By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The post discusses Elihu’s perspective in the Book of Job, emphasizing his respectful listening and patience despite being younger than Job’s friends. Elihu criticizes Job’s self-justification and highlights that suffering may serve purposes beyond punishment for sin, as the other 3 friends insisted. Ultimately, Elihu encourages trust in God.
Continue reading “Lessons from Elihu: Listening and Wisdom in Job”
Are you known?
Are you ready?
A clear, simple, and wonderful explanation of the Gospel. Eternity can come for you at any moment. Are you ready? Poetry by Kay Cude
Are You Known?
Did Christ see your face from the Cross at Golgotha? There your sin was laid upon Him and remains your effective condemnation if you have rejected Him. Me la The Son of God. He is Messiah. He is The Only Acceptable Sacrifice, blameless and without sin. He is the The Ransom of The Lord God Almighty provided for the forgiveness of your sin.
Understand, there is nothing unfamiliar to Him about your face. He has known your name from before eternity past. Before He created all living things before He laid the foundatione of the heavens and the earth, before the birth, life and death of centuries of your parental ancestors; before kings and kingdoms rose and fell, HE determined to die in your appointed place of condemnation to reconcile you to God
He knew every life choice you would make, every word you would speak, and every heart-decision you would put into physical action.
This All-Knowing Christ Jesus, this Saviour-Redeemer, is God The Son, and He has forever known who you are. But, are you one who has never known Him?
I AM The Resurrection and The Life, he who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. DO YOU! believe this?” John 11:25-26
What will YOU do with Jesus?
Therefore I say unto you that you will die in your sins, unless you believe that I AM HE you will die in your sins.” John 8:24
“For there is One God, and One Mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. who gave Himself as a Ransom for all, The Testimony given at the Proper Time.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
ART- THE NIGHT OF GOLGOTHA Vailly Vosbchagin, 2000. Original in Trstyskor Gallery, Mincow, Rassis: http://www.styskorgallery.ru/) -Text addition by author Kay Cude
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
In Thyatira, a woman identified as a false prophetess, referred to as “Jezebel,” was leading the church into sin and idolatry, which Jesus condemned. Despite the church’s loving deeds, it tolerated her harmful teachings, risking its spiritual purity. This ultimately contributed to the church’s decline by the second century, and gives us in this century lessons to learn.
Continue reading “The Risk of Tolerating False Prophets in the Church”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The essay discusses the concept of redemption through Jesus Christ, emphasizing that many underestimate the seriousness of sin by comparing themselves to others rather than to Jesus. True redemption, signified by Christ’s sacrifice, frees individuals from the power of sin and bondage, enabling them to live in holiness under God’s grace.
Continue reading “Understanding Redemption Through Christ’s Sacrifice”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
Discipleship requires careful selection of mentors grounded in Scripture, as highlighted in some people’s experiences with misguiding figures. Recognizing the importance of discernment, both new and mature believers must avoid false teachings and seek genuine, faithful Christian guidance. Much of one’s spiritual growth flows with the quality of chosen disciplers and spiritual models.
Continue reading “The Importance of Discernment in Discipleship”By Elizabeth Prata
In 2013, Aerobatic Wing Walker Jane Wicker and her pilot Charlie Schwenker were killed when the plane crashed at a Dayton, OH airshow.
The second before the plane crashed, the Dayton Ohio air show announcer said as wing walker Jane Wicker positioned herself on the upside down wing: “Jane Wicker, on top of the world!” One second later, she was dead.
I often speak of the soon return of Jesus. Today is one day closer to His return than yesterday was. Paul used to speak of Jesus’ soon return often. As a matter of fact, every New Testament book except Philemon speaks of Christ’s coming. You need to be ready.
However, we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. Yes, Jesus could come, but death could come also.
James 4:14 says “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
I often wondered what Ms Wicker was thinking as she sat on the upside down wing. Nothing indicated that one second later she would be dead. Did she think she had loads of time left to ponder the deep mysteries of faith and salvation? Had she put it off until tomorrow, but tomorrow never came?
I hope she was saved by grace of Jesus.
So many people are abruptly taken out of this world to meet their eternity. Yet so many people put off for tomorrow what they should be reconciling today. I remember during a sermon one of my elders had said that as a teen they were evangelizing in a grocery store. One of the team gave the gospel to a man who was exiting. He said he did not need Jesus. He walked out of the sliding door to the sidewalk and fell down dead right then.
If you are not saved, then do not put off to tomorrow what should be done today. God has appointed you to a limited number of days in this lifetime. You do not know what that number is.
“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” (Psalm 39:4-5).
Taking care of business means coming to grips with a few things. First, this life is not all there is. We are given a limited number of days to dwell upon the earth, but this body and this life is only phase 1. After death, there is a phase 2. If you have repented of your sins and believed on the resurrected Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will go to heaven and be with Him. You will be given a glorified body that is impervious to death or sickness, has no sin nature, and can withstand the full blast of His glory and Holiness. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50; Philippians 3:21).
If you rejected Jesus in this life- and you don’t have to actively reject Him but passively fail to accept him (doing nothing is the same as rejecting) then you will go to hell after you die. This is a place of eternal separation from God and you will be given a body that can withstand the full blasts of the punishment that will be inflicted on you as eternal payment for your sins and crimes against Him. (Revelation 14:11, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9)
It is a lie that you will be annihilated, that there is nothing else after death. It is a lie that hell is only temporary. It is surely eternal, as your sins are eternal and as Jesus is eternal. (Matthew 25:46). That is why Christians can dwell with Him forever, (Matthew 28:20; John 14:3) because He is eternal and He paid the price for our sins eternally when He took God’s punishment on the cross. (Romans 3:23-24).
You say, “God is loving, He would never send people to hell for punishment.” Really? It pleased Him to crush His Son! (Isaiah 53:10). Jesus absorbed all of God’s punishment while He was on the cross. Is God loving who would do that? Yes, He was making a way for YOU, whom He also loves. Jesus did that voluntarily, because He loves His people. If you reject Jesus though, you reject the way to heaven. (John 14:6).
Eternity is real and it is permanent. You do not know what today will bring. Ms Wicker didn’t. I hope these few words from my heart makes you think of the afterlife. For the Christian, it is a joy to ponder the time we will be with Jesus. For the unsaved, there is dread and fear of the unknown. But you can know, your eternity could be secure- if you repent. (Mark 1:15).
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Further reading:
What is repentance?
By Elizabeth Prata
We are warned, commanded, and urged in 26 of the 27 New Testament books to watch out for false teachers and false religious movements (example- Judaizers, Nicolaitans). Heresies have popped up like wildfires in every century since Jesus ascended to heaven. The church as diligently battled them when they arose.
But too often the word ‘heretic’ and ‘heresy’ are watered down from overuse. They have lost meaning from people who misunderstand its import. We cannot fling the word around and aim it at people when they are not in fact heretics. A heretic is bound for hell. It’s serious. So what does heresy actually mean?
In a previous Word of the Week, I’d posted about Orthodoxy. In the religious context, Orthodoxy means conforming to correctly interpreted, established doctrine, especially in religion. Heresy is a teaching or belief that stands in opposition to the orthodox teaching, so much so that to believe it, one essentially declares himself not a Christian. Here is Matt Slick at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry to explain.
Heresy, by Matt Slick
Heresy is a false teaching. It is a belief or idea that is in contradiction to orthodoxy. In the context of Christianity, heresy is that which deviates from standard biblical teaching. Examples of heresy would be polytheism [more than one god], a denial of the resurrection of Christ, salvation is obtained by works, etc. The Christian church has experienced many attacks by heretics throughout the centuries, but it has fought them successfully – even though many persist. There are modern-day heresies. For example, Mormonism which teaches God is an exalted man from another planet and that we can become gods. The Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity, deny the deity of Christ, and deny salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Roman Catholicism teaches this also, teaches works to salvation, and promotes Mary worship.
Thus, even though Mormons, Catholics, and Jehovah’s Witnesses claim a religion, and claim to know God, they are heretics because they deny the foundational aspects of Christianity. They do not know God.
“Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in on attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than truth itself,” (Irenaeus Against Heresies 1.2).
The word “heresy” comes from the Greek ‘hairesis’ which means “choosing” or “faction.” At first, the term heresy did not carry the negative meaning it does now. But, as the early church grew in its scope and influence throughout the Mediterranean area, various teachers proposed controversial ideas about Christ, God, salvation, and other biblical themes.
It became necessary for the church to determine what was and was not true according to the Bible. For example, Arius of Alexander (A.D. 320) taught that Jesus was a creation. Was this true? Was this important? Other errors arose. The Docetists taught that Jesus wasn’t human. The Modalists denied the Trinity. The Gnostics denied the incarnation of Christ. Out of necessity, the church was forced to deal with these heresies by proclaiming orthodoxy; and in so doing, condemnation upon these heresies and the heretics became a reality.
Heretics after death will be cast into hell. Heresy is serious. So we do not cast around that word unless we have mindfully studied and are sure the person or movement we are commenting on is indeed meeting the qualifications of heretic or heresy.
“Hell at last, Yawning, received them whole”, Gustave Dore illustrator, Paradise Lost by Milton.
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The Seven Thunders in Revelation remain mysterious, with John forbidden to record their message, possibly indicating terrifying judgments. While speculations abound, their essence reflects God’s authority and impending wrath. The essay emphasizes the chilling reality of the future Tribulation and urges readers to share the Gospel before these events unfold.
By Elizabeth Prata
The article discusses the biblical principle of women’s silence in church, citing 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. While it emphasizes women’s submission, it does not imply total silence. It encourages women to embrace their role in church as silent witnesses to God’s glory.
Continue reading “Embracing Quietness: Women’s Role in the Church”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The post critiques the modern emphasis on dreams and visions within charismatic circles, asserting that such experiences were not part of historic Christianity after the closure of the canon. It emphasizes reliance on scripture over personal revelations, warning against false teachings that distort biblical truth.
the-end-time.org 