bible

My 9/11/2001 memory, part 2: The End of the World

Posted on September 11, 2026September 11, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Twenty-five years have passed…the pain is still real.

THE FACTS

I wrote yesterday in part 1 of my personal reflections about that terrible day known as 9/11. Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, four planes heavily loaded with fuel and souls, took off from the northeast with Muslim Terrorists on board. Their intention was to honor Allah and to perform a ‘death to America’ act of evil by flying the passenger planes into high value targets. These targets were buildings that represent the best of America: the Twin World Trade Towers in New York City representing our strength and our economy, the Pentagon which represents the greatest military on earth, and a target thought to be either the White House (home of the President) or the Capitol Building (seat of government/ cradle of Democracy). I said ‘thought to be’ because passengers on the 4th plane by then had heard of the previous three from cell phone calls, and knew the target was Washington DC, given where they were heading. The passengers knew they were to die but they would not allow the terrorists to accomplish their mission. The plane, United 79, was re-commandeered by the passengers and forced into a field in Pennsylvania.

The first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46AM. To my knowledge, it wasn’t recorded on any video from news helicopters abuzz over the skies for traffic reports. Nor did any tourist accidentally capture the event. But once it hit, the news focused on it intently. Reporters wondered what could have happened. The day was so crystal clear and bright, surely a pilot would have known the building was there…was it a small commuter plane with an inexperienced pilot? Or was it some kind of explosion? What could make a hole that big?

Since the news cameras were all aimed at the North Tower, when the Muslim terrorists flew the second plane into the South Tower at 9:03, we knew instantly. THAT was the moment American changed.

I watched a documentary on 9/11 called “9/11: The Lost Tapes that Revealed the Chaos“. It focused on the communications between the FAA, Air Traffic Controllers, and The Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS), the military unit that protects the skies over the eastern United States and operates as part of NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command).

The Muslim terrorists had gained the cockpit and turned off the locating transponders of each plane. The Military scrambled jets but they absolutely did not know the targets. And being passenger planes, the Air Defense was hesitant to shoot down randomly or mistakenly. Only after there was a command to ground all planes, the order to shoot down any non-responding plane still in the air was given. By then it was too late. All 4 targets had crashed, done what they set out to do (except United 93, which the passengers saved from destroying innocent lives on the ground).

The documentary made it clear just how unique and unexpected the use of passenger planes was at this given moment. Because of this, the Muslim terrorists’ goal in that respect was accomplished. The emotional grappling with such an event, using passenger planes AS the bomb, the disrespect for life, the use of the planes to strike high value targets, attacking the United States out of nowhere, was something not even thought of by the military (NORAD or NEADS), or Air Traffic Control, or the Federal Aviation Administration.

In fact, in the documentary, on tape, one Commander was told of the hijackings and she said “Cool.” She explained in her current day interview that she had said ‘Cool’ because hijacks were something known and prepared for, and there was a protocol and sequence to follow. But no, this was no ordinary hijacking. The mind took quite a while to catch up.

Shortly before 9/11, actor James Woods was on a flight to Los Angeles. Apparently, he saw four men Woods suspected to be Muslim terrorists making a dry run on his flight. He stated this to the Flight crew who said a report would be made. Bureaucracy swallowed the report.

After 9/11 Woods called the FBI, who showed up on his doorstep at 7am on Sepotember 12 door, woke him up, and interviewed Woods on the details. Here is Woods talking about it- https://youtu.be/GI_jVBd7gok?si=NftnkPTG_HICGedc

Little known, little reported, interesting story: How the 9/11 Boatlift became the largest waterborne evacuation in history

THE EMOTIONAL PART

And here we have the fallout. The dividing line for our nation was between the first and second planes. There is “before” and there is “after.”

I can’t say enough about the fear, confusion, emotional and mental groping, and unbalance we all felt on that day. We had no words.

Any person could be an enemy. Any disaster could come from any direction. Planes used as bombs? Would there be missiles? Nukes? Shooting attacks? Submarines bursting out of the waters to shot missiles on shore? An army? We were completely unbalanced. Fear and perplexity! We were in shock and grief for the poor individuals who were killed on the planes and on the ground. We mourned the first responders. We could not articulate what we were even feeling or thinking. Many were angry. Many became patriotic at that instant the 2nd plane hit. I know I and my friend thought the world was ending. It felt like Armageddon. End of the world. Everything was crumbling.

THE RELIGIOUS PART

There will be a day to come when Jesus will unleash terror unlike even on 9/11, or Pearl Harbor day or Atomic Bomb over Japan day. It will be REAL Armageddon at the end of a time period of trouble unlike the world has ever seen. (Matthew 24:21).

It will be so bad that as even the powers of heaven are shaken, people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world; (Luke 21:26 NASB). Other translations say ‘men’s hearts failing’.

Barnes’ Notes explains, “Men’s hearts failing them – This is an expression denoting the highest terror. The word rendered “failing” commonly denotes to “die,” and here it means that the terror would be so great that people would faint and be ready to die in view of the approaching calamities.”

The fear and perplexity we felt on 9/11 will occur again but be exponentially worse on the Day of the Lord.

From a sermon: “How does the world as we know it end and what will be the signs? In this passage, [Mark 13] Jesus teaches his disciples the final signs marking the end of the age and the coming of his kingdom. And there are three of these final signs. Let’s look at them one by one. The first sign of the end of the age is the upheaval of the heavens. The upheaval of the heavens. There will be cosmic chaos when all the celestial bodies in the sky are thrown into turmoil. First of all, the heavens will be darkened.

Jesus says in verse 24, in those days after the Tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. So the world will fall into darkness because neither the sun nor the moon shine on the earth. How dark will it be? Well, the word Jesus uses, darkened, the sun will be darkened, suggests that the sun won’t shine at all.

It’s a word that describes not so much the dimming of a light as the turning off of a light. It’s the same word that Paul uses in Romans 1 to describe the darkness that is in sinners’ hearts. In a rebellious sinner’s heart, No light of the gospel shines. It’s pitch black. It’s completely dark.

And Jesus uses that same word here. In the same way, the light of the sun will not shine on the earth. God will supernaturally prevent the sun’s rays from reaching the earth and the world will fall into blackness. Now obviously with no light from the sun, the moon will also, as Jesus says, not give its light. Both day and night will be completely dark.

Now everyone, no matter where they are on the earth, will see this sign. It will be impossible to miss. It will be an unmistakable sign that life on earth will never be the same again. Everyone will realize that. Something momentous has occurred that cannot be fixed with human ingenuity or technology.

Jesus says that not only the heavens will be darkened, but also the heavens will be disordered. He says in verse 25, and the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. That word stars refers to really any luminous body in the sky other than the sun, such as planets, comets, meteors, anything that’s visible into the space, into the heavenlies. And Jesus says that these celestial bodies will be falling from heaven, that’s a present tense participle indicating continuous like an asteroid shower, a meteor shower, just continually coming down. He says, these celestial bodies will careen through the heavens, many falling to the earth as if they had spun out of control.

Even the powers or the forces that seem to hold everything together and constant in the heavens will be shaken. Somebody has likened it to a cosmic earthquake. Except the quake won’t be on the earth, but in the heavens. The universe will appear to crumble. Well, you can imagine how this will affect people on earth. If the world were cast into utter darkness, life on earth could not last long.

And all this will cause panic and terror in the hearts of those not trusting in the Lord. In Luke’s account of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus says in chapter 21, verse 26, there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves. And then Jesus says again, Luke 21, 26, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. They’ll be used to powers on the earth shaken through earthquakes, or fires, or famines, or wars. But to look up in the sky and see chaos, cosmic chaos, will cause people to panic.

They will panic to the point of fainting away in fear, or will faint dead because they are having heart attacks. It will be a time of judgment from above and below, a time of hate and evil and disaster and fear.

9/11 was bad because men are evil. The solution to evil is Jesus. He is Good. He is the only good, and as such, will forgive our sins which deserve punishment and judgment, because He died as the sacrifice for those sins. He endured God pouring out man’s evil sins onto His son on the cross. Now, any person who repents and believes Jesus as the Savior will be seen by God the Father as Good. He will be seen as a righteous person with no condemnation will be upon Him.

and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus is the Hope! You do not have to remain on earth when He sends these terrible judgments upon the world. If you repent of your sins and turn to Him, you will be safe in heaven when these things happen. I will never forget that awful day. It truly was an event that sears itself on my mind and heart. 25 years later I still cry when watching some of these documentaries.

Sin is the reason these troubles happen, and one day, if you repent, sin will be no more in heaven. All will be at peace. At long last, peace.

9/11, bible jesus, evil, prophecy

My 9/11/2001 memory; Part 1

Posted on September 10, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Photo of the fallen towers in New York City, taken by an American Legionnaire a few days after the terror act, and given to me

In March of 2001 I started a newspaper. It was a weekly community paper where I’d determined to cover our local government. I was fiercely committed to our First Amendment rights, especially a free press and the right to assemble.

The local community had a newspaper already but it had drifted from its origins when founded 30 years prior, and was now actually oppressing the citizenry. They were effectively a government arm. I had a goal of using my paper to teach the locals what their rights and responsibilities were as participating citizens of a great country and how to grow our town into a thriving society, based on those aforementioned freedoms.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, it was a Tuesday. I’d arrived at my newspaper office early since Tuesday was a big paper day, we go to print early Wednesday morning. We weren’t digital then, I’d have to drive the laid-out boards to a nearby city, so the timing was important. Tuesday then, was the day we put the paper all together.

I was renting my news office from my friend who lived a big, rambling farmhouse. I was in the front room, she and her family lived in the back rooms. She called me from her living room. I thought it was unusual that she phoned, being just a few feet away from me in the same building. But her usually quiet voice evaporated all other thoughts. She said with fierceness, “COME HERE NOW”.

The first plane had just hit the twin tower in NY. Shoulder to shoulder we stared at the burning hole in the North Tower, trying to comprehend what had made such a big hole. We watched with eyes wide, breathing shallowly, standing with arms numbly at our sides…

As we watched, the second plane hit at 9:03. Our heads swiveled toward each other, eyes locked. We knew. We knew without saying a word that this was an attack. We were being attacked from an enemy combatant.

We also knew that nothing would ever be the same. It only took seconds for us to realize this.

A knot was in my stomach and comprehending thoughts refused to form in my head. But we did know that when a war starts you do a few things right away. We got our purses and first we walked across the street to the hardware store and we bought the biggest flag they had. We went back to the office and put it up.

AMERICA!

Then we drove down the street to the bank to get money. Cash was going to be important if the electricity went out or we were ordered to evacuate. We didn’t know what was coming next and we wanted to be prepared. It could have been a nuke coming next, for all we knew. We worried about nukes. There was a huge Navy telecommunications station in Cutler, Maine that the Russians had their missiles aimed at for a long time. Maine certainly was a target. We felt exposed, unsafe, with an enemy that could be lurking anywhere.

At the bank, they had the TV on in the break room with the door open and the volume up so customers could hear what was going on. A third plane had crashed into the Pentagon. We saw the fire and military men running around to evacuate that military building. The Muslim terrorists had struck the building that represented the strongest military in the world! This was a different kind of war.

While we were at the bank we saw a fourth plane had just gone down in PA. The smoking crater was being shown. We knew that plane was part of whatever was happening. It seemed like it was coming from all directions. The feeling was disorienting, not just for us but for everyone. Everyone around us seemed like zombies…with unsure gait, eyes wide, half-sentences drifting off as the mind groped.

We did not know if we would have to evacuate so after the bank, we gassed up our cars. Better be prepared. Then, with the flag up at the office, cash in hand, and cars parked and ready, we went into the office and got to work.

FREEDOM!

We resolved that our freedom was under attack. Running a newspaper which reported the news and offered a platform for the people to speak their thoughts on any political or civic matter freely, we decided our most patriotic thing we could do to support the Constitution that day was to get the paper out. The terrorists were not going to stop the presses. They were not going to stop freedom from ringing out. And that is what we did.

Those Muslim terrorists were evil. But we are all evil before we repent. I wasn’t saved on 9/11. I was about to be soon, but not yet. Jesus is the hope we have to become good. Not on our own merits. We do not become good through our own efforts. No, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone.” It is not a popular thing to say, that we are not good, but we are not.

In Islam the only sure way they have to get to heaven is to kill in Allah’s name. The terrorists thought they were gifting Allah with their lives but 1 second after they died they learned Allah is a figment. There is no Allah. They met the one True God – Jesus- who will pour out His wrath upon them in hell for all eternity. (Revelation 14:10). As He will to all sinners.

In Islam you pour out your life so that others die. I thank Jesus that He poured out His life so that we may live…and become righteous. “It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Even at that, our fleshly lives on earth are a struggle, a struggle against sin and growth in righteousness. I long for the day when flesh shall be glorified and sin shall be banished.

Part 2 tomorrow, upon the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

Here are John MacArthur’s sermons during that terrible week that aimed to help people understand-

John MacArthur: Sept 12, 2001, A First Response to the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

John MacArthur, Sunday, September 16, 2001, A Biblical Perspective on Death, Terrorism, and the Middle East, Pt 1

A Biblical Perspective on Death, Terrorism, and the Middle East, Pt 2

Jesus will return in glory with His glorified saints. He will institute new nations and new cities populated by sinless resurrected chosen ones. There will be no more war because our hearts will be made right with Him. There will be no more terror because we will want nothing, having been given it all by our Savior. If you bow low to the Savior and repent, He will lift you up high. Please do it soon.

arminianism, glory, prosperity gospel, sovereignty

Predestination: God chooses us. We don’t choose Him

Posted on September 7, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

There is one doctrine, or, a teaching, that incites rebuttal, refusals, and even anger. It’s the Doctrine of Election. It is also known as the doctrine of Predestination.

This teaching in the Bible says that no one chooses God for themselves. God chooses who will be saved. Further, this teaching states that God does not choose who will be saved based on His foreknowledge of who will choose Him. God decided before anyone was ever born who goes and who doesn’t.

He determines who goes to heaven and that person avoids His wrath. Heaven’s citizens are there due to God’s own will and purpose, not due to any choice or decision the individual person makes.

There is another aspect to this. Some say that while God chooses whom He will save and allow to enter His heaven, the unchosen are passed over and defaulted to hell, while others say God not only chooses those people He desires to go to heaven, He also chooses on purpose those who will enter hell. In other words, God predestines some for heaven and predestines others for hell.

John Piper answered that question with scripture, here in his short essay Does God Predestine People to Hell?

It is very hard for us to consider these things. Our heart hurts to think of hell, never mind a God who either allows to default or directly chooses some to experience conscious torment for all eternity.

The Bible says we are dead in our sins.

Colossians 2:13 says “When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,”

Romans 6:11 says before Christ saves us, we are dead, dead IN sin. “So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 15:22 says anyone who is in Adam, is dead.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

How can someone who is spiritually dead choose Christ? Scales are upon our eyes, our minds are futile, our heart is stone (Ezekiel 36:26. We CANNOT choose Jesus. We CANNOT repent. How can someone who is blind even see their sins in order to repent? We cannot.

God darkens people’s hearts, He lightenes them too. In ROmans 1 we read that God gave them over to their sinful passions after stubbornly refusing Him. He darkened Pharaoh’s heart after multiple offerings and displays of His power. Thus, God lightens hearts and minds as well. He is fully in control of His creation, all of it. From the planets and the earth to us humans. We are created beings living in God’s universe.

But what about foreknowledge? Did God who saw down the halls of time see that so-and-so will choose Him, and then He elected the person to salvation? No, what a ghastly thought! That would make God subservient to man’s decisions. It is God who decides. Spurgeon had this to say about election and foreknowledge:

“But,” say others, “God elected them on the foresight of their faith.” Now, God gives faith, therefore he could not have elected them on account of faith, which he foresaw. There shall be twenty beggars in the street, and I determine to give one of them a shilling; but will any one say that I determined to give that one a shilling, that I elected him to have the shilling, because I foresaw that he would have it? That would be talking nonsense. In like manner to say that God elected men because he foresaw they would have faith, which is salvation in the germ, would be too absurd for us to listen to for a moment. Faith is the gift of God. Every virtue comes from him. Therefore it cannot have caused him to elect men, because it is his gift. ~Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Election” No. 41-42.

Here are some verses in support of the Bible’s teaching on predestination:

Jude 1:4a- For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation

Proverbs 16:4– The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.

Ephesians 1:11– In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will.

Man’s pride (due to our sin nature) wants to say I did this, I chose, I am in charge of my faith. But we aren’t. We are dead in sins and trespasses. (Spiritually) dead people cannot do anything except lay dead.

God is not ‘a gentleman’. He doesn’t stand aside and hope or wish or plead with us to follow Him. That song “I have decided, to follow Jesus” is doctrinally incorrect. He smashed S/Paul to the ground, blinded him, charged him with persecuting God’s people, and sent him to a Gentile’s home to think about it. He burst into Abram’s life unexpected and told Abram to go to another country.

Humans are appointed to eternal life by God since before the beginning of the world.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48).

For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love / He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, (Ephesians 1:4-5)

The Doctrine of Predestination AKA the Doctrine of Election is a humbling one. Once the Lord instills in us the knowledge of Him and lets the scales fall from our eyes, we truly see who we are. Who are we? Sinners in need of a transcendent, holy God who forgives. He sent His Son to teach, live a holy life as the spotless Lamb, be killed in the cross as the sacrifice for sin, rise again, and ascend. All for us, who need Him desperately but would otherwise never know it unless He intervened and saved us first.

What a blessing! It’s all HIM! If I was in charge of my salvation for sure I would lose it. I can trust and rely on Him who saves to keep me and bring me home in His timing. What a relief and a joy.

Further Resources

The Cripplegate: Pick me, pick me: Unconditional Election

9Marks: A Softer Prosperity Gospel: More Common Than You Think

Grace to you article: What is the Doctrine of Election?

GotQuestions: Is the doctrine of Election biblical?

hail, prophecy

A little known prophecy in Job

Posted on September 4, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’m sure you have read (and admired) the following verse from Job a million times. But have you ever considered the prophetic aspects of this powerfully packed scripture? Job 38 is the climactic chapter where God speaks to Job about His own sovereignty over creation, time, and over all the peoples of earth.

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?” (Job 38:22-23)

Have you ever noticed the phrase, “the time of trouble”? Other translations say reserved for “the time of distress”. You will also notice the reference to “the day” of battle and war. These are standard phrases referring to the days of the wrath (Tribulation). (For example, Jeremiah 30:7, Obadiah 1:14, Joel 2:11).

God has used hail before in judgment and He will do so again. In the past, He used hail during the plagues He sent to Pharaoh, in themselves pictures of the Revelation judgments of the coming Tribulation.

“The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field“. (Exodus 9:25)

The future judgment will contain another plague of hail-

And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. (Revelation 16:21)

Gill’s Exposition says of the Job 38 verse,

Of hail we have instances in Scripture, as employed against the Egyptians and Canaanites, Exodus 9:25; and of a reserve of it in the purposes of God, and in prophecy against the day of battle with antichrist, Revelation 16:21.
And though there are no instances of snow being used in this way in Scripture, yet there is in history. Strabo reports, that at Corzena and Cambysena, which join to Mount Caucasus, such snows have fallen, that whole companies of men have been swallowed up in them; and even armies have been overwhelmed with them, as the army of the Gauls and such quantities have been thrown down from mountains, on which they have been lodged, that towns, towers, and villages, have been laid prostrate by them and in the year 443, a vast snow destroyed many.

I am so awed by prophecy. The (probably) oldest book of the Bible, Job, (~2000 BC?) contains a prophecy that is parallel to the last book of the Bible, Revelation (~90AD). God has His plan and who can thwart it? He has set aside some for eternal condemnation and others for eternal joy. He has stored aside His wrath to be unleashed upon them, and hail will be part of that stored-up unleashing. He is precise and will do what He says and it will come to pass to the perfect degree.

The Bible is awe-inspiring in its presentation of our God, who authored it and revealed to us what He wants us to know. Part of that knowing is seeing His prophetic mind and His plans come to pass. I praise Him for all His plans, ways, perfections, prophecies.

theology

The Gospel and prophecy are intertwined

Posted on September 3, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest GOOD NEWS ever delivered to men and to a man or woman. Jesus Christ is the greatest Person ever to walk the earth. His message of sin, judgment, atonement, repentance, and peace is the best news a person could ever hear.

Most people on earth do not believe this.

The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS of Jesus. Is judgment good news? No, but is a necessary part of the PRE-good news. We must understand our condition from the moment of birth to the moment of death, with the knowledge that we are born sinners. (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Sinners cannot live with a holy God. In fact, our sin enrages Him. (Psalm 7:11). We are transgressors on His earth, (James 2:9) His wrath abides on us, and our end will be a just punishment in hell.

But God.

Continue reading →

theology

What are the Terrifying Secrets of Revelation’s Seven Thunders?

Posted on August 31, 2026September 1, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS
The Seven Thunders in Revelation are mentioned but John is ordered to seal them. They remain mysterious, possibly indicating terrifying judgments. While speculations abound, their essence reflects God’s authority and terror due to the already-delivered wrath and more wrath to come. This essay emphasizes the chilling reality of the future Tribulation and urges readers to share the Gospel before these events unfold.

What are the terrifying secrets of the seven thunders? I don’t know. No one knows.

100_2097moon at sunset pixlr red sky — EPrata photo

Revelation 10:1-4, I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; 2and he had in his hand a little scroll, which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; 3and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. 4When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.“

The Seven Thunders seem to be a part of the series of judgments in the Book of Revelation. I say “seem to be” because the words were not allowed to be written down, so we cannot be sure that they specifically are judgments. However, coming in sequence after the Seal and Trumpet judgments, and before the Bowl judgments, it seems that the mysterious Thunders may be judgments too.

Given that thunder is the voice of God in judgment, it furthers the notion that these mysteriously sealed instructions may be judgments. They were actual words, because John heard them. They were something that was uttered, and could have been written down intelligibly, except that John was ordered not to.

John MacArthur wrote of the Seven Thunders in his book Because the Time is Near:

The seven peals of thunder did not merely make a loud noise, but communicated information that John was about to write. In obedience to God’s commands, John had already written much of what he saw in his visions. Later in Revelation, John would once again be commanded to write what he saw in his visions. (14:13; 19:9; 21:5).
But before John could record the message of the seven peals of thunder, he heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”Whether the voice was that of the Father, or Jesus Christ, or an angel is not revealed. The command, however, clearly originated with God. The reason John was forbidden to record the message is not revealed. It may be that the judgments were simply too terrifying to be recorded. Any speculation as to the content of their message is pointless. If God wanted it to be known, He would not have forbidden John to write it. They are the only words in the book of Revelation that are sealed.

Let’s focus in on the “too terrifying” part of the reasoning here. In all the apocalyptic movies I’ve ever seen specifically related to the Tribulation, they are all uniformly sanitized. In other words, the horrific reality of the Tribulation as depicted in the Bible’s Book of Revelation was visually watered down to be as non-reflective of the reality of a cellophane wrapped hamburger meat at Publix is compared to the blood, filth and messiness of a low-rent butchery. And even that is not reflective of the reality of what is coming.

The non-Christian apocalyptic movies movies I’ve seen, Threads, The War Game, and It’s A Disaster, were harrowing and soul-searing. Their real depiction of nuclear or nerve gas apocalypse stayed with me for a long time. The War Game was commissioned by the BBC in 1965 to specifically illustrate the horrors of nuclear war. WHen it was completed and shown to the Commission, the BBC Board found the movie too realistic to be released. For twenty years it languished in a closet until released in 1985. Yet even that film doesn’t go the distance of what the reality of the Tribulation will be like in terms of nuclear horror and death. People just do not understand what it really means when Jesus promised it to be a time of distress exceeding even the time of the Flood. (Matthew 24:21). And remember, that was a time when everybody on earth horribly died. (Except 8 people).

So here is Oliver B. Greene in his Verse-By-Verse Study of Revelation, on the Seven Thunders’ terror:

Thunder is the voice of the Lord in judgment (I Samuel 7:10, Psalm 18:13). The seven thunders “uttered their voices.” (John assumes that the readers already have Some knowledge of these seven thunders.) In Revelation 4:2, 3 John saw a throne encircled by a rainbow, and here in chapter ten we see the same rainbow. In Revelation 4 John saw upon the throne One who was to look upon as a jasper and a sardine stone, and “out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.” In chapter 10, we have the same thunder, sounding out a message of God’s fury and judgment.

Personality is attributed to these “seven thunders.” Everything is in sympathy with the Lamb of God. These mighty thunders utter messages that are intelligible . . . they speak words. John heard what they said – and when the time comes in reality, the seven thunders will speak literal words that earth’s dwellers will fully understand. It will be a message in tones of thunder. We use a public address system to amplify voices when we want to be heard – but God needs no amplification. He can speak like mighty thunder – and He WILL when the time comes!

At the beginning of these marvelous visions, John was commanded to write in a book what he saw and heard – past, present and future. But when the thunders spoke, John was given another command. He was about to write – but a voice from Heaven said: “Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not!” The seven thunders must have given a terrible message. Already set before us are blood, tears, famine, heartache and heartbreak; killing, misery, hail, fire, burning mountains, demon monstrosities, men begging to die and unable to do so. Surely what John was forbidden to write must have been beyond human imagination and understanding! There is no need to speculate on what the thunders said. Your guess is as good as mine; but you may rest assured that the message had to do with God’s last gigantic, unheard of, indescribable judgment, when God “lowers the boom” in utter destruction.

Will YOU be on earth when the seven thunders speak? You are the only one who can answer that question. If you are born again you will NOT be here – but if you are not born again, you may be here. Read John 1:11-12, 3:16-18, 3:36, 5:24; Romans 10:9-10, 10:13, 10:17; Ephesians 2:8-9; I John 1:9. Read these verses, hear what they say; receive them – and you will not be here when the seven thunders utter their message of destruction. You will be with Jesus.

Imagine a message that exceeds the terror and blood of all that had already previously been spoken. Or if that was not the case, imagine a message that was so tremendously powerful it needed to be sealed from our tender brains until the moment they would be spoken during the Tribulation.

Prophecy is supposed to motivate us to witness, and yet the reality of the judgments of souls in rebellion to God is omitted from the message of the Good News when liberals or ashamed people share it. How terrible that it’s omitted so often these days, when the days are coming that many will be living it!

May this essay motivate you to read Revelation, to pray for wisdom and understanding of the coming days, to receive the promised blessing for having read it, and for its words to be a catalyst in your heart for the lost who are under that very “boom” Greene mentioned, soon to be lowered…

Share the Good News today.

theology

The Shadow of Sin and the Treasure of Grace

Posted on August 27, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS
The article discusses Thomas Boston’s views on the inescapability of sin, emphasizing that it is inherent in human nature, even among the grace-receiving faithful. Sin follows individuals like a shadow, deeply rooted within. Our temptations arise from internal desires, highlighting the necessity of recognizing human corruption and the need for divine grace.

Continue reading →

theology

Why does the topic of spiritual warfare draw so many crazies?

Posted on August 26, 2026August 26, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Spiritual Warfare is real. Yet many Christians ignore this topic, which should be on our mind daily. After all, we battle the unseen realms in our own body as we kill sin in our flesh; we battle unseen spirits who tempt us; and we battle the world with its philosophies constructed by satan and his minions.

On the other side, the topic draws crazies who hyper-focus on it. We need to be balanced in our approach to any topic. Face it realistically, biblically, but not with excessive, out-of-balance focus.

The topic of spiritual warfare is outlined in many places in the Bible, but one of the most familiar is in Ephesians 6. That chapter outlines our armor available to us in the battle, which is specifically described.

While spiritual warfare is real and prevalent in our lives, and while it is a topic often addressed in the Bible, I’ve found few solid resources on it. The topic seems to invite twisted approaches, fringe ministries, lure crazies. So I compiled a few of the solid resources for you on the topic of Spiritual Warfare.

The synopsis for the book Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life says, “Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life is a practical compilation of sermons and teachings by Charles H. Spurgeon, England’s famous 19th-century preacher. The book cuts through mystical ideas to focus on how believers can use the power of the gospel to fight everyday discouragement, sin, depression, and spiritual opposition.”

Or listen to Spurgeon’s sermon on spiritual warfare being read here, or read along with the transcript, here

In this two part message, David Powlison sets forth a biblical demonology and explains the biblical parameters for battling the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, audio part 1 https://ibcd.org/power-encounters-reclaiming-spiritual-warfare-part-one/

Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, audio part 2 https://ibcd.org/power-encounters-reclaiming-spiritual-warfare-part-2/

Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare Notes/Outline part 1 Powlison-Power-Encounters-1.pdf,

Notes/outline part 2- https://ibcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Powlison-Power-Encounters-2.pdf

Book by Donald Grey Barnhouse- Book blurb: “In this series on The Invisible War: The Panorama of the Continuing Conflict Between Good and Evil, it explores the spiritual battle involving God, Satan, angels, demons, and humanity. Dr. Barnhouse explored a theme rarely touched upon by students of the Bible: the great conflict which exists in the spirit realm. Although almost entirely unrecognized by mankind, this warfare affects, in one way or another, the life of every person on earth and especially the life of the child of God.”

Read online at the Internet Archive Digital Library https://archive.org/details/invisiblewarpano00barn

Or buy the paperback, which is widely available.

Ligonier resource on Ephesians 6 and “The Church’s Warfare”, a message given by Stephen Nichols. The synopsis states, “Having redeemed us from sin, Satan, and death, God has enlisted us as soldiers in His army, calling us to wage spiritual warfare against the enemy until Christ returns and giving us armor and weapons for the battle. In this message, Dr. Stephen Nichols looks at spiritual warfare and the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:10–20, guiding us in what it means to be strong in the Lord.”

Voddie Baucham: sermon. The Beautiful Truth Hidden in Ephesians 6

https://learn.ligonier.org/conferences/grace-upon-grace-kingsburg-2023-conference/the-churchs-warfare

theology

God’s allotment, our service

Posted on August 24, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Consider this verse-

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3).

Paul began the chapter with talking about our bodies as a living sacrifice, and continued after verse 3 with tying it to the spiritual gifts and our entwinement with each other as members of the Body. The concepts here are service and sacrifice.

“Measure of faith” is defined at Logos as “A biblical term referring to the spiritual capacity or level of belief given by God to individuals.”

But translating and understanding what God meant by ‘measure of faith’ turned out to be not so easy. But I loved wrestling with scripture.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains the measure of faith is not justifying faith. We all have that equally. It is not the spiritual gift of faith, only some have that. He used George Muller as an example of someone given the gift of deep, trusting faith “who was was able to pray with confidence and assurance and the amazing things happened that we can read“.

So what IS the ‘measure’ of faith? Commenter Marvin Vincent (1887) wrote that it is a difficult phrase to translate. I found this to be true. Preachers or commenters Martyn Lloyd Jones, John MacArthur, RC Sproul, Matthew Henry etc all interpreted it slightly differently. However, there are three concepts that stood out- first, God gives the faith, second, for the measure of faith we are given, we use in conjunction with our spiritual gifts to serve. Thirdly, we must not become conceited about our faith or our gifts nor think more highly than ourselves over another person.

Here, J. Witmer in John Walvoord’s The Bible Knowledge Commentary acknowledges Paul’s ‘involved word play’ in this verse:

“By his involved word play on various forms of the verb phroneō, “to think,” Paul emphasized that human pride is wrong (cf. 3:27; 11:18, 20) partly because all natural abilities and spiritual gifts are from God. As a result every Christian should have a proper sense of humility and an awareness of his need to be involved with other members of Christ’s body. As Paul explained, a parallelism exists between a believer’s physical body which has parts with differing functions and the community of believers in Christ as a spiritual body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 4:11–12, 15–16). The point is that each member functions to serve the body, not the body to serve the members.”

Marvin Vincent in Word Studies in the New Testament, (1887) focuses on the word measure, saying our entry into the Kingdom at conversion means we now see ourselves measured against God as our new standard of measurement-

“Faith, in introducing him into God’s kingdom, introduces him to new standards of measurement, according to which he accurately determines the nature and extent of his powers, and so does not think of himself too highly. This measure is different in different individuals, but in every case faith is the determining element of the measure. Paul, then, does not mean precisely to say that a man is to think more or less soberly of himself according to the quantity of faith which he has, though that is true as a fact; but that sound and correct views as to the character and extent of spiritual gifts and functions are fixed by a measure.”

As usual, the solid and trustworthy Matthew Henry in his commentary on the whole Bible (1704) brought Jesus into the discussion-

“Because God deals out his gifts in a certain measure: According to the measure of faith. Observe, The measure of spiritual gifts he calls the measure of faith, for this is the radical grace. What we have and do that is good is so far right and acceptable as it is founded in faith, and flows from faith, and no further. Now faith, and other spiritual gifts with it, are dealt by measure, according as Infinite Wisdom sees meet for us. Christ had the Spirit given him without measure, Jn. 3:34. But the saints have it by measure; see Eph. 4:7. Christ, who had gifts without measure, was meek and lowly; and shall we, that are stinted, be proud and self-conceited?”

It seems to me after chasing down all these winding trails and mulling this phrase for the last few days, that my conclusion is we need to employ trust in our Christian church relationships. We of course remember the primary notion, we are each given a measure of faith in which we operate our spiritual gifts. Do not disparage the weaker brother or be jealous of the stronger brother. We all have a different measure.

So, when we hear preaching, trust that the preacher is operating to the widest extent in his good service to Jesus. When we see hospitable women hosting the sisters, trust that she is operating her faith and using her gifts to the fullest extent according to the measure given her. And so on for each person and each gift. We are one body, and what one does affects the others.

Simply put, use grace to think more highly of others. If we are going to measure anything, measure ourselves in sound judgment to ensure we are serving Jesus with all our mind, heart, soul, and body.

theology

Born to Be Destroyed: The Stark Language of 2 Peter

Posted on August 20, 2026August 20, 2026 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Something that always surprises me is how tolerant and soft-hearted people are when you mention so-and-so is a false teacher. They look at the person being named as false, and not at Jesus. Certainly they aren’t looking at their Bible. False teachers are of satan. But when you say someone like Joyce Meyer is false, or Beth Moore, they look at Meyer and see a woman who smiles and has a large following and has a Bible in her hand, so they say “But she’s not THAT bad”, or “Have you prayed for her?’ or “Leave her alone- God will sort it out.”

All of those are wrong responses to any named false teacher.

While many people will agree that false teachers exist, when I match the person to the claim, they will balk.

Yet the Bible describes these false ones in the starkest of terms. In just one example, we turn to 2 Peter 2:13-14 which says, ‘they revel in their deceptions’.

suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions as they feast with you, 14having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having hearts trained in greed, accursed children;

John MacArthur preached about these false teachers from the 2 Peter 2:13 verse. He said –

“Further describing their action, Peter with obvious disgust says, “They are stains and blemishes.” Boy, those are absolutely vivid words. The word “stains” is the word filth spots, dirt spots. The word “blemish” is the word scab, or the word defect. It is the idea of dirt spots, defects, filth spots, scabs. They pollute. They’re dirty. They’re foul. They’re diseased. And he says they’re reveling in their deceptions.” Creatures born to be killed.

That means someone like Joyce Meyer is a filth spot. Joel Osteen is a defect. Beth Moore is a scab. THAT is how awful a false teacher is. I’m not saying these things, the Bible is!

Next, do you notice the word revel is used twice in the same verse?! What does revel mean here?

HELPS Word-studies says
tryphḗ (from thryptō, “to break down due to over-indulgence, i.e. living in excessive luxury”) – properly, feebleness brought on by self-indulgence (luxury); (figuratively) moral and spiritual breakdown (“enfeeblement”) from over-indulging in dainty (“delicate”) things, i.e. “dainty living” that deteriorates soul and body.

Their Reveling (2 Peter 2:13–14a), as Warren Wiersbe in The Bible exposition commentary interprets the verse, says-

The words translated “riot” and “sporting” carry the meaning of “sensual reveling.” They also contain the idea of luxury, softness, and extravagance. At the expense of those who support them (2 Peter 2:3), the apostates enjoy luxurious living. In our own society, there are those who plead for funds for their “ministries,” yet live in expensive houses, drive luxury cars, and wear costly clothes. When we remember that Jesus became poor in order to make us rich, their garish lifestyle seems out of step with New Testament Christianity.

Not only do they deceive others, but they even deceive themselves! They can “prove” from the Bible that their lifestyle is right. In ancient times, it was expected that people would revel at night, but these people dared to revel in the daytime, so convinced were they of their practices. A person can become so accustomed to his vices that he sees them as virtues.

These false teachers are born to be killed. Jude 1:4 says certain men were born for condemnation. The 2 Peter verse says they will be destroyed. MacArthur again,

The Greek text actually reads this way, “In their destroying they shall be destroyed.” And that’s…that’s another way to read this, that in the destructive work that they do as they lead people to destruction through their witless, non-reasoning stupidity and living off their passionate instincts, as they consume others in that operation, they will themselves be consumed. They are abandoned to destruction, born for the flesh, born to perish. Sermon- Creatures born to be killed part 1.

It is important to look at the Bible when discerning about false teachers. Because we are sinners, our sin clouds our judgment of others when assessing their output against the Bible. We need the clear word of God to remind us that these teachers whose father is satan, are not just as good as us or just as bad as us. Do not think, “Well, no one is perfect”, or “Well, I sin too.” False teachers are an entirely different beast.

These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. (2 Peter 2:17).

Springs without water are empty, like the promises of false teachers. They are reserved for blackest darkness in the future. Don’t follow them.