Wednesday, May 24, 2006

RAPTURE

Anonymous said...
I agree with you that these are the times predicted by the Christ (in Matthew, especially), but I am having just a bit of trouble with 'Rapture' as no-where that I have found in New or Old Testement is there anything that says anything about the 'Rapture'that Tim Lehaye and his ministry, and others like his, try to teach. However, I may have missed it, and so I ask you to please direct me to ALL the places in the Bible that specifically state Abba would take out the pilot of an aircraft while leaving a planeload of passengers. I am not trying to be snide, honest. I know the Christ states that "...two will be in the field, one will be taken and one left behind..." Is this where the 'Rapture" comes from? Because I've been studying Scripture (many translations) for a long-long time, and I don't find Daniel, Isaiah, or even Jeremiah prophesying anything near the 'Rapture', only that when End Times hit, things are going to get very ugly for the denyers, and that those who have died in the faith of God's everlasting love, who had been waiting in Heaven wearing white linen, will be brought fully into the resurrection.
10/16/2005 1:29 PM

PAMI said...
Response to anonymous 10/16/2005 1:29pm
You're right, the word "Rapture" is not in the bible. The old meaning is "to snatch away", "to take out". The following are verses that refer to what we call the Rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (King James Version) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (King James Version) Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.There is a difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming, at the Rapture Christ doesn't actually set foot on the earth, we meet Him in the air and are taken to heaven for seven years. The spirits of those who have already died are already in Heaven, but they will get their bodies back at the Rapture, only now they will be incorruptible bodies. Paul said he's showing us a mystery, it was a revelation Paul and Jesus' disciples had that had not been revealed to the Prophets of the old testament. At the Second Coming we come back with Christ, He fights and wins the battle of Armageddon, and establishes His kingdom in Jerusalem. The man of sin Christians call the "Antichrist" will not be revealed till after the Rapture.He will be a powerful figure during the seven year Tribulation period. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (King James Version) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. let: hinder (Saints who now hinder will hinder until they are caught up to be with the Lord) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:(the Second Coming) The verses in Luke 17:34-37 where one is taken, the other left, don't refer to the Rapture, they refer to those people (or nations) taken to die at Armageddon, verse 37 states they are taken to where the eagles are gathered (to eat the flesh of the dead). As for planes falling from the sky, they might, they probably will, who knows, but this would only be a small token of the devastation and destruction predicted for the seven year Tribulation period that follows the Rapture.
10/19/2005 11:53 AM

This is a link to a site where you can look up scripture references in many different versions of the bible: http://www.biblegateway.com/

Monday, May 01, 2006

SATAN IS NOT IN HELL---YET!

These two comments are in response to my post "Let Me Tell You The Future" and my answers.

Anonymous said...
This is all superstition masquerading as evidence. The "prophecies" you cite are so vague that they may fit any time. The ancient Greeks complained of all the points you mention... temples neglected, the youth disrespectful... and that was before Jesus was even born. I have seen death. I have seen loved ones die. There is no God. We are evolved animals with conscience - and isn't that truly more miraculous than some idealised father figure in the sky? I despise this whole "rapture" idea - it's just a way for you to feel smug and superior to your fellow man... but pride comes before a fall.

Anonymous said...
How come people will suffer the lake of fire AFTER Satan is vanquished. Who will be running Hell? With Satan "terminated", I guess that means God will be the one torturing those unfortunates who didn't believe in him. Gee, what a merciful creator. I'd sure hate to be screwed up enough to belive in a holy father who will torture me for ETERNITY if I say something bad about him. What kind of warped psycho would even come up with something like that? That's the most hateful and vengeful thing I've ever heard. That makes God WORSE than any human killer or torturer, ever. The lake of fire for ETERNITY!?!?! That is Evil.

PAMI said...
Response to anonymous 10/15/2005 3:03pm and 3:09pm To begin with Satan is not in hell now, he never has been there, and he doesn't want to go. He was thrown to earth after his fall: Isaiah 14:12-15 King James Version (KJV) Public Domain 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground (to earth), which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Verse 15 above says he will be brought down to hell, he's not there yet, he definitely doesn't run the place. The lake of fire was created for the devil and his angels, not for us, we got reservations when we believed his lies and allowed our spirits to be separated from God's Spirit. Rev. 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.Now Satan is called the prince of the power of the air, his influence extends on earth and around it's atmosphere.Ephesians 2:1-3 King James Version (KJV)Public Domain Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation (manner of living) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Our holy father will not allow us to be tormented forever if we rejoin our spirits with His Spirit by accepting our redemption (being bought back) through His son Jesus Christ. If our spirits remain separated from Him we have no part with Him, and He cannot have part with spirits that have no connection with Him. The lie that Satan and our society has perpetuated is that we are animals, the truth is God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul, created in the image and likeness of God. We are spirits, who have souls (mind, will, emotions) and live in bodies. That's why God wants us back. God created animals but He didn't breathe His Spirit into them.

It was 1948 that Israel was declared a nation, people are still alive today that saw that prophecy come true. I am in my 50s, I attended school, I taught school, and now I hear about things happening in schools all the time on the news. I can't recall any school shootings being reported while I was in school, and I seem to recall we were pretty respectful to our parents and teachers, the kids I taught were more disrespectful, but still they never shot anyone (at school at least), but it's pretty sad when the major news stories are about the horrible things that are happening at schools today, a day when many teachers are afraid of their students. And as far as people running to and fro and knowledge increasing, we have gone from horse and buggy to jet aircrafts and space shuttles in the last 150 years. Out of the 6000 or so years since man's re-creation, I'd say we've advanced pretty well.

Pride may come before the fall, it definitely did for Lucifer (Satan) but preparation should come before the Rapture.

This is a link to a site where you can look up scripture references in many different versions of the bible: http://www.biblegateway.com.