OBAMA The Antichrist (Vanity)

VANITY | 11/05/08 | PSYCHO-FREEP

[proudtobeanamerican1]

Have you ever heard of the Anti-trinity instead of the Anti-Christ. Geopolitical/Economic/Military Coalition?

[proudtobeanamerican1]

The ten crowns Ten crowns This is not the European Union but rather the ten crowns that represent very old money and genealogical bloodlines within the royal houses of Europe. (11 constitutional monarchies - ten with crowns) This can only be seen visually: CLICK HERE THE TEN CROWNS ARE PART OF THE INFRA-STRUCTURE AND THE FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK BEHIND THE EUROPEAN UNION. THEY INCLUDE THE OLD POWER BASE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE THAT EXISTED FOR MOST OF THE MIDDLE AGES, AND REMAINED PARTIALLY IN POWER IN EASTERN EUROPE UNTIL THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. (There is a much lengthier explanation in the long version of this release).

[Star Traveler]

You said to “SoulSearching” — “I don’t want to engage in a debate on this but I have studied all eschatological views and there is no doubt in that the Bible clearly leads to a pre-trib view. I don’t know your particular denomination or approach to scripture but I can certainly direct you to very detailed Biblical studies on this if your interested.”

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There are some who would definitely want to take away from the Bible (i.e., just *remove it completely* the message of comfort that is given to us and that the Apostle Paul says to tell other Christians...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Just rip it out of the Bible, for the convenience of these people... LOL...

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I posted this in another thread about the Pre-trib Rapture...

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I found another post of mine, from before...

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Here is a somewhat scholarly article by a reputable Christian scholar, Dr. Thomas Ice, who speaks in the context of the issues that you’ve raised. It would be worthwhile considering his explanation of the translation of the word used that many people refer to...

His website, the Pre-Trib Research Center [ http://www.pre-trib.org/ ] has a conference every year, where he brings in other Evangelical scholars to discuss various issues in the context of the Rapture and some other related Biblical issues.

His article follows...
http://www.pre-trib.org/article-view.php?id=165

The Rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

—2 Thessalonians 2:3

I believe that there is a strong possibility that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is speaking of the rapture. What do I mean? Some pretribulationists,like myself, think that the Greek noun apostasia, usually translated “apostasy,” is a reference to the rapture and should be translated “departure.” Thus, this passage would be saying that the day of the Lord will not come until the rapture comes before it. If apostasia is a reference to a physical departure, then 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is strong evidence for pretribulationism.

The Meaning of Apostasia

The Greek noun apostasia is only used twice in the New Testament. In addition to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, it occurs in Acts 21:21 where, speaking of Paul, it is said, “that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake (apostasia) Moses.” The word is a Greek compound of apo “from” and istemi “stand.” Thus, it has the core meaning of “away from” or “departure.” The Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon defines apostasia first as “defection, revolt;” then secondly as “departure, disappearance.”[1] Gordon Lewis explains how the verb from which the noun apostasia is derived supports the basic meaning of departure in the following:

The verb may mean to remove spatially. There is little reason then to deny that the noun can mean such a spatial removal or departure. Since the noun is used only one other time in the New Testament of apostasy from Moses (Acts 21:21), we can hardly conclude that its Biblical meaning is necessarily determined. The verb is used fifteen times in the New Testament. Of these fifteen, only three have anything to do with a departure from the faith (Luke 8;13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb 3:12). The word is used for departing from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19), from ungodly men (1 Tim. 6:5), from the temple (Luke 2:27), from the body (2Cor. 12:8), and from persons (Acts 12:10; Luke 4:13).[2]

“It is with full assurance of proper exegetical study and with complete confidence in the original languages,” concludes Daniel Davey, “that the word meaning of apostasia is defined as departure.”[3] Paul Lee Tan adds the following:

What precisely does Paul mean when he says that “the falling away” (2:3) must come before the tribulation? The definite article “the” denotes that this will be a definite event, an event distinct from the appearance of the Man of Sin. The Greek word for “falling away”, taken by itself, does not mean religious apostasy or defection. Neither does the word mean “to fall,” as the Greeks have another word for that. [pipto, I fall; TDI] The best translation of the word is “to depart.” The apostle Paul refers here to a definite event which he calls “the departure,” and which will occur just before the start of the tribulation. This is the rapture of the church.[4]

So the word has the core meaning of departure and it depends upon the context to determine whether it is used to mean physical departure or an abstract departure such as departure from the faith.

Translation History

The first seven English translations of apostasia all rendered the noun as either “departure” or “departing.” They are as follows: Wycliffe Bible(1384); Tyndale Bible (1526); Coverdale Bible (1535); Cranmer Bible (1539); Breeches Bible (1576); Beza Bible (1583); Geneva Bible (1608).[5] This supports the notion that the word truly means “departure.” In fact, Jerome’s Latin translation known as the Vulgate from around the time of a.d. 400 renders apostasia with the “word discessio, meaning ‘departure.’”[6] Why was the King James Version the first to depart from the established translation of “departure”?

Theodore Beza, the Swiss reformer was the first to transliterate apostasia and create a new word, rather than translate it as others had done. The translators of the King James Version were the first to introduce the new rendering of apostasia as “falling away.” Most English translators have followed the KJV and Beza in departing from translating apostasia as “departure.” No good reason was ever given.

The Use of the Article

It is important to note that Paul uses a definite article with the noun apostasia. What does this mean? Davey notes the following:

Since the Greek language does not need an article to make the noun definite, it becomes clear that with the usage of the article reference is being made to something in particular. In II Thessalonians 2:3 the word apostasia is prefaced by the definite article which means that Paul is pointing to a particular type of departure clearly known to the Thessalonian church.[7]

Dr. Lewis provides a likely answer when he notes that the definite article serves to make a word distinct and draw attention to it. In this instance he believes that its purpose is “to denote a previous reference.” “The departure Paul previously referred to was ‘our being gathered to him’ (v. 1) and our being ‘caught up’ with the Lord and the raptured dead in the clouds (1 Thess.4:17),” notes Dr. Lewis.[8] The “departure” was something that Paul and his readers clearly had a mutual understanding about. Paul says in verse 5, “Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?”

The use of the definite article would also support the notion that Paul spoke of a clear, discernable event. A physical departure, like the rapture would fit just such a notion. However, the New Testament teaches that apostasy had already arrived in the first century (cf. Acts 20:27-32; 1 Tim.4:1-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Jude 3-4, 17-21) and thus, such a process would not denote a clear event as demanded by the language of this passage. Understanding departure as the rapture would satisfy the nuance of this text. E. Schuyler English explains as follows:

Again, how would the Thessalonians, or Christians in any century since, be qualified to recognize the apostasy when it should come, assuming, simply for the sake of this inquiry, that the Church might be on earth when it does come? There has been apostasy from God, rebellion against Him, since time began.[9]

Whatever Paul is referring to in his reference to “the departure,” was something that both the Thessalonian believers and he had discussed in-depth previously. When we examine Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he never mentions the doctrine of apostasy, however, virtually every chapter in that epistle speaks of the rapture (cf. 1:9-10;2:19; probably 3:13; 4:13-17; 5:1-11). In these passages, Paul has used a variety of Greek terms to describethe rapture. It should not be surprising that he uses another term to reference the rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Dr. House tells us:

Remember, the Thessalonians had been led astray by the false teaching (2:2-3) that the Day ofthe Lord had already come. This was confusing because Paul offered great hope, in the first letter, of a departure to be with Christ and a rescue from god’s wrath. Now a letter purporting to be from Paul seems to say that they would first have to go through the Day of the Lord. Paul then clarified his prior teaching by emphasizing that they had no need to worry. They could again be comforted because the departure he had discussed in his first letter, and in his teaching while with them, was still the truth. The departure of Christians to be with Christ, and the subsequent revelation of the lawless one, Paul argues, is proof that the Day of the Lord had not begun as they had thought. This understanding of apostasia makes much more sense than the view that they are to be comforted (v. 2) because a defection from the faith must precede the Day of the Lord. The entire second chapter (as well as 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11) serves to comfort (see vv. 2,3, 17), supplied by a reassurance of Christ’s coming as taught in his first letter.[10]

Departure and The Restrainer

Since pretribulationists believe that the restrainer mentioned in verses 6 and 7 is the Holy Spirit and teaches a pre-trib rapture, then it should not be surprising to see that there is a similar progression of thought in the progression of verse 3. Allan MacRae, president of Faith Theological Seminary in a letter to Schuyler English has said the following concerning this matter:

I wonder if you have noticed the striking parallel between this verse and verses 7-8, a little further down. According to your suggestion verse 3 mentions the departure of the church as coming first, and then tells of the revealing of the man of sin. In verses 7 and 8 we find the identical sequence. Verse 7 tells of the removal of the Church; verse 8 says: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed.” Thus close examination of the passage shows an inner unity and coherence, if we take the word apostasia in its general sense of “departure,” while a superficial examination would easily lead to an erroneous interpretation as “falling away” because of the proximity of the mention of the man of sin.[11]

Kenneth Wuest, a Greek scholar from Moody Bible Institute added the following contextual support to taking apostasia as a physical departure:

But then hee apostasia of which Paul is speaking, precedes the revelation of Antichrist in his true identity, and is to katechon that which holds back his revelation (2:6). The hee apostasia, therefore, cannot be either a general apostasy in Christendom which does precede the coming of Antichrist, nor can it be the particular apostasy which is the result of his activities in making himself the alone object of worship. Furthermore, that which holds back his revelation (vs. 3) is vitally connected with hookatechoon (vs. 7), He who holds back the same event. The latter is, in my opinion, the Holy Spirit and His activities in the Church. All of which means that I am driven to the inescapable conclusion that the hee apostasia (vs. 3) refers to the Rapture of the Church which precedes the Day of the Lord, and holds back the revelation of the Man of Sin who ushers in the world-aspect of that period.[12]

Conclusion

The fact that apostasia most likely has the meaning of physical departure is a clear support for pretribulationism. If this is true, (Dr. Tim LaHaye and I believe that it is), then it means that a clear prophetic sequence is laid out by Paul early in his Apostolic ministry. Paul teaches in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the rapture will occur first, before the Day of the Lord commences. It is not until after the beginning of the Day of the Lord that the Antichrist is released, resulting in the events described by him in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. This is the only interpretation that provides hope for a discomforted people. Maranatha!

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Endnotes

[1] Henry George Liddell and Henry Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, Revised with a Supplement [1968] by Sir Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie (Oxford, Eng.: Oxford UniversityPress, 1940), p. 218.

[2] Gordon R. Lewis, “Biblical Evidence for Pretribulationism,” Bibliotheca Sacra (vol. 125, no. 499; July 1968), p. 218.

[3] Daniel K. Davey, “The ‘Apostesia’ of II Thessalonians 2:3,” Th.M. thesis, Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, May 1982, p. 27.

[4] Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy (Winona Lake, IN: Assurance Publishers, 1974), p. 341.

[5] H. Wayne House, “Apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: Apostasy or Rapture?” in Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, eds., When the Trumpet Sounds: Today’s Foremost Authorities Speak Out on End-Time Controversies (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1995), p. 270.

[6] House, “Apostesia”, p. 270.

[7] Davey, “Apostesia”, p. 47.

[8] Gordon R. Lewis & Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology 3 vols in 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), vol. 3,p. 420.

[9] E. Schuyler English, Re-Thinking the Rapture (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1954), p. 70.

[10] House, “Apostesia”, pp. 275-76.

[11] Allan A. MacRae, Letter to E. Schuyler English, published in “Let the Prophets Speak,” Our Hope, (vol. LVI, num. 12; June 1950), p. 725.

[12] Kenneth S. Wuest, Letter to E. Schuyler English, published in “Let the Prophets Speak,” Our Hope, (vol. LVI, num. 12; June 1950), p. 731.

[Star Traveler]

Some of the formatting is a bit off; there is a “chart” (sort of left-to-right side comparison, that doesn’t show up too well, this way).

And, for the rest of you, some comments, from you, maybe, on the issue of the Rapture, and how it compares to the Second Coming of the Messiah of Israel.

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Written by Dr. Ed Hindson

THE RAPTURE AND GLORIOUS APPEARING OF JESUS CHRIST

The New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus Christ will “come again” (John14:3) and “appear the second time” (Hebrews 9:38). At least nine biblical terms are used in the New Testament to describe the return of Christ.[1]

1. Hoerchomenos. “The coming one,” as in Hebrews 10:37, “For yet a little while,
and he that shall come will come.”

2. Erchomai. The act of coming. Used often of Christ’s return. Cf. Matthew
24:30; John 14:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Jude 14; Revelation 1:7; 22:20.

3. Katabaino. To “come down” or descend, as in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.”

4. Heko. Result of one’s coming, to have “arrived,” as in Revelation 3:3, “I will
comeas a thief.”

5. Parousia. Denotes arrival and presence (of a ruler), as in 1 Thessalonians 2:19, “Forwhat is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”

6. Apokalupsis. Meaning to “unveil” or “uncover.” Rendered “appearing”
(1Peter 1:7) or “coming” (1 Corinthians 1:7) or “revelation” (Revelation 1:1). Involves the unveiling of His divine glory.

7. Phaneroo. To “appear” (John 21:1) or be “manifest” (1 John 3:5). As in
1John 3:2, “It is not yet made manifest what we shall be. but we know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.”

8. Epiphaino. To “appear” in full light or visibility. Denotes the”brightness” of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8) and the glory of “that day... unto all them that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

9. Horao. To “see with the eyes,” or to “appear” visibly, as in Hebrews 9:28, “and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time.”

NATURE OF HIS COMING

The Bible predicts the literal personal return of Jesus Christ to rapture His church, to judge the world and to establish His Kingdom on earth. At times this is described as one grand event. At other times it is clearly divided into separate phases.

1. Personal. The intensive pronoun “himself” means the Lord and no other, as in
1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven.”

2. Literal. He will return as He ascended literally. Acts 1:11 promises: “This same Jesus, who is taken up from you, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.” Revelation 1:7 promises that “every eye shall see him.”

3. Glorious. He will return in the glory of His deity. Matthew 16:27, “in the glory of his Father.” Matthew 25:31, “in his glory.” Matthew 24:30, “...great glory.”

4. Powerful. Jesus will return in the “glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). He will employ angels of power (1:7) to establish His Kingdom on earth as He comes with His angelic heavenly escort (Matthew 25:31).

TIME OF HIS COMING

Most evangelicals agree as to the nature of Christ’s return, but there is substantial disagreement on the time of His coming. Notice these key aspects of the time of our Lord’s return:

1. Future. The entire emphasis of the New Testament points to a future return of
Christ. He promised “I will come again” (John 14:3). The angels promised He would return (Acts 1:11). The apostles taught the certainty of His future return (Philippians 3:20; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:3-8; 1 John 3:2-3).

2. Progressive. The present tense of “cometh” in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 indicates that He is in the process of coming again, marking the steady, uninterrupted movement of time toward that certain day. Hebrews 10:37, “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”

3. Imminent. The return of Christ is always described as potentially imminent or
“at hand” (Revelation 1:3; 22:10). Every generation of believers is warned to be ready for His coming. Luke 12:40, “be... ready also: for the Son of Man comes at an hour you think not.” Believers are constantly urged to look for the coming of the Lord (see Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 9:28; Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:6).

4. Distant. From God’s perspective, Jesus is coming at any moment. But from the
human perspective it has already been nearly 2,000 years. Jesus hinted at this in the Olivet Discourse in the illustration of the man who traveled into a “far country” (heaven) and was gone “a long time” (Matthew 25:19). Peter also implies this in his prediction that men will begin to scoff at the second coming after a long period of time (2 Peter 3:8-9).

5. Undated. While the Rapture is the next major event on the prophetic calendar,
it is undated as is the glorious appearing of Christ. Jesus said: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not even the angels of heaven” (Matthew 24:36). Later he added: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons”(Acts 1:7).

6. Unexpected. The mass of humanity will not be looking for Christ when He
returns (Matthew 24:50; Luke 21:35). They will be saying, “peace and safety,” when caught unprepared by His return. So unexpected will be His return that, “as a snare shall it come upon them that dwell on the whole face of the earth” (Luke 21:35).

7. Sudden. The Bible warns that Jesus will come “as a thief in the night (and) then sudden destruction” will come upon the unbelieving world (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). His return for the Bride will occur in a flash: “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye... for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead (believers) shall be raised incorruptible, and we (living believers) shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

TWO ASPECTS OF HIS COMING

The Second Coming of Christ is a series of events fulfilling all end-time prophecies. These include predictions of Christ’s coming for His Church and with His Church. Pretribulationalists generally divide the Second Coming into two main phases: the Rapture of the Church and the Glorious Appearing of Christ.

The Rapture (or translation) of the Church is often paralleled to the “raptures” of Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:12) or the ascension of Christ (Acts 1:9), all of whom were “taken up” into heaven. The Bible clearly states: For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up (Greek, harpazo) with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, italics added).

The hope of the Church is the Rapture. She awaits the Savior who is coming for His bride. The Church does not await the destruction of the world as unbelievers do, she awaits a Person. Peter explains that the present world is “reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:7, italics added). While the Church is warned to prepare for suffering and persecution throughout the Church Age, she is not as the object of God’s final wrath.

The Church is promised that the “coming of the Lord” will result in her being “gathered together” (Greek, episunagoges) into him” (2 Thessalonians 2: 1).[2] It is this promise of the Rapture, not the Wrath, that is in view in Revelation 3:10, “I will keep you from (Greek, ek “out of”) the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world.” Notice that the Church is to be kept from not through, the hour of tribulation. We are to wait for Jesus to come from heaven to “deliver us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

The Rapture will take up those who have died in Christ over the centuries and those believers who are alive when He returns. This will occur in the future. Jesus said: “A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out” (John 5:28). Believers are pictured as being raised to life (first resurrection) to reign with Christ a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-5).

There can be no doubt that the Bible teaches a Rapture (”caught up,” or” gathering together”) of the Church. Amillennialists and Post-millennialists miss this point altogether. There will be a Rapture, or 1 and 2 Thessalonians need to be removed from the New Testament! The only real question is when will it occur?

THE ORDER OF THE RAPTURE

By combining John 14:13, I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Tim LaHaye suggests the following sequence of events:[3]

1. Jesus Christ descends from heaven (John 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:16).

2. He comes to receiveus (church) unto Himself (John 14:13).

3. He comes in the “twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52) with a shout and the
trumpet call of God (1 Thess. 4:16).

4. He resurrects those believers who have “fallen asleep” in death (1 Thess. 4:14- 15).

5. Those who are alive at that time will be “caught up” (Rapture) with the resurrected Church in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:51-53).

The Rapture will be followed by:

1. Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:20; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10) and

2. Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9).

These two events precede the return of Christ in power and glory at Armageddon (Rev.19:11-21).

CONTRAST BETWEEN THE RAPTURE ANDGLORIOUS APPEARING

RAPTURE GLORIOUS APPEARING

1. Christ comes for His own (John 1. Christ comes with His own 14:3; IThess. 14:17; 2 Thess. 2:1). (1 Thess. 3:13; Jude 14; Rev. 19:14).

2. He comes in the air (1 Thess. 4:17) 2. Hecomes to the earth
Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11).

3. He claims His bride 3. He comes with His bride
(Rev. 19:6-14).

4. Removal of believers (1 Thess 4:17). 4. Manifestation of Christ
(Mal. 4:2).

5. Only His own see Him 5. Every eye shall see Him
(1 Thess. 4:13-18) (Rev. 1:7).

6. Tribulation begins. 6. Millennial Kingdom begins.

7. Saved are delivered from wrath 7. Unsaved experience the wrath of God
(1 Thess. 1:10; 5-9) (Rev. 6:12-17).

8. No signs precedeRapture 8. Signs precede glorious appearing
(1 Thess. 5:1-3). (Luke 21:11, 15).

9. Focus: Lord and Church 9. Focus: Israel and Kingdom
(1 Thess. 4:13-18). (Matthew 24:14).

10. World isdeceived. 10. Satan is bound
(2 Thess.2:3-12) (Rev. 20:1-2).

REASONS FOR A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

1. Christ promised to keep the Church from the Tribulation. In Revelation 3:10, the risen Christ said the Church would be kept from (Literally, “preserved” or “protected out of”) the hour of trial, or divine retribution, that is coming on the whole world.

2. Tribulation judgments are the “wrath of the Lamb.” Revelation 6:16 depicts the cataclysmic judgments of the end times as the wrath of Christ. Whereas, Revelation 19:7-9 depicts the Church as the bride of the Lamb. She is not the object of His wrath which is poured out on an unbelieving world.

3. Jesus told his disciples to pray they would escape the Tribulation. In Luke 21:36 He said: “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen. Remember, even Lot was given a chance to escape Sodom before divine judgment fell.

4. His coming in the clouds means the Church’s deliverance has come. Jesus told His disciples: “Lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). The hope of the Church is not in surviving the judgment of Tribulation, but escaping it.

5. God will call His ambassadors home before declaring war on the world. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, believers are called “Christ’s Ambassadors” who appeal to the world to be reconciled to God before it is too late.

6. Moral restraint will disappear when the Church is taken home. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-11 warns that after the “coming of the Lord” and “our being gathered to Him,” the “man of lawlessness” (Antichrist) will emerge on the world scene. The Church’s restraining ministry of “salt” and “light” will no longer hold back the tide of evil.

7. The Rapture will happen in the “twinkling of an eye.” 1 Corinthians15:51-52 promises that “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye... the dead shall be raised imperishable and we (living at the Rapture) will be changed.” This instantaneous disappearance will terminate the Church’s earthly ministry.

8. The Rapture will take place in the air. Unlike the glorious appearing when Christ descends to earth, splits the Mount of Olives, overthrows Antichrist and binds Satan, the Rapture will occur when we are “caught up together... to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17).

9. Woman who suffers persecution during the Tribulation symbolizes Israel. This is a very important point. The woman who delivers the male child (Christ) represents the nation of Israel. Israel, not the Church, brought forth Christ, and He in turn, brought forth the Church. He is the founder of the Church, not its descendant. Therefore, the persecuted “saints” of the Tribulation are Jewish - the remnant of the woman’s seed (Revelation 12:1-2, 5-6, 17).

10. Marriage of Christ (Lamb) and His Bride (Church) takes place before the Battle of Armageddon. The Bible describes the fall of “Babylon” (Kingdom of Antichrist) in Revelation 17-18. But before it tells of Christ’s return to conquer the Antichrist, it tells us “the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7-8). This clearly indicates the Bride has been taken to heaven earlier and that she returns with Christ and the host of the “armies of heaven... dressed in fine linen, white and clean” (Rev. 19:8, 14).

[1] 1. See Herman A. Hoyt, The End Times (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), pp. 63-65.

[2] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1931 reprint), Vol. IV, p. 47. He notes that episcunagoges is a late word found only in 2 Maccabees 2:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:1; Hebrews 10:25. It means “assembly” or “collection.” Robertson notes that it refers to the rapture in 2 Thess. 2:1.

[3] Tim LaHaye, No Fear of the Storm (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1992), pp. 28-31.

From link - http://www.pre-trib.org/article-view.php?id=199

[Star Traveler]

proudtobeanamerican1 was saying — “No, because the antichrist will not have an interest in women, so it would just be for show anyways.”

—

Well, if you check what Walid Shoebat has been saying about that, this is not true (what you just said).

He says that what is meant in Daniel is that he does not “regard the desire of women” in the respect that he doesn’t have any respect for their wishes and desires and treats them badly — like the Muslims do.

He builds a case for the Antichrist being the Muslim Mahdi, and that this verse is another indication of that.

[Just mythoughts]

NO Bama is NOT the ‘instead’ of Jesus. But he is using the old serpent's handbook.