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dead birds, end time, end time. prophecy, rapture

Flock of dead birds found in TN; pole shift is happening

Posted on January 6, 2011 by elizabethprata

In addition to dead bird kills discovered in central Sweden and northern Italy (and in addition to Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana), today some were found in Tennessee.

Flock of dead birds found in TN
“Now, more that 100 dead birds were recently found in Wilson County, causing the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to investigate. A resident notified the agency Tuesday afternoon after he spotted dozens of dead birds along Highway 70 north in Lebanon a few days ago.“It’s kind of a strange, odd thing. It plays into some of the things that have been happening in other places,” said Lt. Jim Hooper of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TWRA officials found 120 dead blackbirds in the Spring Creek area when they investigated the situation on Wednesday.“We searched the adjoining fields and everywhere else, and there are no other birds except in this one very localized area,” said Hooper. “The birds have definitely been dead 5 or 6 days. “Over the past week, several hundred different black birds have turned up dead in at least four other states. But the question of exactly how these birds turned up dead in Lebanon could remain a mystery.”

It is well established now that something weird is happening. Not only birds are turning up dead, but fish, too. New Zealand had a fish kill this week, dead fish “as far as the eye could see” washed up. Also in Chesapeake MD, Volusia County FL, and Sarnia Ontario. So the question is, are there scientific or biblical explanations for these? First the scientific.

On Dec 24, 2010, Scientific American asked “Why is the north magnetic pole racing toward Siberia?”
“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 article continues with scientific explanation as to why the MP drifts, but suffice to say, they are not really sure. And that the drift has picked up speed lately is of real perplexity to them. That the NMP is moving has real-world consequences. One is, that the “Shift of Earth’s magnetic north pole impacts Tampa airport.”

“Scientists say the magnetic north pole is moving toward Russia and the fallout has reached — of all places — Tampa International Airport. The airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to repaint the numeric designators at each end and change taxiway signage to account for the shift in location of the Earth’s magnetic north. The Federal Aviation Administration required the runway designation change to account for what a National Geographic News report described as a gradual shift of the Earth’s magnetic pole at nearly 40 miles a year toward Russia because of magnetic changes in the core of the planet.”

Did you know, “Birds can ‘see’ the Earth’s magnetic field“
“It has been debated for nearly four decades but no one has yet been able to prove it is chemically possible. Now good evidence suggests that birds can actually “see” the lines of the Earth’s magnetic field. Klaus Schulten of the University of Illinois, proposed forty years ago that some animals – including migratory birds – must have molecules in their eyes or brains which respond to magnetism. The problem has been that no one has been able to find a chemical sensitive enough to be influenced by Earth’s weak geomagnetic field.”

Birds use this magnetic field to migrate. From the same article:

“But how could this influence the direction taken by a migrating bird? Birds appear to orientate at dusk, and cryptochromes form their pair of free radicals when “activated” by the blue light typical of dusk.”

Birds use the magnetic field to navigate, the field is moving as evidenced by the NMP drift, and now birds are dying, Are the two items related? Seems like they could be.

A biblical response comes from Zephaniah and Hosea. In Hosea 4:3 in advance of a judgment the LORD would soon render, He promised that therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear.” So there is precedent for God taking away what was previously for man’s benefit, including the birds and fish. In Zephaniah 1:2 He said, “I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. “I will remove man and beast, I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea,”. Again we see His warning that He will remove fish and bird in advance of a judgment.

This is a strange time. It is almost judgment time. Perhaps Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 9:12

“Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”

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arkansas fish kill, dead birds fall to ground, end time. prophecy, rapture

Hundreds of snapper wash up on NZ beaches: "carpet of dead fish as far as the eye can see" UPDATED: fish kill in FL

Posted on January 5, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

UPDATE! Fish Kill in FL, thousands. More below.
UPDATE TO UPDATE: Millions of dead fish in MD. more below
UPDATE YET AGAIN, tons of fish die in Brazil. More below, where I’m running out of room!

It is being reported: “Hundreds of dead snapper have washed up on Coromandel beaches, leaving holidaymakers perplexed. People at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay, on the north-east of the peninsula, were stunned when children came out of the sea with armfuls of the fish and within minutes the shore was littered with them. Charlotte Pearsall, whose family have lived at Little Bay for the last 30 years, said she had never seen anything like it. ”It was so surreal,” she said. ”It’s such an incredible waste – it could’ve fed the whole northern tip of the Coromandel.” People with binoculars said the snapper stretched as far as they could see and boaties reported ”a carpet of floating fish further out to sea all along the coast”. ”We initially thought ‘woohoo a free feed’ but they had really cloudy eyes and you could see the birds had been at them. Some of them had no eyes,” Pearsall said. Her parents called the Department of Conservation and were told it was most likely the fish had starved due to weather conditions, but Pearsall did not think that was the case as many of the fish looked big and healthy. The Fisheries Ministry are currently investigating the situation and said they could not yet say what the cause was.

More dead birds falling to the ground in KY and LA

Posted on January 4, 2011 by elizabethprata

UPDATE January 8: a list of all the bird and fish deaths since Dec 27 (that I could find and confirm) is HERE, along with some MSM reports and bible verses explaining why these are end time signs.

I reported yesterday that thousands of blackbirds fell out of the sky all over Beebe, Arkansas. At the same time, black birds fell on beaches in Bio Bio Chile. And in another unexplained mystery, thousands of dead drumfish were washing up on shores of the Arkansas River near Ozark, Arkansas. Today we discover that the birds die-off is happening also in Kentucky and Louisiana. First, LA: MORE blackbirds are found dead on the ground, littering roads and ditches in Louisiana. The news spot is from WBRZ. The media is downplaying the incident, but they do make reference to the Arkansas die-off.

“Around 500 dead blackbirds and starlings have been found in Pointe Coupee Parish, according to state wildlife officials. The birds were spotted lying in roads and ditches near Labarre Elementary School. The community is between Morganza and New Roads on Highway 10. Scientists from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have been sent out to collect samples, which will be sent for testing to the University of Georgia and National Wildlife Center in Wisconsin. This comes after about 5,000 blackbirds and swallows were found dead around Beebe, Ark. on New Year’s Eve. Dr. Jim LaCour with LDWF said he’s not sure the two incidents are connected. “It’s not common, (but) we do see a few die-offs for various reasons,” said LaCour. “Yes, we need to look into it, we need to be a little alarmed, but it’s not out of the scope of things to have a die-off.” LaCour said people who find such die-offs should not touch the animals, and instead contact their regional wildlife office.”

And…now the news of the birds that fell to the ground in Kentucky.

Some conspiracy theorists have postulated that since birds are sensitive to the earth’s magnetic field and use it for navigation, and since the magnetic north pole is racing toward Siberia, (a Scientific American article title), that the birds have been traumatized by this magnetic shift. Hey, it makes more sense than what Fish and Wildlife postulated, that New Year’s fireworks’ concussions traumatized the birds, or that gunfire did it. If that was true, millions of birds would fall to the ground every 4th of July, and Texas would be littered with birds wall to wall. Or this speculation of the Arkansas bird die-off, “Autopsies have since ruled out poisoning. One top biologist from Cornell University said the birds were “….probably asleep in a single tree when a washing machine-type thunderstorm sucked them up into the air, disoriented them, and even fatally soaked and chilled them.”‘

To sum up: in the last few days dead blackbirds fell to the ground by the thousands in Beebe Arkansas; Paducah, Kentucky; LaBarre, Louisiana, and Bio Bio Chile. Experts cannot explain it. Now raise your hand if you do not think THIS is a sign…

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end time, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy

Common questions about the rapture

Posted on January 4, 2011 by elizabethprata

There is a lot of rapture talk these days. That is because discerning Christians feel it is close. I feel the rapture is close. The bible says we will not know the exact day nor hour (Mt 25:13; Mt 24:36) but we will not be surprised, (1 Thess 5:4) because we will know the season (Luke 21:25-30) and we will have seen the signs (Mt 16:3).

The rapture is in the bible and is not a made-up doctrine. Two of the more explicit passages are from 1 Cor 15:51-53, and 1 Thess 4:13-18. The end of days is mentioned in every New Testament book save one (Philemon) and the NT Authors constantly warned their brethren, exhorted fellow believers, admonished all, and themselves looked toward the blessed event in most of their their writings.

In summary, the appointed period God deals with the Israelites is paused 7 years short of the decreed timing. (Dan 9:24-27). This is for the purpose of God taking Gentiles unto Himself (Acts 15:13-14), grafting in the Gentiles into His Jewish family tree (Romans 11:15-24). Through this act, God extends salvation to the entire world. During this age of the pause He is building His church, called The Church Age, of Church Age Dispensation. When the exact number that has been set aside to fill that church is reached, the rapture happens. (Romans 11:25).

It has taken over 2000 years to build God’s church, for that number to nearly be reached. In the waiting for the blessed moment when Jesus returns in the air and calls us up to Him, Jesus said that there will be many who mock and scoff, saying that He is taking this long so it means He will never come. (2 Peter 3:4). But Paul encouraged us to encourage each other with the truth of His coming. (1 Thess 4:18). Immediately after the rapture when believers are taken out of the way the Tribulation begins. Did you know the Holy Spirit is removed too? (Restrainer 2Th 2:7; Gen 6:3).

Then that last 7 years, long paused, resumes. Jeremiah calls it the ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble’ (Jeremiah 30:7). Jesus calls it the ‘Tribulation’ (Matthew 24:29). The prophet Daniel outlines the Tribulation’s six-fold purpose: to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (Dan 9:24). So this last 7 years is a time of punishment. Jesus said the time will be so bad that if He did not cut short the days, no one would be left alive. (Mark 13:20). Indeed, in the very first set of judgments 1/4 of the world’s population dies. That’s 1.7 BILLION people. (Rev 6:8). Then by Revelation 9:18 a third of the remaining people in the world die. So during the tribulation, half the world dies!

Knowing the church will not be here to experience that certainly is a comfort, as Paul said. Since one of the purposes of the Tribulation is to stamp out iniquity (Dan 9:24), and since we are made blameless in His sight, we have no need to be punished. When we repented and Jesus forgave us of our transgressions, our judgment is dissolved and our iniquitous record expunged from the Courts of God. (Col 2:14). We are blameless in His sight, free from accusations (Col 1:22; Eph 1:4) and He will come to gather us to Himself and deliver us to the place He has prepared for us. (John 14:3) before He renders that judgment on all the rest left behind.

I hope that explains who is going in the rapture, why there is a rapture, and when the rapture is set to take place. It also explains who will be left behind. If you think that you will reserve a decision until the rapture and then repent of your sins, you are in for a tragic mistake. First, because no one knows the number of their days (Psalm 39:4), and you could die in the next moment. Next, remember, a fourth of the world dies within the first set of judgments. (Rev 6:8, The Fourth Seal). Also, during the Tribulation God will send a delusion that will affect the whole world. (2 Thess 2:6-11). He does this because those who delayed repenting and took delight in wickedness will ‘enjoy’ the full measure of their pleasure and continue to enjoy wickedness. After all the signs God sent: His son, the Apostles, fellow believers, His Word, The Holy Spirit, creation itself (Rom1:18-21), if, after all that, you still refuse, He will allow you to enjoy the natural conclusion of your decision to reject Him and blind you to the truth.

There will be believers in the Tribulation, make no mistake. But it will be hard to become a believer for the above reasons, it will be hard to remain a believer (Once saved always saved is a blessing given only to the church, (John 10:28; Mark 13:13) and if you are a believer, you will starve, not being able to buy or sell (Rev 13:16-7), you will likely die in the judgments as mentioned above, or if you escape all that, be beheaded (Rev 20:4). Do not delay. The rapture is real, it is imminent, and unless you repent (being sorry to God for your sins against God) you WILL be left behind to face the most horrific period man has ever seen, or will ever see. (Mt 24:21).

If you are reading this essay and have made it to the end, I commend you. The Holy Spirit is pricking your curiosity and perhaps your conscience. You need to recognize you are a sinner, and unless you are perfect (and no one is except Jesus) you have done wrong things. Those wrong things are sins and they mean you are warring against God, who is Holy. He cannot accept rebels into heaven, He cannot look at those who work iniquity, and cannot be near those who do wrong. (Hab 1:13). You are condemned and your condemnation has long been hanging over you (2 Peter 2:3). The only way to get that judgment of death (Rom 6:23) stayed is to repent.

You can then be comforted by the truth of the coming rapture, and enjoy the awards ceremony in heaven, a banquet with Jesus, and eternal love and peace. You will miss out on the terrible Tribulation, and all its horrors. You will move to your eternal domain, the place Jesus Himself prepared for you. You will never have to struggle for another thing, least of all against your own sinful nature. You will be free! Don’t delay your decision, for tomorrow may not come. (Proverbs 27:1)

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arkansas fish kill, chile, end time, prophecy

And now for something completely different

Posted on January 2, 2011 by elizabethprata

There are some weird phenomena happening today! In this first story, take note of the other-worldliness of the event, and how freaked out the people are.

In Arkansas, thousands of blackbirds fall to the ground, dead.
“Just before folks in Beebe rang in the New Year, many witnessed an uncanny resemblance to the Hitchcock movie “The Birds.” About 2,000 black birds fell from the sky off Windwood Drive,leaving quite the mess to clean up. Folks Today’s THV spoke with initially thought the birds were poisoned because they are what they call a nuisance around this time every year, but they are surprised to hear it is more of a mystery. Stephen Bryant recalls, “Millions, millions fly over every night. You look up at the sky and it’s just black and then last night at about 10:30 I came out here and saw a bird drop.” In a matter of hours on New Years Eve thousands of birds fell from the sky to their death. Melissa Weatherly says, “I immediately called mom because I had to go to work, I said you have to come get the kids and get the dog because I don’t know what’s going on.” She continues, “It was horrible; you could not even get down the road without running over hundreds. It was that bad.”

“The mystery is unraveling like scenes from a movie, dozens of U.S. Environmental Services crews spent the day picking up the birds, walking between homes and climbing on roofs with protective hazmat suits and breathing masks. Charles Boldrey stands outside watching the crews, “Nobody knows, I asked these guys who are out here picking them up and they don’t seem to know anything. Nobody seems to know anything. It just kind of freaked everybody out.”

“Officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission flew over the area and determined it’s a one mile stretch. There are a variety of dead black birds, mostly red winged and a duck was also found. No one has been evacuated because the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) air test came back clean for toxins. Weatherly is skeptical, “They’re walking around in masks and I’m wondering do we need the same thing because what makes that happen for them to drop out of the sky like that.” Katherina Yancy with Today’s THV found one bird still living. It was confused, injured, continuously walked in circles and didn’t make a sound or attempt to fly. Officials will confirm their findings when they get the test results, until then they are giving these possible scenarios: lightning, stress, high altitude hail or startled by fireworks, but neighbors just want answers. Bryant says, “Something out of a movie and Hazmat people are walking around not telling us anything.”Boldrey adds, “I’d like to know. Kind of spooky, you never know what’s going to happen.”

“The birds should be cleaned up by Sunday. Game and Fish Commission’s Karen Rowe says poisoning doesn’t appear to be the case and strange events similar to this have occurred across the globe a number of times. The City of Beebe held an emergency city council meeting Saturday morning to approve paying the U.S. Environmental Services to clean the neighborhood.Sixty-five dead birds have been sent to off for testing.”

Here are a couple of other links of news about the situation, here, and here

In another mystery, in Arkansas, hundreds of thousands of fish wash up, dead.

State commission says dead fish now cover 20-mile section of Arkansas River
An Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman says dead drum fish now cover a 20-mile section of the Arkansas River near Ozark. Seven teams from the state agency visited the affected portion of the river Friday. Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says an official estimate of how many fish have died is expected on Monday, but he tells the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the number is likely in the hundreds of thousands. The commission determined the fish died in the river from a dam near Ozark to a bridge along State Highway 109 near Clarksville.

Another article about it is here, containing video.

And in other ongoing global mysteries, blackbirds fall to the ground dead in Chile. Below is a Spanish-language news spot about it, I haven’t found any other news of it yet in English. The news scrolling across the bottom of the video is translated “hundreds of black petrels appear dead on the north coast of Bio Bio Chile.” Even if you don’t understand Spanish, the video of dead birds inexplicably laying on the beach is startling. The tagline says “Strange Phenomenon”

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end time, end time. prophecy, end times, sinkholes

Sinkholes as precursor to more massive earth changes

Posted on January 1, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Milwaukee’s East Side:
“A massive sinkhole swallowed up a traffic light and SUV on Milwaukee’s east side Thursday night. The driver was able to get out safely. Police tell FOX6 that the SUV is still running in an effort to burn off the remaining gasoline in the tank. The sinkhole opened up on the corner of Oakland and North Avenues. Police say that the sinkhole could get bigger if the rain continues. Construction crews are working on getting the SUV out of the sinkhole.”

Google trends shows a large increase in interest in the topic of sinkholes. This spike represents the number of searches for that term:

What are sinkholes? USGS explains: “Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by ground water circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big. If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur. These collapses can be small, as this picture shows, or they can be huge and can occur where a house or road is on top. The most damage from sinkholes tends to occur in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.” Sinkholes occur especially where there has been groundwater depletion.

A sinkhole in San Diego left residents of the 8 apartments without a home two days ago, when was declared uninhabitable yesterday. The ground, being soaked with recent heavy rains, has been undermined in many areas of CA.

In this news story, the reporter explored the topic of just how common are sinkholes, anyway. “There’s quite a hole, a gaping sinkhole, in fact in somebody’s front yard. It is taped off, so nobody falls in. While constructions crews worked to repair the sinkhole in Bethlehem Township, Northampton County, 69News looked into how common of an occurrence sinkholes are in the region. Scientists said sinkholes like this could happen at anytime and anywhere in the Lehigh Valley. For Phillip Turnbach, it was a surprise when the ground opened up right in his front yard. “It’s real scary,” said Turnbach. “If a car was parked or if that street would have caved in the middle of the night somebody could have been hurt or even worse.” “

Acid in ground water eats away the limestone over time creating a crack under the soil and then at any time, that soil can collapse into the crack causing a sinkhole. At least, that is the hazard for Pennsylvanians. In California, the issue usually causing sinkholes are storms. In Florida, there’s ‘that disconcerting feeling’ when suddenly the ground opens up. Extracting ground water is usually the culprit. “All Ben Story can do now is wait. Wait for geologists to visit his property at 3401 Lampp Road, north of downtown Plant City, and tell him whether there’s any chance the large sinkhole in his backyard is going to grow any bigger. Wait for more information on how to fill the 30-foot wide cavity that gobbled four rolls of hay. “It’s kind of a touch-and-go situation,” Story said this morning, adding that he expects scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct tests in a few days. “I think it’s spreading too. I haven’t looked down there today, but it may be getting bigger.” The sinkhole on Story’s property is the second large cavity to open in eastern Hillsborough County this month.” Also within the last week, sinkholes in Fl opened up due to sewer line break, because of unstable landfill, or waterline breaks. In that last one, a fire truck was swallowed up as it responded to the break.

The issue is not restricted to the United States. South African authorities have begun the relocation of 3,000 families after huge sinkholes appeared close to their homes near Pretoria, according to BBC News. The Hungarian town of Ocna Mures is “in collapse” due to the results of excessive salt mining. A sinkhole there recently swallowed a supermarket and several businesses and homes. China has had their travails with sinkholes, too, in this case from 6 days ago, 800 people were evacuated as a 150′ wide hole opened up in Jiangxi Province. Last June, a UK Telegraph reporter asked if there was any reason for the spate of spectacular sinkholes appearing in China, and noted that the uneasiness of talk of the end of the world rounded out the comments online. The photos are spectacular, they show aerial pictures of really large sinkholes swallowing whole towns. By the way, the reporter never answered the question, only mocked end of the worlders.

The point here is two fold. First, several of the end time warnings indicate geo-physical changes will occur on the earth. (Luke 21:11; Luke 21:25; Mark 13:8). The judgments in Revelation and Isaiah certainly depict massive changes on the earth, and the judgments start right away in Revelation. (Rev 6:12-14; Isaiah 24:19 and etc.). “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:25-29).

The second issue is that no matter how the sinkholes and other geo-physical changes are occurring, whether happening because of seemingly man-made excesses or through supernatural means, it shows us that nothing is solid – except the Kingdom of God, which is the Unshaken Kingdom. That is what the Lord is showing us. The very ground we walk on is His and through Jesus all things hold together. The corollary to that is through Him all things fall apart if and when He chooses. If you are not of His kingdom you will be shaken, emotionally, physically, mentally. Imagine as these sinkholes increase the unease with which people now look at their streets and cliffs and homes. It could give way at any time! Several of the news articles noted the psychological effects on the affected population of knowing you live on unstable ground.

Christians know the ground they walk on is the Rock that will never be moved. He is Jesus and no matter what is happening in the world, there is no safer place than in His light!
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a new creation in christ, end time, prophecy

The futility of New Year’s resolutions, the surety of Christ

Posted on December 31, 2010May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I vacationed frequently at the beach in Venice, Florida. The Gulf coast is so peaceful the water so blue, I found it incredibly relaxing. One day, I watched a couple of kids make a huge sand castle. They spent most of the day on it. It was not architecturally sophisticated. They simply dragged up pail after pail of sand, made it about as tall as themselves, and spent a while looking for the perfect stones and shells to adorn it. A stick on top and a scrap of seaweed made the flag. And what castle is complete without a moat? The kids wanted to be sure no enemy could raid their fortress, so they made three moats.

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Mt 7:26).

non-believers’ foundation is sand

Then the tide came in. Their day’s work was washed away. The kids tried unsuccessfully to restore, prop up, and protect their creation but it didn’t work. The inevitable happened. “…the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Mt 7:276).

Another place I used to vacation is Jasper Beach Maine. It is a wild beach in far eastern Maine, and one of only two beaches in the world to have stones for its base and not sand. The stones have been rounded by wave action and high tides rolling them around, and they make a nice clacking sound akin to pool balls when you walk over them. The beach is never eroded because the rocks seem so stable. But walking on them is hard, they roll, they move, and in the end, putting a chaise lounge atop them to lay on is almost impossible because the rocks move so much. Even that seemingly solid foundation crumbles in the end.

lukewarm believers’ foundation is on shifting stones

If you haven’t realized the allusions yet, it is to say that founding your life on anything other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ means you will topple. You may not topple until you die, or you may topple during the storms of your life, but you will topple. Apart from Him you can do nothing. (John 15:5).

believers’ foundation is the Rock, and He is the light!

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” (Mt 7:24-25). Make 2011 the year you found your life upon the Rock! Be in His light! “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”(John 12:316a).

Many people take the New Year to make resolutions, that is, make self-improvement promises to one’s self. ‘I will lose weight,’ ‘I will stop smoking’, ‘I will spend more time with family’, ‘I will work harder…’ are typical promises. Research shows that most New Year’s resolutions fail in a week. Self-improvement is impossible without Jesus but “in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor 5:17). Let HIM re-create you! You will not fail. You will “conform no longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom 12:2). He will “strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way.” (Isaiah 35:3). “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6). Your resolution will not fail within a week if you allow Jesus to recreate you!

If you make ONE resolution this year, it is that you will follow Jesus as your Savior. Resolve to put aside the sinful man and allow Him to re-create you in His image. And yes, I am talking to people who think that are already followers as well as non-believers. Take stock, be sure of your salvation, resolve to allow Him to strengthen you. And your New Year will become a New Eternity.

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Uncategorized

Anarchy, I tell ya!

Posted on December 29, 2010 by elizabethprata

The snowstorm of Christmas 2010 will go down in the books as a monster. Pouring out snow at the rate of 2-3 inches per hour at its height, covering a third of the nation with snow inside of 2 days, and stranding thousands and tens of thousands of people at mass transit points, is definitely a monster by any definition. News reports used words to describe the mood as irate, outraged or vexed. But it didn’t take long for headlines to start using words like chaos, fury, and anarchy. It took a day, actually.

US snow travel chaos
Fury as city is paralyzed by blizzard
Lord of the Fliers: Will Anarchy Break Out Among Throngs of Stranded Air Travelers?

The fun wasn’t limited to the US, either. Moscow had its own travel chaos this week, too. Fights broke out. In Moscow, air travel clerks were beat up. Aeroflot personnel were now scared of dealing with agitated passengers, saying the airport did not have enough security guards.

Soon there was no food. 400 people were stranded on a train overnight with no water and nothing to eat. At JFK, the thousands of people languishing inside the airport soon ate up all the food at the restaurants, and no replenishment trucks arrived to bring more. There was a fracas at McDonald’s when they ran out of food. Video here.

Daniel 12:4 records that the angel told him in the days of the end, many will go to and fro. So many people today boast that we can go here and there in a heartbeat, such is our advancement in technology. We think nothing of taking jobs that are located so far away from where we live, relying on trains, buses, and highways to get there. But what all that means is that we rely heavily on infrastructure. On any given day, a high percentage of the world’s population is commuting or voluntarily traveling far away from their home. The lines supporting all this going to and fro are thin. In the case at JFK, the airport is not far from one of the largest cities of the world but still, the snow prevented thousands from reaching food and hotels.

It only took a day for the support lines to break down. One day. And by a day after that, people were reverting to hunter-killer mode of the jungle days. People who cut in line at the airport were beaten back. People angling for food in front of Sbarro’s were fought off. Moscow airline Clerks were too afraid even to appear behind the desk. Even people safe at home in NYC were furious that the snow hadn’t been cleared yet and resorted to obscenities and anger. Even worse, there were casualties because of the storm: ambulances could not reach a woman’s newborn, who died in a hotel lobby. A grandmother in NYC also died due to delays in paramedics getting there. Trash hasn’t been picked up in days and it’s piling up.

It is not just New York and Moscow struggling to handle masses of people who are angry and stranded, Northern Ireland’s cold is popping water pipes all over the place. Many families have been without water for 8 days, and now there are public health fears. 40,000 homes and businesses in Belfast and 80 surrounding towns are dealing with raw sewage and/or lack of water as septic systems overflow and water pipes don’t. Scotland Yard is attempting to bring enough bottled water and showering facilities to the stricken people.

The truth is that we are so dependent on invisible supply lines, (water pipes, plow trucks, ambulances, grocery re-supply trucks) we begin to think they will always be there to provide for us in emergencies. This is not an essay about the fact that infrastructure crumbles almost immediately when pressured. It is about man’s reaction to what happens when the supplies and transport we have counted on break down. Going to and fro suddenly seems like not such a good idea.

The 2010 break-down occurred after only two days, which resulted in anger, fighting, fury, and anarchy. Craven humanity resorts to anger and fighting in such a short time…with the Restrainer STILL ON EARTH. (2 Thess 2:7). The Lord will take Him out of the way at the rapture. Imagine what will happen when the world is subjected to peace being withdrawn from the earth, men slaying each other, no food, wild beasts attack and devour people all over the globe, the stars fall from the sky, and every mountain and island are moved from their places in a giant earthquake?

I just gave the highlights of the first set of judgments on the earth in Revelation 6. If people fight over a Happy Meal, if they punch the airline clerk because they haven’t been home in a day, if they get furious over lack of plowing, with the Restrainer on earth, imagine the reaction in the Tribulation!

It is not a time that you want even your worst enemy on earth. Does this motivate you to be more patient with your annoying co-worker? Does this fact implore you to show the peace of Jesus in all you say and do? Does this knowledge help you strengthen your resolve to have that difficult conversation with the unsaved family member? I hope so! Time is running out.

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end time. prophecy, water into wine, wedding at cana, wedding supper of the lamb

Wedding at Cana first miracle and Wedding supper of the Lamb as last miracle

Posted on December 29, 2010May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Jesus’ first miracle was the Wedding at Cana. Here it is:

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 1and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” (John 2:1-11)

It was the first public miracle, yet only a few people knew what had happened. Mary, the disciples, and the servants saw. Mary already knew He is the Messiah. The disciples already suspected He is the Messiah. The servants only knew that something miraculous had happened. So what was the point of the miracle?

I have heard one interpretation that since fermenting wine is a timed process and that there is nothing man can do to hurry it along, Jesus instantly changing the water into wine demonstrates His mastery of time and space. Other interpretations teach that it reveals His glory, that He is the best wine kept back until now, that He pours forth His blood freely, that Mary was showing her humility by leaving the initiative up to Him (“Do whatever he tells you”) or that ritual purification jars will no longer be needed because Jesus will wash us clean once for all, etc. They are all plausible and they are all lovely, especially the interpretation where Jesus demonstrates His mastery over time by fermenting wine instantly. But while plausible, none of these interpretations settled my puzzlement over its the inclusion in John.

Why this miracle, especially since John tells us in verse 21:25 that “there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” Why did the Holy Spirit impress this event onto the writer’s mind for inclusion in the bible, when there were so many other miracles and signs to choose from? Because, remember, John said it was a sign. A sign is given to authenticate. So what was being authenticated here?

I was thinking about that today and one possible interpretation came to me. In the bible, wine is used as a symbol of holy joy. Isaiah uses it frequently, alternately showing that wine’s absence is a symbol of desolation (Isaiah 24:11). If wine is a symbol of holy joy, and its absence is a symbol of desolation, then Mary’s words to Jesus at the beginning of the miracle: “They have no more wine” (John 2:3) takes on new meaning.

Taking focus off the wine itself for a moment, look at the event: a wedding. In Isaiah 25:6-7 we read,

“The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
         A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
         And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
         Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.”

The preparations made in the gospel for the reception of repentant sinners with God are often in the New Testament shown by the illustration of a feast, as seen above and in Mt. 22:1, “The parable of the Marriage Feast.” All peoples are invited to partake of His salvation upon His ‘mountain’, or, His church, to feast upon the glory to soon come in the form of the holy sacrifice of Jesus and the swallowing of the veil that separates us from God. And we will drink wine, not just any wine, but Isaiah carefully notes, aged wine. As John notes, ‘the best wine.’ As the bible closes out the last of known human history-yet-to-come, we are promised another wedding-

Marriage of the Lamb
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb ‘” (Rev 19:7-9).

The tribulation is a time when Jesus pours out the winepress of His wrath (Rev 14:9) because they have drunk wine of the passion of their immorality (Rev. 14:8). But for His children He promises the best wine. We have holy joy in this.

We’re promised a wedding in Isaiah, Jesus opens His ministry at a wedding in John, and we close out the bible with a wedding in Revelation. Wine is at all times understood to be a central component of the blessed event practically, spiritually, culturally, and symbolically. Compare the miracle at the wedding in Cana with the end times event of the Marriage supper of the Lamb and perhaps we can understand a glimpse of His purpose in this sign that John shares with us. Throughout the bible, the symbolism of weddings have prominence. He and the Apostles continually call the church His bride. Human history closes with a wedding banquet. It is fitting He opened His ministry and performed His first sign at a wedding. It is fitting that He showed His deity through changing water into wine. He IS the wine, and we are His bride. Thank you Jesus! You are saving the best for last!

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apollo, end time, genesis, prophecy

Apollo 11’s communion on the moon, and Madelyn Murray O’Hair

Posted on December 28, 2010 by elizabethprata

Apollo 8 (1968) was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to planet Earth from another celestial body—Earth’s Moon. The three-man American crew of mission Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to directly see the far side of the Moon, as well as the first humans to see planet Earth from beyond low Earth orbit. (Wikipedia). It must have made quite an impression on the three astronauts to see our globe hung in space as a tiny dot, and to ponder the mysteries of the heavens. On Christmas Eve, Frank Borman sent a message to the people on earth. Please take a moment to watch this moving, 2-minute clip:

A few years prior to the momentous and quite spiritual event taking place above the moon at earth-rise, Madelyn Murray O’Hair lodged a lawsuit at the Supreme Court in 1960 that was decided in 1962. O’Hair was a well-known atheist, communist, free-thinker and sexual libertine. O’Hair’s suit contended that prayer must be removed from public schools. Actually, there were one or two suits being decided prior to O’Hair’s but her suit was in fact folded into a seminal judgment banning bible readings from public schools, closely on the heels of the ban on prayer in schools rendered a few months prior. She took credit for the “victory”, anyway. So thanks to her, on June 25, 1962, “39 million students were forbidden to do what they and their predecessors had been doing since the founding of our nation – publicly calling upon the name of the Lord at the beginning of each school day.” When Borman read the passage from Genesis in 1968, O’Hair again lodged a lawsuit, this time against NASA. O’Hair wanted the courts to ban US astronauts, who were all Government employees, from public prayer in outer space.

A few months later, on July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and he held a ceremony: the ceremony of communion. Please take a moment to watch the following 2-minute clip, from Tom Hanks’ Emmy award winning HBO series “From the Earth to the Moon” that accurately depicts the moment:

O’Hair’s Genesis-reading case was eventually rejected by the US Supreme Court for lack of jurisdiction. However, what comes to mind here was the tragedy of those few intervening months. Between the reading of Genesis on Christmas eve 1968 and 7 months later when Aldrin took communion on the moon, Christianity went from boldly declaring God as the Creator of all the Universe, to a timid and secretive religious homage to that same Creator, with an added lukewarm thank you to whomever. After he clicked off the radio, Aldrin read: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). How fitting! But how sad it was only heard by Armstrong and Aldrin. Aldrin’s choice of verse acknowledged the Creator of the planet upon which they were sitting as the One who is the Source of all endeavors. Yet O’Hair’s impact was such that this declaration of truth was muzzled and silenced.

O’Hair’s legacy was such that for a while she was called the most hated woman in America. Apparently, not only in America. She and her two children traveled via ship to Europe with the intention of defecting to the Soviet embassy in Paris and residing in the Soviet Union. The Soviets denied them entry. She founded American Atheists, promoted sexual liberation for children, and campaigned against God all her life. She even called her own son a “postnatal abortion.”

Sadly, she was abducted and killed, dismembered and her head chopped off. Her remains were not discovered for many years. Her son said that O’Hair was an evil person. “My mother was an evil person… Not for removing prayer from America’s schools… No, she was just evil. She stole huge amounts of money. She misused the trust of people. She cheated children out of their parents’ inheritance. She cheated on her taxes and even stole from her own organizations. She once printed up phony stock certificates on her own printing press to try to take over another atheist publishing company….Regardless of how evil and lawless my mother was she did not deserve to die in the manner she did.”

Her son is a Christian, baptised, and a Baptist preacher. I can’t imagine his pain, and his certain knowledge that his mother has much to answer for and will reside forever in torment in hell, apart from Jesus.

But if this one woman wreaked such havoc on America so as to remove prayer from before 40 million school children, from stopping the globe’s premier space agency from broadcasting one bible verse, and getting her message out on television, cable, and radio to millions over the course of decades, what can one Christian do? Much! If we each remain strong in faith, always acknowledging Him for all that we are and all that we accomplish as Borman and Aldrin did, then nothing is impossible. If such evil can accomplish so much, what can Good do? Pray and ask Him how you might be used today. And be ready for His answer!

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