Heaven Bound

Who  OWN‘s  You?

On January 1, 2011, OWN – the Oprah Winfrey Network will make its official debut, something which I thought those of us who have been seeing 11:11 for a while might find of interest.

Oprah, as almost every one knows, unless you’ve been living on the moon or in a cave somewhere for the past 25 years is the actress, producer and talk show host who has captivated the hearts and minds of the American people (American women in particular), since the debut of her show, (the Oprah Winfrey Show) on September 8, 1986.  Rising like a phoenix from the ashes of a childhood in poverty, Oprah became not only a household word in a short space of time, but a woman whose power and influence is felt the world over.

  From Vanity Fair Magazine –

Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope.^[16]

And from political commentator and radio talk show host, Bill O’Reilly –

I mean this is a woman that came from nothing to rise up to be the most powerful woman, I think, in the world. I think Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in the world, not just in America. That’s — anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. I mean, she has a loyal following; she has credibility; she has talent; and she’s done it on her own to become fabulously wealthy and fabulously powerful.^[17]

Born Orpah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954.  Oprah whose birth name is the biblical name *Orpah was named for one of the daughter-in-laws of Naomi in the book of Ruth.  Due to early mispronunciation of her name, Orpah became Oprah, and for whatever reason, the name stayed that way.

From Wikipedia:

Winfrey was originally named “Orpah” after the Biblical character in the Book of Ruth. Her family and friends’ inability to pronounce “Orpah” caused them to put the “P” before the “R” in every place else other than the birth certificate.^[17]

 *Orpah, if you remember is one of the two Moabite daughter-in-law’s of Naomi the Hebrew in the book of Ruth.  When Naomi and her daughter in-laws were widowed, Naomi decides to leave Moab to return to her homeland of Judah.  On leaving Moab, one daughter-in-law chooses to go with her and the other chooses to stay.  Orpah leaves Naomi to return to her gods by staying in Moab and Ruth stays with Naomi traveling with her to Judah declaring her allegiance to both Noami and her God with these words, “your God shall be my God,  and your people, my people.”  Ruth 1:14-16.

I always find it interesting to look at the meaning of names. You can almost always count on finding some insight there and this one proved to be no exception.  The name Orpah in Hebrew is related to the word for neck or back and means “she who turns her back, one who turns her neck in shame or derision, hand on the neck as in authority or stiff-necked as in stubborn.  Ophrah on the other hand means, “young deer, fawn or place of dust.”   http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Orpah.html  http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Ophrah

Interesting when you consider Orpah (she who turns her back on) and Oprah, new age talk show host and self-help Guru, who left her early Christian roots in a Baptist church are one and the same.  From an article titled – The Gospel According to Oprah.

Oprah was raised in a black Baptist church in Mississippi. It is not known whether she had a healthy exposure to Christianity or a distorted one, but she is clearly in the process of deconstructing Christianity and reframing it into a New Age perspective …  During the show Oprah related, “I was raised a Baptist and we were too hung up on traditional ways. I was sitting in church and heard that God is a jealous God. I asked ‘Why?’ Come on-let’s get over it!” She related a “jealous God” to an insecure God. http://www.wfial.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=artNewAge.article_1

For any one who has ever watched her program, which no doubt, is just about everyone, there is no need to document the numerous new age guests, celebrities or authors who have used her program over the years as platform for preaching their gospel.  What is amazing is the number of people who tune in daily for steady dose of in what in all reality is  steady indoctrination away from the traditional beliefs that most Americans grew up with.

the color purple

 One of the things Oprah Winfrey is known for is her role as Sofia in The Color Purple.  I came across an interesting connecting to this when looking at the warning given to the Church of Thyatira in Revelation 2:15.  Thyatira is of course the city where Lydia, the seller of purple or dealer in purple cloth lived and who was one of the earliest gentile converts to the Christian faith. (Acts 16:11-15).

After encouraging the church at Thyatira, the Lord also gives warning:

 “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.  By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of foods sacrificed to idols.  I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but, she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches heart and minds and I will repay each of you according to you deeds.  Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so–called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come.”   Revelation 2:20-25

What are these deep secrets of Satan?   The doctrine of demons and false religions recycled today as the latest psycho babble and New Age philosophy.

We are also warned in 2 Timothy 3:

But, mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.  They are the kind who worm their way in to homes and gain control of weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning, but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

How foolish we have been allowing the enemy entrance in to the sanctuary of our homes – all in the name of entertainment!  A little here … a little there … and the next thing you know – our homes, lives and marriages have been destroyed. 

The number 11

If ten is the number which marks the perfection of Divine order, then eleven is an addition to it, subversive of and undoing that order. If twelve is the number which marks the perfection of Divine government, then eleven falls short of it. So that whether we regard it as being 10 + 1, or 12 – 1, it is the number which marks, disorder, disorganization, imperfection, and disintegration.  http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/11.html

Why has everyone been seeing the number 11:11?  Is the launching of OWN network on 1/1/11 simply a coincidence? 

It’s been calculated that the endorsement of Barack Obama by Oprah Winfrey won him the nomination of his party over Hilary Clinton by some one million votes.  If this woman and her daily talk show program carries this much clout, what might she be able to accomplish with her OWN network?

“Therefore, this is what the Lord says:  ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them’ ” Jeremiah 11:11

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee.”  Psalm 122:6   Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

“Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”  Revelation 3:10

By now, many of you have had time to check out some of the links in the comments section from yesterday’s post, “god of all things.”  If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to do so as there are some good ones.  I want to touch today on something I found of particular interest from the essay by Sue Bradley and Sabine titled, Cern, Jeremiah 11 and the mysterious number 44.  What a fantastic job of research these two have done!  If you haven’t yet read it, here’s the link: http://archivesmb.wordpress.com/cern-jeremiah-11-and-the-mysterious-no-44/

After reading this incredible piece of research, I felt compelled to explore a little further one of the threads from their piece as it dove-tailed so well with my last post, “god of all things”.

40 – the number for testing. 4 – the number for earth.  Barack Obama 44th President of the United States.

Mark Twain and the Mysterious Stranger, #44

In his final and unfinished novel (of which there are many versions – all of them unfinished) beloved American writer and humorist for reasons known only to himself writes concerning the personage of Satan, in a work he calls, No 44, the Mysterious Stranger.

Commenting on this, from a website called Twainquotes –  “The name No. 44 for young Satan was one Twain had first used in the unfinished ‘Schoolhouse Hill’ version:”  http://www.twainquotes.com/Number44.html–

 “‘My wonderful scholar, tell me your name.”   The school crowded forward in a body to devour the stranger at close quarters with their envying eyes; all except Bascom who remained apart and sulked.   ‘Quarante – quatre sir – forty four.’   “Why – -why– that is only a number, not a name.'”  

From Wikipeia regarding, the Mysterious Stranger:

Twain wrote multiple versions of the story, each unfinished and involving the character of “Satan”. The first substantial version is commonly referred to as The Chronicle of Young Satan and tells of the adventures of Satan, the sinless nephew of the biblical Satan, in an Austrian village in the Middle Ages. The story ends abruptly in the middle of a scene involving Satan entertaining a prince in India, suggesting Twain died before he finished writing it.

The story ends abruptly in the middle of a scene involving Satan entertaining a prince in India, suggesting that Twain died before he finished writing it.  Wow!

As I mentioned above, no one really knows how or why Mark Twain chose the number 44 for representing Satan, although many have ventured a guess.  One that I found particularly interesting involved comments Mr. Twain made regarding his early school years in Hannibal, MO as noted by Henry Nash Smith in a piece titled, the Levin Boys (1958). 

In that school were the first Jews I had ever seen. It took me a good while to get over the awe of it. To my fancy they were clothed invisibly in the damp and cobwebby mold of antiquity. They carried me back to Egypt, and in imagination I moved among the Pharaohs and all the shadowy celebrities of that remote age. The name of the boys was Levin. We had a collective name for them which was the only really large and handsome witticism that was ever born on those premises. We called them Twenty-two — and even when the joke was old and had been worn threadbare we always followed it with the explanation, to make sure that it would be understood, “Twice Leven — twenty-two” (Smith, p. 20).   

Smith theorized that it was “remotely possible” Twain arrived at his early name for Satan — No. 44 in this same manner.

With the question of a birth certificate still unanswered, Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States could certainly qualify as a mysterious stranger.  A mysterious stranger who recently made a very extravagant visit to India, returning home with purchases made by his wife of idols of both Ganesha and Hanuman described this way in a recent news article –

By now, most of us have seen the image of President Obama depicted as the god Shiva on the cover of this weeks Newsweek Magazine dated 11/22/10.  With the caption “God Of All Things”  splashed across the center of the cover in bold letters, it’s an interesting phenomenon (this linking of Barack Obama with deity)  and one which has followed him from the earliest days of his campaign continuing to the present time as noted from the image above.

As we all know, the President just returned from an extremely extravagant trip to India and Asia where he had traveled this past week for the express purpose (according to what we were told)  for strengthening economic ties to the region.  From what I have read, the trip was not particularly successful in meeting those goals, but, after looking this magazine cover over, I am led to believe that while the economic goals may not have been met, goals of another kind may have been; goals not of the physical realm, but, of the spiritual realm. 

Clues

The first thing we see of course, when we look at the magazine cover is the image of President Obama depicted as the god Shiva.  For those who may not know, the god Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction.  In this image, President Obama is poised with many arms and with one leg raised.  In each arm he holds symbols of the tasks which he has taken on as President.  Healthcare symbolized by the stethoscope, world affairs as symbolized by the globe, war and/or the military as symbolized by the helicopter, the economy as symbolized by the fistful of dollars he is holding, jobs as symbolized by the house above his head and the middle-East peace talks as symbolized by the dove.

It’s interesting to note that in this image the President is depicted as the dancing Shiva. The dancing Shiva is a form of the god Shiva whose dance is believed to sustain the universe.  When the dance ends, so does the universe – after which, another one begins. (A concept I find strikingly similar to that of the Phoenix). 

At the bottom of the magazine cover, the statement is made –Why the modern Presidency may be too much for one person to handle.  Hmmm, interesting question to pose in light of the President’s recent return from a Hindu country. If it is truly a question of the Presidency being more than one person can handle, why choose the image of the dancing Shiva, why not an image of the President as a juggler, juggling the six items he holds in his hands.

 To answer my own  question, I would say the reason the dancing Shiva was chosen instead of a juggler was most likely a subliminal one.  Can one person handle the many demands of the Presidency these days ???? – as evidenced by the many arms of Shiva, I would say the President is handling everything just fine – or at least according to plan.

Dates

Another thing that drew my attention was the date of the magazine cover – 11/22/10.   Eleven in the Bible (and its double 22) are symbols of disorganization and disintegration.  A rather disturbing picture I might say, when you add Shiva the god of destruction with the numbers for disorganization and disintegration.

I received an e-mail recently from blogging friend and reader Michael Wellman, who is a master navigator among other things regarding the date of November 21.  According to the information he sent me, the astronomical configuration of the skies on November 21 will be the same as it was in the time of Noah.  Interesting, when you consider how close that date is to the one on the magazine cover. Perhaps Michael could elaborate a little bit more on this in the comments section as I ran into some difficulty trying to condense the information and post a link.  I’ll ask him.

Hope & the audacity it

In 2006, then Senator Obama launched his second book “The Audacity of Hope” expounding on his many viewpoints for reclaiming the American dream; the bulk of which would make the basis for his 2008 campaign.  At the top of the magazine cover, you will notice the words, “After Seabiscuit.”  Seabiscuit if you remember was a prize-winning thorough bred race horse who captured the spirit and imagination of the country during the years of the depression.  In 2003, Universal studios released the film Seabiscuit introducing millions of a later generation to the symbol of hope that Seabiscuit provided to those who lived during those agonizing early years of the last century.

The film Seabiscuit (symbol of true hope) preceded the book by Barack Obama (false hope) by 3 years.  

Seven years later (following the release of the film) and two years in to his presidency, the words “After Seabiscuit” appear above his head on the cover of Newsweek magazine.

After Seabiscuit  ….  11/22/10 ……  Shiva, god of destruction ….

In my humble opinion, this magazine cover could indicate a dramatic acceleration in end time events. Was the trip to India by President Obama a fateful one???   Has the god of this world recently anointed the one would be “God of Everything”?   Do the words “After Seabiscuit” speak to a nation who has passed the point of no return and is without hope as far as national judgment is concerned?  I wonder …

Friends, the hour is late.  For the past two days, the words “even the stones cry out” have echoed over and over in my mind – in fact, night before last, I was awakened in the middle of the night by them.  As living stones – cry out to God!!!!   The days are more evil than we know.  From the depths of our souls, may we cry out to God like never before!  Come, Lord Jesus, come!

“Surely the stone will cry out from the wall and the rafter will answer it from the framework.  Hab. 2:11

“The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let your tears like a river flow day and night, give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.  Lamentations 2:18

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6   Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

20 Stealth Bombers, the apparent price for peace these days.  A bit more than Esau sold his birthright for – but, not by much; not when you consider the cost involved.

This just in from Reuters News Service:  Following week-long negotiations in the United States with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Prime Minister Netanyahu returned home to Israel with a five point peace plan in his pocket and the promised delivery of 20 stealth fighter jets in exchange for moving forward on the previously stalled middle-East peace negotiations. The delivery of the jets, (if approved by congress) an extra incentive for moving forward.  An interesting number when you consider the number 20 in scripture is one which denotes expectancy and waiting.  

But waiting for what?

In Genesis 25, Esau the oldest son of Isaac sells his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a hot meal;  the blessings of God which were rightfully his as the eldest son, apparently too far in the distance to be fully appreciated by him;  the immediate gratification of a hot meal a far more immediate and attractive proposition. 

 And, while that at first sounds laughable to us, it’s actually a spiritual condition that persists today; the inability of many to see the long-term value of eternal things in contrast to that which is temporal and fading. And, in the case of the twins was foreseen by God long before they were born, when Jacob came out grasping the heel of his older brother Esau.  In other words, Jacob understanding the long-term and eternal value of the blessing, when he got the opportunity to receive it; grabbed hold of it.

What we’re seeing today in the mid-East peace negotiations with its proposed two-state solution is an attempt to reverse what happened in Genesis 25, by taking the blessing away from the sons of Jacob and giving them back to Esau and his descendants. Satanic in nature, this is nothing short of an attempt to nullify the eternal covenant God made with Jacob and his descendants.

“I shall see him, but, not now: I shall behold him but not nigh: there shall come a star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the children of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17

By accepting what I see as little more than a bribe, Israel is in danger of doing what Esau did – selling or forfeiting their birthright for what they believe will bring peace to the region.  Instead of trusting in God and the covenant made with their forefathers, they trust a covenant made by those who use and manipulate them and who stand idly by while their enemies threaten their destruction.  And, while Israel is far from stupid, I think they should have rejected this bone thrown to them in an effort to get them to sign on the dotted line.

  Oh, that the sons of Jacob would do what their forefathers did and grab hold of the blessing and inheritance that is theirs and refuse to let go! 

The decision to do otherwise will be a costly one –

one that will bring forth the final seven years of history –

a shortsighted decision –

that will result in the time of Jacob’s trouble.

And, woe to those who have been so bold as to meddle with God’s eternal promises; a heavy price will be extracted from those who have pushed, prodded, bribed and coerced God’s chosen people into such a terrible and fateful decision.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6   Waiting and watching with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

 

   “As I watched I heard an eagle that was flying in mid-air call out in a loud voice. Woe! Woe!  Woe to the inhabitants of the earth …!  Revelation 8:13

On November 15, 2005 country duo Big and Rich introduced their new album Comin’ to your City along with their now well known hit  Eighth of November for which they received nominations at both the Country Music Awards and the Grammy’s that same year. 

 The song Eighth of November memorializes the true account of the 173rd airborne in Operation Hump during the Viet Nam War during 1965.  Ambushed by 1200 Viet Cong, the song tells the story of the men who valiantly fought and gave their lives on that fateful day.  Forty five years later, at a time when many of us are looking expectantly at the month of November, the words to the chorus of this song seem particularly haunting.

On the 8th of November,
The angels were cryin’
As they carried his brothers away
With the fire rainin’ down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standin’ that day
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November

 Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965

I have to thank my daughter (Seven Stars) for bringing this song to my attention.  A long time country music fan, as soon as we started discussing November 8, she brought it up – remembering almost all of the words to the chorus verbatim.  After we hung up the phone, I gave it some thought – strange how current events seem to intertwine with pop culture at times – a phenomenen which seems to act as a two way mirror – reflecting both the past and the future in an odd sort of way for any one who cares to pay attention. 

Waiting for my car to be serviced this morning, I had more than ample time to ponder these things as I waited for my oil to be changed, my tires to be rotated and all the -various hoses and “whatcha’ m’ call-it’s” to be checked.  And,  just about the time, I was ready to start grumbling as a promised two hour wait turned in to three, the Lord reminded me of what a perfect opportunity I had to just sit in the sunshine, listen for his voice and make notes.

I’ve been looking at Jeremiah 50-52, quite a bit recently, so perhaps it was not completely unexpected that my Bible should inadvertently flip open to Jeremiah chapter 50 this morning. As I read the text, which I have read so many times before, these words seem to jump out at me in a way that really caught my attention.

“As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with the neighboring towns, declares the Lord, so no one will live there or dwell, no man will dwell in it”.

Sodom and Gomorrah – their utter destruction by fire so similar to what we would think of as a nuclear holocaust made me curious to go back and read the Genesis 18 and 19 account again.  As I read Genesis 18, I was just amazed – take a look at these verses.

“Then the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 

 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all the nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. 

 Then the Lord said, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.  If not, I will know.”

What you first notice in this text is God confirming his covenant with Abraham – very important!  And, secondly, although God has already determined the judgment that he is about to bring, he not only gives Abraham forewarning but, gives him the opportunity to intercede. Which he does by bargaining with God about sparing the city.  Because Abraham has asked him, God agrees that if fifty righteous can be found, he will spare the city. When fifty righteous cannot be found, the bargaining continues from fifty to forty-five, to forty, to twenty and then eventually to ten.  And, for those ten (or less, which basically amounts to Lot and his family), God sends two angels to deliver them before the city is demolished.

As I read the account, I was struck by just how similar people were then to how people are now.  When Lot went out to speak to his son in law’s about fleeing the city, it says they thought he was joking.  And although betrothed to his daughters, they apparently loved the life they had in Sodom more than the women they were betrothed to for when the time came, it was only Lot, his wife and his two daughters who fled the city.  And even then, they had to be grasped by the hand (by the angels) to be led out of the city to safety because they hesitated.

November, November – a month to remember.   * Another American tragedy, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 (11/22/63).

Genesis 12:2 – the eternal covenant

In recent days, the United States has been instrumental in coercing Israel in regard to dividing the land.  This is in direct opposition to the promises God has made to Israel and to the eternal covenant God established with Abraham in Genesis 12.  I do not think it is far-fetched to believe that this is the straw which has broken the camels back in addition to all the other sins this nation has accumulated before God which will result in judgment. 

The extreme importance of this covenant ( in relation to judgment) is clearly demonstrated by being re-iterated in Genesis 18 just prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot and his family because they are relatives of Abraham (Lot is his nephew) are spared.  In this same way, we, as relatives of Abraham, by virtue of being grafted in to that same covenant by faith, by the blood of the Messiah will also be spared.  What a beautiful picture that is!

 Therefore, although the days seem uncertain, for those of us in the body of Messiah, the message is clear. Our God is a merciful God and for the sake of the promises he has made and the covenants he will keep, he will deliver us. Therefore, brethern, be encouraged by these words – Jesus is coming soon!

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6    Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!   Cindy

                    mythological creature known as a griffin; body of a lion, head of an eagle

Thank you to all of you for your patience while my computer was being restored.  It’s great having it back and having the opportunity to share with all of you once again. 

I want to focus your attention today on a blog that was forwarded to me recently by my dear friend at Running from Babylon. The post sent to me was one by Mr. William Frederick at End Times Forecaster. I thought it was very interesting, well written and one worth delving into a little deeper. If  you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do so, in fact, you will need to read it otherwise you will probably not understand much of what this post is about otherwise.  http://endtimesforecaster.blogspot.com/2010/10/next-big-event-phoenix-confirmations.html  

It is the premise of Mr. Frederick’s post that Phoenix, Arizona could very well be the site of a destructive incident such as an EMP or a nuclear detonation by those who seek the destruction of the United States with the specific goal for bringing about a new world order.

To give myself a little background on the subject, one of the first things I did was to google the history of the city of Phoenix.  It was interesting to find out that the name of the city originated with an Englishman who had settled in the area in 1868, a man by the name of Phillip Darrell Duppa. 

 According to Wikipedia, Phillip Darrell Duppa, later known as Lord Darrell Duppa was born in Kent England in 1832.  An educated man, he attended Cambridge University, where he was fluent in 5 languages and was well studied in the classics. It was he who gave the city of Phoenix its name, envisioning through a series of irrigation canals the re-birth of the arid landscape from one of desert to one of flourishing farm land and communities. 

He also named Tempe (a outlaying area at the time, which is today a suburb of Phoenix) for the Vale of Tempe in Greece, a placed celebrated by greek poets as a favorite haunt for Apollo and the Muses and where a temple to Apollo once stood.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Darrell_Duppa –  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vale_of_Tempe

 When I came across this information, I was really quite startled.  I had no idea that the name Tempe would have a direct link to the god Apollo.  When you consider the name Phoenix (something which rises up out of the ashes of destruction) and the idea proposed in the book Apollyon Rising, by Dr. Tom Horn, for the return of Apollo, it really becomes quite interesting. Add to that the latitude and longitude of these great American cities as they lie due West of Washington DC  (Phoenix at 33.448 N – 112.074  W and Tempe at 33.414 N – 111.908 W) and it really becomes quite compelling.  Keep in mind, when the nations capital was designed in 1791, these cities didn’t even exist!  It would be a full 77 years later before the names would be applied.

At the top of the page is the image of a griffin.  A griffin is a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle and is closely associated with the god Apollo.  In greek mythology, it is a griffin which pulls the chariot of Apollo.  Interesting when you consider Daniels vision of the four beasts that rise up out of the sea.  Consider the first beast as it is described in chapter 7 vs. 4 –

“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle.  I watched until the wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.”

According to my Bible notes, this first beast represents the neo-Babylonian empire of 626 B.C.  But, I have to wonder, could it also apply to a future kingdom ???  One which  is Babylon like in nature, born of a Lion (England) and whose wings are torn off (indicating separation), thus, standing independently (as in American independence ??) on its own two feet?

If this is so, this beast along with two others must give way for a fourth and more terrifying beast. 

When you look at the history of the Vale of Tempe in Greece, you will find it was the scene of some very important battles. The Vale of Tempe is the ancient name of a gorge located in northern Greece through which the river Pineous runs – situated between Olympus to the North and Ossa to the South, it was a strategic path from the mountains to the coast and thus the site of many conflicts.

When you think about it, Arizona with its border problems and the gruesome discovery of a man who had been beheaded in one of its suburbs on October 10, it is certainly becoming a site of conflict as well.  A shocking indication, if nothing else of the intensity of the battle in which we are presently engaged.  An apparent victim of the ruthless drug cartels operating across the border out of Mexico, the beheading of this immigrant man is a horrifying indication of the fearlessness of these gangs for exporting their own particular brand of terror to the United States.  Our lust for the drugs that fuel this industry is finally catching up with us.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101029/ap_on_re_us/us_arizona_beheading

A griffin is considered by many to be similar to a cherub – of the fallen sort.   John Milton in Paradise Lost refers to the griffin (gryphon) in his description of Satan.

As when a Gryfon through the Wilderness

With winged course ore Hill or moarie Dale,
Pursues the ARIMASPIAN, who by stelth
Had from his wakeful custody purloind
The guarded Gold […]

The prince of this world has long desired to unite the world under his leadership.  What God thwarted at the tower of Babel, the enemy put on hold for future use.  In one final super-human effort, that fallen cherub, in his pride and rebellion will seek to wrest from God control of this world for the worship and souls of men, – BUT, he is utterly doomed to fail.  Amazing how sin and rebellion blind can blind!

Is judgment coming to the United States?  Will places like Phoenix and Tempe be one of the first to feel its sting?  Or will it be somewhere else -the place where you and I live perhaps?  Only God knows for sure; the question for us is – are we ready?

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6    Waiting and watching  with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

Hi friends, Just a note to let you know that I will be out of commission as far as my blog is concerned for the next few days.  My computer crashed unexpectedly on Monday night and is now at Best Buy hopefully being repaired.  I’m sitting here at Kinkos, thinking of all of you and suffering from withdrawals for the past couple of days as my computer as become my life line!  Anyway, God willing, I will be up and running again soon – but, until then my internet access will be limited.  Thank you to all of you for your encouragement and support in reading my blog, praying for my ministry and just being wonderful friends.  Will be posting again soon, I hope.  Until then, keep looking up! 

Grace and blessings in Messiah Yeshua,  Cindy

   Praising and thanking God tonight for the salvation of my friend Sam!

I just returned from an afternoon in Waikiki tonight and I am ecstatic to report that my Jewish friend Sam has accepted Yeshua as his Lord and Savior!  Thank you God for answered prayer!   Please pray for him for his health, he is in a wheel chair and suffers from neuropathy, he also has very little income and is dependent on the generosity of others to help meet his daily needs – but, most of all pray for him to grow in the grace and knowledge of his new relationship with Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel.

When I have a little more time, I will up-date you on all my Waikiki friends, until then, please pray for Sue, Adrienne and Earth Angel.  My friendship with them is being strengthened and I have many good things to report.  Please pray for their safety, for their daily needs and most of all for their salvation.

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15       

Grace and blessings to all!  Cindy

    “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!  She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.”  Rev. 18:

October has always been one of my favorite months.  With warm days and cool nights, I remember with a great deal of nostalgia walking home from school in the afternoon, the crunch of dry autumn leaves beneath my feet, splashing and playing in piles of leaves with as much fun as any ocean wave could provide and the scent of the first fires of the season rising from home chimneys as the weather cooled and one season faded in to the other.  And best of all,  the last day of the month – the day for carving Jack O’ Lanterns, donning costumes and braving the cold to go door to door begging for candy.

I don’t carve Jack O’ Lanterns any more and the many calories and cavities contained in a large bag of candy scare me much more now than any witch flying on a broom ever could have and now as an adult and hopefully more mature Christian, I look at Halloween much differently than I did before.  For one thing, I don’t view it in the benign, simplistic way I once did.  And, without expounding to much more on that subject, will suffice it to say, that one of the things I have noticed recently is how many adults (not children) are completely obsessed with Halloween.  What was once a novel thing for children, is now, a full-blown excuse for adults (children who have never grown up) to party and to go crazy.  When I think about this, it reminds me of the verse  from Revelation 18 – Babylon has become a haunt for demons and unclean spirits, but, evidently, (by virtue of the usage of the word, become) this was not always so.

The Bible talks a lot about Babylon and Mystery Babylon in very specific detail in both Revelation 17 & 18 and  Jeremiah 50-52. Some scholars believe that Mystery Babylon refers not to Babylon of old, but, to a future country, place, people, or city which would embody the spirit of Babylon. The word mystery referring to something which was previously hidden; not yet revealed.  Could Mystery Babylon refer to the United States? I can’t say for certain, but, I think there is enough compelling evidence to think it might be so.

Speaking of October, there has been a lot of talk about what some are referring to as an October Surprise preceding the November elections.  A surprise which may include one of the following, if not all of them – 1) – the rapture of the church, 2) – a great earthquake,  3) – some kind of false flag event.  From the many things I have been reading and studying,  I am inclined to think that any one of these is a possibility – and, if not this month, most likely very soon.

I came across an article from American Thinker recently titled “The October Surprise is Coming” which I thought was very interesting.  In the article, author Pamela Geller speculates about the possibility of a false flag event preceding this years November elections.  For those who may not know, a false flag  is an event staged by those in power in order to bring about any number of desired actions. In this case, it would be for suspending elections which would allow those in power to remain in power and would provide the opportunity for passing legislation which would curtail the rights of citizens under the auspices of national security in the wake of some terrible catastrophe. 

 Think it couldn’t happen?  Some believe it already has with the destruction of the twin towers.  And while, that particular fact may be debatable for some, the Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933 staged by the Nazi’s in pre-war Germany certainly is not and as history would testify was paramount in passing “the Enabling Act” and the “Reichstag Fire Edict’ which was instrumental in nullifying the civil liberties of German citizens under their constitution.  http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/07/the_october_surprise_is_coming.html   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree

With this in mind, I have been intrigued recently by some who have suggested that the book of Revelation may not be in chronological order.  I have no idea whether this may or may not be true, but, in looking at Revelation 17 & 18  recently, I came across a couple of things, which I believe at least add a little interest to the possibility.  

Babylon is fallen, is fallen!

Mystery Babylon?  Who is she? 

Described in Rev. 17:2, Mystery Babylon is described as a great prostitute who sits on many waters with whom the kings of the earth have committed adulteries.  A mystery of course is something which has been hidden, something not revealed until a later time – for that reason, I am inclined to believe that Mystery Babylon may not be the re-birth of Babylon of old, but, rather a place or people in the future who would embody the spirit of the old Babylonian system.

I think it was Ron Reese who I first heard suggest that the collapse of the twin towers could represent the fall of Babylon, with a second one to come – as is suggested in the wording of the verse – is fallen, is fallen.  As I thought about that, I also thought it might be possible that the double “fallen, fallen” could refer to the two individual towers falling, each one falling separately, their destruction taking place in the space of an hour as scripture notes; the smoke from their burning witnessed by the whole world.  If this is the case, perhaps, verse 21 speaks of a second judgment yet to come – “then, a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea and said: With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again”.   Could verse 21 – beginning, “then” – be suggestive of a second judgment – the second one completing the first which began on Sept 11, 2001?

The twin towers as we all know were located on the island of Manhattan.  Manhattan is an interesting word which according to Wikipedia originates from a native american word which means, “island of many hills, a place of inebriation or a place where wood is available for making bows and arrows.”  http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan

Interesting when you consider the words of Revelation 17,  as the prostitute is described as a woman who sits on seven hills and although most believe this verse to be speaking of Rome, is it possible, that in this case, it might just be speaking of another city which sits on hills? 

All the more interesting when you consider this –

The word Manhattan – “place of inebriation” – compare with Revelation 18:3 – “For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

Wednesday October 13, all eyes will be on the San Jose Mine in Chile where 33 miners have been trapped at a depth of 300 meters underground since August 5.  At midnight on Tuesday, a specially designed rescue capsule will be lowered in to the mine to begin the tedious, but joyful process of removing the miners one by one from the small space in which they have been confined for the past 68 days.

Most of us have followed the daily reports. Fuzzy grey images of the miners themselves, beards overgrown, eyes gaunt but, hopeful.  The families gathered at the surface, hanging on every image of their loved ones. The tangled web, of some of their lives exposed by virtue of the situation for all the world to see to the pain and embarrassment of those involved.

It’s hard to imagine what these men have endured; their stories now worth more money than most these men could have ever imagined. In preparation for their ascent to the surface, the men are already being prepped on how to deal with the media frenzy which will instantly engulf them once they arrive. The competition for which (money and fame) will more than likely do as much to fragment the miners and their families as the experience did to unify them. 

Watching this scenario unfold, it isn’t hard to see the spiritual analogy of the situation. Men trapped in darkness, powerless on their own to bring about their own rescue, utterly helpless and without hope – death a certainty without the help of an outside source.

The Bible tells us that before coming to Christ, we were the same way, we were all trapped in darkness and without hope; our sin separating us from the light which is in Christ.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1: 5-7

In 2 Peter 2:9, the scripture tells us that as believers, we have been called “out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  The light of Jesus as brilliant and warm and satisfying as the sun which will greet the men when they first emerge from the rescue capsule; a light so bright that their eyes will undoubtedly need protection for the first few minutes, if not hours after they arrive. The dim lights which had served them while underground, as feeble an imitation of the glorious light which God has placed in the heavens above as the  imitations we choose over the light which is God himself.

33 miners with 33 stories – 33 opportunities to glorify God.  Perhaps in his mercy, God has afforded us in these last days, a living illustration of what it means to be delivered from darkness to light.  As the final hours wind down to minutes, let us keep these men in our prayers.  May God bless them with a safe and uneventful rescue, may any work done in their hearts by the Holy Spirit during their time of confinement endure beyond the bright lights of the media and the publicity that will follow.  May these men truly be a testimony of what it means to walk out of the darkness and into the light.

From the book of Isaiah as quoted in Matthew 4:16 – “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned”.  May it be known far and wide, Jesus is that light!

*Thank you to all of you who sent me well wishes while my sister and her family was visiting.  We had a wonderful time!  My sister has twice had cancer and her visit last week was preceded by a good report from her doctor, for which we were most grateful.  Blessings to you all!  Cindy