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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Nearing Midnight - In depth weekly commentary
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Post Rapture Survival Guide
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by Kurt Seland
The purpose of this manual is twofold:
First of all, it is to warn those who receive this manual prior to the rapture of the events that will take place in the last days as foretold in the Bible. Based on what the Bible has to say about future events, nobody in their right mind would want live on earth after the rapture. Hopefully, many will read, believe, seek God, repent and be saved. Salvation is very simple, so simple to attain, in fact, that most people cannot accept its simplicity; thereby reject it completely. However, it is complex because it is life-changing and based on that which we cannot see; it is based on faith. Simple, because Jesus does all the work. If you want to be saved and have eternal life, simply pray in belief and humility to Lord Jesus:
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me of my sins and prepare for me a new heart. I surrender my life to you."
Secondly, to those left behind after the rapture, this is indeed a survival manual. You still have an opportunity to repent and have eternal life. The same prayer of salvation is applicable to you; the only difference is that you will spend a little time experiencing a taste of hell while you remain on earth.
Let me be really frank with you. If you are reading this manual and the rapture has already occurred, then you probably are not going to physically survive; you most likely will die sometime un the next few years. This manual is about the survival of your soul. You are going to go through terrible suffering. The only question that remains is whether you will go to Heaven or go to hell when you die.
Definition: Rapture--This is the event that will occur when Jesus calls His followers (both gentile and Jewish believers) with a trumpet blast, and in the "twinkling of an eye" they will be removed from the earth and transported to be with Jesus in the heavens.
Biblical Foundation for the Rapture
"Take notice, I am telling you a secret. We shall not all die but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed" (I Corinthians 15:51-52).
"For with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven, and those who died in Christ will rise first. Afterward we, the living who remain, will be caught up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall forever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
"...For I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when I have gone and have prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself so that where I am, you also will be" (John 14:2-3).
Events and Circumstances Prior to the Rapture
At the time that this manual was being written, and for the remainder of the time left in this age, the one word that describes the condition of the world is change. All of this change is being accomplished through the work of Satan, as he cannot tolerate anything that originated from God's creation. Originally, the Bible tells us that when God created the world He declared that it was "good." That means that it was perfect and no changes were necessary. Included in His creation were standards to live by that He gave to Adam and Eve. These standards covered everything from how to live in our private lives, to proper domestic relationships, to principles for governing a community. Satan seeks to change everything that God has created and established, thus he has used his power and influence in the world to make subtle deviations to God's original plan. Satan's goal is to establish a world order headed by his protege (the world dictator known in the Bible as the Beast and anti-christ) who will spend his time and effort changing everything to be in opposition to God's will as expressed in the Bible. This is predicted in the Bible in the book of Daniel: "and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law."
POLITICAL
In today's political environment there is no effective leadership in the world. Every nation lacks strong and competent leaders able to deal with the problems at home and abroad. The United States, which has been the world leader for the last 50 years, has steadily lost its influence among other nations because of political leaders in the United States who have no moral center to direct their decision making process. However, this distrust and dislike of government and government leaders is not just an American phenomenon but is a common theme in Europe, South America, Asia and the entire world. Because of this leadership vacuum in the world, there is now an opportunity for a man to arise who is very charismatic, strong, and attractive to peoples of all nations. Based on the prophecies in the Bible such a man will arise, and he will be successful in uniting the various nations to rule as a dictator.
The move to unite the world under one government has been active since the early 1950's, and in recent years this has become more of a reality as many nations have given up their sovereignty to the United Nations during armed intervention of conflicts (eg. Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia). In these conflicts, the nations of the world contributed manpower and machinery to be used under the flag of the United Nations. The United States of America surrendered its sovereignty in these situations to much weaker nations by allowing its military to be controlled by these nations. In addition to these military actions the nations of the world also agreed to control trade and labor practices with international treaties such as NAFTA and GATT.
There is no dominant nation to provide leadership to the world, thus the stage is set for a man to arise out of the masses to unite the world as dictator.
SOCIAL
The foundational building block of society, that element which has always been responsible for social order and peace, is the family, and it has been virtually destroyed. The family is to be a man, his wife and their children. The man provides for the wife and children, the wife nurtures and educates the children, and the children obey their parents. In a community of families, adults hold the other adults and children accountable for their actions. The family is based on marriage.
Marriage is an institution of God and therefore hated by Satan. The devil has worked very hard, primarily through communications media such as TV, movies, news journalists, and entertainment in general to convince women that marriage is detrimental to their freedom and fulfillment in life. Satan has deceived women into believing that they have the same sexual desire as men and that all differences are the result of culture. Satan has worked hard to divide men and women and have them at war with one another, and because of this, the violence between men and women has dramatically increased.
Civil war has been a constant theme of this age and unrest will continue into the end times: man vs. women, black vs. white, Moslem vs. Jew, Catholic vs. Protestant, Moslem vs. Christian, one Moslem faction vs. another Moslem faction, one black African tribe vs. another black African tribe, nation vs. nation, people vs. people. Whatever divides people into different groups, Satan uses to inspire hate, strife and violence.
Homosexuality and all sorts of perverse behavior are accepted as normal. The world dictator (anti-christ) himself will not have the normal sexual attraction to women and may be asexual. Many theologians believe that he will probably be openly homosexual as indicated in the Bible in the book of Daniel 11:37: "and he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women". And therefore, after the rapture, more than likely marriage will be discouraged or illegal, and homosexual and lesbian relationships highly encouraged.
ECONOMIC
On the economic scene, the trend is toward poverty for the masses with wealth concentrated into the hands of very few people. These controllers of the wealth will be the kings of commerce and banking and also be the power behind politics of the world. Small businesses are merged into larger companies and the larger companies merge with themselves to increase profits. The result is huge multi-national companies that have no allegiance to any community, state, nation or people, whose only allegiance is to increased profits for management and shareholders. The result is workers who are little more than peasants and presidents of companies who are more and more like kings. It will be these "kings" who usher in the world dictator to protect their wealth and power. Expect all commerce, buying and selling, to be controlled by a mark on the right hand or forehead of every person who wants to participate in the economy. Only those people with the mark will be able to buy and sell, but the consequences of taking the mark is eternal damnation (Rev 14:9-11).
Therefore don't take that mark. You will have a very difficult time surviving, and probably won't, but you will save your soul. Again, don't take the mark on your right hand or forehead.
GEOPHYSICAL
In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, Jesus spoke to his disciples and indicated to them that one of the signs of the time of the end of the world would be, "...as it were in the days of Noah so will the coming of the son of man be." We read in Genesis that in the days of Noah "the earth was filled with violence.". This speaks not only of the violence that men inflict on one another—war, civil wars, rape, brutality, murder, abortion, and other indiscriminate, random acts of violence—but the earth itself is also filled with violence. We see increasing earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, lightning storms and unusual atmospheric phenomena. While all of these have existed in the past, over the last 50 years, the number and intensity of these conditions and the property damage associated with these natural catastrophes has increased. As the level of violence that the human species has inflicted on one another has increased, so has the violent reaction of the earth increased.
Signs of the Times
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the signs that would be a precursor to His coming and the end of the age His response, recorded in Matthew 24, was:
- Wars and rumors of wars
- Nation will rise against nation. It is very interesting to note that the Greek word that is translated as nation is "ethnos" which deals with ethnic background and race. Most of the wars and conflicts in the 1980's and 1990's are wars among ethnic groups and tribes.
- Kingdom will rise against kingdom
- Famines
- Earthquakes are “like the early pangs of childbirth.”As the time grows nearer and nearer to His coming, the frequency and intensity of these five signs will increase.
- The followers of Jesus will be handed over to be persecuted and killed. This is happening with more frequency in the Moslem controlled nations in the Middle East, and in Africa where Black Moslems are enslaving Black Christians.
- Christians will be hated by all nations on account of His name. In many parts of the world, Christians are jailed and killed for their beliefs; in the United States those who are Christians are hated by the media and liberals, and are known by the code words "religious right."
- Many will fall away...that is, many who claimed to be Christians will recant their faith, and betray and hate Christians.
- Many false prophets will arise and deceive many.
- Due to excessive lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.
The Rapture
This is an event that will not be hidden. The concept of the rapture has already been made known to the masses. It will be treated with ridicule, contempt and mockery by the world's media, but God will see to it that it will be highly publicized before it occurs just so that those left behind might still come to their senses. It will occur in the open, and everybody left behind will know someone who was raptured.
It will happen suddenly, unexpectedly, and lightning fast--"in the twinkling of an eye," as the Bible puts it. And there will be evidence all over the world that this event occurred. Some national leaders will disappear, celebrities in entertainment and professional sports will disappear, entire families will disappear, disbelieving spouses will see their mates vanish, children will disappear. Bank accounts, homes, cars, businesses and relationships will be left behind. The problem for the world's leaders will be trying to convince people that it didn't happen. Because if the world's leaders admit that it did happen then, logically, everything Christians preached about Jesus Christ being the Son of God, the Savior, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and everything that Jesus preached and taught must be true. And if all of this is true, then the only logical response would be to fall on one's knees before God in confession and repentance and absolute submission to every word of God (as revealed in the Bible). But all of this is diametrically opposed to the way of the world, which preaches freedom from the constraints of God's word, perverse sex, materialism and the devaluation of human life. So, although the rapture will shock everybody and will be covered in the media and everybody left will be aware of someone who is gone, the leaders of the world will begin their great deception, trying to convince the population left behind that there was no rapture.
How is this going to be accomplished? Well, pretty easily because most of the people left behind are already in a state of deception. They have been deceived into believing that Jesus is not the Messiah; they have been deceived into believing that the word of God is not true; they have been deceived into living a lifestyle that only brings constant pain and suffering instead of the freedom and paradise that God offers. The world's leaders will declare that there was no rapture, that a mass hysteria took place, and the news media will follow the party line. Then to make things easier, shortly after the rapture, one-fourth of the world's population will be decimated due to wars, famine and plague. Those who were raptured will be counted among the dead.
After the Rapture
Shortly after the rapture, a seven-year period known in the Bible as the Great Tribulation will take place. It will begin with the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and her enemies and it will end with the physical return of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom on earth. In between, will be seven years of terror for those on earth. The following events and trends will take place in that seven-year period:
- A man will arise who will achieve victory after victory both in politics and in war(Rev 13:7). This man, who should be easily identified by his rapid rise and popularity, is your the anti-christ. Many people believe that this person must be Jewish. That is, in order for Jews to accept him as Messiah, only a Jew will suffice. This is not necessarily the case. The Bible does not specify that he is a Jew, and it does not specify nationality. Only God-fearing Jews will require a Jewish Messiah. The liberal, ungodly Jews who dominate Israel will be as lost when it comes to Biblical truth as the Gentiles of the world and will be deceived by his charisma, and more than likely, the desires of the world's media. Currently the new nickname for the United States is the Great Satan. This may have some significance.
- Violence will increase in all parts of the world, both nation against nation (ethnic wars) and domestically. Men will indiscriminately slay one another as peace will be removed from the earth (Rev 6:3-4).
- There will be extreme inflation, poverty, and lack of food as one day's wages will buy enough food for one day for one person (Rev 6:5-6).
- In a very short period of time, one-quarter of the earth's population will be killed due to wars, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. These wild beasts could very well be viruses, bacteria and other microbes. In late 1995, Time magazine ran a cover story on the rise of new infections and called microbes "malevolent little beasts" (Rev 6:7-8).
- Many people will experience a religious conversion and become followers of Jesus Christ and most of these people will be hunted down and killed (Dan 7:21).
- There will be a great earthquake, the sun will be blackened, the moon will turn red and all mountains and islands (which are underwater mountains) will be moved (Joel 2:30-32).
- There will be a brief period of calm on the earth following this great earthquake which will give those who survive a false sense of security.
- One-third of the earth, one-third of all of trees and all the green grass will be burned up due to a comet or meteor that hits the earth (Rev 8:7).
- A meteor will hit the earth causing the sea to become like blood, killing one-third of all sea creatures and destroying one-third of all shipping (Rev 8:8-9).
- A "star" named Wormwood will fall from the sky and poison one-third of all fresh water killing many people (Rev 8:10-11).
- The sun, moon and stars will be darkened by one-third. The day and night will be reduced by one-third. There is some speculation that this means the rotation of the earth will be changed so that a day lasts only 16 hours instead of 24 hours (Rev 8:12).
- Fearsome locust-like beings will be released from underground who only attack people who are not followers of Jesus Christ. These attacks will be very painful but last only 5 months (Rev 9:1-11).
- An army of 200 million horse-like creatures will kill one-third of mankind (Rev 9:13-19).
- Two men (known as witnesses, see item 7 below) of Jewish origin will preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 3 1/2 years and be killed at the midpoint of the 7 year tribulation. These two will be responsible for a 3 1/2 year world-wide drought and will be killed by the anti-christ (also known as the beast in the Bible).
- People will be required to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell. Those who receive this mark will develop a loathsome and malignant sore on their bodies within a short period of time (Rev 13:13-18).
- The oceans will chemically change and become like the blood of a dead man (congealed?) and everything in the sea will die (Rev 16:3).
- The fresh waters will become like blood (Rev 16:4-7).
- The sun will scorch the people on earth with fierce heat (Rev 16:8-9).
- The throne of the anti-christ and his kingdom will become darkened (Rev 16:10-11).
- The Euphrates river will dry up allowing the kings of the east to march westward (Rev 16:12).
- The kings of the world will gather their armies together to battle God at Armageddon. There will be an earthquake so great that all of the mountains and islands will disappear. There will be hailstones weighing close to 100 pounds that will crush the armies that have gathered (Rev 16:17-22).
- Shortly after this great earthquake, Jesus Christ will return with His army to claim the earth as His possession (Zech 14:3-5).
The Two WitnessesThese two men are God's gift to the people of the earth who refused to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ prior to the rapture, but who will recognize the error in their life and seek God knowing the terrible mistake they have made. These two men will proclaim the gospel and provide hope for those left behind. Their message is for the salvation of the soul. They will have no message as to how you can avoid the hell that life on earth has become, because there is no hope to avoid that tribulation. If you are left on earth, then your destiny is to suffer and more than likely die. But you still have the hope of salvation. Listen to what these two men are preaching and turn to God.
The Bible does not say who these two men are. Many speculate that they are Elijah and Enoch, two ancient prophets of God who never died. Regardless, they will be responsible for many of the natural catastrophes that will wreak havoc on the property and economy of the earth. They will have the power to prevent rain, and there will be a 3 1/2 year drought on earth until they die. They will turn water into blood and cause all kinds of plagues on earth and, in general, make life miserable for those who are living on earth. Also, they will be invincible, as many will try to kill them only to be killed by their own hands. Those who attempt to blow them up will themselves be blown up; those who attempt to shoot them will have their guns explode in their hands; those who attempt to poison them will be poisoned by their own efforts. Only the world dictator will be able to kill them and only when God allows it.
The purpose of all the misery that these two witnesses inflict on the earth dwellers is to turn people back to God in repentance. The misery will be so great that when the world dictator does finally kill these two, the world will rejoice in a Christmas-like celebration, giving gifts to one another. Three and one-half days after their death they will be resurrected and, in full view of the entire population of the world, ascend to heaven at the command of God when He calls them to "Come up here." Shortly after he kills the two witnesses, the world dictator will declare himself to be God. He is the anti-christ.
The 144,000 Jewish WitnessesShortly after the rapture, God will call His army of 144,000 Jewish believers into service to provide a voice of hope for Jews throughout the world. The best friends and most staunch supporters of Jews have always been true, believing Christians. It was this element of the world's population that provided help and support for Israel and Jewish people. The rapture removed the Christian people from the earth and awakened the 144,000 to their purpose. These 144,000 preach to Jews worldwide that Jesus is the Messiah. These 144,000 will be spread out worldwide and more than likely go about in pairs, two by two, as Jesus instructed His disciples to do. It will be these 144,000 who will oppose Israel signing a peace treaty for protection; it will be the 144,000 who will identify the anti-christ for who he is; it will be the 144,000 who will warn Israel of the treachery of the anti-christ, and it will be the 144,000 who will lead the Jews worldwide to the hiding place prepared for them by God in the Judean desert. These 144,000 Jews are going to be strange people by normal standards: they will be celibate, very bold, fearless, spiritually strong and probably very much like John the Baptist. You can read more about the 144,000 witnesses in Revelation 14.
MoneyHard currency will become obsolete. This is no surprise, as banks and governments have been working to eliminate currency, coin money and paper transactions for decades. Currency and coin is expensive to produce, lends itself readily for drug trafficking and, with high tech equipment, is too easily counterfeited. Banks desire to eliminate the teller position as an expense item, and with the elimination of paper checks and currency, all financial transactions can be handled with a computer. The debit card will become the tool for all personal financial transactions. However, at some point after the rapture, probably right after the two witnesses are killed, everyone will be required to get a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell. Do not, do not, do not under any circumstances participate by receiving this mark. All those who receive this mark known as "the mark of the beast" are doomed for eternity. By taking this mark you are swearing allegiance to the anti-christ. You may as well attempt to enjoy life as best you can because eternity for you will be hell. It is at this point that God will have separated His followers from Satan's followers. Those who have taken the mark will persecute those without the mark. God will render judgment on those with the mark by inflicting them with a disgusting looking and very painful ulcer covering their bodies.
So how can a person without the mark survive and still buy and sell? Again, this will almost be impossible, but there will be people who are part of the anti-christ's regime who don't believe in the anti-christ; they are just "survivors" who pick the "winner" and seek to profit from that relationship. Therefore, save up for yourself gold; gold has always had value as money and always will, even in a cashless society. Identify one of these profiteers and seek to purchase food and living supplies from him. However, don't ever disclose to him how much gold you have and where it is. You want to be more valuable to him as a dealer than as a bounty. By the way, you will have a price on your head for not taking the mark. Obviously you won't be living an open life, as you will be in hiding somewhere at a remote location or in the forest on the outskirts of a large city. Your only goal will be to eat to live and hope to escape the militia hunting for you and those like you. Should you get caught, your fate will be either death or slavery.
If you receive this manual before the rapture and plan to be around after the rapture, then start storing up food and living supplies and put them into hiding in some remote and difficult to access area. You should include weaponry to defend yourself and medical supplies as part of your living supplies.
Safety ConcernsThis era will be the most violent of times in the history of the world. Death, brutality and destruction will be part of everyday life. One of the defining characteristics of the last days following the rapture will be a lack of peace. There will be civil wars throughout the world: people will kill one another indiscriminately. Random acts of violence will fill people with fear. Car-jackings, home invasions, drive by shootings, and bombings will all increase with an intensity that will leave people with absolutely no sense of security.
In order to survive this time, you will need to remove yourself from society and live in a remote area that is difficult to access. Getting together with a group of like-minded people would provide additional support and safety.
As mentioned earlier, stock up on food, medicines, living supplies, weaponry and gold. You will need enough for 7 years. Don't plan on being able to supplement your food with hunting and fishing because the stocks of wild animals and fish will have been depleted and destroyed by the 3 1/2 year worldwide drought and three successive meteor-like or comet-like objects that strike the earth sometime after the rapture. The 3 1/2 year drought is brought on by the two witnesses. The first object from outer space to strike the earth will destroy 1/3 of all trees and all the green grass on earth. The second object, more like a meteor, strikes the sea and destroys 1/3 of all sea creatures and 1/3 of all shipping. The third object turns 1/3 of all fresh water poisonous and kills many people. Needless to say, all of this will also seriously deplete the food supplies for the world's population, causing food prices to skyrocket. Those people in the world who never before missed a meal or worried about food will become very familiar with hunger pangs and the feeling of going without food for long periods of time. This will be one of the causes of the increased violence as people become more self centered, short-tempered, and competitive for the food sources in short supply. As Jesus spoke to His disciples about these days, He said, "people will betray one another and hate one another...the love of many will grow cold."
Health ConcernsPrior to the rapture, the world experienced an increase in health-related catastrophes, an increase in new infectious diseases and an increase in the return of diseases thought to have been eradicated or brought under control. The past two decades have brought on AIDS, EBOLA virus, flesh-eating bacteria, the return of tuberculosis, incurable gonorrhea, herpes and many other virtually incurable sexually transmitted diseases. After the rapture, things do not get better, as one quarter of the world's population will die as the result of wars, famine and plague. Sometime after the two witnesses are murdered and after people are required to take the mark on the right hand or forehead, there will be a terrible plague causing a loathsome and malignant ulcer on the bodies of those who have taken the mark. This will be a very ugly and very painful sore that will make life miserable for those who have it.
In addition to all this, because of the poor economic situation worldwide and the 3 1/2 year drought that depletes the world's supply of water, sanitation practices will deteriorate even in what were advanced nations in Europe and North America. With the short supply of water, there won't be sufficient water for flushing toilets, taking baths, washing clothes and transporting wastewater to treatment facilities. This will result in the increase of typhus, cholera, salmonella and E.coli infections.
Therefore, since you have decided to reject Christ's offer to join in the rapture, your concern is how to maintain good health in the post rapture era. You must build a supply of multiple vitamins with particular emphasis on anti-oxidants such as C and E and minerals. It will also be necessary to have a supply of disinfectants, particularly one that can be added to water to make it potable.
Above all, do not accept the mark of the beast on your right hand or forehead. If you do take the mark then nothing can be done for you—you will suffer the malignant ulcer making the rest of your life almost unbearable. Did you ever have a canker sore in your mouth? If so, then you know how painful that one little canker sore was. Now think of having canker sores all over your body, on your genitalia, in your mouth. Think how painful and unbearable your life will be. Then follow that misery with eternity in hell. Don't take that mark.
The Worn-out Warning
Each time the tornado siren goes off in our town during our sometimes stormy springs, I or someone else within our home will wonder aloud: “Are they just playing with that thing again?”
By that, whoever makes the statement means that it seems like every time there’s a rumble of thunder in a darkened sky during the tornado season, somebody pushes the siren button. Finally, the tornado hasn’t struck, so we lose the edgy angst of what might be going on just to our west/southwest, the direction from which most thunderstorms assault at that time of year. It’s like the little boy who cried "Wolf!" The big bad wolf hasn’t come to the door, so we settle into a more comfortable configuration, turning our thoughts and attention elsewhere.
There is an end-time storm approaching. It is almost upon this generation. We at Rapture Ready, and many others who man God’s last-time radar scope for prophetic warnings, have perhaps been pushing the siren buttons for so long now that we’ve about worn them out. But, the warnings have been warranted. The thunder is boiling, and the lightning is crashing on the horizon. But, with each warning has come the turning from the sirens of alert to things as usual. The big bad wolf hasn’t come to the door yet. No need to worry.
The European Union (EU) is forming into what looks to be the reviving Roman Empire, like Daniel predicted; Russia, with Iran (ancient Persia) and other nations north of Jerusalem are linking in ways that might bring forth the Ezekiel 38 and 39 Gog-Magog coalition. China is making noises of becoming a superpower to rival America’s superpower status, looking to very likely become the lead nation of the kings of the east forces of Revelation chapters 9 and 16.
Israel is in constant turmoil, with the nations of the world –as seen in U.N. diplomatic activity—singling out the Jewish state as the one country on earth that is most a target of vilification. Records are set constantly for the most high-magnitude earthquakes; strongest hurricanes; most terrible floods and droughts; devastating famines and horrendous pestilences. Great space feats have become humdrum, as have sightings in the night skies of Unidentified Flying Objects and space bodies that might threaten Planet Earth. Every one of the apostle Paul’s “perilous times” end-time indicators are present today just within America. Even formerly strong Christian ministries have degenerated to fit the description, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”
All are exigencies that meet descriptions given to end-of-days geopolitical, geophysical, and socio-economic as well as religious signals foretold by Jesus and the prophets to be prevalent and on the increase while the time of Christ’s return draws near. Thinking on these things, we need go back no farther than September 11, 2001 to understand how the warnings have become worn out before a world of earth-dwellers who just seem to roll on as if nothing worse can possibly touch them.
Many can remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade towers in lower East Manhattan. But, surprisingly –unlike the time when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963—there are some who were full-grown adults on that fateful Tuesday who can’t clearly recall precisely what they were doing when the reports of the attacks on the first tower occurred.
Whatever the reason for that terrorist attack not stamping quite the same depth of imprint upon the memory, the fact that the event held potential for even more portentous danger to America than did the Kennedy assassination was, and remains, a reality. Call it desensitization, or numbing, or something other, but the 9/11 attack and the threats that have flowed into this generation since seem to have made everyone less easily drawn to alerts of the dangers they face.
So it is with Bible prophecy –eschatology—the things of the end time.
We who believe it is our commission by the Lord to be watchmen on the wall during these times are seeing signals that our warnings about prophetic times are wearing thin with this generation. The issues and events that almost certainly are precursor convulsions of the prophetic birth pangs given by Jesus and the prophets of the Bible for the time of the tribulation are evident in all directions today. Yet each birth pang-like contraction within geopolitics, geophysics, global socio-economics, or world-wide religion brings less reaction than did the preceding contractions.
Church pews were full the Sunday following Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I, myself, was asked to speak to the situation that particular Sunday, as to what the attacks on New York, Washington, D.C., and the foiled attack that ended with the deaths of the heroes in the field in Pennsylvania might mean prophetically.
The Barna Group, an organization that examines and presents statistics of importance, reported that church attendance was exponentially up the Sunday following the 9/11 assaults. The attendees then dropped off just about as quickly as they had streamed into the churches. It was back to business as usual within several weeks –possibly with even lower attendance than prior 9/11/01.
We at Rapture Ready were inundated with media attention for several years following the attacks and the beginning of the war on terror. Our mention in Time magazine brought millions of hits to the site and requests for interviews on world conditions as they might relate to Bible prophecy. Although many interviews were to prove to be attempts to put the pre-trib view of prophecy in the category of absurdity, there was a sense of a certain kind of apprehension by those doing the interviews in many cases. They wanted to pooh-pooh the whole Armageddon thing, but, after all, these terrorists did come from the place where that prophesied war is foretold to take place…
And, modern Israel, after all, did represent the nation the Bible says will be back in the Holy Land, surrounding the city of Jerusalem, at the time Armageddon is supposed to take place…
Better not get too far afield in pooh-poohing those who study and preach on those end-of-days things, was the sense I got, while being interviewed from news teams and documentary crews from, literally, all around the world.
And, we who are the watchmen did, indeed, press the warning siren buttons –while examining, analyzing, dissecting the strange issues and events going on all around this generation, under the light of God’s prophetic Word.
A strange thing was happening, in my view. The world, and even local media, grew more and more interested in what was predicted in the Bible to happen while the end of the world grew near. All the while, the churches, the pastors, the people in the pews of fundamentalist, evangelical churches –not to mention the seminaries out of which the pastors and leaders come—grew less and less interested in Bible prophecy yet future. Instead, these turned more inward than ever, and seemed to be bent on replacing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a gospel of entertainment and feel-good motivation sessions. And, church growth exploded into mega-churches with glitz and glamour befitting a Las Vegas hotel.
Seems the words of warning from God’s end times siren had about worn out the itching ears of what had been even the most evangelical, Bible-centered local church bodies of the not-too-distant past. The trend has not abated. We see church leaders of the mega-churches kneeling and praying with Muslim clerics. The ministers are praying not that the Islamic will come to Christ, but that their people and Christian people will come to common ground of understanding. That we will all be accepting that we are all God’s children.
And, all the while, the father of lies smiles wickedly. He sneers a hiss of approval, watching the “love fest” he is orchestrating, while he gleefully causes the luciferically-desensitized ears of his willing victims to become deaf to the warning: “The rapture is going to happen! The tribulation is approaching! Christ is coming!”
Nearing Midnight Sept 28
Sept 28
The Liberal Media and the 2008 Election
It’s been a long time since I wrote a "Nearing Midnight" article about the liberal media. So many troubling issues have constantly been in the news, it’s difficult to maintain a running commentary on any single one.
With the presidential election coming up in less than 35 days, now is the best time to highlight the destructive influence the press has on the political process.
Years ago, I realized the liberal media is one of Satan's most effective tools for corrupting human society. The devil uses them to form and shape public opinion. On Judgment Day, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Lucifer and company spent more time New York and Hollywood than in the centers of political power in Washington D.C.
Here is a list of polling data that shows the liberal nature of the people who cover world events:
90% agrees strongly with a pro-abortion position
75% believes the West harmed the Third World
57% thinks America’s use of resources is immoral
15% regards adultery as morally wrong
90% of reporters voted for Clinton
67% opposes prayer in public schools
83% agrees that homosexuals should be accepted by society
I firmly believe that the 2008 election is going to be one of the most important elections in our nation’s history. If Obama should win in November, I plan to issue the most dire warning I've ever issued during the history of this ministry.
It is infuriating to think that the liberal media has its thumb on the political scale to manipulate the balance of power. Here are some examples that show the pervasive bias one finds in the news today:
In prior elections, members of the liberal media would commonly say they are registered independents. This time around, the press is more open about its favoritism for a Democratic candidate. In January, NBC reporter Lee Cowan admitted that “it’s almost hard to remain objective” in covering Obama because of the “infectious” energy of his campaign. In March, Cowan confessed that “when NBC News first assigned me to the Barack Obama campaign, I must confess my knees quaked a bit."
Katie Couric recently did a profile of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Newsday dubbed him "gaffe-a-minute Joe" because he has a habit of saying things that are not true. Couric and the rest of the media let the following flub by Biden slide: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'”
For the record, FDR was not the president in 1929, and the first major television broadcast by a sitting president didn’t occur until the 1950s.
On the flip side, everything Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says has been put under a microscope. When she became the VP nominee, 30 reporters were assigned to find dirt on her. At the same time, only two newshounds were looking into Obama’s business.
In an interview with Charles Gibson of ABC News, Palin was asked the meaning of the Bush doctrine. When she couldn't produce an answer, Gibson looked down at her like a displeased schoolmaster. The truth is, there is no single meaning of the Bush doctrine. In fact, there have been four distinct meanings, each one succeeding another over the eight years of this administration -- and the one Charlie Gibson cited is not the one in common usage today. ABC never corrected this error.
The same bias can by found with the presidential candidates. In an interview with ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos, Obama tried to suggest that FOX News and Republicans are spreading lies about him. Asked about McCain's possible involvement, Obama said, “Let’s not play games. What I was suggesting — you’re absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you’re absolutely right that that has not come…”
Stephanopoulos immediately interrupted Obama, saying he meant “Christian faith.” I don’t recall a Republican ever getting such assistance from the press. When John Edwards was running as Democratic presidential candidate, the liberal media banned reports from going anywhere near the subject of his extramarital affair. It took the “tabloid” National Enquirer, not a “respectable” major media outlet, to expose the truth that Edwards had been cheating on his cancer-stricken wife. Instead, the press chose to go after McCain with thinly sourced allegations of improper sex--statements that quickly had to be retracted.
Sarah Palin's religious beliefs have attracted the interest of the press. She comes from a rock-solid Pentecostal/evangelical background, which for the godless media is as irresistible as red meat is to a starving dog. If Palin becomes the VP, I’m certain the press will continually dog her about her faith.
Liberals discovered a video of Palin receiving a prayer blessing, and because of their unfamiliarity with intercession to a higher power, they thought it was some bizarre ritual. Here is the transcript of the prayer of Pastor Thomas Moothey of the Wasilla Assemblies of God: “We are asking you as the body of Christ in this valley, make a way for Sarah even in the political arena. Make a way, my God. Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus, and above all give her the personnel, give her men and women that will buck her up in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, every form of witchcraft is what we rebuke in the name of Jesus. Father make a way now, in the name of Jesus.”
Keith Olbermann of the very liberal MSNBC had this reaction, "This is stuff that makes you say, ‘You know, that Jeremiah Wright, he seems mainstream in comparison to people who are going out on anti-witch crusades."
What?! The Jeremiah Wright who believes that the government injected AIDS into the African-American community? The Jeremiah Wright who believes the U.S. knew about the attack of Pearl Harbor before it happened? Or that America deserved 9/11?
I would offer that Mr. Olbermann and his fellow liberals are the witches from whom Palin needs protection. Witches were condemned by the Bible because they had power over people through demonic forces. Because people fail to see them as a threat, their power grows all the stronger.
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:11-12).
-- Todd
The Perfect Prophetic Storm
Part 2
The perfect prophetic storm is upon this last-time generation. To understand the darkly serious truth of America’s tinkering in the matter of forcing Israel to make human peace with its enemies, we must delve heavily into the relevant prophetic Scriptures. We begin by seeing the peace arrangement prophesied by the prophet Daniel:
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan. 9: 26-27).
The great prophet Isaiah foretold the ramifications upon Israel and by extension the entire world: “Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it” (Isa. 28:14-18).
Jesus himself prophesied Israel’s great trouble, which was previously given by Jeremiah the prophet as recorded in Jeremiah 30: 7. Jesus forewarned the following:
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24: 15-21).
Jesus foretells that there is coming the worst time in human history, and that time will be during the seven years immediately preceding His second advent –when He literally returns to the planet to put an end to Armageddon, then set up His millennial throne atop Zion at Jerusalem. Keep in mind that this time is after the holocaust of the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler. The “prince that shall come” –Antichrist—will perpetrate horrors upon the Jews far worse than the Fuehrer perpetrated!
The question is this: Seeing as how the Lord of heaven always gave warning before pending judgments of the past, is it not logical that He would give even more pronounced warning in the times leading up to the era of His wrath and judgment, which Jesus, who is God himself, said will be the worst time of all human history? And, this brings us to the subject of this essay, “the perfect prophetic storm.”
To repeat the earlier assessment of what is going on in the world today –the strange, volatile times in which we of this generation find ourselves: It seems another perfect storm is coalescing while America’s interference in God’s plan for Israel is taking place. It is a storm that is part geophysical, part socioeconomic, and, to those of us who view Bible prophecy as literal, totally spiritual in the many fronts pulsing from its center.
Nature on the rampage over the past several years coincides closely with America’s and the Quartet’s (U.S., E.U., U.N., and Russia) attempts to force the making of a Palestinian nation upon land that is Israel’s by divine right. The geophysical upheavals have been on the increase in intensity, while America gets more deeply involved in formulating a peace agreement between Israel and her neighbors.
The "Roadmap to Peace" has metamorphosed into a process that now demands that Israel give up not only land she has won with each succeeding attack from her enemies, but that Israel divide Jerusalem, allowing the new Palestinian state, when instituted, to make eastern Jerusalem its capital.
As I’ve written before, the action is the same as poking the Almighty in the apple of His omnipotent eye,. The action will not stand. I believe we are seeing not God’s judgment and wrath at this point, but His solemn warning of things to come. The perfect storm is thus brewing. It has been doing so for several years.
Hurricane Katrina boiled to the surface on August 23, 2005, just off the Horn of Africa, became a 175 mph hurricane on August 28 in the Gulf of Mexico, and slammed into New Orleans and coastlines surrounding that city. The storm claimed a total of 1,836 confirmed dead, with 705 missing. It was the most costly hurricane to date at $8.96 billion.
At the time it was announced that Jerusalem was on the table for division, thus to allow the Palestinians to build a capital there, California’s northern coast exploded in fires from more than 1,000 lightning strikes, an unheard of occurrence in that area of the state. The fires raged south and westward, requiring billions of dollars to attempt containment.
Floods gushed through America’s heartland at the same time, claiming lives and huge portions of land, much of the prime farmland made useless by the flooding. The plains, Mississippi Valley, and much of the Ohio Valley and other areas of middle America suffered with tornado outbreaks that puts the year 2008 on track to be a record year for twisters. Hurricane Gustav, followed on its heels by Hurricane Ike, brought further devastation, affecting petroleum supplies and uprooting people by the thousands. The southeast United States suffered by droughts, in some regions several years long.
While the American secretary of state continues to travel to Israel and other places, twisting the arms of Israeli leadership to divide Jerusalem, and otherwise give land for peace, the perfect prophetic storm continues to coalesce in matters involving the national and, by extension, the global economic markets.
Corporate giants once thought invincible against the blasts of deadly economic storms are in the headlines today. Todd Strandberg correctly assessed the extreme measures being taken to try to prevent the financial part of the perfect prophetic storm’s effects from wreaking total economic collapse.
Todd wrote:
“September 2008 will easily go down as the darkest month in U.S. financial history. We have never seen so many large financial institutions falter in such a short period of time: 1. Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the U.S. government.
2. Lehman Brothers Holdings succumbed to the subprime mortgage crisis. It is the biggest bankruptcy filing in history.
3. Merrill Lynch was saved from bankruptcy by a shot-gun merger with Bank of America.
4. The world’s largest Insurer American International Group was saved from certain collapse by a $85 billion federal loan…” (Todd Strandberg, raptureready.com, Nearing Midnight, Monday Sept. 22, 2008).
The perfect prophetic storm rages as likely precursor to the truly cataclysmic tempests that will come upon a wicked, rebellious world ripe for judgment. Jesus Christ is the only shelter to be found from that coming time of unprecedented turbulence upon Planet Earth.
The Lord promised those who accept His offer of salvation to be removed from that horrendous time (Revelation 3:10). He said the following: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn. 14:1-3).
--Terry
Monday, September 22, 2008
Nearing Midnight - In depth weekly commentary
Sept 22
Wall Street’s Financial Meltdown
Last Monday morning I called Terry, and as soon as he picked up the phone, he said, ”I know what you want to talk about.” He knew that I closely follow the financial world, so the events of the preceding weekend were on my mind. Little did we know there would be more disastrous days to come. The bottom of this economic freefall was not reached until Thursday.
We literally came within a hair’s breadth of seeing the whole financial system in America come crashing down. For the first time ever, the whole banking system simply froze. It took an infusion of a trillion dollars by the Fed to get Wall Street’s financial heart beating again.
September 2008 will easily go down as the darkest month in U.S. financial history. We have never seen so many large financial institutions falter in such a short period of time:
1. Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the U.S. government.
2. Lehman Brothers holdings succumbed to the subprime mortgage crisis. It is the biggest bankruptcy filing in history.
3. Merrill Lynch was saved from bankruptcy by a shotgun merger with Bank of America.
4. The world’s largest insurer, American International Group, was saved from certain collapse by an $85 billion federal loan.
The most troubling part of the financial crisis is the federal government being forced to become the lender of last resort. In March, the Federal Reserve pledged $30 billion to help JP Morgan buy Bear Sterns. This month, it used $200 billion to take over Fannie and Freddie, and it agreed to loan AIG $85 billion. On Friday came the news of a much larger bailout that could cost $700 billion. The government will create a new entity that will buy up bad loans. Just for giggles, the Treasury also decided to guarantee the $3 trillion that sits in money market accounts.
Most people don’t understand what the Federal Reserve and Treasury folks are doing. Because the taxpayers are the ones who are funding the federal government, any risk taken by the Fed ultimately falls on us. When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over, we assumed responsibility for $5 trillion in mortgage bond obligations. The debt load is equal to each of us co-signing for a $50,000 loan. When AIG was given $85 billion, it was like us writing this company a check for $850.00. The proposed $700 billion trust fund would obligate each taxpayer to a loan amounting to $7,000. Money market funds are regarded as very secure, but to fulfill that new guarantee, you and I are saddled with a $30,000 commitment.
At some point, the rest of the world may wake up and realize that America is funding its standard of living through an endless issuance of debt securities. The indication of his would be a crash in the value of the dollar. The events of this past week have done enormous damage to our nation’s credit with the rest of the world. The German magazine Spiegel reflected this growing view when it said, “It really does look as if the foundations of US capitalism have shattered.”
Several foreign banks and investment trusts have lost billions from buying our sub-prime debt securities. The days of easy money are over. Wall Street is now left to beg nations rich in cash for loans to fund their operations.
This financial bloodbath plays into Bible in many ways. The most important factor would be the shifting of financial power away from America . A few months ago, I read a news report that said London was poised to become the financial capital of the world. Now that so many financial firms have either been totally wiped out or lost huge percentages of their capital base, Wall Street should consider itself lucky if it only slips into second place.
Seeing how easily financial firms can collapse, one right after another, has made me all the more certain of how much more devastating the rapture will be to the American economy. The removal of millions of people from the most Christianized nation on earth will create a huge economic black hole.
Right now, banks are losing around three cents for every dollar invested in mortgage securities. In the aftermath of the rapture, losses will be at least 25 percent. When one out of every ten houses suddenly becomes vacant, the value of homes across the nation will simply implode. Because every bank leverages its holdings by an average of 14 times, it would only take a drop of 8 percent to wipe them out.
Terry and I believe the financial system will likely hold together until the rapture occurs. Jesus said He would come at a time when the Church is not expecting Him. If America fell into a deep economic depression, interest in prophecy would soar, which in turn would create a conflict with the prediction of apathy at the time of the rapture.
I see this record level of economic chaos as a warning sign from God. Money is the greatest idol that people worship. By bringing Wall Street to its knees, the Lord is clearly trying to get the world’s attention. If man ignores this latest warning, as he has done with all the other ones, we are certain to proceed towards judgment.
-- Todd
The Perfect Prophetic Storm
Part 1
Producers of programming for the networks like The History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic air documentaries from time to time that are titled something like “The Perfect Storm.” The documentaries look at the several large storms in the northeast United States in 1991 that coalesced off the coast of New England in the Atlantic and swept onshore as one, massive blow. The video shows then-President George Herbert Walker Bush’s home in Kennebunkport, Maine, being assaulted by the turbulent Atlantic.
The “perfect storm” was raging along the northeastern U.S. coast at the same time the Bush administration was involved in negotiating Israel’s future in Spain. Here we are, almost two decades later, and another Bush administration is in the middle of Israel’s business, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice trying to get Israel to divide its land and the city of Jerusalem in order to create a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state. It seems another perfect storm is coalescing while this American interference in God’s plan is taking place. It is a storm that is part geophysical, part socio-economic, and totally spiritual, in the view of many of us who analyze eschatological matters.
Many see as a miracle Israel’s being back as a nation-state with its own language. Hebrew was once thought lost to the Jewish people as a common language following the last diaspora around 135 A.D., when the Roman emperor Hadrian put down the Jewish insurrection and scattered the Jewish people. Yet it is again Israel’s national language, just as foretold for the time near Christ’s return.
America has been at the forefront of Israel’s birth into modernity. There can be no doubt, upon looking into the history of Israel’s coming back into its God-given land, that the U.S. has been first the midwife at its birth, then its protector–in human terms—assuring its right to exist among the nations of the world.
If I may again do a mini-commercial for my book coming out with Harvest House Publishers in February of 2009, titled The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Prophecy? I must say that while preparing the manuscript, my research brought home to me the stunning proof of America’s God-ordained destiny. No one can explain to any degree of satisfaction why America isn’t mentioned by name in the Bible. There are many speculations and postulations, but the answer to the question about why the United States is not mentioned in Bible prophecy continues to elude. The answer will have to await the unfolding of history. However, modern Israel is living proof that America was established for God’s great purposes. Those are: 1) the capability to preach the gospel message to the whole world; and 2) to bring Israel to birth on May 14, 1948, then to act as its protector as the Jewish state stood on its feet, as prophesied by Ezekiel, chapter 37.
America is living testimony to the absolute truth of God’s faithfulness to fulfill His prophetic Word. America is the most materially and spiritually blessed nations ever to exist. God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 is thus 100 percent validated: “I will bless those who bless thee, and curse those who curse thee.”
The United States has been the recipient of the first part of that promise. Israel’s satanically driven enemies have been recipients of the second part of that promise, and lie strewn in abject desolation along the dark corridors of history. The proof of America’s coming to birth with a foreordained destiny planned by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, leaps from recent history in fashion that is thunderous. The United States has blessed Israel, and as a result, this nation has brought mankind from the dark recesses of the past to the brightness invented by its illuminated genius. Since the time Benjamin Franklin was shocked by lightning while he experimented with a kite and a key, thus--I am convinced--infusing the soon-to-be founding father with special ideas directly from the finger of God, this nation has electrified –literally—the whole world.
The flip side of America’s comportment as of late, however, is as frightening as its brilliant inventiveness and contribution to modern man has been electrifying. This country, so key to bringing fulfillment of end-times prophecy into focus in human, earthly terms by helping put Israel at stage center on the global scene, at present is now key to setting in motion the time of tribulation –the last seven years of human history preceding Christ’s second advent. The “Roadmap to Peace,” the brain-child of geopolitical strategists in America and the European Union, is pushing forward the, perhaps, predecessor to what God calls "the covenant made with death and hell”.
As a result, God’s perfect prophetic storm of forewarning of wrath to come is blowing across this nation. Wrath and judgment could be just around the corner of the next crisis. We will look more deeply next week into the tempest that is sweeping America and the world toward a destiny foretold by Jesus and the Old and New Testament prophets.
--Terry
Believe in Your Heart
Believe in Your Heart
If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (Rom 10:9).
We've all confessed (give assent to or acknowledge) with our mouths and understand its importance to our salvation, but what about the "believe in your heart" portion of the verse? In vs. 10 Paul goes on to say that it's with our heart that we believe and are justified. The Greek word translated justify is from dikaios which means innocent or holy. The King James translates this word "believe unto righteousness" meaning that our belief in the resurrection is what brings us our righteousness, allowing God to regard us as though we're innocent of any sin and therefore holy.
The notion of a bodily resurrection is as old as the Bible itself. It's contained in what is arguably the first book of the Bible actually written.
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)
King David knew he would see his newly deceased infant son again (2 Sam 12:22-23) and both Isaiah 26:20-21 and Daniel 12:2 promise a bodily resurrection at the end of the age.
Early Christians had a problem with this so Paul devoted a whole chapter to the Corinthians' questions about resurrection going as far as to state, "If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, you are still in your sins" (1 Cor 15:7). Yet today many who call themselves Christian still don't believe it. Much of liberal theology does not require belief in a bodily resurrection, and even among Evangelicals it's sometimes spiritualized away. We know that if we believe the Bible we are required to believe in a bodily resurrection, but do we know why it's required?
There's More Here Than Meets the Eye
John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of world (John 1:29), not just the sins of the Jews or even of those Jews and Gentiles present at the time, but the sins of the world. Every violation of God's law that ever had been or ever would be committed was to be dealt with. Of course this didn't mean that the world would no longer be a sinful place, but that the penalty for the sins of the world would be borne by the Lamb of God. Here's how He did it.
In Roman crucifixions a sign was posted above the head of the one being executed listing the broken laws for which his life was being taken. It was meant as a deterrent for those watching the public executions. In Jesus' case the sign said "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" indicating his crime against
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
Notice it says He forgave us all our sins. Not just the ones we committed before we were saved, and not just the ones we commit by accident. He forgave all of our sins, even those we commit willfully and repeatedly.
Hebrews 10:14 says that Jesus offered for all time one sacrifice for sin and then sat down at the right hand of God, because by that one sacrifice He has made us perfect forever. His death took place on one specific day in time, but its effect applies across the span of time to all the days of every man.
But Jesus actually did much more than bear the punishment due us. 2 Cor 5:21 says that God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, while on the cross He became the physical embodiment of sin. God can not dwell in the presence of sin, nor even look upon it (Haba 1:13) and so had to turn away, separating Himself from His Son. For 3 hours light was taken from the world and for the first time in eternity the 2 were not 1.
If the ultimate punishment for sin is complete separation from God, Jesus suffered it then. It was the only time in the entire ordeal that He complained, crying, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" (Matt 27:45-46) When He had died, His punishment over, He no longer personified sin and the light was restored.
What's The Point?
After His resurrection, Jesus looked like other men to His disciples. He walked with them, talked with them, ate with them and permitted them to touch Him to assure themselves He was not just a spirit, but a man with flesh and bone (Luke 24:36-43). His was a bodily resurrection. Later He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
Now here's the point. Remember, God cannot be in the presence of sin or even look upon it (Haba 1:13). Jesus had taken upon himself every sin of mankind, past, present, and future. If even one was left unpaid by His death, Jesus couldn't be in God's presence and would still be in the grave (Rom 6:23). His resurrection is proof of yours. If you cannot believe that God raised Jesus from the dead then you cannot believe that all your sins are forgiven and that He will raise you.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For in Adam all die so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor. 15:20-22).
On that Sunday morning in April of 32AD, as the sun was rising the priests in the Temple were preparing for the festival that always begins on the morning after the first Sabbath after Passover. It was First Fruits, signifying the beginning of the spring harvest for the Nation of Israel.
And Mary was going to the tomb with some other women to complete the burial process interrupted by the holy days. But the tomb was empty. The Son had risen, the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
That empty tomb was the clearest sign we have ever received that the Lord had accomplished His mission. The Lamb of God had indeed taken away the sin of the world, all of it.
From that day to this the only qualification for salvation has been to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. That's His proof that all the sins of your life have been forgiven, so if you don't believe God raised Jesus from the dead, you can't believe that He'll raise you. Selah 06-21-08
After the Rapture
by Todd Strandberg
I realize this web page will be addressing two audiences: those of you who read this page before the rapture and those of you who read it after the rapture. My focus here will be on those who have found this page after the rapture of the Church. For anyone reading this material before the pre-trib rapture, I highly recommend that you ponder the negative consequences of being left behind and seriously consider committing your life to Jesus if you have not done so already.
What's Happened?
Right now, I'm sure there's a tremendous battle going on, with people offering various points of view and trying to explain why much of the population has suddenly disappeared into thin air.
It's likely that the media is teeming with possible explanations for the disappearances. It would be foolish for me to try to guess what authorities will be telling the general population. I will boldly say the cause of this event was supernatural. The mass disappearance of all these people was the result of the Lord Jesus Christ removing from the earth all believers who were spiritually ready. This catching-up of the Christians into heaven is referred to as the rapture of the Church.
"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 Thes 4:16-18)."Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, 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"
(1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
Why Didn't He Take Me?
If you are reading this after the rapture, you need to realize that you have been left behind. At this time, you may be feeling rejected by God. You might be saying to yourself, "Why didn't He take me?" or "I don't understand; I've led a good life." The problem isn’t that God rejected you; the problem is that you have rejected Him. By not committing your life to Jesus and by declining to follow Him, you have left Him with no choice but to leave you behind.
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven"
(Matthew 7:21)."For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother"
(Matthew 12:50)."Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"
(Isaiah 1:18).
Is There Hope For Me?
Depending on when you read this article, you may have heard people say, "Because we've missed the rapture, we are lost forever." That assumption is totally wrong! The only way you can find yourself eternally lost is by receiving the Mark of the Beast on your right hand or forehead. Barring that, as long as you have breath in your lungs, you can gain salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior.
"... him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out"
(John 6:37)."Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"
(Matthew 11:28)."But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name"
(John 1:12).According to Revelation, a huge number of people will be saved during the tribulation. Some scholars have predicted that tribulation believers would grow to outnumber the saints that were just raptured.
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (Revelation 7:9).
"And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14).
Why Do I Need Jesus Christ To Be My Savior?
To be allowed to pass through heaven's gate, you need to have all of your sins removed. The only industrial strength cleanser strong enough to thoroughly remove sin stains is the blood of Jesus Christ.
You could say heaven is much like the "clean rooms" where computer companies make their microchips, and sin is like any dust or dirt that might try to find its way into one of those rooms.
The manufacturing process for microchips requires "clean rooms" to be absolutely spotless, with virtually zero free-floating dust or dirt particles that could damage the delicate microchips.
Because humans are naturally contaminated with all kinds of dirt and dust particles, whenever workers enter one of these "clean rooms," they need to wear a special suit that prevents them from giving off particles.
To prevent heaven from becoming contaminated with sin particles, God has long set the requirement that anyone desiring to enter into His untarnished dwelling place needs to be covered by the blood of Jesus.
The sin decontamination process is very simple - you simply ask Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for it. First, admit your sinful state. Next, ask Jesus to forgive you of your wrongdoings. Finally, make Jesus Christ Lord of your life by surrending your will to Him.
By dying on the cross, Jesus made it possible for each of us to be granted a full pardon from the punishment of eternal damnation. The reason so few people accept this pardon is that they don't think they need a Savior or they want to find their own way of salvation.
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
(Matthew 16:24-26)."...if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"
(Romans 10:9-10)."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"
(John 3:16).
Changing Your Direction
After making Jesus the Lord of your life, you need to change the direction of your life. I remember when I was a young lad, I was on vacation with my parents, and we were headed to a city in Minnesota. We made a turn that some of us in the car questioned. It wasn't until almost an hour later that we realized we were definitely headed in the wrong direction. Well, after having a spirited debate about proper automobile navigation, we found our bearings and headed toward our original destination.
Once you realize you have been heading in the wrong direction, the only option that makes sense is to turn right around and start heading in the right direction.
You cannot just say a few words and then continue on your merry way. You need to make a full commitment to Jesus Christ by reading His words and following His examples of holy living.
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it"
(Matthew 7:13-14).
There Will Be Strong Delusion
I imagine that on the Sunday immediately following the rapture, every church on earth will be filled to overflowing. Suddenly, all those left behind will discover a need to renew their faith.
Unfortunately, the revival is going to be very short-lived. The Apostle Paul, in the Book of Thessalonians, predicts that because most men's hearts will still love unholy living, they will follow after a deception that God Himself will send. Jesus foretold that the false prophets would arise using "great signs and wonders" to trick people into believing satanic lies.
There will be no middle ground. The people who failed to fully dedicate their lives to Christ will be totally ensnared by the demonic delusion that will sweep over the world.
"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness"
(2 Thes 2:10-12)."For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect"
(Mat 24:24).During the next few years, a world leader--whom the Bible calls the Antichrist--will arise. At first, he will seem like the most benevolent leader who has ever held office. However, by the end of the tribulation, he will easily put the likes of Hitler and Stalin to shame. Because the lies of the Antichrist and false prophets will be so pervasive, you will need to assume that everything you read and hear in the mass media is tainted doctrine. Your only source for the truth must now exclusively come from the Bible.
Do Not Trust Christian Leaders
In the coming days, you will see and hear messages from some of the biggest names in Christendom on radio and TV, and these messages won't be ones recorded before the rapture. The broadcasts you'll be hearing will be either live or taped after the rapture. They will be from Christian leaders who have also been left behind.
Millions of people will be reassured by the fact that their favorite Christian celebrities are still here on earth. I expect most of these well-known leaders, possibly out of embarrassment, will be working feverishly to disprove the rapture event. They may say things like, "I don't know where or why those people disappeared, but I will tell you this: That was not the so-called rapture of the Church."
I'm sure it will be quite confusing to hear people who were regarded as the leading authorities on the pre-tribulation rapture now proclaiming contradictory theories. Don't listen to them, no matter how well respected they appear.
Many religious and political leaders will attempt to persuade you into believing some logical explanation for the rapture. All of their lies will be contrary to the Word of God. Remember, they were left behind just like you; what business do they have instructing you?
Enduring To The End
Well, folks, here comes the unpleasant news. Most of you will likely have to choose martyrdom if you wish to maintain your commitment to Jesus Christ. There will be no middle ground. During this tribulation hour, you will have to choose between two masters--the Antichrist or Jesus Christ.
Your decision to follow Jesus will not be a popular one. The majority of the world's population will soon be falling captive to the Antichrist's hypnotic words. Because true believers will refuse to join the chorus of praise, the Antichrist will demand that all nonconforming Christians be put to death.
"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints"
(Revelation 13:7-10)."And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled"
(Revelation 6:9-11).At first, it may seem rather easy to secretly be a follower of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, very soon the Antichrist will be requiring everyone to receive a mark in his or her right hand or forehead. This electronic implant will be the means by which everyone will buy and sell goods and services. If you do not have this implant, it will become quite obvious.
"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name"
(Revelation 13:17).Because the Bible says that everyone who receives this implant (Mark of the Beast) will be eternally lost, I'm going to strongly advise you to decline the offer when the government informs you that it has your implant ready for insertion.
"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name"
(Revelation 14:11).In the coming persecution, you will probably face some of the greatest trials that Christians have ever had to endure. How long will you have to endure? From the time the Antichrist declares himself to be God, there will be only 1,260 days until Christ returns to earth.
As time passes and the suffering caused by the tribulation grows more severe, your desire to see Christ should grow all the more stronger. From my understanding of Scripture, I would guess most tribulation saints will not live to see the conclusion of the tribulation. If you are facing a situation that requires you to lay down your life, I promise you that the brief moment of pain will be nothing compared to the pleasures of an eternity in God's glory.
"And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved"
(Matthew 10:22).