Posted in jesus, new earth, pets, rapture

Pets and the rapture

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m asked more often lately about what will happen to our pets when we’re raptured. Some ask about the animals we keep, being a farm community. This place abounds with cows, bulls, buffalo, mules, goats, chickens, pigs and more. An ancillary question is often asked about pets and/or animals in the New Earth. I find the question fascinating, and also encouraging. The question about pets during the rapture has two answers: the literal one and the abstract one

The literal answer would have to refer to the bible. The book of Genesis tells us that we are unique in God’s creation, being made in His image and likeness. Also, though we and the animals have the breath of life in us, we were made to have dominion over the animals. It is reasonable to assume that our futures will be different, being of different flesh and having had different roles on earth.

We read in Isaiah 11:6-9 that there will be animals walking the earth during the Millennial Kingdom.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

Those verses do not give us any indication one way or another specifically whether any of those animals will be our resurrected pets or whether they will be all newly created animals, or whether they will be animals completely different from any we could conceive of. After all, our normal picture of angels never prepared us for the passages in Ezekiel 10:10-12 with the cherubim of four faces and wheel within wheels. And a word of caution. Remember, a redeemed earth is not a resurrected earth.

After the thousand year reign of Christ on earth concludes and He makes a New Heaven and a New Earth (Rev 21, 22, 2 Peter 3:13, Isaiah 66:22) there is no indication that animals will be present with us. I take comfort in the Genesis flood accounts that He took care to provide for animals of the earth. He didn’t make new animals after the flood, and He didn’t give Noah only the animals he would eat and sacrifice, but He provided for all the kinds of animals. But the truth is, we simply don’t know.

We do know for a fact that we will feel all joy in the new heaven, and the former things will not be remembered nor come to mind. (Revelation 7:16-17). I take that to mean that if our pets are not accompanying us in the eternal state, not only the crushing guilt of our sin will no longer be remembered and not only also our lost family members and friends will not come to mind, but also we will not remember our pets. Everything necessary to our happiness will be in heaven, and that will mean they will either be present or their memory will be absent.

The abstract answer to the question as to what happens to our pets indicates a growing awareness of the real impacts of imminent rapture. Many Christians who ask me this have been Christians for a lifetime, or at least many years. We hear about the rapture and most of us know it as truth and adhere to it as a doctrine, but peeking into the nuts and bolts of the mechanics of it has largely been absent from our thoughts. This is because until now it has not been obvious that we might very well be the generation spoken of that will experience it. Though the rapture has been imminent for thousands of years, the conditions that immediately follow our departure haven’t been.

But those conditions are present now and growing more glaring by the minute. Christians are waking up to the fact that the rapture could indeed occur in our lifetime, or next year, or tomorrow. As we gaze around at our world and see the decline of the church and the war against truth, we start picturing what it will exactly look like- after.

I have an indoor cat. When I’m raptured, whether it occurs when I’m home or at work, it means they will starve. They will be thirsty and alone and lonely and confused. Maybe a tree will fall on the house in one of the terrible storms and disasters prophesied to come upon the earth, and maybe they will be injured or escape into the world, only to be eaten by a larger predator. I don’t know. But it will be bad. The future does not look good for them.

Nor does it look good for the chickens in the pens and the cows needing to be milked and the dogs tied to the pole or inside the car while the master is inside getting coffee. I try not to think about it. It is just one of the many tragedies that will occur during this time. After all, Jesus Himself 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. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matt. 24: 21-22). It will be a very bad time, for not only the people but for the animals who suffer under the same corrupted earth that we do. I simply try not to dwell on it.

I take encouragement from something Texas Baptist Pastor Don Fawcett said, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope, that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” Romans 8:20-21. It seems abundantly clear from this verse that 1) the entire creation was subjected to decay and corruption due to sin, 2) animals and pets are created beings, 3) animals and pets are subject to corruption as part of the fallen world, 4) Christ, in his atonement, undid the sin/death principle for all corrupted creation, 5) at the eschaton, all things that have been effected by sin and corruption unwillingly will be restored. So, my conclusion- animals or pets in heaven? Animals? No doubt. Personal pets? I don’t know but it is certainly within the scope of biblical theology.”

I would like to agree with this. It is certainly in the scope of possibility, too.

I know God is good. His thoughts are above our thoughts and His plans are always working together for the good and His glory. It comes down to trust. I trust His thoughts and I trust His ways. After all, He sent Jesus to us. He sent the Holy Spirit to us. He sent the bible to us. He knows whither a sparrow falls and He knows our emotions and needs. Maybe He will send Fluffy and Scrappy to us! Heaven is perfection, and so, it will be perfect. I trust that with all my soul.

Further Reading:

Will our Pets be Raptured with Us?

Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, pre-tribulation rapture

Why I love prophecy

Posted on by elizabethprata

I love prophecy. People who are on the outside of Jesus’ love often wonder why us fundamentalists love the prophecies so much, in addition to wondering why we love the bible so much. “Why all that doom and gloom?” they wonder. We are often thought of as crazy and soundly derided because it looks to the unsaved like we’re gleeful over the demise of all the lost.

But nothing could be further from the truth. We do mourn the effects of sin on a fallen and dying world. We do mourn the lost, who, incidentally are our fathers, and sisters, and mothers, and friends. We do ache at the mocking against God, and chafe at what the scoffers say.

But fulfilled prophecy means to me so much more than doom and gloom. It is actually light and promise. Literally: promise. Prophecy is God’s utterances of what will happen. He doesn’t have to tell us, but He does. The Ancient of Days, the Great I Am, tells us what He will do. We have opportunity then, to decide if we want to be with Him, or against Him. He is all glory.

“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Isaiah 42:8

Knowing Jesus like I do, I know without a doubt that what He says will come to pass, will come to pass. Is it not so?

“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Psalm 89:34

That is one of the reasons I love prophecy. In a crazy world when nothing is certain, the words of Jesus and His promises are not only certain, they are set in stone. The Capstone!

I love prophecy because it illustrates His past and His future justice. Sinning is a crime against Him. Crimes have punishments. The main crime is against Himself. He will not be mocked. God never fails to see even the smallest injustice borne by a long-suffering saint. He will rectify it all, upholding His holiness by bringing justice onto those who have chosen to be criminals in God’s court. In this way, He brings glory unto Himself, by magnifying His holy name, and the believers will sing praises because finally justice is no longer perverted in the world, but is perfect.

“How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.” Job 8:2-4

“The LORD is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.” Psalm 9:16

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.” Matthew 12:17-19

The feelings of wanting righteous men to rule, to want justice rendered in the world, of wanting promises to mean something, are feelings of passion for the Lord to express Himself through fulfillment of those long-uttered promises. And that’s a good thing.
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Posted in end time, jerusalem attacks, prophecy

Implications of attacks in Israel: STRATFOR analysis

Posted on by elizabethprata

STRATFOR Analyst Reva Bhalla explains the regional consequences of the escalating violence in Israel and what this means for Iran and Egypt.

Link to video: Dispatch: Implications of the Attacks in Israel

Transcript of what video said: “A bombing struck a bus station in central Jerusalem on Tuesday wounding 34 people and killing one other. This apparent escalation by at least some Palestinian factions raises the potential for another military campaign by Israel in the Palestinian territories. This not only could produce another crisis for Egypt, but could also play to Iranian interests in the region.”

“This quite rare Jerusalem attack comes on the heels of a barrage of rocket attacks coming from Gaza Strip into population centers in southern Israel and the Negev Desert. It also comes a little less than two weeks after a particularly gruesome attack on a family in the West Bank in the Itamar settlement. We are clearly seeing an escalation by at least some Palestinian factions against Israel. Now who is actually behind the attacks is much less clear. Often you will find that a lot of groups will use contradicting claims and denials and new names to deliberately confuse the Israel security intelligence apparatus. Some of the more recent rocket attacks from Gaza were claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which out of all the Palestinian militant groups is the closest to Iran.”

“We therefore need to put this latest attack in regional context. The killings in the West Bank were intentionally designed to provoke the Israelis. The Israelis, however, refused to be provoked. Then we saw a barrage of rocket attacks coming from Gaza now coordinated with an attack on a bus station in central Jerusalem.”

“This now could produce an enormous crisis for Egypt. The Egyptian government, now led by the military, is in a very delicate position in trying to manage this political transition at home while now also trying to deal with a war next door in Libya. On top of that, we’re seeing an escalation in the Palestinian territories, and whenever you have an Israeli military intervention in the Gaza Strip, which now seems very possible, you have an influx of refugees from Gaza into the Sinai Peninsula. That creates a security crisis on the Egyptians and the Egyptians often have to clamp down on the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and the Sinai.”

“This could allow Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, crucially, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which is the main opposition group in Egypt, to condemn the Egyptian military-led government and escalate anti-Israeli sentiment. That in turn could endanger the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, and this is a dynamic that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood couldn’t really capitalize on during the recent crisis, but it could do so now, especially if you have an Israeli military intervention in the Gaza Strip under the current circumstances.”

“When going beyond the Palestinian territories, we have a situation where the Iranians are pursuing a covert destabilization campaign in the Persian Gulf region, using Shia unrest to destabilize the regimes in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in particular. When looking at the unrest overall in the region, the one key ingredient that was missing was Israel. Israel is often the single unifying call for many on the Arab streets, and that is certainly something that a lot of Palestinian factions will be paying attention to right now. Watch for groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and others in the region to escalate attacks in an effort to provoke a military confrontation with Israeli forces, create a crisis for Egypt through the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and threaten Israel on multiple fronts. This is something that could well play to the Iranian agenda and escalate the regional unrest overall.”

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Posted in end time, prophecy

How do you relate to Jesus?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Jesus has over 100 different names and titles. He is the Shepherd, Judge, King, Advocate … and many others. In each of these many capacities He performs another of His great functions. In Him all things Hold together (Col 1:17). Through Him we are made, and “through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3:8).

We each relate to Him in different ways. I came to Him as the Light, that is how I first saw Him. I love John 1:1-10, and my very favorite bible verse is John 1:5, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” When I read John’s opening verse, I always cry.

I also relate to Him as the Judge. My sin weighs heavily on me. It is so ugly. Also, sin weighs on me due to the fact that the world fails to understand their sin-crimes, and the destiny of unforgiven sinners. I also am relieved by His grace that He will not judge us, and instead pardon us from our crimes, expunging the record. (Colossians 2:14). Wow. We serve a God who displays so much mercy it is indescribable.

So to me, my Savior is Light, and Judge. Who is He to you? If you’re stuck, you can click on the link above, it lists all His titles and attributes along with the bible verse that supports it. How do you best enjoy relating to Jesus and what verse reflects this connection between you and Him?
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Posted in asherah, idolatry, prophecy

Fertility Goddess Asherah: Was ‘God’s Wife’ Edited Out of the Bible?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is one example of a sacrilege in the news this week. (Left, Asherah graven image)

Discovery News: God’s Wife Edited Out of the Bible — Almost
“God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshiped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel, according to an Oxford scholar. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and Asherah. The theory has gained new prominence due to the research of Francesca Stavrakopoulou, who began her work at Oxford and is now a senior lecturer in the department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter. “After years of research specializing in the history and religion of Israel, however, I have come to a colorful and what could seem, to some, uncomfortable conclusion that God had a wife,” she added. Stavrakopoulou bases her theory on ancient texts, amulets and figurines unearthed primarily in the ancient Canaanite coastal city called Ugarit, now modern-day Syria. All of these artifacts reveal that Asherah was a powerful fertility goddess.”

One other headline goes like this: Fertility Goddess Asherah: Was ‘God’s Wife’ Edited Out of the Bible?

Headlines worded like that let us see how much the world disdains, hates, and mocks the One True God. They do not consider the bible the truth nor do they consider it authoritative. Instead they strive to find the hidden messages and clues to doctrines more in line with man’s selfish notions, and which that relieve the pricking they feel from the Holy Spirit. That this author ‘discovered’ the “truth” extant of the bible is telling. They say:

“This seems to be in part driven by a modern desire, clearly inspired by the Biblical narratives, to hide Asherah behind a veil once again,” Wright says.”

Their attitude is that there are some truths outside of the bible that were removed due to man’s agenda, but these truths are found once again due to the diligence of historians, archaeologists, geologists, and the like. They do not accept that the bible is true in and of itself, because they do not like what it says. Thank goodness these historians are good enough detectives to be able to save the known scraps about Asherah from total editing out of the bible! Not.

Let’s take a look at definitions of blasphemy and sacrilege:

Barnes’ notes on blasphemy: “The word “blaspheme” originally means to speak evil of anyone; to injure by words; to blame unjustly. When applied to God, it means to speak of him unjustly; to ascribe to him acts and attributes which he does not possess; or to speak impiously or profanely. It also means to say or do anything by which his name or honor is insulted, or which conveys an “impression” unfavourable to God.”

Eaton’s Bible Dictionary: sacrilege- The sin or crime of violating or profaning sacred things; the alienating to laymen, or to common purposes, what has been appropriated or consecrated to religious persons or uses.

John MacArthur says in a sermon on idolatry, ” “The issue here is an issue of sacrilege. All false religion is demon worship. Listen, now remember an idol is nothing. You can carve an idol out of wood, you can make an idol out of stone, you can make an idol out of silver, you can make one out of gold. You can do whatever you want to paint one on a wall. You can form one out of marble, whatever it is. When you’re done with it, it’s nothing. But the religion and the ideology that it stands for is the teaching of demons. It is a lie from the pit. It is the doctrine of demons coming from seducing spirits. So that what happens is demons impersonate the idol and you worship a demon in the idol, though you don’t know it. It is a demon who creates the religion, who conducts the relationship with the worshiper. It is demon communion.”

MacArthur was speaking of Manasseh in 2 Kings 21:3 “Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the places where gods were worshiped, but Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal, and he made an Asherah idol as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped all the stars of the sky and served them.” In ancient lore, Asherah and El, the highest God, were consorts. Their son was supposedly Baal, which you know well from the bible.

And make no mistake, the Old Testament gods are not gone. Satan still perpetuates them and recycles them. In Solomon’s day it was Molech. Josiah’s day it was Asherah. In Paul’s day it was Diana. In our day, Molech has become “Abortion.”

For those who may be scratching their heads as to why I’m spending time on this, it is because it is a big deal to God. His FIRST Commandment is to declare Himself the One True God and that we shall not not put any other gods before Him.(Ex 20:3-4).

Time and again in the bible God said not to bow down to any images. Idolatry is a serious offense. It is not old-fashioned. It is not gone by. It is not dry and dusty and out of fashion. It is forbidden. It was forbidden then and it is forbidden now. To promote and accept that God had a wife means you believe He lied. Do they not believe Psalm 81:9? “There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.” ? Do they not believe Deuteronomy 8:19 “And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.”? Do they not believe Jeremiah 5:19 “And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” ?

I echo David, “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? (Psalms 74:10)

Not forever, but until the fullness of the iniquity runs its course. Matthew 24:4-5 and Matthew 24:24 remind us that many will come in Jesus name but will be deceivers and do false miracles and call themselves messiahs. 2 Thess 2:9 repeats this warning and reminder. 2 Timothy 4:3-4. “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

Like the myth of Asherah. It’s deja vu all over again.
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Posted in apocalypse, end time, prophecy

End times being discussed in the news

Posted on by elizabethprata

UPDATE: adding this link from MSNBC’s Lawrence “It’s Not The End of the World” O’Donnell, refuting Beck & O’Reilly saying it IS the end of the world. Probably.

End time fundamental Christian prophesies are increasingly the news. People are beginning to wonder, “Is there something to all this?” It would take a person living under a rock not to see that things are not normal, and that a bit of personal introspection is in order, because the end of time prophesies just might be true. The massive earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunami are the latest events to really cause non-believers to wonder these things.

Of course, Fundamentalist Christians already believe them, wholeheartedly. We believe ALL of the bible is true. All of it. Liberal Christians believe differently. As Richard Niebuhr once famously said, liberal Christians believe in “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” (H. Richard Niebuhr). So it goes without saying liberal Christians are not so hot on Revelation, believing it to be allegory and just plain weird, besides.

Here is a letter to the editor from a non-believer that sums up how the lost see us:

“St Louis Suburban Journal: Better to miss the “rapture”
“Please leave me behind! A number of fundamentalist Christians believe Jesus will soon come back (no date is set) and “rapture” them to heaven. All the rest will be left behind on earth to suffer misery, supposedly caused by Satan and his hosts. Those who are “raptured” will probably be ultra-right fundamentalists such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Since I have no use for these people, I would prefer to stay behind and party with the “unrighteous.” Though I believe in some kind of “higher power,” I subscribe to no religious belief system. Most mainline Christians do not believe in the “rapture.” They believe doing good here on earth (preserving the planet, helping others) is the number one priority. I’m on their side. “Rapturites,” however, are anti-science, anti-government, anti-sex and anti-environment. They do not believe in evolution and think the world is only 6,000 years old. These beliefs are held by many “tea party” types recently elected to Congress, something which I as an American “progressive” find very embarrassing. To the extent that fundamentalist “rapturites” have political power, real, positive common sense says progress will be set back decades. People have the right to believe whatever they want, but they should not be able to push their beliefs into government policy. To paraphrase an old joke, “rapture” Christians and “tea-partyites” remind me of Moses. Every time they open their mouths, the “bull rushes.” Count me grateful to be left behind.”

Please remember to pray for the lost! He does not know the horror of what he asks for.

Since the mainstream media is so negative toward fundamental Christians, I am always happy to see reasonable articles about reasonable pastors and Christians in the news who are discussing the end time! The following two excerpts are from Christian publications, though, so they really are preaching to the choir:

The Christian Post: Pastor says end of world is near, really
“Every generation has cried “the end of the world is near.” Yet “here we are still,” noted one Southern California pastor. “Yes, we have heard this message before but over the years, certain things have happened that have immense prophetic significance,” he said. He listed the dramatic escalation of global wars and terrorism, the push for unity or globalism, the change in world economics toward a cashless society, the unprecedented increase of killer earthquakes, and false teaching permeating the church. The world isn’t quite yet at the seven-year Tribulation Period that the Bible prophesizes, Laurie said, but he believes it’s close. “That means the return of Jesus Christ is even closer yet,” he said. There may be some disagreements over the order of the prophetic events, he noted. But there is no division on “this one truth: that Jesus Christ is coming back again soon.”

One News Now: Repentance in the wake of tragedy
“The founder of a Messianic Jewish ministry believes the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last week is actually a “birth pang” for what the Bible says will grow more frequent and more intense in the very last days. These so-called ‘birth pangs’ really are intensifying and getting greater and more frequent — and I think it’s a wake-up call, not just for the Japanese,” she offers. “We’d all like to think that the nation of Japan would turn and repent as a result of what happened. [While] we know that won’t happen, we know individuals will. “[The] same is true in America,” continues the ministry leader. “We’re hoping that some of these horrible things can open up some eyes; that they can see that God allows these things for greater purposes; that time is indeed short, and that people would get right with the Lord.”

Overall, it’s the greatest to see a discussion occurring in mainstream newspapers about the end of days. Such a discussion happened yesterday as the Rev Franklin Graham was interviewed by a mainstream news outlet about the earthquake and tsunami, and end of the world prophesies. He was being interviewed because his organization, Samaritan’s Purse, had collected 91 tons of relief supplies and was at the North Carolina airport ready to ship it to Japan. His answer is getting a lot of play in the mainstream press.

In the face of such negativity about biblical prophecy as shown in the `first letter above, and in the face of firm stances uttered by the two pastors in the next two excerpts, it’s a bit sad for me to see that Rev Franklin’s answer was less firm than I think it could have been. It’s my opinion that Rev Franklin squandered an opportunity to speak with authority about prophecy to a lost and dying – but curious – world. However, I’ll leave it to you to make an opinion for yourself. He did point to Jesus and the need to be ready to stand before Him at any time, which is a good thing to get out into the news stream. Here is a transcription of that part of his interview and below that is the entire video.

JOURNALIST: Some Christian authors and pastors claim that recent earthquake activity points to the soon coming of the return of Jesus. That we are living in the last days before the return of Christ. We’ve had the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We’ve had the earthquake in Haiti. Hurricane Katrina. The devastating tsunami in Indonesia. Are folks right to link these natural disasters to end of world prophesies?

GRAHAM: Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus what are the signs of your Second Coming…of your return. He told them there will be wars and famines, there would be earthquakes, that it would be escalating like labor pains. As a woman gives birth to a child, those labor pains as they begin, would start to intensify and with more frequency. And so, maybe this is. I don’t know. But regardless, all of us need to be ready to stand before Almighty God. Because every one of us someday is going to die and where do we stand, are our sins forgiven? Are we prepared to meet Him? And Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes before the Father except through Me.

JOURNALIST: So, these end of world prophesies, you’re saying there could be something to them?

GRAHAM: There could be. I don’t know. But the bible tells us that we should watch. We should pray, we need to be vigilant, and no question, the bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to return someday and for many of us we believe that day is sooner rather than later.

Rev. Franklin Graham: Japan Quake May Be Beginning Of Second Coming
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In all seriousness, the point of the birth pangs is that they will increase as the birth nears. People will notice them more as unusual as they get worse. The pangs will penetrate their consciousness. The birth in my opinion being the Millennium Kingdom, the fulfilled promise of the Messiah to the Jews, and New Jerusalem, the Blessed Hope of our dwelling with Jesus in the place He has prepared for us). People are talking, and that is good. We can all pray that as the pangs grow more devastating and painful, that more people would look UP and seek Him. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:32

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Posted in end of days. prophecy, end time, striggio

Uplifting music for tough times: Striggio’s long lost mass found

Posted on by elizabethprata

A 16th century Mass has hit the charts…and if you hear only a piece of it you will understand why.

UK Independent has the story
Spiritual music for tough times
“It’s not the first thing you’d expect to see in the pop charts alongside Bon Jovi and Duffy: a choral work in 40 parts by a composer little recognised beyond the ivory towers of early music. Yet the world premiere recording of the Mass Ecco sì beato giorno, written in 1566 by the Italian composer Alessandro Striggio (c1536-1592) but long thought lost, has rocketed up the sales ratings since its release earlier this month. It was the No 1 classical download on iTunes and it has reached No 68 on the pop charts.” [more at link]


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Posted in end time, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy

A compare and contrast exercise

Posted on by elizabethprata

If you look at the world today it is dark, ugly, and bleak. Stay with me, it gets good.

There is a report of another oil spill in the Gulf. It is reported to be 100 miles long and 10 miles wide. The Coast Guard did go out and check, and confirmed some slicks. Their investigation continues.

Radiation from the Fukushima prefect in Japan is now high enough to have infected milk, spinach, and Tokyo tap water. All food sales from that district have been halted.

The radiation plume from Japan has made its way across the Pacific and USDA is now testing west coast milk for milk infection.

Dead baby dolphins are washing up along the Gulf shores and also along the coasts of SC. Ten times as many as usual. Imagine walking along with your kids and coming across a badly decomposed 6 foot mammal. Ugh. Scientists do not know why only dolphins are dying.

Wars, bombs, and death in the Middle East continues apace.

A huge swathe of land in Washington state is sliding down the hill, taking people’s homes with it. A huge section of Route One in California slid into the sea. 

To sum up, the air is toxic, the water is polluted, the land is poison, the animals are decaying, and the land is unstable. It’s gross everywhere, and more of it is coming.

This reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode called The Masks, set in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras. A rich guy with a hateful family is dying. He calls them all to his house for his last breaths, and he knows they will come because they want the money. They are insufferable, one being a coward, one a self-absorbed brat, another a buffoon, and another a greedy miser. The rich guys says you can all have the money but you have to do one thing: wear these Mardi Gras masks until the stroke of midnight. They are grotesque masks, but the family accepts the condition because they want the guy to die so they can have the money.

The guy does die after making his final speech to them, and the clock strikes midnight. They gleefully cheer (over the guy’s dead body) and peel off the masks…except they won’t come off. Their faces have transformed into the characteristics of their awful inner selves. What was inside them, hidden, was made manifest on their exterior.

The world’s awful condition is manifesting its sin on its exterior.  Once charged to take care of the world (Genesis 1:27-30), in our sin, we corrupted it. In its pollution and toxicity and poison, the invisible qualities of the world’s sinful people are made manifest.

ALL TO HIS GLORY!

How so, you ask? Because He will lift us out of this place, from its poison and rot, its radiation and oil, and how much MORE glorious His face will seem! How much MORE pure! How much MORE holy! He shines like the sun! His throne is radiant with rainbows shining about it! He is like silver, refined seven times! Turning our face from our rotted planet, we will see how much more glory He deserves in His sinlessness!

If there is anything good about this world, it is that His shining visage will appear all the more bright when we SOON gaze upon it.

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