I believe the rapture will be soon

People have been asking about the imminence of the rapture. I personally believe it will be soon. I am not the only one who believes this. Hal Lindsey has been in a prophecy ministry for 50 years and believes it to be very soon. Jack Kelley has been studying it for over 20 and has said "soon." The two guys at the net's oldest rapture website, Rapture Ready, have been studying last days doctrines for over 25 years and believe no other time has been as ripe as this one. Pastor JD Faraq says we are in the last moments of the last days.

All the prophecy teachers I read say that we are in the prelude stage to rapid fulfillment of the prophesied Tribulation Time and very near the rapture. Jack Kelley summed it up thus: "For what it’s worth, I believe the world is experiencing the prelude to the seal judgments right now. They haven’t begun yet but the conditions necessary for them to happen are rapidly being met. It won’t be long until everything’s in place."

Hal Lindsey: "As I was preparing for tonight's program, I was struck with the speed with which the events are taking place precisely as the prophets predicted millennia ago."

The Rapture Ready guy said in August of the disasters this year: "It seems that we’ve reached a point where the kindness of God must be at a limit. If we can have nine calamities in less than eight months and still not get man’s attention, any more warning would be pointless. Only God knows for sure, but I think the judgment stage is very very near."

Then someone pinned me down and asked about timing. "Months, or years?" they asked. So I'll go out on a limb and if having to choose between months or years, I'll say I think we have months to go. I could well be wrong, it may be years. No one knows, because as Romans 11:25 instructs us, the fulfillment of the church age is dependent on a number God has in mind for His church, not a date nor an event. When the full number of Gentiles has come in, then we will be raptured. Acts 15:13-18 picks up, "after this I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down".

But I do not think I am wrong about the months part and here is why:

1. I don't believe the world can sustain too much more sin for too long. I'm not talking about pollution, but spiritual pollution and the chaos it brings. Things are stretching at the seams as it is. For example, in one city, the street lights were re-possessed due to unpaid electrical bills. Another city, this one in GA, deleted the entire public bus system. Topeka is so overwhelmed with crime they just announced they will no longer investigate nor prosecute domestic crimes. Detroit closed literally 50%, half, its schools. Children are being molested, kidnapped, and killed at an enormously high rate. There was an attempted kidnapping in my county in broad daylight and police and sheriffs sent out an urgent plea for witnesses. Ever growing numbers of people are dying from attempted theft of copper from electrical transformers. A few weeks ago several people in a nursing home died from overheating after copper was stolen from AC units. In other places, the entire AC unit is taken- one church had theirs stolen 4 times. A humane society lost all its dogs when their AC was stolen. No where is safe any more. Thieves are getting bolder, flash mobs are getting more violent, Occupy Wall Street is spreading around the world, chaos is almost or actually in fact broken out. Rome was on fire from riots. This level of crime and chaos cannot be sustained for long. Of course it will be completely unleashed after we are gone and the Restrainer is removed. If feels soooooo pregnant.

2. I think the rapture will be soon because the isolation of Israel is almost complete. Every Middle East nation mentioned in Tribulation or last days prophecy is in place to fulfill their prophetic roles. For example, Turkey recently quit seeking the West after 50 years of trying and is now overtly Muslim. After 100 years of enmity Turkey and Armenia suddenly made up. Iran is in possession of nuclear bomb making materials. Russia is revived (Gog-Magog) and is empire building. And so on. None of the above was even thinkable as short as five years ago.

3. The natural disasters have gotten to a point of severe intrusion on daily life to most of the global population. They are happening in almost overlap fashion, one upon another, stilling whole swathes of transport and impacting food production to a near-famine degree. I include the US in this position. Did you know that right now a third of Thailand, especially Bangkok, is flooded? We don't read in US media about the flooding in Thailand and the impacts to world rice production and to factory production of parts that we need, but it is going on, all that and more.

4. We can see clear indications over the prophetic horizon of imminent Seal Judgment fulfillments. (Rev 6). Jack Kelley mentioned that as well. If the Seal Judgments can almost be seen, and the church will be removed before the Tribulation begins, how much closer is the rapture? Close.

5. The attacks on the rapture doctrine are ramping up incredibly in these last ten years. It is almost a fever pitch now. If you even mention rapture these days, among Christians, you get the two-head look or an argument. Though the pre-tribulation rapture is not a foundational issue that should divide the brethren, a close and literal honest reading of the bible would clearly show that there will be a rapture and that it will be prior to the Tribulation. Satan's use of doubt on this issue has allowed Replacement Theology to creep in (proposes that the church has replaced Israel in God's plan); it steals the Christian's hope, it causes doubt and division, and lays the groundwork for a host of other false doctrines to enter in.

If I am wrong it impacts my faith not one bit. I will say the 'Lord is coming soon' until we are raptured, whether that be tomorrow or 10 years from now. But I don't think it will be that long. Look for Damascus to be destroyed as a startling sign of the rapture's imminence. I think that will happen soon...

Comments

  1. Yes, Elizabeth! Yes, yes, yes! I can't say it enough. I agree, I think He's coming soon. I probably don't even see HALF the news stories you do, and yet, I agree!

    In my opinion, the only ways one can deny what is happening is either through ignorance as to world events, ignorance to the Scriptures that are so obvious to me that it breaks my heart that others deny them, or some kind of denial. I do not mean this to demean or belittle anyone. It saddens me to no end. Especially when I speak to family and friends who do not agree or who just don't want to hear it.

    Each day, I think, "It really really COULD be today." Because you are right, things that need to happen for the Judgement to begin are being RAPIDLY-- I repeat, RAPIDLY-- fulfilled. And that means it's close, therefore the Rapture is even closer.

    It IS our Blessed Hope. I will not let anyone steal my crown. I will wait patiently for the Lord, whether He comes tomorrow or in ten years (doubt it will be that long, too). I WILL be found ready by my Master, I WILL be found watching for Him.

    LOOK UP, Christians! We ARE NOT APPOINTED TO WRATH! We will not endure the time of wrath that is coming!

    If you have not come to Christ, REPENT! REPENT! Jesus is coming soon! Please, turn to Him and be saved!

    Emily, www.extendingeagerhands.blogspot.com

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    1. God bless you. I couldn't agree more. Our master is coming!!!

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    2. Christians not being appointed to wrath have nothing to do with a rapture. The verse explicitly states that wrath is averted by Christ, through repentance, i.e SALVATION!

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    3. Anonymous, you're right. Salvation exempts believers from the punishing wrath to come and the eternal wrath of hell. Since the Tribulation wrath is starting to be poured out at the beginning of the Tribulation (Rev 6:16-17) onto the non-believing world, we are removed from it prior. We will not endure the wrath. WE won't endure the wrath, but the left behind, non-believing world will.

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    4. Message to James:

      Your vitriol is not "debunking". It's sin. If the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture enrages you so greatly, please exhibit some self-control and move on to another blog that does not inflame your sin so much. God speed.

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  2. Oh, and regarding #5. That epiphany came to me some months ago. Satan would NOT be attacking the Rapture so much, like finding ways to make a mockery of it a la Harold Camping or devising ways to debunk it a la alien abductions, if it wasn't something he was EXTREMELY worried about. It's happening. And all that stuff that makes us look like fools? It's increasing. And even fellow Christians laugh at us who are waiting for the shout that calls us up into the clouds.

    Emily, www.extendingeagerhands.blogspot.com

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  3. I think I might've been too brash in my reasoning as to why people aren't watching. I do think there are some who are ignorant in that they just do not know, but I shouldn't say that it's only ignorance and denial... Forgive me, reader. I sounded harsh, as this is via the internet and not in person, and didn't choose my words wisely enough.


    Emily, www.extendingeagerhands.blogspot.com

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  4. Amen! Come quickly Lord Jesus!

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  5. Great Post!

    We are seeing that God has ordained the big, maybe last few pieces to fall in place in a very short amount of time. This year has been unbelievable!!!

    The only way the tribulation is not at most a couple of years away is if things slowed down or cooled down but Christ described the signs of His coming as birth pangs so that means they will only become worse.

    I think we will be here till a short time before the tribulation is ordained to begin parallel to Noah and Lot. I know God would wait till the last nano-second if He knew that was when the final soul would accept Him in this age. And the rapture could be the final piece needed to plunge this world into a state ripe for the antichrist.

    But yeah, I was thinking earlier that for the first time maybe ever, the rapture could happen at this moment and the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse would be ready to ride...all the prophecies would be ready to be fulfilled with almost no delay. I haven't been following prophecy for long so I might be wrong.

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  6. Note:
    Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, not Taiwan.
    The flooding is in Thailand, not Taiwan.
    Here in Europe, Thailand (especially Bangkok) has been known as the ultimate destination for Sex Tourism (male Europeans having Sex with Thai women).

    Maybe God is freeing those poor enslaved women with that flood now, and hopefully is destroying the businesses of the greedy businessmen behind it.

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    1. it will actually become worse.. most of these girls that get into the business come for farms that cannot sustain them financially so either they seek a better living themselves or sometimes even their family will sell them into prostitution.. so, if farming is going to get negatively impacted there will probably be a surge in girls available for prostitution. The world is getting worse, hence the end times, but our treasure is not of this world.

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  7. Mozquit, thank you. Brain freeze on my part. I knew the flooding was in Thailand, but was thinking of something else. Duh. THANK YOU for the correction. I am going to edit it in the body of the essay.

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  8. Anonymous of 1947: if you are saying, in such terse manner, that the rapture was in 1947, you are incorrect.. But 1947 was the year a foundation as laid for the miraculous 1948 fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8 prophecy of Israel being born in one day. That was a major sign that we are in the last generation. (Matthew 24:34.)

    If you have meant something else, then more words may help us understand your thoughts on the matter.

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  9. Hi Elizabeth:

    I wanted to comment on your post especially regarding your point #5. It is so, so true that I have never in my over 20 years of being with the Lord have seen such an attack on the doctrine of the pre-trib rapture. Everywhere I turn on various "christian" blogs, forums, etc., it is amazing how many people are so vehemently against this teaching. I for one believe there is more to it than that but can't quite put my finger on why. I know it is the enemy, but why is he trying so hard to make the Lord's people not believe this teaching...it won't change their salvation...if they are saved, he still can't have them...but perhaps he can seriously undermine their faith through this and in turn effect multitudes from getting saved by those people's witness, especially in regard to this teaching. Do you have more ideas on why it is so attacked lately?

    I also personally feel that we are so very close to the Lord coming to take us home and I just can't wait...however, there is one blogsite I attend and I admire for his perspective and that is Don Koenig. He makes a lot of sense in his views but believes that although the rapture could be now, it most likely won't occur for perhaps 10-20 more years and he does give some compelling reasons for this thinking...of which makes me kinda sad, as it does sound reliable and I would so much prefer to leave now :). However, one of your previous commentors above mentioned how the birth pangs are gatting closer and closer together and that is so true and evident that it makes me think personally that it is very soon, as when a woman begins that birthing process and those pains are coming fast and furious, it is just a matter of minutes or seconds in some cases before the child is born...therefore, seeing these birth pangs happening all around us day by day by day, it truely makes me feel that we are right on the cusp. Hallelujah! Exciting times indeed!! Amen!

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  10. Hi Lisa,

    About Mr Koenig, as I said, no one knows the time because it is a number, so Mr Koenig is certainly welcome to his opinion, that's fine. I think that we will go soon though not just for the reasons above but because of the way I interpret Matthew 24:34. Jesus said after explaining all the things that will take place in the end time/tribulation-

    "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place."

    This statement is widely interpreted. One way is that He was speaking of the generation of Peter and John etc, and that these things already took place. Another view is that 'this generation' refers to the one that is in the 7-year Tribulation. The third view is that it refers to the generation leading up to the Tribulation, the lifespan of the people who will be living as they see these things come to pass.

    If we take the major accepted marker for the last of the last days as Israel being born in 1948, and use the bible's definition of a lifespan of 70 years (Is 23:15; Ps 90:10) then we are the generation nearing the end of the lifespan that would be seeing these things. With all the other things that are lining up it does seem to fit.

    However if Mr Koenig is right and we have another 20-30 years to go then all it means is that I have interpreted the "this generation" verse incorrectly and the full number of the Gentiles had not been reached (Rom 11:25).

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  11. What frightens me the most about what is happening within the Church today is how Christ has been removed. The Roman Catholic church worships Mary, in most of the evangelical church He is not longer the central focus - you yourself have indicated the truth of this heresy. Yet, Christ created the world in which we live by a simple spoken word, a Redeemer (Christ) was promised to Eve in the Garden, the last book of the Bible begins and ends with focus on Christ Jesus, the Israelites performed daily sacrifices for generations which never actually forgave their sin but were pictures of the sacrifice Christ would complete for His chosen people on the cross (Israelites were saved by faith in the promise of the Redeemer who would come, not the blood of animals - read Hebrews), and now the evangelical church seems to want the Jews to rebuild their temple and sacrifice animals once again as if Christ's sacrifice was not enough! I also believe Christ is returning soon, very soon, mainly because of the apostasy and falling away within the Church. I think if you'd look around yourself you would see that what you say will happen within a 7 year period is happening all around the world today. America is the richest place on earth, as a whole people, and trade goes to and from America daily, businessmen spreading it from one end of the earth to the other (is there a place on earth where an American businessman has not been, trying to establish trade of some sort?). Capitalism could very easily be the AntiChrist's economic system (America gets richer while the rest of the world gets poorer). The other false religions are already in place, from Judiasm to Catholicism to Islam, Hinduism, etc. And in the rest of the world - famines kill millions slowly, plagues have killed whole people groups, quakes, volcanoes, floods have killed millions. And the American church keeps spreading the word - don't worry, be happy! God's going to rapture you away from all that if you are a Christian, before it gets really bad - meanwhile you watch your children starve to death or your parents die of AIDS or your meager possessions float away down a raging river or 4 concrete floors pancake above you in an earthquake or your unbelieving neighbors burn your church to the ground with the most of the congregation inside. Never fear - our spiritual leaders in America assure us that Christ will rapture us away from all of that! And if you get left behind, don't worry - there are two means of salvation! Belief in Jesus Christ and animal sacrifices in the new Jewish temple (they didn't work before, but that's ok, God's not finished with Israel yet, you'll get a second chance because His first one obviously didn't work!).

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  12. Anonymous, you started out great but ended up with a derisive tone. The biblical church *is* spreading the word (1 Thess 5:4) about the rapture because it is imminent. We don't worry and are happy because Paul said it is something to be encouraged about. (1 Thess 4:18). We WILL escape all these things (Luke 21:36) because we are cleansed after salvation (Heb 10:22) and thus we're not to be judged (Rom 8:1) and are not appointed to wrath. (1 Thess 5:9)

    During the Tribulation there will not be two means of salvation. There is and only ever was one: Jesus.

    I am sorry you don't appear to be taking more comfort from these words.

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  13. Hi again Elizabeth:

    The previous anonymous commentor isn't taking more comfort from your shared words of truth because this person's eschatology isn't in line with orthodox christian biblical teaching. This is the very thing I wrote about above, in regard to seeing so many "christians" on various blogs and forums promoting the denial of the rapture and orthodox doctrine of biblical scripture. They have a different interpretation which usually stems from some biblical passages plus "other" outside teachings from various cults or sects bringing in error and distraction to the true gospel. I have seen this so much lately on so many good sites and now here also, someone coming in with this distorted version of truth. I believe many are not just confused people lead away in error but are truly plants of the enemy to sow seeds of discouragement and argumentation. I am praying for you and your blog and commentors and the unsaved that will come here to find the truth and that the enemies tactics will be seen for what they are. This is proof positive of what you speak in this segment on #5, the enemy definately has a problem with born of the spirit believers and the rapture. He knows his time is short...Amen!

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  14. Elizabeth and Lisa,
    I would laugh at Lisa's comment about "orthodox christian biblical teaching" except it reminds me of the Inquisition and the attitude of the Catholic Church at that time. Obviously neither of you know your church history when it comes to the doctrine of the rapture. There have been books written for at least the past 30 plus years about the 4 main views of End Times and none of those views are new, except dispensationalism as it is taught today thanks to Scofield. The church has been divided about the rapture for a long, long time. Please don't throw out whole denominations and many Godly people and call them heretics simply because your view is different. As an example, many conservative Presbyterians (I'm NOT talking about the liberal PCUSA) do not believe in dispensationalism but are amillenial. I grew up in and I've met many within solid evangelical Bible teaching and preaching Community Churches, as well as within the plethora of Baptist churches, who also do not fall within the dispensational camp - the church is not now and never has been within the past 200 years unified on this 'doctrine', especially as it is taught today. I am old enough to remember when The Late Great Planet Earth came out, and the movie Left Behind and all of the End Time stuff started heating up - Lindsay was an entertaining author and the whole world was in social upheaval at that time and the end of the world really resonated with people who were afraid of what was coming next. In the '60's it was at a boiling point, similar to what it is again now. Many who had a Scofield Bible read the notes as if they were part of Scripture, too. I have been a Christian for well over 50 years now and very active within the Church. I'm not a new Christian, I'm not a "backsliden" Christian, I read and study my Bible, I fellowship with other Christians in a good Bible believing and teaching church. Please be careful what you say about your brothers and sisters in the church - the rapture, or lack thereof, is not a salvific doctrine by any stretch of the imagination. Christ will return at the appointed time by the Father (and yes, it is a number foreordained by God). I frankly don't care whether it is during a "rapture" or at the Second Coming - He's coming for me one way or the other! We're all going to be surprised when we learn the truth because none of us are infallible in our doctrine - we are not God and each of us make errors.

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  15. Anonymous said:

    "Obviously neither of you know your church history when it comes to the doctrine of the rapture."

    Oh. Well obviously.

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  16. An answer to the pre-trib doctrine of the rapture, and also an answer to the fact that there WILL be a rapture, based on history, for those who became confused by Anonymous's comment that it first appeared in the Scofield bible notes. I'm answering this because Anonymous's stance is a false meme that just won't go away. At least, it won't go away until the rapture happens.

    A common misperception among many Christians is the following, in this case stated by a person calling themselves "azindy" on the Daily Kos, who wrote an error-ridden piece called "The History of the Rapture."

    "From the beginning of the Christian era until the Protestant Reformation, only one person, Ephraem of Nisibis, in 373 AD preached in one known sermon [about the pre-trib rapture].

    This false view is that the rapture doctrine was never known until the mid-1800s and 'discovered' by John Darby, or Margaret MacDonald or Scofield. This position is patently false and a-biblical.

    The following early church fathers wrote or preached about it:
    The Shepherd of Hermas (95-150)
    Victorinus (died in 303 A.D.)
    Ephraem of Nisibis (306-373)
    Brother Dolcino (d. 1307)
    Joseph Mede (1627): Clavis Apocalyptica
    Increase Mather (1639-1723)
    Peter Jurieu (1687)
    John Gill (1748)

    So you can see that the rapture as a doctrine and especially pre-trib removal was not something that popped up in the mid 1800s.

    I can go back even further though. Paul revealed the pretrib rapture 1 Cor 15;51; 1 Thess 5:9.

    oops, I can go back further:
    Isaiah 26:20; confirming what Paul said in 1 Thess 4:15 when Paul said it is "according to the Lord's own word" and Isaiah 26:20 is that word.

    Sure, people make errors in interpretation. However this does not excuse the Christian from diligent searching of the scriptures and a thorough biblical understanding of why he believes as he does. An attitude of "aw shucks we all make mistakes, can't we just get along?' ain't gonna cut it. And I mean searching the *scriptures*, not relying on Scofield notes or Darby or memes or cutting and pasting from websites like the Daily Kos.

    Anonymous's answer is typical. It is an ad hominem attack (I know nothing of church history, obviously) coupled with a straw man argument (don't 'throw away' a whole denomination; I call people heretics) combined with extra-biblical proof texts (Scofield notes, and likely a bit of cutting from Daily Kos or another meme-like website promoting this falsity), a reference to a long-standing church membership (therefore what I say must be true) and a few cultural references like Late Great Planet Earth. Where were the scriptures to support the stance? Absent.

    Brethren, BECAUSE this doctrine was revealed to us in the bible, because it is supposed to give us hope, because it is so controversial now in the last days when we are TOLD there will be attacks on solid doctrine, it behooves us to turn to the bible and study.

    Even after that, if we still disagree, fine, because it is not a cardinal doctrine.

    Of course I won't "throw away" a whole denomination based on a non-cardinal doctrine.

    When I "throw away" a whole denomination it is because they failed to adhere to a cardinal doctrine.

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  17. Since II Tim. 3:14 says we should know "of whom" we have learned our doctrine, we should Google "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty" so we can honestly "vet" our favorite Bible teachers! Albert

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  18. Albert, though your concept is good and should be applied in most cases, the Pre-Tribulation rapture is not a dishonest doctrine. I put a menu box in the upper left that has the scriptures, and if you search on this blog for pre-trib there will be many more scriptures. No one who refutes the pre-trib stance uses scripture to do it..because they can't. It's biblical doctrine.

    But yes, always look to see who is a solid teacher of doctrine, though using google may not always be the best method, in favor of using the bible, that is.

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  19. The Rapture is the blessed hope of all born again believers. And as true believers we should be professing this to everyone we know. Because the rapture is an at any moment event, time is shorter than some Christians realize, so we should be motivated by the spirit of Christ to bring as many brothers and sisters into this knowledge. The time is close so we say come soon Lord, amen.

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  20. Just to serve as an example, I was on a website that acknowledged we are in the last days, yet dismissed the pre-trib rapture as a fantasy. The author at one point made the following statement:

    So we are at least 7+ years away from the harpazo Resurrection-Rapture. When might those begin? Most of us hope that they are a long way away.

    In other words, he is not looking forward to the Blessed Hope of the Church. To say that he hopes it is a long way off means that he does not yearn for the return of Christ, but would apparently rather it not happen in his lifetime. Obviously, if an individual does not believe in a pre-trip rapture, then they would loathe the idea of going through the worst time on earth, the tribulation period. But that effectively robs a believer of that joyous event that we are all to be looking for. Rather than "Come soon, Lord Jesus," a person with these beliefs would rather be praying, "Lord Jesus, tarry a good while longer."

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  21. I know one thing and that is even though we do not know the day or the hour I know that the rapture will take place! the world is definitly going backwards and we christians need to PRAY! I't is going to happen sometime and I believe soon and we need to pray for the other people that they will give there hearts to God,that the christians will be ready for the time that Jesus comes,CHRISTIANS DO HAVE A SAY WE CAN PRAY!!! I am trying to get all the people I know to all pray on the 25th (EARTH HOUR)
    To pray for many things Including the drought in nz. You can do it too :-) get everyone you know,send out emails....It will make a difference.

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  22. SORRY GUYS I WROTE THAT WHEN I WAS VERY TIRED! THE EARTH HOUR IS ON THE 23 OF MARCH FROM 8:30 TO 9:30 P.M :-) earth hour is a day when people around the world turn out there lights for one hour to make a stand towards saving our planet BUT WE KNOW THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SAVE US IS BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! so please get together everyone you know and PRAY!

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    1. Wikipedia explains, "Earth Hour is a worldwide event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and held towards the end of March annually, encouraging households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change."

      Anonymous, I admire your commitment to the earth, but personally while I am frugal, I don't believe in advocacy for climate change. The Lord is in charge of the earth and frankly, though we don't want to be deliberately messy, this is not our home. This earth will die and be remade. Nothing humans can do about "climate change" which is natural anyway because all things change, will prevent the earth's ultimate destruction. There is nothing we can do or should to to 'save our planet'.

      macArthur said

      "Everything is seen as having some kind of theistic energy in it. Everything is God. Everything has power. Everything has energy. And you want to plug in to that energy. Now we just had Earth Day. And I ask myself on a number of occasions, "What is Earth Day?" And I realize what it was, for some people it was an elevating of environmental consciousness which is certainly good. All of us would like to do something to enhance our environment and to protect the creation of God. And that's very good. But to the orchestrators and the fanatics, Earth Day was based upon a Pantheistic view and it was "let's stop the world and worship the earth." We'll all worship the earth. I was very interested in the fact that down at the beach there was a huge Earth Day celebration and everybody left and nobody cleaned up a horrendous mess. The Earth is God, let's stop and worship the Earth. It doesn't seem to be a problem for the government to tolerate that, I can't imagine what would happen if somebody decided to have a God day or a Jesus Christ day. See, nothing has more value than anything else. Save the rain forests, save the whales, save the dolphins, save the oak trees, don't kill a cat in medical research even if it might save thousands of people from death"

      Earth Day and Earth Hour can and often does spill over into worshiping the creation rather than the Creator...

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  23. Are you guys feeling foolish yet or are you still waiting?

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    1. We're still waiting. God never fails. Why would we feel foolish?

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  24. I had a dream in which Jesus came to me and said "soon you will come into my kingdom". I woke up saying those words aloud. I have been longing for Jesus return and for a time just thought it was a dream from my wishful yearnings. But in my spirit I intensely feel like he is coming soon. I have had two other dreams that came true and a prayer that was answered in an absolutely amazing way! I absolutely feel certain that it will be soon and I for one can't wait to be in the presence of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

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  25. I look forward to the rapture, and also think it will be very soon. However, lately, I've talked to other Christians and they don't seem to want to talk about it. I tell you, it's something I am sooo excited about but I wonder why other Christians don't want to discuss it or scoff at it, or complain that we've been waiting forever and still nothing has happened. I don't care if this article was written in 2011 or if it's 2015 right now, or what date it is. I'm still going to be watching and waiting and looking for signs no matter how silly other Christians make me feel for doing so. Looking for signs does NOT take away from my faith or make me lose focus in my Christianity. It makes be more on fire for God than ever. I can't believe the denial going on right now. Sure, we don't know everything, and sometimes we think something is a sign, and it isn't. But sometimes it is. I heard some really strange noises outside like a trumpet blowing in the sky and loud banging like on a metal drum, repeatedly. I do think this has something to do with God warning us that the rapture is near. But, when I tell people that I think it's a sign, they only laugh at me. Hugh? Are we not supposed to question, and discern, and wonder, and look for signs and keep watch? I'm going to do it NO MATTER WHAT! I'm very excited about the rapture. I only wonder why other Christians are not.

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  26. In Mathew 24 Jesus said the rapture would happen AFTER the tribulation and I believe him.

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    1. Paul wrote the Rapture is a mystery which he revealed in 1 Cor 15:51. Matthew 24 which was written before 1Cor 15 cannot be about the Rapture

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    2. Matthew 24 is not about the rapture. It is about the Tribulation. Further, the address of the discourse is to the Jews, not the church.

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  27. Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

    30 And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

    31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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    1. Thank you!

      The verse is referring to the gathering of the Tribulation believers, scattered due to persecution, to usher in the Millennial reign. cf Daniel 7:13-14. Here is commentary

      He will then send His angels forth to regather His elect from the four winds, which relates to the earth (cf. Mark 13:27), from one end of the heavens to the other. This involves the gathering of those who will have become believers during the Seventieth Week of Daniel and who will have been scattered into various parts of the world because of persecution (cf. Matt. 24:16). This gathering will probably also involve all Old Testament saints, whose resurrection will occur at this time, so that they may share in Messiah’s kingdom (Dan. 12:2–3, 13).

      The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 78). J. F. Walvoord

      Jesus said that His church would not see His wrath (Rev 3:10) nor would His church be overcome (Mt 16:18) yet He allows the believers to be overcome in the wrathful Tribulation (Rev 13:7) so for these not to be a lie and a contradiction, the church must have been removed first. :)

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