Posted on 02/26/2007 9:52:40 AM PST by Alex Murphy
MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- The sequel to a book written by a former Los Angeles-based radio and television talk show host, which challenges the doctrine of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture to Heaven, is now available to the public. Published by Author House, Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation is the sequel to The End Times Passover, written by Joe Ortiz.
"No Christian wants to imagine he or she will be persecuted, but it will happen" stated Ortiz, who spent over 20 years researching and writing his books. Ortiz stated he provides unequivocal Bible evidence that challenges the belief system that Christians will escape to Heaven while unbelievers will be Left Behind to experience Armageddon. "Unfortunately, a large majority of evangelicals do not believe they will go through any tribulation, believing instead that God will provide them an escape through what they call the Rapture."
Ortiz said he realizes his is a minority point of view and that most Christians believe in the books written by authors who promote the Left Behind doctrine (such as John Hagee, Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, et al); but he's willing to debate those authors who promote a Premillennial, Dispensational doctrine to determine what is myth or what is true fact.
Ortiz said he wrote the books because he is concerned for those who believe in a Pre-Tribulation escape to Heaven. He said his books not only provide Bible evidence to support his contentions, and clearly explain why they will be persecuted, but feels it's his duty to reach out to fellow Christians and alert them to be prepared for the eventuality of great tribulation.
The author is a former award-winning radio/television talk show host and newspaper columnist. A 23 year veteran broadcaster, Joe Ortiz has the distinction of being the first Mexican American to conduct a general topics talk show on an English-language commercial radio station. He began his broadcasting career at KABC-AM in Los Angeles in 1971. He is semi-retired but still writes for local and national periodicals and hosts three blogs.
God's people have always had the hard road. Trials make us stronger.
Time and again, the Bible says "to those who overcome..."
Revelation 20
1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Satan has not been bound for the thousand years of peace yet. Armageddon will not occur until AFTER that.
Meanwhile other Christians prefer to cheer on their brethren in the eternal battle by conceding the war, and offering the other team a few uncontested terms at bat.
All twelve spies worked from the same data set in Numbers 13 and 14. Two drew the correct conclusion -- that the God who'd brought them out of Egypt had more miracles up His sleeve. The ten faithless, cowardly, and unbelieving spies, OTOH, preached the glories of defeat and retreat and capitulation, thus undermining the faith and courage of Israel.
The activities of those ten spies cost millions of people their lives. Instead of entering their promised inheritance, they got to walk in circles in the desert for 40 years, until all but two members of that generation died off.
God has, I believe, consequences in store for those who've made careers out of serving as unpaid cheerleaders for Satan's team.
I wonder if Hal Lindsey's commitment to defeatism has anything to do with his inability to stay married.
In Revelation, it speaks of the saints being 'beheaded' for the witness of Jesus. So what makes them think that they will escape this persecution? Flying away in some quick escape theology, in secret, doesn't follow what scripture talks about.
A few years ago, at a pre-graduation meeting of a conservative bible college whose official position is "pre-trib", I asked the graduates how many of them were pre-trib. Not one hand went up. I asked how many were post-trib and almost all the hands went up. Interesting that no one bought it, even though they had been taught it.
I'm still quite skeptical that the bulk of believers will go through the last 3.5 years of The Great Tribulation . . . Scripoture is clear that believers are not appointed unto God's WRATH.
Regardless. He has promised to be where I am and that I'll be where He is.
. . . .
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
. . . .
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Author House appears to be a vanity press.
When you can comprehend 'the sons of God ... the daughters of men', you can find your way through the similes and metaphors in His Word.
1 The word of the blessing of Enoch, how he blessed the elect and the righteous, who were to exist in the time of trouble; rejecting all the wicked and ungodly. Enoch, a righteous man, who was (1) with God, answered and spoke, while his eyes were open, and while he saw a holy vision in the heavens. This the angels showed me.
2 From them I heard all things, and understood what I saw; that which will not take place in this generation, but in a generation which is to succeed at a distant period, on account of the elect.
3 Upon their account I spoke and conversed with him, who will go forth from his habitation, the Holy and Mighty One, the God of the world:
4 Who will hereafter tread upon Mount Sinai; appear with his hosts; and be manifested in the strength of his power from heaven.
5 All shall be afraid, and the Watchers be terrified.
6 Great fear and trembling shall seize them, even to the ends of the earth. The lofty mountains shall be troubled, and the exalted hills depressed, melting like a honeycomb in the flame. The earth shall be immerged, and all things which are in it perish; while judgment shall come upon all, even upon all the righteous:
7 But to them shall he give peace: he shall preserve the elect, and towards them exercise clemency.
8 Then shall all belong to God; be happy and blessed; and the splendour of the Godhead shall illuminate them.
1Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him. (2)
(2) Quoted by Jude, vss. 14, 15.
Revelation 12
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Opening to the Shekhinah
The Shekhinah is defined, in traditional Jewish writings, as the "female aspect of God" or the "presence" of the infinite God in the world. She is introduced in the early rabbinical commentaries as the "immanence" or "indwelling" of the living God, whose role as the animating life force of the earth is to balance the transcendent deity.
She may be distinguished from the 'Canaanite' Mother Goddess Asherah who the ancient Hebrews honored until about 622 B.C.E. when King Josiah removed the Asherah from the Jerusalem temple and destroyed the outlying shrines. While she does not appear by name in the five books of Moses, the explicators of the Old Testament refer to her in interpreting the text. For example, when Moses encounters the buming bush, he is told to remove his shoes and prepare himself to receive the Shekhinah. According to the rabbis, the choice of the simple thom bush as the vehicle for the revelation was to emphasize the Shekhinah's presence, since nothing in nature can exist without her. In Proverbs, we are introduced to the Divine Mother as Chochmah (Wisdom), who was present from the time of creation as the loving consort and coarchitect with the YHVH, who also reflects the association of the Shekinah with humanity.
In the Talmudic view, actions harmful to other human beings or the earth cause the Shechinah to flee, and she rises upward to the Seven Heavens.' On the other side of the scale are the positive actions of humanity which attract her presence downward to the earth.
The other way that the Shechinah is drawn downward is when people are in need of her as a comforting presence. The rabbis tell us she hovers at the bed of all sick individuals and is seen by the dying as they exit the world into the great light. According to tradition, the Shechinah comes to the good and true at death, giving them the opportunity to go straight up the center of the heavenly ladder in a moment of pure consciousness, into the merger with the Divine. The Shechinah is intimately connected with expressions of human love, particularly romantic and marital bliss. It is she who blesses the happy couple; the glow of lovers is considered to be the reflection of her presence, The scholars of the Spanish and Safed schools also understood that the Shechinah could "appear" to inspired individuals (or "Prophets"), and that the form adopted would be a reflection of the divine purpose (Novick 204-14).
Shekhinah is identified with the eagle's wings both in Exodus and Revelation and is thus the ultimate mystery the nagual of the shaman's vision quest exemplified in Moses' 'burning bush'. She is also identified as the feminine moon deity (Wolkenstain and Kramer xv).
"You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself" (Exod 19:4)."
"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time" (Rev 12:14 )
http://www.dhushara.com/book/torah/tor.htm
Don’t miss this flight!
Can you please give passage from Revelation about the part in regards to the beheading part, thanks.
For the director of music. To the tune of "Lilies." Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice. 7 You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. 8 Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume your robes. In ivory palaces the music of strings entertains you.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your noble women. At your right side stands the Queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir!
***
To the tune of "Lilies." I’ll look up the Hebrew, if it’s Shoshanah, it’s “Roses”
[[To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves.]]
Bingo! Shoshannim, plural
M
When you can comprehend 'the sons of God ... the daughters of men', you can find your way through the similes and metaphors in His Word.
= = =
Please lead us by the hand/spell it out in some detail, for those of us lacking in that perspective.
Great refs.
But would you please post a 7-12 paragraph or so summary in your own words with commentary as you see it?
Wonderful refs. however . . .
Please spell it out in your own words.
Many folks are lost on cryptic. Often me chief amongst them.
Think spirit of life and soul of body. You can figure it out, Quix. You have the instructions manual close at hand.
I suppose I am a pre-mil dispy, but I cannot dismiss the possibility that the church will undergo some nasty persecution before it's all over. Frankly it doesn't keep me up nights. If God is merciful enough to save us He's merciful enough to keep us.
After Satan is loosed, will the horrors he brings to earth be of God? Who will protect believers from those horrors? Get behind me Satan! I think those who believe in the rapture think God protects believers by rapturing them up & out of the way, as though God isn't powerful enough to protect them here on earth... Do not fear those who can kill your body.
Scripture is clear that believers are not appointed unto God's WRATH.
Believers are protected by God. Have faith that He will see you through the worst that Satan can throw at you. If your body suffers and/or is killed is it any worse than others have suffered even unto deaths throughout the ages? Why do you think you should be spared from earthly woes, when clearly others before us were not spared?
Regardless. He has promised to be where I am and that I'll be where He is.
Seventh seal, seventh vial, seventh trump & not before!
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