When I was a little girl, my favorite thing was the smell of the earth and the air after a rain

I remember the joy of running outside to play, and taking in that amazing aroma. Even back then, I was searching for God. I wanted to know who Jesus was.

Whenever I would smell the air after a rain, I would think of God. I would think about Jesus, although bringing up His name at Synagogue was frowned upon. I was asked to never mention Him again by my teacher. That only served to increase my desire to know the truth about Him.

Have you ever noticed that smells can trigger memories? It’s true. Could it be that Jesus was using the ‘smell of rain’ to draw me to Him? I believe He was.

The Aroma of Prayer

What are the prayers of the saints in Revelation 5:8? 

From gotquestions.org

The scene in Revelation 5 is John’s vision of heaven’s throne room. When the Lamb had taken the scroll of God’s judgment into His own hand, “the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (verse 8). Revelation is the most symbolic book in the Bible, and in this passage the “prayers of the saints” are symbolized as golden bowls of incense, held by twenty-four elders. Of course, the more symbolic something is, the more its interpretations can vary, but it’s important to understand what these prayers of the saints are—and what they are not.

God established incense as a part of the sacerdotal system (and therefore as symbolism) in Exodus 30:1–10when Moses was told to build the altar of incense. The prayers of the saints in Revelation 5:8, especially as represented by incense in the context of temple imagery, should be understood to take the role of incense in the temple, which was to offer up a sweet aroma to God and to symbolize prayer. The prayers of the righteous are pleasing to Him. Psalm 141:2 describes this aspect of prayer perfectly: “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2).

Prayer is linked to the incense in the temple in other passages, as well. When Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the temple and tells him that his prayers have been answered, Gabriel is “standing at the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11). This happened when “the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense” (verse 10).

There are certainly different types of prayers. Prayers of supplication are the type most people are familiar with, because that’s the type where we ask God for help! But there are other types, too, like the prayers of imprecation (Psalm 55:1:15) and prayers of intercession (Luke 23:34). The fact that the “prayers of the saints” in Revelation 5:8 are not identified by type or in detail—and that they are together in an incense bowl—indicates that we should consider them collectively. God considers prayer-at-large as incense—a sweet aroma to Him.

The fact that these are prayers “of the saints” in Revelation 5:8 indicates that God hears the prayers of His people. Psalm 65:2 addresses God as “You who answer prayer.” Our Lord “hears the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29), which is another way of saying that He listens to the prayers of the saints. The “saints” in Revelation 5:8 are not an elite class of people who are more holy than the rest; they are not mediators of our prayers (see 1 Timothy 2:5), and they do not ask us to pray to them. The term saint in Scripture implies parity, not hierarchy. We are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:28). The saints are all believers in Jesus, living or dead, saved by grace through faith. The church is “loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7, ESV), and, when we pray, it’s as if a golden bowl of incense is being carried to the very throne of God in heaven.

Whom are these prayers of the saints for in Revelation 5:8? Since these prayers are the aggregate of all believers’ prayers through all time, they are about everybody and about everything that is consistent with God’s will. If you pray for somebody’s salvation, that prayer is in the bowl. If you pray for the safety and relief of people after a natural disaster, that prayer is in the bowl. If you pray that God would conform you into the image of Jesus Christ, that prayer is in the bowl. Such prayers are well-pleasing to Him.

Does Revelation 5:8 lend credence to the tradition of praying for the dead? Not at all. The dead have already sealed their fate, for good or for evil (see Luke 16:19–31). There is no post-mortem plan of salvation. Now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). After death, a person faces judgment, not further opportunity (Hebrews 9:27). So, if you pray that God would save or relieve someone who has already died, that prayer would not be in the bowl. Such prayers are futile.

In Revelation 5, God’s plan is near to being accomplished. The judgment of the wicked world is about to commence, and the ultimate redemption of God’s people is about to be realized. The living creatures and elders sing a hymn of praise to the Lamb: “With your blood you purchased for God / persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. / You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, / and they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9–10). The golden vessels full of incense are proffered to God, whose word will stand, whose will is accomplished, and who will pronounce the final “Amen!” to the prayers of the saints. source

How fascinating it is to me that ‘aromas’ are important to God. Aromas are precious to Him! Our prayers – the prayers of the saints – create an aroma of incense that reaches the nostrils of the God of the Universe – Our Father!

I pray that the next time you venture out after a drenching rain, that you will remember this article, and that you would be reminded of the importance of Prayer to our God!

May Jesus come soon to gather us away to our real home.

Are you saved?

HOW CAN I BE SAVED?

MARANATHA!

MARANATHA!!

From newsrael.com

Watch Video HERE

In the 1930s, Nazi thugs were documented sadistically harassing Jews. We all know what that led to.

On his personal X account, Rep. Ritchie Torres posted this video and the following message:

“Anti-Zionism is a modern manifestation of antisemitism. 

Example: 

An Anti-Zionist declaring on a NYC subway car: “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist. This is your chance to get out!”  

Anyone threatening to purge “Zionists” (i.e. most Jews) from public places is an antisemite. Period.”

Thank you Ritchie!

GOD PLEASE HELP THE JEWISH PEOPLE!

MARANATHA!

From frontpagemag.com

“Billions of us will come and kill you.”

Order Daniel Greenfield’s new book, Domestic Enemies: HERE.]

Thirty minutes after Hamas supporters first set up their operation outside a Los Angeles synagogue, they maced their first Jew. And the Los Angeles police did nothing.

Not until an hour into the terrorist rally outside a synagogue, did the LAPD finally step in, pushing back masked Jihad supporters in keffiyeh terror scarves from the entrance of Congregation Adas Torah (Congregation of the Bible) which they had occupied.

And then the mob, chanting calls for “intifada” and the destruction of Israel, moved outward to target two smaller synagogues attended by Persian Jewish refugees from Islamic terror in Iran.

“Billions of us will come and kill you,” a heavily accented Middle Eastern man in a keffiyeh unprompted rasped at me as I walked up. Only dozens had actually shown up, but they made up for it with bullhorns, robotic chants, and assaults in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood.

The Jewish counterprotesters had come waving American and Israeli flags while the other side was a sea of terrorist flags. A man wore an Antifa cap, another had come in ski goggles during 90-degree heat, while others toted bear spray, metal bottles, and other implements of violence.

The Jewish community members included older men and women, as well as families, while the Hamas contingent was mostly young and many were masked. A pair of rabbis led a melodic song that could hardly be heard over the harsh clatter of the hateful terror chants.

Despite knowing that a terrorist rally was planned outside a synagogue, the LAPD had allowed the terrorist supporters to take over the entire sidewalk leaving only a thin lane for attendees to walk through to get inside. The LAPD did little to interfere with the terrorist supporters, but did block Jewish counterprotesters from reaching their own synagogue. The police also did nothing as clumps of masked Hamas supporters broke away from the synagogue and began confronting, threatening, and attacking Jewish community members on the street.

LAPD officers did not stir as confrontations escalated into assaults, shoving into mace and bear spray. Jewish community members rushed to provide water bottles to the affected. Only after several such incidents did the LAPD finally bring in reinforcements and push the Hamas supporters away from the synagogue entrance (dispersing them to harass and threaten two other synagogues) while also clearing Jewish families away from the other side of the street who had been peacefully waving flags near a children’s school.

The terrorist hate rally spread outside three synagogues, Congregation Adas Torah, Chabad Persian Youth, and Congregation Ateret Israel (Glory of Israel), and the confrontations in the center of the street continued. There were running battles along the large commercial street with violent assaults outside a Kosher luncheonette and running battles down a residential street in the Jewish neighborhood.

The terrorist hate rally was not an aberration, It’s become the new normal.

On Thursday, Hamas supporters showed up at Congregation Shaarey Zedek (Gates of Righteousness) in the San Fernando Valley formerly attended by Ben Shapiro, yelling abuse at parents taking their children to school. Other Jewish schools have been similarly targeted.

Beginning with the assault on the Museum of Tolerance when it was screening a documentary on the Oct 7 massacre to the violence at UCLA, it has played out this way for 8 months.

The LAPD has consistently failed to secure protest zones, to separate different groups of protesters and to prevent violence, and only steps in when it escalates past a set point. That point usually comes when the Jewish counterprotesters start fighting back. And then the LAPD begins arresting both sides while politicians, including Mayor Bass, deplore the violence.

Media accounts, especially from the Los Angeles Times, CNN and the JTA, falsely characterize the violence as coming from the Jewish counterprotesters rather than the terrorist supporters.

I had previously heard first person accounts from people who were assaulted while the police and security at UCLA did nothing, but now I saw it for myself. And after 8 months of the same thing, it’s hard to believe that it’s simple incompetence or that a major urban police force has no idea how to handle the same kind of protests and is incapable of figuring out how to do so.

Especially when it’s been standard procedure by other urban police forces.

The LAPD is clearly aware of the potential for violence because it sends out offices in riot gear. But rather than engaging in proactive policing to prevent violence, they stand passively and wait for orders from higher up before taking any action. This is not normal policing during protests and counterprotests when the standard doctrine is for police to set up barriers and stand between groups of protesters before they bring out the riot gear. But the LAPD brings out the riot gear, allows the radicals free rein and waits as long as possible before taking any action.

Why is this happening? I previously reported that Mayon Karen Bass is a close political ally of BLM LA boss Melina Abdullah, who has backed the pro-terrorist campaign against Jews. When Jews were attacked at UCLA, Democrat members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to fund legal support for the terrorist supporters. The resolution to use taxpayer money to fund legal defenses for antisemites was put forward by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath who ‘represents’ CD3 where the synagogue hate riot was taking place. After all the antisemitic violence at UCLA, the only one facing serious charges is a Jewish student.

The Democrat leadership of Los Angeles does not stand with the Jewish communities being targeted by hate, but with the antisemitic mobs surrounding synagogues.

Behind the masks, keffiyehs and the terrorist flags is the New Democrat party.

source

And behind the devilish protestors is none other than

SATAN

Come Lord Jesus! Come quickly!