I've often wondered whether the pre-Trib Rapture itself will usher in the Bible prophecies about the end times. If you have a read through Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel & Joel, you'll learn about the end times, the Antichrist, and what he has a mind to do.
We know there will one day be a one world government and the AC will rule it. We're moving toward that goal already, but we're not quite there. The dollar is tanking, economies are not good at all, we might one day get there.
Another thing is the mark of the Beast. I don't believe the AC will force people to get it. I think people will line up for it.
But why?
To me, the Rapture is the only thing that makes sense. Imagine, suddenly, Christ appears in the clouds, the dead rise from their graves, all believers are gone and suddenly the world is left with millions of people who have disappeared--all over the globe. There will be disasters, certainly. Car accidents--no more Christian drivers. Plane crashes probably. Wildfires from perhaps campfires of Christians that are no longer being watched. Factories or maybe even nuclear facilities might suddenly have workers missing and go into emergency mode. The electric company might have black outs due to missing workers. The list goes on. And it will be world-wide, because Christians are everywhere.
A sudden disappearance of these people would make those left behind very scared, in my opinion. There will be theories of alien abductions, other abductions, suicides, missing persons, etc. But people will deny the fact that even though they saw Christ in the clouds, they couldn't possibly have witnessed what they did. Ever hear of Project Bluebeam? Conspiracy theorists out there believe the government is planning some "fake" Rapture hologram in the sky. Google it. I'm serious. I'm not saying *I* believe this, but for non-believers, it will be easier to believe the gov't put a hologram in the sky than believe they saw Jesus Christ in the clouds taking His Church.
With all these supposed disasters that might happen, individual countries might not be able to handle them on their own. Other countries will be dealing with the same issues and might not be able to give them aid. A solution could be a global government in order to make it possible for funds to be used globally for these disasters.
And if the mark of the Beast *is* this RFID chip that can be implanted under the skin, could the AC trick people into getting them because their loved ones disappeared and no one knows where they are? If the global gov't knows where you are at all times, then you can't be "abducted" or "go missing" like the millions of people before you.
It makes sense to me. I mean, if that many people disappear, that might be the tipping point for economies to finally collapse globally, so that people are forced to make a new global currency. Obviously I don't know if this will actually happen and I will never know, because I plan on being one of those "abducted", but know this -- if I ever go missing along with my family and millions of others, we were NOT abducted by aliens. We did NOT commit suicide. We did NOT go into the mountains or change our identities or anything else.
We were Raptured by Jesus Christ FULL STOP.
~~Becka
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Tribulation Prophecies
This is Darrell Myatt, a man I sometimes watch on YouTube. He's a normal guy who happens to know a lot about the Bible, so he's not a preacher. However, in this video, he outlines a lot of different passages in the Bible about what one can expect to happen with the Antichrist, what he's going to do, and what God is going to do during the Tribulation.
He gives every Bible verse he reads, and it's fascinating to read along with him on www.biblegateway.com if you're a fast typer. :P He's reading out of the New King James Version if you're interested in reading the exact version with him.
Anyway, it's a fascinating study. It's almost 25 minutes long and I usually try to watch his shorter videos, but this one had me listening the whole way through.
~~Becka
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Why Paul's Last Trump Can't Be the 7th Trumpet of Revelation
This is simple, folks. St. Paul spoke of the resurrection, or the Rapture, happening at the "last trump", as quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
There is also a mention of this trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Corinthians was written approximately between 53-57AD, while Paul was in Corinth. 1 Thessalonians was written earlier, around 52AD.
The Apostle John was given his Revelation by God on the Isle of Patmos in 95-96AD.
Since John's Revelation was written so much later than Paul's letter to the Corinthians and Thessalonians, they would have had NO idea what Paul was talking about if he referred to the last trump of Revelation.
However, being Jewish and/or interacting with Jews, they would have known the "last trump" referred to a specific ceremony, namely, the Feast of Trumpets, when 100 blasts of the shofar is made, and the very last shofar blast is loud and held for as long as possible. It is called the Tekiah Gedolah.
Everyone Paul preached to in that day would certainly know what the "last trump" meant.
They would not have known about the final trumpet judgment as recorded by the Apostle John decades later, and therefore cannot be one in the same.
~~Becka
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
There is also a mention of this trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Corinthians was written approximately between 53-57AD, while Paul was in Corinth. 1 Thessalonians was written earlier, around 52AD.
The Apostle John was given his Revelation by God on the Isle of Patmos in 95-96AD.
Since John's Revelation was written so much later than Paul's letter to the Corinthians and Thessalonians, they would have had NO idea what Paul was talking about if he referred to the last trump of Revelation.
However, being Jewish and/or interacting with Jews, they would have known the "last trump" referred to a specific ceremony, namely, the Feast of Trumpets, when 100 blasts of the shofar is made, and the very last shofar blast is loud and held for as long as possible. It is called the Tekiah Gedolah.
Everyone Paul preached to in that day would certainly know what the "last trump" meant.
They would not have known about the final trumpet judgment as recorded by the Apostle John decades later, and therefore cannot be one in the same.
~~Becka
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Jerusalem Divided
The video below was from two and a half years ago, from the pastor of Calvary Chapel Kaneohe in Hawaii. I've featured his videos before. He talks about the presidential elections a bit because that was going on around the time of the video, but the information about a divided Jerusalem is a bit chilling. This video is pertinent because of a new headline (3-30-11) I found on Haaretz.com:
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-palestinians-to-ask-for-un-recognition-if-peace-talks-fail-1.353178
The gist is this: If Abbas of the PA cannot reach peace with the Israel soon, he will go before the UN in September and outright ask for them to formally recognize Palestine as its own independent state. What does this mean? It means despite Israel's protests to the contrary, the international community would recognize Palestine and "forcibly" divide Jerusalem whether the Jews want it or not.
Zechariah 12:1-9:
1 A prophecy: The word of the LORD concerning Israel.
Heaven help the members of the UN who might end up forcing the Jews to divide their holy city. Unlike other vague prophecies that speak of events in the future, this one in Zechariah is the LORD God speaking, promising to smite those who come against Jerusalem.
And notice, once again, the date this might happen as promised by Mahmoud Abbas is in September, the very month of Rosh Hoshanah, a possible candidate for the Rapture. I think September 2011 will be a VERY important month in Bible prophecy.
~~Becka
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-palestinians-to-ask-for-un-recognition-if-peace-talks-fail-1.353178
The gist is this: If Abbas of the PA cannot reach peace with the Israel soon, he will go before the UN in September and outright ask for them to formally recognize Palestine as its own independent state. What does this mean? It means despite Israel's protests to the contrary, the international community would recognize Palestine and "forcibly" divide Jerusalem whether the Jews want it or not.
Zechariah 12:1-9:
1 A prophecy: The word of the LORD concerning Israel.
The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the LORD. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 “The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Heaven help the members of the UN who might end up forcing the Jews to divide their holy city. Unlike other vague prophecies that speak of events in the future, this one in Zechariah is the LORD God speaking, promising to smite those who come against Jerusalem.
And notice, once again, the date this might happen as promised by Mahmoud Abbas is in September, the very month of Rosh Hoshanah, a possible candidate for the Rapture. I think September 2011 will be a VERY important month in Bible prophecy.
~~Becka
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Don't Let Your Plans Get in God's Way
I hear Christians nod and acknowledge that Christ will return all the time. However, all too often, these same Christians do not believe that time is at hand. Or it's years into the future.
Couldn't possibly be "right at the door."
My question is... why not? Christ taught that His Rapture was imminent. We know this because of the parable of the 10 virgins he gives in Matthew 25:1-13. Five were ready and waiting, five had allowed the oil to run out of their lamps. They knew the time was soon when the groom would arrive, so they ran off to the market to buy more oil. But when they were gone, the groom came, entered in, and shut the door, leaving the foolish virgins out in the cold.
Christ told us to always be ready and look for the signs, so that day should not overcome us like a thief. (1 Thess 5:1-11) We know Christ was speaking of a pre-Trib Rapture because according to Daniel 12:11-12, you will KNOW the exact day Christ's Second Coming (a separate event) from the day of the Abomination of Desolation. 1290 days. 45 days later, at 1335 days, Christ sets up His millennial Kingdom.
So if we are always to be ready, what makes these Christians poo-poo the idea that Christ's Rapture is coming, and soon?
Because the seeming "tardiness" of this looming imminent Rapture has made them complacent. They have become comfortable in their lives. They have a nice job, nice house, nice car. They love their wives and husbands. They have small children. They've been looking forward to watching their children grow up and one day have children of their own. They're planning for retirement. They have goals and milestones yet to reach, things yet to do, places yet to go.
But don't you understand? God does not rule His universe according to your life's plan. Do not get too comfortable in your life that you look on the return of Christ with trepidation. Do not put off getting right with God or thinking Jesus couldn't possibly return in your lifetime. He obviously meant another lifetime.
Do not get so numb to the tragedies all around you that they become trite and commonplace.
And remember, the Church will be Raptured before the Tribulation, so what we see here on earth is only the BEGINNING of sorrows. You think the 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, & resulting radiation disaster is bad? Beginning of sorrows. A birth pang. That was only a taste.
Rioting and uprisings in the Middle East? Another birth pang. How do I know? Well, considering most "awake" Christians are looking for the return of Christ, ultra-orthodox Jews are looking for their Messiah, and Ahmadinejad of Iran believes the rioting is heralding the 12th Imam of Islam (a Christ-like figure who will unite the world and rule in peace for 7 years -- sound like anyone familiar?), it seems a no-brainer. Never before have I witnessed in my life the fervor of three separate religions yearning for their "Savior" to come at the same time. That in and of itself should be a sign that something is going on.
Something not just the Christians are aware of.
Don't take my word for it. Read and study the Word of God. Find out these prophecies for yourself. Do your homework. God promises if we seek Him, we shall find Him. All I can do is point you in the direction. But don't be so comfortable in your life that you fail to find the hope in the one event every Christian before you has longed for.
~~Becka
Couldn't possibly be "right at the door."
My question is... why not? Christ taught that His Rapture was imminent. We know this because of the parable of the 10 virgins he gives in Matthew 25:1-13. Five were ready and waiting, five had allowed the oil to run out of their lamps. They knew the time was soon when the groom would arrive, so they ran off to the market to buy more oil. But when they were gone, the groom came, entered in, and shut the door, leaving the foolish virgins out in the cold.
Christ told us to always be ready and look for the signs, so that day should not overcome us like a thief. (1 Thess 5:1-11) We know Christ was speaking of a pre-Trib Rapture because according to Daniel 12:11-12, you will KNOW the exact day Christ's Second Coming (a separate event) from the day of the Abomination of Desolation. 1290 days. 45 days later, at 1335 days, Christ sets up His millennial Kingdom.
So if we are always to be ready, what makes these Christians poo-poo the idea that Christ's Rapture is coming, and soon?
Because the seeming "tardiness" of this looming imminent Rapture has made them complacent. They have become comfortable in their lives. They have a nice job, nice house, nice car. They love their wives and husbands. They have small children. They've been looking forward to watching their children grow up and one day have children of their own. They're planning for retirement. They have goals and milestones yet to reach, things yet to do, places yet to go.
But don't you understand? God does not rule His universe according to your life's plan. Do not get too comfortable in your life that you look on the return of Christ with trepidation. Do not put off getting right with God or thinking Jesus couldn't possibly return in your lifetime. He obviously meant another lifetime.
Do not get so numb to the tragedies all around you that they become trite and commonplace.
And remember, the Church will be Raptured before the Tribulation, so what we see here on earth is only the BEGINNING of sorrows. You think the 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, & resulting radiation disaster is bad? Beginning of sorrows. A birth pang. That was only a taste.
Rioting and uprisings in the Middle East? Another birth pang. How do I know? Well, considering most "awake" Christians are looking for the return of Christ, ultra-orthodox Jews are looking for their Messiah, and Ahmadinejad of Iran believes the rioting is heralding the 12th Imam of Islam (a Christ-like figure who will unite the world and rule in peace for 7 years -- sound like anyone familiar?), it seems a no-brainer. Never before have I witnessed in my life the fervor of three separate religions yearning for their "Savior" to come at the same time. That in and of itself should be a sign that something is going on.
Something not just the Christians are aware of.
Don't take my word for it. Read and study the Word of God. Find out these prophecies for yourself. Do your homework. God promises if we seek Him, we shall find Him. All I can do is point you in the direction. But don't be so comfortable in your life that you fail to find the hope in the one event every Christian before you has longed for.
~~Becka
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