water will be poisoned. “Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.” Zechariah 14:2. Does that sound like party time to you?

How about this? “The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”(Rev 21)

Now THAT’S a party! If God takes us all to live in New Jerusalem as Pastor Wyman thinks, then why does Jesus make a distinction about the only ones who can live there are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

You can have your name written in that book, and the angels will rejoice when it is. All you have to do is accept that you are a sinner, and ask Jesus to forgive them. That’s it. Do it today.

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Posted in end of days. prophecy, israel, Obama

Obama is dangerous for Israel

Posted on by elizabethprata

But Obama is even more dangerous for America. How? He is no friend to Israel, and in his speech today, Obama told Israel to give up more land. This will bring judgment upon the US. Today in his speech on Middle East issues, Obama said,

“The borders of Israel and a Palestinian state should be based on pre-1967 borders with agreed swaps…”But what America and the international community can do is state frankly what everyone knows: a lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples.” He means divide part of Israel up and give it to the Palestinians for their own state.

This proposal was not taken well by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “Netanyahu blasts Obama proposal, calls 1967 borders ‘indefensible’
Forcefully stepping into an explosive Middle East debate, President Barack Obama on Thursday endorsed a key Palestinian demand for the borders of its future state and prodded Israel to accept that it can never have a truly peaceful nation based on “permanent occupation.” Obama’s urging that a Palestinian state be based on 1967 borders — before the Six Day War in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza — was a significant shift in the U.S. approach. It drew an immediate negative response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is to meet with Obama at the White House Friday. In a statement released late Thursday in Jerusalem, Netanyahu called the 1967 lines “indefensible,” saying such a withdrawal would jeopardize Israel’s security and leave major West Bank settlements outside Israeli borders, though Obama left room for adjustments reached through negotiations.”

This is not good news for Israel, and it is my opinion that the worst suspicions of the 2008 discerning electorate have now proven true: Obama as head of the United States is abandoning Israel as an ally and is actually an active enemy of that nation.

Joel C. Rosenberg (http://www.joelrosenberg.com) is the founder of The Joshua Fund and the author of eight New York Times best-selling novels and non-fiction books, with more than two million copies in print. He has also produced two documentary films, based on his two non-fiction books. previously worked as an aide to several U.S. and Israeli leaders, including Steve Forbes, former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky, and then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is the son of a Jewish father and a Gentile mother, Joel is an evangelical Christian with a passion to make disciples of all nations and teach Bible prophecy.

He is hosting a conference in Israel this week on the Book of Joel. On his blog, Rosenberg said today of Obama’s proposal to return to 1967 borders and his proposal to carve up more land:

“Do not divide the Land of Israel — In my message about the final chapter of the Book of Joel, I explained the warning to the nations that the Lord gives. I focused in particular on Joel 3:2 (which is 4:2 in the Hebrew Bible) in which the Lord says, “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” The Bible is very clear: the Lord is going to judge all the nations for dividing up the Land of Israel. Let the United Nations and the United States and the European Union and the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government itself be warned. What appears like wisdom to the world — carving up the State of Israel like a Thanksgiving turkey — is direct disobedience to the Word of God and will trigger the most severe divine judgment. This is a hard truth for many to hear and to hold, particularly for Palestinian Arabs and others in the epicenter. But we do Israel’s Arab friends and enemies no favors by denying, obfuscating or trying to explain away the clear teaching of the Lord found in the Scriptures. We must teach the truth. We must do so gently and lovingly, but we must also be clear and firm.”

It is an inescapable fact that Israel will be divided and Jerusalem given over to the Gentiles. Joel 3:2 and Revelation 11:2 show us that. It is also an inescapable fact that the Holy Land is God’s land, and He will judge all nations that divide it or that pressure Israel to divide it.

Zechariah 12:3 says that at the time of the very end, Israel has no friend, all nations are gathered against her. America must now be moved over to the enemies side, and woe unto us that abandon God’s nation.
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Posted in summer reading

Summer’s a coming in

Posted on by elizabethprata

I just got home from a great evening with the kids at church. It was the last night of our Wednesday night kid bible study series, and we ended with Popsicles and the playground.

Our annual public school year ends on Friday at noon. Phew. It’s been a great year at school and I loved all the little kids I was able to help or support.

Typically during the summer I write A LOT MORE! Lol. I enjoy bible study, news gathering, and writing in a way that helps people gain prophetic insights and biblical foundational doctrines. So that’s what I do.

Lord willing, if we are still here this summer, I will dedicate my time to reading the bible, and in listening to the Holy Spirit and see what He wants me to write about the days we are in: the days of the end. So, get ready. Ready for what you ask? Ready:

–to meet Jesus
–to live fully submitted to Him
–to read the bible on a consistent basis
–to read more on the blog about what He is showing us in these waning days of the Church Age

See you tomorrow!

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Posted in evolution is a lie, genesis

Genesis IS the beginning: either you believe it or you don’t

Posted on by elizabethprata

In a recent John MacArthur sermon, he said, “A well-known scientist named Herbert Spencer died in 1903. He discovered that all reality, all reality, all that exists in the universe can be contained in five categories…time, force, action, space and matter. Herbert Spencer said everything that exists, exists in one of those categories…time, force, action, space and matter.

Now think about that. Time, force, action, space and matter. That is a logical sequence. And then with that in your mind, listen to Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning,” that’s time…”God,” that’s force, “created,” that’s action, “the heavens,” that’s space, “and the earth,” that’s matter. Everything that could be said about everything that exists is said in that first verse.”

Yes, indeed. The bible is amazing isn’t it? And I share with some glee that the scientist who believes all reality can be found in those five categories was an evolutionist who actually coined the term ‘survival of the fittest’ which Darwin subsequently used. But re-read Genesis 1:1, and you find truth in the five category theory. The bible is a wonderful book of science.

I am not ashamed of the bible. I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is all I need to live on, for it is my bread of life and the fountain of water is rich to slake my thirst. I believe Jesus is God incarnate, lived on earth as a man, died as the only spotless sacrifice there is, was, or will be to pay the penalty God requires for sin. I believe He died and rose again on the third day. I believe He intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father, and will return to judge the earth. I believe He is preparing a place for us called New Jerusalem which is glorious and will be our home forever when He calls us to Him. I believe I am a sinner, not arrogantly believing I am good, or that I merit entry to heaven on my own, or that I never have done, said, or thought a wrong thing, but instead I am sinful to the core. I asked Him to forgive my sins, and He did. I believe Jesus did forgive my sins and I will rule and reign with Him after He calls us to Him. I believe the church age is winding down and I thank Jesus every day for my salvation that I am cleaned from unrighteousness and will be able to dwell with Him in blissful eternity- thanks to His work on the cross. I believe the time is short. I am ready.

ARE YOU?
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Posted in israel, jerusalem, Obama, rapture

Obama reportedly to call for dividing Jerusalem: Things are getting serious

Posted on by elizabethprata

A friend emailed me and mentioned that a lot of people seem to feel a burden of imminence. These are lay-people, not necessarily prophecy students or even very active Christians. I agree with her assessment, and I second it. Jesus likened the Tribulation to birth pangs. This is a timeless symbol because women from every epoch has gotten pregnant and delivered a babe in the same way. People from all cultures and ages reading the bible or hearing these words will immediately understand the process.

Working backwards, the baby being birthed here is the Millennium Kingdom. The time prior to the birth will be bloody, these would be the birth pangs. As the birth nears, the contractions will increase in intensity and pain until we know that the time of the birth is imminent. Prior to the birth pangs, signaled by contractions, the gestation is long and at first we may not even know any gestation is happening, but then it becomes increasingly evident as the mother’s stomach bulges.

When we see a very, VERY pregnant woman we all wince in sympathetic pain, We understand the time is near, and often we may even ask her, even if she is a stranger, “When’s the baby due?” The mom-to-be says something like ‘the doc said any time from May 10 to May 19, on.” Even with today’s science, we never know the exact day of the birth, only a general window that could come earlier or could come later than even the time period within the stated window. But when we see that woman waddling along slowly, sitting down carefully with bent knee and hand to her back, stomach bulging, we all know the time is near.

We are at that time.

The Tribulation is all about Israel. Matthew 24 is about what will happen during the Tribulation and it is spoken toward the Jews, not the church. Some think that verses 4-8 could overlap with the end time prior to the rapture, and I am one of those, but from verse 9 onward it is all about the Jews. It is punishment on an unbelieving world for scattering His people. It is about punishing the Pharisaical religious systems that oppressed the Jews. It is punishment toward the Jews themselves for their failure to remain with God and in God. It is retribution for dividing His land. Revelation 11:2 reports that the Gentiles will be trampling on the Holy City for 42 months. Jerusalem will be divided.

Joel 3:2 talks about the land division, and a lot of land in Israel has been parceled away over the years. It is this land now that is back in the news. Read Joel 3:2 and all the parallel verses here, for basis.

The most egregious division of all is the dividing of God’s Holy City: Jerusalem. Daniel 9:24 is thought to be one of the most important prophetic verses in the entire bible. It says “[Seventy Weeks and the Messiah ] “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.” The Holy City of course, is Jerusalem (Is 52:1), and the Holy Place is the holy of holies, at the Temple.

The news media outlet in Israel called Ynet News says they have obtained an advance copy of Obama’s major Middle East speech he is due to deliver this week. Of course, Obama plans to deliver the speech the day Prime Minister Netanyahu leaves Israel to come to the US and make a rare visit to both houses of Congress and deliver his own major Middle East speech.

This line in the news article China’s Xinhuanet published about it is chilling:

“The president is also expected to announce his solution regarding the status of Jerusalem and call for its division. The U.S. envisions the city as the shared capital of the two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side in peace.”

This is what the LORD God Almighty has to say about Israel and His holy city, Jerusalem:

“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.” Zechariah 12:2-3

“And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.” Zephaniah 1:9

“While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:3

Woe to those who call for dividing His Holy City! Woe to those who call for dividing His land! Those who curse His people will be cursed. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Surely the time is near. The feeling of imminence is burdensome to those who seek after these things, and even many who do not seek after these things are feeling it. The world feels like it is an elastic stretched taut with no possible additional stretching to be done but then it stretches more. The feeling of being on tenterhooks is almost unbearable.

“Tenterhooks were used as far back as the fourteenth century in the process of making woollen cloth. After the cloth was woven it still contained oil from the fleece and some dirt. A fuller cleaned the woollen cloth in a fulling mill, and then had to dry it carefully or the wool would shrink. To prevent this shrinkage, the fuller would place the wet cloth on a large wooden frame, a “tenter”, and leave it to dry outside. The lengths of wet cloth were stretched on the tenter using hooks all around the perimeter of the frame to which the cloth’s edges were fixed so that as it dried the cloth would retain its shape and size.”

“By the mid-eighteenth century the phrase “on tenterhooks” came into use to mean being in a state of uneasiness, anxiety, or suspense, stretched like the cloth on the tenter.” Other synonyms for being on tenterhooks are suspense, excited, nervous, apprehensive, on edge, agitated, anxious. I say I am yes to all of the above.

We are nearing midnight. How long can this draw out? Only the Lord knows. Not the Harold Camping crowd who says by May 21 it will be all over. They do not know. The Lord’s timing is perfect, but I pray that He will release us soon from this ever growing sense of imminence. Because it WILL happen, and it will be probably be soon. Are you ready?
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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, may 21 rapture

Facepalm: man spends all his savings in advance of (false) May 21 rapture date

Posted on by elizabethprata

New York Man Spends Life Savings Ahead of May 21 Doomsday

“A New York man spent his entire $140,000 life savings advertising his prediction that the world will end May 21, the New York Post reported Friday. Robert Fitzpatrick, a 60-year-old Staten Island resident, said he spent at least that sum on 1,000 subway-car placards and ads on bus kiosks and subway cars. They say, “Global Earthquake: The Greatest Ever! Judgment Day May 21, 2011.” In a self-published book, “The Doomsday Code,” Fitzpatrick said the Bible offers “proof that cannot be dismissed.” “Judgment Day will surprise people. We will not be ready for it,” Fitzpatrick said in an interview with the newspaper. “A giant earthquake will render the earth uninhabitable.” If you want to set an alarm clock, the quake will happen just before 6:00pm local time, he said. “God’s people will be resurrected. It is also the day that God stops saving anyone,” he said. Fitzpatrick hopes that he is one of the chosen ones, but he could not be really certain. “There’s just a little doubt,” he said. “Most churches teach that if you just believe, you will be saved. It is not our choice. It is God’s choice.”

Let’s see… where to begin. It makes no financial sense to do this. I understand believing wholeheartedly in a biblical precept and wanting to use your earthly resources to advance that precept on behalf of the lost. That is to be commended. But Mr Fitzpatrick is so misguided in this particular decision, it’s stunning to think of the waste.

But leaving the fiscal, earthly decisions aside for a moment, let’s look at the biblical error here. Nothing in the bible tells the reader that the world will end on May 21. Nothing.

Next, he said a great earthquake renders the earth uninhabitable? I don’t see that in the bible. In Revelation 6, when the ‘mega seismos’ occurs, the Great Earthquake, people still live on earth for a period of time, perhaps several years. They engage in commerce, create governments, wage in war, and, well, what Jesus said in Mt 24:38 that the days of the end will be just like in the days of Noah, “people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Doesn’t sound like the earth will be uninhabitable to me if people are going about their business like that.

As for not being ready? Jesus addressed that, too: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Mt 24:44) and in Matthew 24:42, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come,” and also in Matthew 25:13, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” So no one will be ready? No one at all? Bueller? Bueller? Except Robert Fitzpatrick…he is ready, because even though Jesus said at least four times no one knows the day or hour, Mr Fitzpatrick knows. Sigh.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that on that day God stops saving anyone. A terrible accusation! And completely false! Post rapture salvation continues in the Tribulation! This is scripturally proved by Rev. 7:14, Rev. 14:13, and Rev. 20:4.

And as for being God’s choice versus faith and belief as the mechanism for salvation, Mr Fitzpatrick makes it sound as if God was up there pointing and saying, “I’ll take you and you and you but not you or you.” God’s ‘choice’ was to send Jesus to us as our Redeemer as opposed to another choice God could have made, say, obliterating us for all time. Once Jesus’ work was complete, John 6:28-29 says, “Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” It means that it is OUR choice: believe or not believe. That truth is repeated in John 6:39 and Ephesians 2:8-9.

I hope the rapture comes before May 21, actually, but May 21 would be fine with me. Or May 22. Or June 22. The answer is that we simply don’t know. I wonder if Mr Fitzpatrick will be doing when he wakes up May 22 and realizes he has no money to live on. Now THAT is worth a facepalm.
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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, transformers

Weird: transformers in ten cities blow up (UPDATED)

Posted on by elizabethprata

Last Tuesday, lightning struck a transformer that apparently set off a chain reaction. The explosions of several transformers subsequent to the lightning strike was impressive to say the least! The amateur video that captured it soared to youtube popularity and was fodder for the conspiracy sites and chat forums.

Ft. Worth Star Telegram:
“Fire and police dispatchers were busy Tuesday night answering calls about “fireballs” in the sky and on the ground in east Fort Worth. Several transformers were struck by lightning in east Fort Worth Tuesday night, Oncor spokeswoman Jeamy Molina said. Repair crews worked through overnight Wednesday through the afternoon after the lightning strikes “destroyed” some of the transformers, Molina said. About 550 power outages were being reported in the Metroplex as of noon Wednesday, with most of them in the Fort Worth area, Molina said. The number of outages have been reduced from the 4,000 outages reported late Tuesday, Molina said. About 210 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were reported in Tarrant County between 8 and 9 p.m., said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mosier, who said he couldn’t pinpoint the exact locations. Some 120 more incidents of lightning striking the ground were reported from 9 to 10 p.m., Mosier said. Mosier said he didn’t know if it had to strike the transformer directly or the ground close to it but if the lightning carries a large enough electrical charge, it can “blow” a transformer.”

I don’t know how a lighting strike can blow five of them…Anyway here is the video. It is pretty spectacular.It seemed unusual to me, and I notice repetitive arcing, which seems unusual from just one lightning strike.

Then a couple of days later, an electrical transformer blew up early Thursday morning, causing a fire on the roof of Nasco International Inc. in Fort Atkinson Wisconsin. Here again is amateur video of the event:

Hmmm, two transformer explosions in two days? Interesting but still not a pattern.

Then, today, another one in Las Vegas. UPI reports:

I-15 shut down by Vegas transformer fire

“Las Vegas police said it took about two hours to clear up a traffic mess caused by an electrical transformer explosion behind the Monte Carlo casino. The blast and resulting fire created a cloud of smoke that shut down the northbound lanes of Interstate 15. Metro Police told the Las Vegas Sun there were no injuries and Monte Carlo guests had to be evacuated. The cause of the explosion, which occurred around 12:30 a.m. MDT, was not known.”

Weird. And then I discover that one in GA blew, one in Toronto closed a highway, one in St. Louis caused the tornado sirens to go off, and one in Snelville snarled traffic and a transformer explosion in Maryland caused a massive shock wave and leveled an abandoned building. Tonight 5000 unexpectedly lost power in Detroit, reason unknown. All happened this week. NOW it’s a pattern.

[UPDATE: in addition to the transformer electrical weirdness reported below, two more reports came in tonight: a Norwegian cruise ship with 1800 passengers and 200 crew aboard is completely without electricity. They are a dead duck, no lights, no operating machinery on board, no engines. They have to be towed back to port. Secondly, the main airport at Kuala Lumpur suffered a total electrical blackout tonight. “Out of the 42 scheduled flights, a total of 13 flights were delayed and in excess of 300 bags were left behind due to the power interruption.” ]

I’ve always thought that a soft target for terrorists would be the electrical grid. The Council for Foreign Relations thinks so too. In this report from 2007, titled “America’s Vulnerable Energy Grid,” they wrote, “On August 14, 2003, fifty million people in the Northeastern United States and Canada suddenly found themselves without electricity, some for more than twenty-four hours. In addition to eight lives, the largest blackout in U.S. history cost an estimated $6 billion to $10 billion. Contrary to initial fears, the outage was not the result of a terrorist attack or some other form of sabotage. Rather, untrimmed trees in Ohio set off a chain reaction that cast 9,300 square miles into darkness.”

“Sadly, this was no isolated incident. In July 2006, a nine-day power outage in Queens, New York affected one hundred thousand people. The apparent cause of that disruption was deterioration of the thirty- to sixty-year-old cables servicing the area. The same month, a violent thunderstorm in St. Louis, Missouri knocked out power leaving some seven hundred thousand people to brave a weeklong heat wave without electricity.”

“Current stresses on the U.S. energy grid present cause for concern. With an aging infrastructure and growing energy consumption, major outages may become an increasing phenomenon. The specter of terrorism also looms large: Experts say jihadis in Iraq have proven adept at disrupting the electrical grid in that country and could easily apply that same skill set in the United States.”

I think what they are saying is that if accidental outages from overgrown trees or old cables bring this much havoc and pain to millions of people, then what could a deliberate terrorist disruption do? A lot worse.

Now, the incidents reported above could simply be looting. Copper thieves are getting very desperate these days. I seem to recall a story out of Des Moines from less than a month ago: “Bold Thieves Risk Death to Steal Copper from Energized Transformer.” A Toronto article reports, “Thieves are so brazen that they will even steal copper from live transformer stations. Hydro One loses about $1 million a year from stolen copper, said Gregory Taylor, head of copper theft prevention.”

The end of the Church Age and the soon Tribulation will bring many of these kids of worries and realities to the remaining earth population. The Day of the Lord is surely coming soon. Are you ready to meet Him? Every life conceived has an eternal destiny. The default condition is death in hell. The choice we can all make is life in heaven. Being ready means recognizing your sins, asking Jesus to forgive them, and then living for Him with the aid of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Otherwise, sitting in hundred degree heat high in an apartment building somewhere with no electricity, toilets, elevators, and marauding copper thieves at every turn, will be your best future. The future after that will be much worse. Turn to Jesus now.
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