Two Tragedies, One Message

Many of you are well aware of the fact that the key to seeing the "big picture" and to understand what's really going on in this upside down world is to look at it from a Biblical perspective and through the prism of prophecy.

On a practical level, that means taking what we already know to expect from God's Word and making that our foundation. Then, we need to use the brain that God gave us and seek out news and information, not just from a few select sources, but from multiple sources from around the world.

Often times this will include getting our news from the Right, the Left, the Middle, the mainstream, the non-mainstream, the national, and the international media outlets. Why is that important? Because it's like putting together a puzzle. The more pieces you have in your possession, the greater your chances of being able to put them all together in the right places so that a clear picture emerges.

That being said, it's time for another study in symbolism. A short one. At least that will be the intention here. I trust we're all on the same page.

If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about (or if this is your first time reading a study that's part of LUF's "Symbolism Studies" series) then please don't go any further until you read the introductory disclaimer first by CLICKING HERE.

Actually, on second thought, don't continue reading any further -- and certainly don't even think about commenting in response to this Bible study -- until you've had a chance to read that. You'll understand why after you read the series disclaimer referenced above.

The story that caught my attention today? Two of them actually...

Horror, Confusion As Huge Quake Hits Christchurch



Downtown Christchurch will be demolished once the search for earthquake victims is completed. Authorities confirmed yesterday the bulldozers and wrecking balls will move in to clear the CBD, with a quarter of buildings already condemned - and structural engineers predicting this figure will rise to half.

As the death toll from Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude quake rose to 145, with 200 still missing, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said there were no plans to ease the safety cordon around the CBD because most older buildings were unsafe.
"Those buildings will have to be sorted out fairly swiftly - they don't have a future,' Mr Brownlee said.

Once bodies had been recovered there would be "a very big demolition effort across the CBD area. Sites will have to be cleared so that people can have confidence it's safe to come back into the CBD," he said.

Some buildings might be able to be repaired but a number of services operating in the CBD would have to move for months. In the suburbs, one in six of the 5441 homes and businesses checked by Civil Defence so far have been "red-stickered", meaning they have to be evacuated immediately because they are so dangerous.

A further 500 have been given only limited access for owners to retrieve vital possessions. Christchurch mayor Bob Parker yesterday acknowledged there had been "a slight shift in mood" in the city as the scale of the disaster and the reality of the task ahead sank in.

"The adrenalin is beginning to fade and it's real tough hard work." But he vowed there would be no let-up in the search and rescue effort.

The operation to restore vital services as quickly as possible would also a remain a priority, with thousands of people without power, water or sewerage for five days now.

Water is back on to about half the city's homes but people living in eastern suburbs, where thick black slime has been pushed up out of the ground, have been told not to use water even if they have it.



American Missionaries Killed By Somali Pirates

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — A Southern California couple who had logged more than 60,000 nautical miles in their quest to deliver Bibles around the world has been shot and killed by Somali pirates who hijacked their yacht, the Quest. A Washington state couple traveling with them was also gunned down.

Killed in the attack were Scott and Jean Adams from Marina Del Rey, and their friends, Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle of Seattle.

The deaths came Feb. 22 as negotiations were being conducted on a U.S. naval vessel, one in a flotilla that was trailing the pirated yacht.

Scott Adams was a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. He received a master of divinity and a master of theology from the school.

Fuller Seminary had posted a message on its homepage asking for prayers for the missionaries saying, “Adam is a beloved friend of the seminary.”

According to the Adams’ website the couple was headed to Djibouti for a refueling stop. The small Muslim country, located in Northeast Africa on the Gulf of Aden, shares borders with Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

“I have no idea what will happen in these ports, but perhaps we’ll do some local touring,” Jean wrote on the site. “Due north is the Red Sea where we plan to tuck in when winds turn to the north.”

The Adams were members of St. Monica’s Catholic Church in Santa Monica, Calif. "They were very heartfelt in their response to this great gospel and they came to know Jesus in a very special way here," their pastor, Lloyd Torgerson, said to KABC.

“Jean actually sang in our 11:30 choir Sunday mornings. Both of them had a great outreach, of course, through this ministry to take the scriptures, the Bibles, to places across the world. And they felt that call to do that, and that’s what they were doing I presume when this happened."

The Adams had been traveling the globe since 2004 distributing Bibles provided to them by the American Bible and International Bible societies. A mission statement on their website said their passion was to “allow the power of the Word to transform lives.”

“We seek fertile ground for the Word and homes for our Bibles,” the statement read. “Often, the ultimate homes are best found by people who are already living locally and seeking and cultivating that fertile ground. And even more extraordinary are the times when people have been praying for Bibles for their group or their schools and when we arrive we are often greeted by the attitude of ‘we were expecting you.’”

In addition to the Bibles, the Adams was acutely aware of the encouragement they provided to “folks who are long past ‘the honeymoon’ stage of their ministry.”

Now, at first glance, these stories should stand out to us with ears to hear and eyes to see because of the glaring "Christian" components.

The first tragedy involves a place called "Christchurch" (as in "Christ's Church") and the other involves a man and a woman who were fulfilling the Great Commission by taking the Gospel to a part of the world that desperately needed to hear and read it (as in Two Witnesses).

Let's just stop right there. Truth is, I could (and probably should) just stop here and let it speak for itself. Seriously though, please just marvel with me for a moment at the symbolism present in both of these stories and how they both are like microcosms of what end times Bible prophecy tells us is in the near future.

> The persecution of the saints (or the persecution of Christ's church and body of believers) as evidenced by the following passages...

Daniel 7:21 (KJV) I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

Revelation 13:7 (KJV) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Revelation 14:11-12 (KJV) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation 20:4 (KJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Revelation 22:5 (KJV) And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

> The ministry and death before the world of the Two Witnesses as evidenced by the following passages...

Revelation 11:1-14 (KJV) And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

Nevermind how the above passage about the Two Witnesses also mentions an earthquake, but things got even weirder for me when I realized that BOTH TRAGEDIES happened at roughly the same time!

The quake in New Zealand hit just before 6:52pm Monday, February 21st, East Coast U.S. time, or early afternoon Tuesday, February 22nd, local time there. The murder of the couple near the Gulf of Aden took place on Tuesday, February 22nd as well. What might that tell us (if anything)? Was it meant to emphasize and underscore the general theme to those of us with ears to hear and eyes to see?

In addition, as you know, the earthquake took place in New Zealand. Since their inaugural deployment, the Quest (or the name of the Adams' hijacked yacht) traveled from...get this!...New Zealand to Alaska to Central America, from Panama, through French Polynesia, the Cooks, Samoa, Tonga and back to New Zealand again! What are the odds of them sharing a connection like that? Again, was this meant to to emphasize and underscore the general theme to those of us with ears to hear and eyes to see?

The murder and death of a couple who had the last name "Adams" also made me think of the Adam from the Book of Genesis, or the root of our sinful nature. Surreal then to think about this tragedy symbolically in light of the entire Gospel message, which I believe can be summed up by a passage from Romans...

Romans 5:12-19 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also [is] the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as [it was] by one that sinned, [so is] the gift: for the judgment [was] by one to condemnation, but the free gift [is] of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

As Matthew Henry put it...

Romans 5:15-19 Through one man's offence, all mankind are exposed to eternal condemnation. But the grace and mercy of God, and the free gift of righteousness and salvation, are through Jesus Christ, as man: yet the Lord from heaven has brought the multitude of believers into a more safe and exalted state than that from which they fell in Adam. This free gift did not place them anew in a state of trial, but fixed them in a state of justification, as Adam would have been placed, had he stood. Notwithstanding the differences, there is a striking similarity. As by the offence of one, sin and death prevailed to the condemnation of all men, so by the righteousness of one, grace prevailed to the justification of all related to Christ by faith. Through the grace of God, the gift by grace has abounded to many through Christ; yet multitudes choose to remain under the dominion of sin and death, rather than to apply for the blessings of the reign of grace. But Christ will in nowise cast out any who are willing to come to him.

Folks, that in and of itself would be more than enough to cause goosebumps, but there's more that pushes the boundaries of "mere coincidence" in all of this and forces us to ask ourselves if we're paying attention to what's really going on in the world, and whether or not we're ready for what's coming should God's sovereign will for our lives include some kind of persecution through trial and testing to not only perfect our faith, but to ultimately bring glory, honor, and praise to Him.

For instance, I just got done reading New Wineskins' entry titled "Christchurch Earthquake, 'Much Worse Than' Sept 4th" and highly recommend you take a few minutes to read it at this point too.

As compelling as all of that is to the focus of this post today, the unusual news items didn't stop there. For example, I read how a Long Island Priest was being credited with saving the life of one of his parishioners on Thursday after an 89-year-old elderly man accidentally set himself on fire near the altar.

I assume you've heard the phrase "On fire for the Lord", right? Well, how ridiculous is it that this story about a near tragedy comes up this week too at the precise time that these others occurred?

What I mean by that is that if we were to read this account symbolically, and considering it within the context of this study today, we are only left shaking our heads because here, in the most basic sense (again, symbolically speaking), we have a representative of the Catholic Church (or the Catholic Church) stifling the fire of a parishioner.

In other words, might we say (symbolically speaking) that we have the Roman Catholic Church stifling those who even come close to "catching fire for the Lord" perhaps?

If we can, then don't you see how seamlessly that ties in with prophetic passages for the last days? I'll try to explain. Lately, I’ve been spending more and more time looking at what Jesus has to say to us -- the Laodicean church in Revelation 3.

Revelation 3:15-22 (KJV) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Chilling: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot."

So, I read that story with all this other stuff already swirling in my head and instantly thought of Jesus' condemning words to Christians alive today.

Far too many within the Body of Christ are neither "hot" or "cold", and whenever someone gets close to becoming "hot" they are mocked, ridiculed, or stifled by the very institutions, leaders, and parishioners who should be stoking those flames.

Revelation 3:20 (KJV) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Here, Christ is reporting that -- in His own church -- some know that He is at the door, but they will not rouse themselves from their spiritual lethargy to open it. By implication, they will not allow or invite Him into their lives.

As unbelievable as it sounds, there are those in His church who will keep Him on the outside looking in (see Song of Solomon 5:2-3)! But there is hope!

In Revelation 3:20, that word "if" holds out hope -- hope that a Laodicean can repent, can change, can open the door to Christ rather than ignore Him. Are we opening the door? Are we opening ourselves up to Christ to build the kind of relationship that will lead to eternal life (John 17:3)?

Our calling is irrevocable (Romans 11:29), and it is God's will that we succeed (John 6:39-40). And when a thing is God's will, Isaiah 14:24 says, "Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand." God has given us everything we need to live successful Christian lives; we just have to open the door.

Are we opening the door? There are some easy tests...

> Are we diligently praying, studying, meditating, fasting, and not allowing our deceitful and sleepy natures to accept excuses for failure?

> Are we opening our minds and hearts during services by being alert and eager without allowing ourselves to be distracted during worship of the Lord?

> Are we wise or foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-12)? Have we been lulled to sleep and see no need for urgency (2 Peter 3:4)?

God knows the true answers to each one of these questions. Do we? These relationship building tools are our Christian responsibilities. They are the daily, little things given to us that, in a large measure, tell God the real intentions of our hearts.

Failure to handle these "trifles" proves us as unfaithful servants (Luke 16:10-13). I fear I've gotten sidetracked here. Sorry! The point I wanted to make is that the one who gives careless attention to his responsibilities is a Laodicean. We need to open our doors to Christ as never before because, as Romans 13:11 says, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." That's the truth of the matter especially in this day and age.

By the way, I hope it goes without saying that we need to pray for church regular, 89-year-old Vito Badalamente, who is now fighting for his life. That's another thing! His last name contains the words "bad" and "lament" too! As a Noun the word "lament" means "a passionate expression of grief" and as a Verb it means "to mourn a person's loss or death", which I'd say is eerily appropriate here, wouldn't you? Maybe it's time for us to re-read Lamentations too.

The most poignant quote from that story? "The fire alarm was activated from within the church..." God, I hope so! I pray we're all seeing the same signs and warnings to repent and to obey in the process of getting our spiritual house in order while we still can. Will you be either "hot" or "cold" for your Lord and Savior, or neither?

Maybe that's the message here: Choose one or the other, but know that your choice in carrying out your responsibilities as Christians or not carrying out your responsibilities as Christians will have consequences.

Why do I say that? Because as "Ultraguy"/Art from New Wineskins pointed out in his post I referenced earlier...

Andrew Strom discusses some important background on the church’s disappointing reaction to the first quake (in September) in which no one died.

...one of the main things that I hoped to do in Christchurch after the first quake was to organize a large open worship event in the city – to praise and glorify God that nobody had been killed even in a huge 7.1 earthquake. I found that no such event was being planned, but there were thousands of evangelical Christians in Christchurch, and I felt very strongly that it was important for us to publicly glorify God for the miracle of surviving such a disaster with no-one killed… No response… I even told some friends that it was "dangerous" to offer no public praise after God has just so obviously saved your city. I felt so strongly about it – and deeply saddened for the state of the Body of Christ. But I could do nothing more. On December 17, 2010, my family departed from Christchurch.

Christ’s church without water?...

"Around 80 per cent of Christchurch remains without water tonight following yesterday’s devastating earthquake."

11 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land– not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. 13 "In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst."(Amos 8:11-13)

One word: WOW! To me, there were two tragedies, but one message.

But do you see what I'm so awestruck by all of this? What are the odds of this kind of "spiritual convergence", or this kind of apparent coherence even if it is admittedly highly subjective? How does that happen? What in the world does any of this mean (if anything)?

Look, I know how all of this sounds but many of you who are regular readers of LUF know how I operate around these parts. I don't demand that the Holy Spirit explains things to me so that I completely understand them backwards and forwards, but I do know when it is that I see something or hear something and the clear thought occurs to me, "Hey, you should look into this and write about this -- right away!", which explains why I've spent so many long hours and late nights in front of my laptop.

I always pray that it's His prompting that I'm following in those cases and not our common enemy's who is trying to distract me by taking me down some deep, dark rabbit hole. Again, I try not to ask too many questions, but always try to do what I believe I'm supposed to and leave all the consequences to Him.

Is there any prophetic significance to this seemingly random and unusual story about two tragedies from this past week, happening at roughly the same time, that points us to the coming persecution of the saints and the ministry of the Two Witnesses at the beginning of Daniel's 70th week!?!

I've already indicated which direction I'm leaning even if I haven't got it all figured out yet. What do you think though? Please take it to the Lord in prayer and then feel free to share your thoughts here with the rest of us.

Lastly, if there is something to all of this we might want to begin to get our spiritual house in order fast because the assessment here as well as from many of you I think is spot on. That assessment? TIME IS SHORT! WAKE UP! TIME IS SHORTER THAN YOU THINK! REPENT! JUDGMENT IS COMING!

I will say this though...I don't need stories about earthquakes, pirates, people being accidentally caught on fire, and the like to convince me that what the Holy Bible says about what's coming is true. I already knew the script before I saw these notes in the margin. If anything, they only add additional perspective to the story I'm already quite familiar with.

The best advice I can give besides taking all of these things under prayerful consideration to the Lord? Pray Luke 21:36 and have no fear about what's to come. Even so, Lord come quickly.

For months now, we’ve been shouting from the rooftops about this sense of foreboding that seems to suggest that God’s displeasure with this nation -- this world -- over her unrepentant sins is about to manifest itself fiercely in the form of Divine Judgment and Divine Retribution.

When that happens, make no mistake, it will be the end of "life as we know it" for all of us. Yes, all signs seem to be pointing to "the beginning of the end" being imminent, but we don't know for sure when that day will come.

Still, that does not mean that we stop being watchful. What else can I write that I haven't yet (or that you all haven't written or read somewhere else)? It seems pretty obvious by now, doesn't it? I pray that it is.

The general theme that we've been seeing lately remains consistent even in today's study involving several new news items, players, and places. In the final analysis, the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week -- the start of the Tribulation -- seems to be at hand! Is Jesus Christ about to open the Seals like we suspect that He is?

Now you know why I keep thinking that we're on the cusp of the Tribulation because EVERYWHERE we look we seem to be getting signs (even in the seemingly mundane and random places) that point to its nearness. How so? Because they all bring our attention back to the subject over and over and over again regardless of any "tunnel vision" some might say that we have because we're studying these things all the time. There are no coincidences. None.

Sure, posts like this represent the deep, symbolic analysis, and interpretation that is far riskier and much more subjective than just reading the Word of God and letting it speak for itself (as my disclaimer to open with asserts), but the fact of the matter is that even if we didn't have symbolism studies like this we'd still have to conclude that the beginning of the end was near.

World events and the other news headlines of the day confirm that for us by lining up with what God's Word explicitly tells us to expect, and they prove as much without us having to undergo lengthy speculative studies like this.

Even so, it's the unexpected "spiritual convergence" like this stuff that comforts me because it reminds me that our Lord is in complete and total control of EVERYTHING despite all the chaos, conspiracy, mystery, and uncertainty that surrounds us on a daily basis.

Ok, I'm just rambling and repeating myself now. Sorry about that. Regardless of what does or doesn't happen in the days, weeks, and months ahead, let's always try to rest on truths like this...

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Psalm 27:1-3 (KJV) The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, [even] mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this [will] I [be] confident.

Romans 8:35-39 (KJV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 3:25-26 (KJV) Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Matthew 10:28 (KJV) And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Luke 21:36 (KJV) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The truth will set you free indeed. Yes, even in this "Age of Deception" that we're living in.

My dear friend, if you have never thought of yourself as being a sinner, have never repented of your sins, and don't accept, believe in, or know who Jesus Christ is, let alone what He did for you to become your Lord and Savior for the forgivness of your sins, then it's time you did.

This is all the more reason for you to ask yourself once and for all "Am I Really A Good Person?" and "Am I Going To Heaven When I Die? Am I Saved?" before it's too late because none of us knows when we'll take our last dying breath.

Repent! Judgment is coming! Rest in Him. Rest in His Word.

Keep looking up!

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Posted in: America In Prophecy,Black Awakening,How Close Are We?,Moral Decline,Nature And Environment,Spiritual Deception,Symbolism,Synchro-Pop,Truth From The Fringe