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

World ‘unable to handle any future shocks’

Posted on by elizabethprata

If as the Davos Summit people say, the world is ‘unable to handle any future shocks‘ then they are in for another huge shock: things will get worse. A lot worse. The world will be buffeted so heavily in every realm (economic, financial, production, emotional, spiritual, governmental) that the world itself will crack apart in the end. (Isaiah 24:20). But before all that, let’s see what the Davos/World Economic Summit people actually said:

“The ability of governments to respond to future shocks is at “critically low levels” after the battering of the credit crisis, according to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), the organiser of the Davos summit of political and business leaders. Its annual risk assessment gives warning that the unprecedented peacetime debts racked up by governments as they fought to restore growth have left the global economy in a precarious position. … Economists say there are many pressing issues to discuss, and highlighted long-term fiscal problems in the developed world as chief among them. “Current fiscal policies are unsustainable in most industrialised economies,” said Daniel Hofmann, chief economist at Zurich Financial Services. “In the absence of far-reaching structural corrections, there will be a high risk of sovereign defaults.”

‘Sovereign defaults’ is another name for ‘nations going belly-up.’ So it seems that the Economic Summit people are saying we can no longer absorb economic shocks.

Source

We know that by the time the middle of the tribulation rolls around the world is economically struggling. The economy is not only impacted when housing and credit goes bust, like it did in 2008, but also when natural disasters happen. The cost is huge for municipalities and nations struggling to recover when floods wipe away whole communities, earthquakes flatten whole sections of the earth, snow covers deeply, infrastructure is broken. Trying to re-build all of that while the events are still ongoing means that many towns, cities, and countries will go broke. They already are. See here, here, here, here…

So by the point mentioned in the Revelation chapter, the antichrist and the false prophet have come up with an idea to rectify the situation by taking control of the world and the economy, since the whole world follows him anyway (Rev 13:3). He institutes a mark, upon which the false prophet causes all, great and small, to take, otherwise they may not buy nor sell. In other words, to accept this mark is to accept that the antichrist is your god, and because of your assent, he will allow you to participate in the global economy.

In order for the global economy to be co-opted by one man, it must have somehow become broken. That break-up is happening now and began in October of 2008 with the first ‘too big to fail’ crashes. Many will argue that the crash began in the late 90’s at the credit and housing bubble, still others argue it began at 1913 when the bankers slyly created the Federal Reserve, but suffice to say, it really ramped up and manifested in September-October 2008.

The Davos people focus on the economy being impacted by “the possibility of water, energy and food shortages, and the rise of the “illegal economy”. It estimated trade in illicit goods, including drugs and guns, was worth $1.3 trillion in 2009, and said organised crime and official corruption kept countries trapped in poverty” and also currency issues. The hidden costs to the economy of continual natural disasters should also be counted. Let’s start in Australia, where biblical level flooding is taking its toll on, well, just about everything.

Source: crops inundated in Rockhampton Australia.

Way back on January 3, the Queensland State Treasurer said then that the cost to infrastructure in that state alone would be 1 billion dollars. The flooding has continued. It has affected mining in a big way. Coking coal costs, a kind of coal used in making steel and which Australia exports 14 million tonnes annually, will be removed from the market completely. Steelmakers will be severely affected, with steel prices potentially surging 30-40%. The floods in Australia have also affected farming. Millions of acres of farmland are destroyed. The farming disaster zone is the size of  Egypt. Just this week, it is reported that food prices are surging. Tomato prices alone rose 20% in one week, and are predicted to go higher next week. Queensland is simply “stunned” as this AP video reports. The Global Post calls Brisbane a “war zone” with destroyed infrastructure on a mass scale. How will they pay for rebuilding all that? The Davos Economic people said we can’t absorb any more economic shock, and I believe that, yet more shocks to the economic system continue.

Australia certainly isn’t the only nation to be staggering under economic woes, unable to absorb more shocks to their system. Brazil is enduring terrible flooding today. The successive blizzards in the entire half of the US have a cost, too. Overtime for plowers. Lost revenue from shut businesses. Losses in the airline industry. In Massachusetts, the snow cleanup costs “won’t be pretty” said the Governor.

Source

Constant disasters have a cost not only emotionally but also economically. We are constantly wiped out and are constantly spending money to get back to the level we were before. At some point the money will run out. That is what the Davos people were saying. There is only so much employment to go around though, given our population, at least in the US. At an Economic Forum in Washington, DC this week, president and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce Thomas J. Donohue said “we must create 1.2 million jobs a year just to absorb the new entrants into our workforce.” It’s not going to happen. And with successive disasters that hinder any and all growth, it becomes apparent that attempting to do so is a Sisyphean enterprise. Sisyphus was the guy in ancient times according to myth who was condemned by the ‘gods’ to eternally push a rock up a hill, only to have it roll down just as he got to the top.

The only activity that makes sense and has an ultimate fruitful purpose is to accept that you are a sinner, repent and claim Jesus’ forgiveness of them, and become one of His children. Everything you do after that will have an eternal goodness, purpose, and point to it. You can choose to be stuck on earth and continually dig out like Sisyphus,

only to have more snow immediately drop on you. Or more floods. Or another earthquake. If you feel like you can’t take any more shocks, then turn to Jesus and let HIM absorb the shocks for you!
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Posted in bird deaths, end time, end time. prophecy

Some more animal die-offs today

Posted on by elizabethprata

CA: Mystery bird die-off in Sonoma County
“Days after massive bird die-offs in the south, Sonoma County officials Tuesday had a mystery of their own as more than 100 bird carcasses were discovered near Geyserville. California Highway Patrol Officer Jon Sloat said the birds were discovered on to Independence Lane at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The California Department of Fish and Game was notified and a local warden responded. He took several of the birds away to be identified and tested by a biologist, Sloat told the San Rosa Press Democrat. The birds all appeared to be the same species – small in size with brown and black feathers.”

UK: More mass animal deaths: Hundreds of fish meet an icy end in a frozen pond in Manchester
“The bizarre spate of mass animal deaths around the world has continued, with hundreds of fish found dead in a Greater Manchester pond. Experts say the freezing weather caused the deaths, which follow reports of scores of birds falling to their deaths in the US, thousands of fish found floating off the Florida coast and 40,000 devil crabs washing up in Kent. The internet has been awash with conspiracy theories over the mysterious mass deaths but there is nothing sinister about the latest discovery as 500 fish – many thought to be large bream and pike – were simply found frozen in an icy pond. Nature lover Stuart Hall spotted the fish in the pond on Chudleigh Close, Stockport, during a walk near his home. ‘I was shocked, it was awful to see all that life just gone,’ he said. ‘It’s like the “birds dropping from the trees” scenario, but on a much larger scale. ‘When you love nature and the countryside it’s heartbreaking. There is no sign of life here whatsoever – not one duck.’ ” more of the article at link.

Alabama: Hundreds of blackbirds found alongside I-65
“Wednesday morning, we got a handful of emails and phone calls from viewers who said there appeared to be a massive bird kill on the side of Interstate 65 in Limestone County. That’s exactly what we found when we got there. Just south of Athens, near mile marker 347, there were around 300 dead blackbirds just off the side of the northbound lanes. The viewers who called us said the birds seemed to just fall from the sky, but we spoke to a wildlife biologist at the scene who says there is an explanation for what happened. “What it appears to us right now is that the birds were feeding alongside the road,” said Mitchell Marks. “The flock flushed, flew out into a vehicle and we’ve got this kill here along the road.”

MO: Dozens of dead birds found in Sullivan
“Dozens of dead birds are discovered near Sullivan, Missouri about an hour southwest of St. Louis. People in and around Sullivan are calling the whole thing a little weird. The scene is just east of Sullivan along the I-44 south service road at Winsel Creek. The Missouri Department of Conservation is looking into the situation. It was discovered on Monday. Experts there and with the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park say the dead birds are Starlings. Starlings are among the dead birds that have been found in several other states recently.”

US widespread: First dead birds, then dead fish, now dead crickets
Paralysis virus has disrupted supplies to pet shops across North America
“A virus has killed millions of crickets raised to feed pet reptiles and those kept in zoos. The cricket paralysis virus has disrupted supplies to pet shops across North America as a handful of operators have seen millions of their insects killed. Some operations have gone bankrupt and others have closed indefinitely until they can rid their facilities of the virus. The virus marks the latest in a recent series of mass animal deaths. Blackbirds fell out of the sky on New Year’s Eve in Arkansas. In the days that followed, 2 million fish died in the Chesapeake Bay, 150 tons of red tilapia in Vietnam, 40,000 crabs in Britain and other places across the world. However, biologists say these mass die-offs happen all the time and usually are unrelated.”
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Posted in end time, prophecy

Are you a true believer in Jesus Christ?

Posted on by elizabethprata

From World View Times, “The Most important true/false test you’ll ever take“. They write:

“The late Dr. Francis Schaeffer was one of the greatest defenders of the Christian faith in the 20th Century. He predicted the American church would become inconsequential because of a false concept of spirituality. Self-professing Christians would talk about God and proclaim a belief in God while rejecting the God of the Bible-instead following a man-made New Age god.”

“I believe one of the main reasons we have a crisis in the American church, that Christians poll no differently from the world, and that students are leaving the church in large numbers is that we have an epidemic of false converts within the American church. Many people today call themselves Christians but do not believe in many, if any, of the essential Christian doctrines.”

“My own study of the Old Testament moral law revealed to me that I was not a good person, but it was when I opened the book of 1 John, took a pen, and underlined every sign of a true convert that I realized I did not meet even half of them. To my dismay, I recognized myself as a false convert.”

“First John 5:13 tells why the book of 1 John was written: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life”.

“Here are 1 John’s ten signs of a true convert (you might want to compare yourself to make sure you’re where you think you are):”

1. A true convert admits he or she is a sinner. He does not believe he can go to heaven by being a “good” person. She understands her own totally depravity. (1 John 1:8)
2. A true convert lives a life of obedience by keeping God’s commandments more often than breaking them. A true convert is not a habitual sinner. There’s a difference between stumbling into sin and jumping in with both feet. While true converts may continue to sin as part of the struggle with our sin nature, the life of a true convert is marked by a desire to pursue holiness and walk in obedience to God’s Word. (1 John 2:3-6, 3:6, 5:2)
3. A true convert does not harbor hate for his brother but displays forgiveness, love, and compassion. (1 John 2:9, 2:11, 3:15, 4:16, 4:20)
4. A true convert does not love the world or the things of the world, nor the world’s system of evil, ruled by Satan. (1 John 2:15)
5. A true convert proclaims Jesus Christ as the Son of God and defends the exclusivity of Christ in a world of multiple religious systems. (1 John 4:15)
6. A true convert hopes and longs for the return of the Lord. (1 John 3:2-3)
7. A true convert desires to serve and help other Christians. (1 John 3:17, 3:14)
8. A true convert loves being with other believers and hearing the Word taught. (1 John 5:1)
9. A true convert rejects false teaching. (1 John 2:22-23)
10. A true convert remains in the truth and perseveres in the faith. (1 John 2:24)

This article is from Brannon’s newest book, Christian Worldview For Students Vol. II: Your Worldview Notes For Going To College Without Going Astray.

Check yourself, and either way, don’t forget to praise the Holy Spirit for his ministry to you!
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Posted in end time, end time. prophecy, hezbollah, lebanon, psalm 83

Hezbollah plans to bring down Lebanese government; Israel on war standby

Posted on by elizabethprata
UPDATE: 11 Ministers have indeed resigned, at the moment the Prime Minister Hariri was meeting with Obama, as planned. Subsequently, the Lebanese goverment has collapsed.

A situation in Lebanon ahead of Obama’s meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri seems to be exploding now. Hezbollah and other factions are planning to bring down the Lebanese Government prior to the 10.30AM meeting between Hariri and Obama at the Oval Office through an action of making mass resignations. Saad Hariri’s father was Lebanon’s immediate former premier (Rafiq Hariri) and was assassinated in 2005.

Talks have been negotiated by proxy these last couple of days. They have been insisting that the UN probe into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. It has been a long-running standoff combined with delays on that request with the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon that seemed to collapse last night. The Saudis arrived on the scene carrying messages from Obama and Clinton. The Syrians arrived on the scene carrying messages from themselves and Iran. Both sides sat around a table and a negotiated settlement collapsed last night. Hezbollah is reporting the failure of talks is due to Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration.

Al jazeera reports, “Syria and Saudi Arabia have failed to broker an agreement aimed at easing political tensions in Lebanon over the international investigation into the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former prime minister. The efforts by the two regional powers, who have previously backed rival blocs in Lebanon, had been seen as the best chance of avoiding unrest if, as expected, the UN-backed tribunal into the killing indicts members of the Shia Muslim Hezbollah movement. Hezbollah, which has rejected allegations it was involved in the suicide bombing on the Beirut seafront in 2005 that killed Hariri and 22 others, blamed “American intervention and the inability of the other side to overcome American pressure” for the failure to reach a compromise. When asked why the talks collapsed, Mohammed Fneish, a Hezbollah cabinet minister, said: “Ask Mrs Clinton,” referring to the US secretary of state.”

Haaretz is reporting: “Health Minister Mohamad Jawad Khalifeh, whose Amal party is allied with Hezbollah, said 11 ministers would tender their resignations Wednesday afternoon unless the cabinet convenes to discuss” the assassination probe, but truly, while the request is likely genuine, Hezbollah/Iran will use any reason to poke a finger in the eye of the USA. Obama plans to meet Prime Minister Hariri this morning and  Hezbollah hopes to mess with this  by acting ahead of that, thereby meaning that when Hariri and Obama meet, the Lebanese government will have collapsed, and Hariri will have already been deposed from his post as Prime Minister and will carry no weight.

In addition, it seems that Iran is pushing Hezbollah to take over Beirut and take control of Lebanon. Hezbollah is a Shia political party based in Lebanon widely believed to be a terrorist arm of Iran. US Mediterranean forces are on standby to intervene with Marine deployments to prevent a Hezbollah/Iranian coup (The Enterprise Group is in the Med- see below). Israel has gone on to a war footing, Israel will not sit still for a Hzbollah-controlled Lebanon. France has moved military assets into the area too. Right now it is looking like Hezbollah and Iran will make a power play for Lebanon rather than form a new government democratically. If as expected, this likely creates a civil war situation in Lebanon, and Hariri will ask for US military support.

Militarily, the situation is also fluid and explosive. I mentioned above that Israel has gone to a war footing, PressTV reports: “Israel has deployed a naval vessel dangerously close to the Lebanese coast, prompting Beirut to put the Armed Forces on high alert. The development followed yet another Israeli violation of Lebanon’s airspace, which was reported by the Lebanese Army.”

Washington Post reports, “Another official allied to Hezbollah confirmed the resignation plan, which calls for Hezbollah and its allies to step down along with one more minister who would tip the balance and force the government to fall. To bring down the government, Hezbollah needs the backing of more than a third of the ministers. Hezbollah and its allies have 10 ministers in the 30-member Cabinet, and an official close to Hezbollah said an 11th minister close to President Michel Suleiman would also submit his resignation. Violence has been a major concern as tensions rise in Lebanon, where Shiites, Sunnis and Christians each make up about a third of the country’s four million people. In 2008, sectarian clashes killed 81 people and nearly plunged Lebanon into another civil war.”

Please stay tuned to this dangerous situation as events unfold this morning. The lineup is as follows: Lebanese army and anti-Hezbollah Lebanese, France, USA, Israel v. Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria. Link to Psalm 83 here. Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus will be destroyed, it will become a ruinous heap, never to rise again.
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Posted in bird die off, end time. prophecy, pole shift, pre-tribulation rapture

British Geo Survey says southern pole shift is happening; more birds die-off

Posted on by elizabethprata

The British Geological Survey is establishing a station in South Georgia (Antarctic). Why is BGS re-establishing a magnetic observatory on South Georgia? “The South Georgia observatory will plug a significant gap in the global network of magnetic observatories. In particular South Georgia observatory will allow better monitoring of the South Atlantic Anomaly and of changes occurring deep within the Earth.”

South Atlantic Anomaly? What is the South Atlantic Anomaly? “The Earth’s magnetic field, generated deep within the planet, is a shield against particle radiation from space. In the South Atlantic this shield is much weaker than elsewhere across the globe and radiation from space therefore penetrates deeper into the atmosphere. This region is known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the radiation in the SAA is a known hazard to satellites, spacecraft and high-altitude aircraft.”

Why do we care about the SAA? “The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is known to be growing in extent and spreading westwards from South Africa, as the Earth’s internal magnetic field rapidly weakens in this region.”

So what does that have to do with anything?

“This may be early evidence of a forthcoming reversal in the direction of the Earth’s internal magnetic field.”

POLE SHIFT. British Geo Survey believes pole shift is happening NOW.

“We do not know in detail precisely what occurs during such reversals, including the changes observed in the magnetic field and the time a reversal takes to complete. However these factors are important in knowing where the radiation risk may be increased and how the atmosphere might respond. Earth’s magnetic field has had many highs, lows and reversals in its past. The last reversal was around 800,000 years ago. So the Earth is known to be able to re-generate its field and has done so during human pre-history.”

I will show you one possible vivid example of what happens to the earth during a pole shift. Read Revelation 6:12-14 below. To continue:

 In a post I published on January 5, I noted that the North Magnetic Pole is shifting position quite rapidly. A recent Scientific American article asked “Why is the North magnetic pole racing toward Siberia?” with the following excerpt:

“The North Magnetic Pole (NMP) drifts from year to year as geophysical processes within Earth change. For more than 150 years after Ross’s measurement its movement was gradual, generally less than 15 kilometers per year. But then, in the 1990s, it picked up speed in a big way, bolting north–northwest into the Arctic Ocean at more than 55 kilometers per year. If it keeps going it could pass the geographic north pole in a decade or so and carry on toward Siberia. But why?”‘

The shift is so rapid and dramatic I noted in that previous post, that the Tampa International Airport shut down its main runway so they could re-paint the degree numbers for landing airplane pilots to follow. They were off by several degrees and causing problems. Now the  British Geological Survey says that the south magnetic pole is also shifting at a rapid pace. A magnetic reversal in progress? is the title of their article about it.

I also posed the question in that essay that the recent bird die-offs may have something to do with pole shift because birds use the magnetic field to orient and navigate. Links are in that article.

Today, another large and unexplained bird die-off occurred in Sonoma County, southern California–
Mystery Bird Die-Off In Sonoma County
“Days after massive bird die-offs in the south, Sonoma County officials Tuesday had a mystery of their own as more than 100 bird carcasses were discovered near Geyserville.  California Highway Patrol Officer Jon Sloat said the birds were discovered on to Independence Lane at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.  The California Department of Fish and Game was notified and a local warden responded. He took several of the birds away to be identified and tested by a biologist, Sloat told the San Rosa Press Democrat.  The birds all appeared to be the same species – small in size with brown and black feathers.”

Also today, from CBS Chicago, a Major, Bizarre Fish Die-Off Along Lakefront
“A bizarre scene is evolving on the Chicago lakefront, with Canada geese and mallard ducks gulping down dead or dying gizzard shad.  A major die-off of what appears to be the 2010 class is happening in Chicago harbors. Thousands, perhaps far more than that, of dead gizzard shad in the 3- to 5-inch range are frozen in the ice of Chicago harbors or floating around in open patches of water.”

In Revelation, massive earth-changes occur, and quickly. “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.” (Rev 6:12-14).

The verse in Revelation sounds like a 10-magnitude mega-quake. Although the USGS assures us that while magnitude 10 quakes can theoretically can happen, they won’t. I find it amusing that on the one hand the USGS says that quakes are something that are outside of the realm of humans to stop or make happen, on the other hand they say with all confidence that a 10-quake won’t occur.

The day after Christmas 2004, an earthquake and tsunami ripped through the Indonesian ocean and lands. With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the third largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. That earthquake caused islands to appear. “Five years ago this past December 26 one of the largest earthquakes on record ripped through the eastern Indian Ocean. The tsunami that followed caused epic devastation and human suffering, but the quake’s influence on the landscape was even more profound. Islands rose from the sea after the megaquake

And Revelation promises that there will be a quake so large is affects the sky, land, seas, and mountains. Islands disappear. And the verse is within just the first set of judgments- the Seals. Trumpets and Bowls come after that. It gets WORSE. Do you really want to be here?

The birth pangs now are so frequent and intense I am shocked at just today’s headlines: Today Krakatau volcano started erupting, causing tens of thousands to run for their lives, a tsunami wall of water 26′ high inundated Australia’s third largest city (Brisbane) and killing hundreds, a crippling snowstorm pounded the entire southern USA and is on its way up north to do the same, a bomb was discovered at a Florida Walgreens, a missile launcher was found in an Escondido (CA) dumpster… I could go on here, but the situation in the world economically, politically, naturally, and militarily is precarious. The warnings are about to come to an end. His rapture is soon to occur and then the judgment. Come with us!

Repent of your sins and ask Jesus to forgive them. Make Him your Lord and Savior. Live for HIM, and not yourself, and you will be granted entry into His eternal kingdom. It will be a time of rejoicing, love, and pure worship that is so sweet you wonder how you ever got along without Him. Refusing to do so puts you at extreme risk. And the final alternative is too awful to contemplate.

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Posted in australia floods, end of days, end time, end time. prophecy, julia gillard, pre-tribulation rapture

Is there a connection between Australia electing an atheist PM and their current woes?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Brisbane suburbs, Australia’s third largest city, evacuated!
“Cars and pedestrians were swept away last night when a ‘super rainstorm’ sent water raging through the streets of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. At least eight people were killed and 72 were missing following the flash floods. Anna Bligh, Queensland’s state premier, said: ‘This has been a night of extraordinary events…. Yesterday’s events brought the overall death toll in Queensland since the two-week-old flood crisis started to 18. Entire towns have been swamped, more than 200,000 people affected, and coal and farming industries virtually shut down. Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said some 6,500 homes, businesses and properties would be flooded within the city’s borders by Thursday. … Gary McGowan, a businessman who lives and works in a western suburb of the city, said: ‘It’s taking on new proportions and getting worse by the minute.’

The Wivenhoe Dam’s ability to provide expansive flood protection to the city of Brisbane and surrounding districts was failing today. It is reported that the dam holding back water that protects Brisbane is at 190% of capacity (200% being the limit) and that even with daily water releases of 409,000 megaliters, it is now announced that “the dam could no longer protect the Queensland capital.” Brisbane’s power is out, the flood is predicted to be the worst in 118 years, and the entire city is now bracing.

An anonymous commenter on yesterday’s post regarding the sudden flooding at Toowoomba, shared the following: “Toowoomba is on a mountain; on the Great Dividing Range (a mountain range that extends from Queensland to Victoria). If you can be flooded up there, where are you safe? (what a challenge to our pride, when we cannot rely on common sense, our gold bars or our infrastructure to save us from the unexpected). The authorities weren’t prepared for this because it happened so fast, with rain causing flash floods in Toowoomba’s streets then raging down the valley beneath, demolishing everything in its path. Ipswich and Brisbane are bracing for the highest flooding since 1974.”

The commenter continued: “Brisbane suburbs are being evacuated, and the flood isn’t expected to peak there for two more days. It’s still raining. After ten years of drought, which devastated major farm production, we are now enduring floods that have washed away crops and good farm soil over vast areas. This means farmers losing incomes yet again, and food prices will soar Australia wide. With the amount of topsoil being washed away it will take a long, long time to recover. Queensland’s mines are also underwater. This will affect exports. Unprecedented quantities of rain water are being washed into the sea. The disaster isn’t over by a long shot.”

“Things are changing so fast, the Queensland Premier is holding press briefings every 2 hours. The rain is extending into New South Wales, with residents of several coastal towns warned to seek higher ground. In developed countries like Australia, we cannot imagine famine or other devastation even when we have natural disasters. While we are accustomed to major bush fires and droughts followed by major floods, we have enjoyed efficient primary production and transport systems so we can rely on fresh food supplies from long distances away. Not any more. Roads are destroyed. Rail lines are gone. Nobody knows the extent of infrastructure damage but we expect it to be severe. World wide, I am watching the birth pangs, especially the destruction of food security. Fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, locusts… Truly we need to rely on the LORD because we cannot rely on ourselves anymore. Please pray for Australia and for everywhere else on the planet as we realise how little control we really have over anything. Even so, as Jesus said, it’s time to look up!”

From Toowoomba to Brisbane it is 78 miles.

Now for the biblical exhortation about these events. There are consequences for the things we do. Most people accept that. If you speed on the roads, you get a ticket (or are in an accident). If you are late to work every day you will get fired. If you kill someone, you go to jail. If you don’t study, you fail the class. On the earth, our choices to take certain actions in employment, legally, educationally, and morally,  have outcomes. But people seem to believe that taking spiritual actions have no consequences. People think that they can die in their sins and that they will go to heaven anyway. They think they can deny God but expect Him to be a friend when you knock on heaven’s door. It doesn’t work like that.

I’ve been looking at the ruin Australia is becoming and I wonder what is going on there, spiritually. They have had devastating droughts, biblical plagues of locusts, and now floods that are wrecking everything from industry to infrastructure farming to lives. When I connect the world events to the bible I do it this way: I look at the record of His words and actions (bible) and I see what He has done in the past. Then I look and see what He has promised to do in the future. I draw a mental line and that becomes my benchmark.

In the past, God has always judged for atheism: “For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy, Or knowledge of God in the land.” (Hosea 4:1)

In the past and in the future, He judges for worshiping false idols: “The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; [astrology/Queen of Heaven worship] Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who also swear by Milcom…” (Zephaniah 4b-5b). This worship on the house-tops individualized the public idolatry; it was a rebellion against God, family by family; a sort of family-prayer of idolatry.

He judges for faithlessness: “Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt The LORD will break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars. Surely now they will say, “We have no king, For we do not revere the LORD.” (Hosea 10:2).

Note that the LORD was judging a nation for their faithlessness, paganism, and apostasy. Individuals are judged for rejecting God but when that rejection becomes institutionalized as a national governmental decision or becomes so widespread it is effectively an entire nation’s outlook, it is another matter entirely. He warns, then He judges. Always.

Australia faced a choice in August 2010. A federal election was held on Saturday, 21 August 2010 for members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard defeated the opposition centre-right Liberal/National Coalition led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, after Labor formed a minority government with the support of an Australian Greens MP and three independent MPs. They chose Gillard. Gillard is an avowed atheist. When she was sworn in to her office, she refused to place her hand on the bible or utter any oath to God. [Left, Atheist’s symbol]  This news excerpt is from last July 2010:

“In endorsing Tony Abbott as his preferred PM, Pastor Nalliah wrote on his website last week: ”Ms Gillard is anti-God, pro-abortion, has no Christian moral values and the list goes on. On the other hand Mr Tony Abbott is openly Christian, pro-life and has very good moral values.”

Australia chose a Prime Minister but they also chose someone to lead the nation who is the embodiment of God-rejection. They chose to reject God as a state and as a nation. If the electors thought that selecting an atheist over a God-fearing man has no effect, they were wrong. This choice has consequences.

This Brisbane Times article asked: “Will atheism spell trouble for Gillard?” Yes. But it spells trouble for the nation, too.

“Ever since Ms Gillard declined to put her hand on the Bible when she was sworn in as PM, Australia’s religious and spiritual folk of all persuasions have been praying for, pondering the nature of and, at least in one case, damning her soul. But if Ms Gillard is damned, she will have plenty of company. In the 2006 census, one in five people said they had no religion.

Ms Gillard accepted an invitation from “Melbourne witch and high priestess Lizzy Rose into their magic circle to speak about ”her intentions of where she is taking the country”. Ms Rose says her divinations ”will prove to us whether Julia is going to govern through ego or through her heart space”. Did you know that Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in Australia?[Left, Wicca pentacle]

Do they not think all this will have a consequence? Lawlessness always has a consequence. You kill someone, you go to jail. Well, paganism, divination, witchcraft, atheism and faithlessness are also lawlessness. God, being the Highest Judge, and Jesus, being given the authority to Judge at God’s right hand, will render a verdict! Right now He is warning us in the world, and it seems He is pointedly warning the residents of Australia. Soon He will come to judge the whole world. As devastating as these droughts, locusts, and floods in Oz are, they are a picnic compared to what is coming.

Choices have consequences. Pray that yours will be to choose Jesus! He will forgive you of your law-breaking. He will clean you from the taint of sin. He will enfold you into His kingdom as a full citizen, Priest, and King! He is waiting. He is speaking. Please listen.
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Posted in end of days, end time, hole punch cloud, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy, signs in the sky

Signs in the sky: triple hole punch clouds in SC

Posted on by elizabethprata

Spaceweather “TRIPLE PUNCH HOLE CLOUDS: “I’ve lived by the sea for many years, but never seen anything like this,” reports Wesley Tyler of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “On Friday, Jan. 7th, there were three punch hole clouds in the same place.” He grabbed his camera and recorded the phenomenon:

In Oct. 2009, a really REALLY weird cloud appeared over Moscow, and the scientific response was that it was a hole punch cloud. At that time, I posted NASA’s explanation of what hole punch clouds are and how they form, leaving it up to the reader as to whether the Moscow cloud was indeed a hole punch or not. I’ll post the NASA explanation of hole punch clouds again, and again leave it up to you as to discerning the odds of the rare hole punch cloud appearing at all, never mind in triplicate…

NASA: “What could create a huge hole in the clouds? Such a hole, likely hundreds of meters across, was photographed last month from a driveway near Mobile, Alabama, USA. Very unusual to see, hole-punch clouds like this are still the topic of meteorological speculation. A leading hypothesis holds that the hole-punch cloud is caused by falling ice-crystals. The ice-crystals could originate in a higher cloud or be facilitated by a passing airplane exhaust. If the air has just the right temperature and moisture content, the falling crystals will absorb water from the air and grow. For this to happen, the water must be so cold that all it needs is a surface to freeze on. The moisture lost from the air increases the evaporation rate from the cloud water droplets so they dissipate to form the hole. The now heavier ice crystals continue to fall and form the more tenuous wispy cloud-like virga seen inside and just below the hole. Water and ice from the virga evaporates before they reach the ground.”

One of the end time signs are: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.” (Luke 21:25)

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

The terrible flooding in Oz continues, PM calls it "an inland tsunami"

Posted on by elizabethprata

Goodness, the language in the usually staid news outlet BBC News is breathless and aghast!

“A massive deluge overwhelmed Toowoomba, a city west of the state capital Brisbane, without warning. Cars were swept away by the torrent of water. State Premier Anna Bligh called the flash floods Queensland’s “darkest hour” since the flood crisis began. “The event that started in Toowoomba can only be described as a complete freak of nature, an extraordinary deluge that almost came out of nowhere,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted her as saying. “What we have here in Queensland tonight is a very grim and desperate situation.”

The following video is from Australian Broadcasting:

Australia’s third-biggest city under threat from deadly flooding and inland tsunami.
“Australia’s third-largest city is under threat and the nation is bracing for a heartbreaking death toll after an unprecedented flood crisis delivered its most savage blow yet: an “inland instant tsunami” that swept away everything in its path, claiming at least four lives.”

Pray for Australia!

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

Another mass bird death: this time in Karacabey Turkey

Posted on by elizabethprata

In Turkey mass killing birds [google translated from Russian]
“In Turkey, there was a case of an unexplained mass deaths of birds. Dead starlings found residents of the county Karacabey in Bursa province. Promptly reported the incident to local authorities launched an investigation of the incident. Experts are currently conducting the necessary tests. However, while they failed to establish the cause of death of starlings.”

The UK Telegraph grapples with the facts of these worldwide events and explores the spiritual side of it. They do so incorrectly, but still, attempts to reasonably explore whether these mass bird and fish and animal deaths really harbinger the end of days is always a worthy discussion-.

Aflockalypse now: on a wing and a prayer
Were sinister wildlife deaths around the globe foretold in the Bible, asks Philip Sherwell – or just foul play?
But last week, it found itself at the centre of a frenzy of doomsday prophecies and conspiracy theories after some 5,000 dead blackbirds — roughly one for each resident – rained down from the night skies on New Year’s Eve. That was strange enough. But mass deaths of thousands of birds and millions of fish were also reported elsewhere in Arkansas, in nearby states, and finally worldwide, from Scandinavia to the South Pacific. As the world wondered whether celestial or terrestrial factors were at play, the commuter town of Beebe, 35 miles north-east of the state capital, Little Rock, was struggling to recover from its “aflockalypse”. For those outside at about 11pm on New Year’s Eve, it proved a terrifying experience as dead and dying creatures crashed down on to roofs, roads and gardens. The carnage looked even grimmer in daylight…. For the apocalyptically inclined, the answer was obvious. Some Christian fundamentalists claimed the end was nigh, finding biblical justification in Hosea 4:1-3, which reads: “Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away.” That the birds fell from the sky in the southern Bible Belt, where Old Testament plagues of frogs and locusts are often viewed as part of a creationist account of history, only fuelled such interpretations.”

The article ends with the usual conclusions- that mass animal die-offs happen all the time, that because of the instant nature of our information delivery we are just hearing about it more, and the birds got scared and flew into things. However, as the die-offs continue, that explanation will less and less pass the straight-face test, and people will search for an answer. As always, the answer is JESUS. He loves you, He wants none to perish, He knows everything that is in your heart, and loves you anyway. “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 6:29-31). What comfort!

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

Alleged Tucson shooter, Loughner, may have been a devil worshiper

Posted on by elizabethprata

Sad news regarding alleged Tuscon shooter Jared Loughner. Here is an excerpt from the NY Daily News:

Source

“A sinister shrine reveals a chilling occult dimension in the mind of the deranged gunman accused of shooting a member of Congress and 19 others. Hidden within a camouflage tent behind Jared Lee Loughner’s home sits an alarming altar with a skull sitting atop a pot filled with shriveled oranges. A row of ceremonial candles and a bag of potting soil lay nearby, photos reveal. Experts on Sunday said the elements are featured in the ceremonies of a number of occult groups. Investigators have focused on Loughner’s online anti-government ramblings as the chief motivation for the shooting Saturday of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). The discovery of the shrine raises the possibility that Loughner, 22, may have been driven by other forces.”

When the shooting began, people immediately blamed Sarah Palin’s web page which had political targets on it. Then people blamed liberals, then they blamed conservatives, the tea party, and the guns. As a matter of fact, there is a gun control bill in Congress today, already. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY readies gun control bill.

People want to make sense of the world, and one way to make sense of it is to place blame, personalize, and then process it through the filter of our own prejudice, experience, and emotion. But the one place to lay blame is never spoken of: sin and satan who is the father of it. His influence on the world is more dramatic than people give him ‘credit’ for. Satan perverts the Scripture, he opposes God’s work. He hinders the gospel. He works lying wonders. And he roams up and down upon the earth looking for someone to devour.

He is invisible, so it is natural for unbelievers to dismiss him and his effect on the world. It is they who are under his sway, though. He who is not for Jesus is against Jesus (Luke 11:23) and are therefore one of the devil’s children. (1 John 5:19)

But Jesus came to us to break that bondage. The Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil. (1 John 3:8). Praise Him for loving us, and giving us the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit to resist the devil and his influence. If you submit to God and resist the devil he will flee from you! (James 4:7; Eph 6:13; 1Peter 5:9).

God knows the devil and his angels and He also knows what we are capable of. So God told us “not to be ignorant of the schemes, or the plans, or the stratagems, or the tricks of Satan.” (2 Cor 2:11). In his sermon, “Satan: How Does He Operate?” John MacArthur wrote, “It’s amazing that even those who claim to worship Satan are really not worshiping the Satan that exists, but a manufactured Satan that Satan himself uses to trap men. He is a deceiver.” God told us to repent and receive the Spirit, that being the best way to resist the devil and his schemes. He also told us not to practice divination, soothsaying, witchcraft, or to worship false gods and idols. All these are an invitation for the deceiver to enter the heart and mind and eventually drag a person down to bottomless depths of madness. By the way, I HIGHLY recommend the MacArthur sermon series on satan. If, as Paul said, we should not be ignorant, then please take some time to educate yourself or to refresh your knowledge of satan and his schemes. The link above is a good place to start

I am upset that mass shootings like this happen in the world and in our nation. I am saddened that an aunt can’t even safely take her niece to a political function without the child being killed for it. I am aghast at the amount of violence and evil in the world. I hope Mr Loughner gets justice, and swiftly. But I’m also compassionate over him. He is an example of what the devil can do to men’s hearts – and minds. The perversion of thoughts in that young man’s head were twisted beyond belief.

If you are going to blame someone, blame satan, and then accept God. God is pure, holy, loving, and willing to receive sinners unto Himself. Come home to Jesus, and dwell safely in HIS arms.

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