Posted on 03/20/2011 2:34:25 PM PDT by TaraP
Natural disasters 'escalating like labor pains' may be linked to the return of Jesus, says Rev. Franklin Graham. In an exclusive Newsmax.TV video, the evangelist says the end could come in 2012 or later.
*escalating birth pains*
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Satan knows that there are many, many people who come to Christ for salvation after being told of the prophetic Scriptures and how they are coming to pass in our time.
This is why he has people who ridicule and mock those Scriptures and attempt to discredit those Scriptures and those who tell others of what God has said about the end of this age and the horrific judgments that are coming on this earth.
Knowledge of prophecy brings people to Christ. And Satan is not going to just sit back and let that happen without a fight. Thus, the mockers and scoffers.
Amen!
Spot on with that statement...
Unless of course the peace treaty was privately signed by a representative from each group.
That would be about the only way to do it in today’s day and age.
Then.. about halfway through the 7 years it’s broken and the Anti-Christ can blame Israel for breaking it when it becomes public
The event is mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where the Latin Vulgate has rapiemur, which may be translated as "we shall be raptured" or "we shall be caught up." Along with the Rapture it is said that Christians will be gathered together in the air to meet Christ. However, the Rapture's relationship to other eschatological events is a matter of hot dispute: second coming of Christ to take over the earth, Daniel's 70th Week, the "tribulation." Simultaneously at issue is whether or not the tribulation (or events of Revelation 6-18) are past, present, or future, literal or figurative.
The primary passage used to support this idea is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, in which Paul cites "the word of the Lord" about the return of Jesus to gather his saints.
...and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be raptured (or "caught up") together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
There are many views among Christians regarding the timing of Christ's return (one event or two), and various views regarding the destination of the 1 Thessalonians 4 aerial gathering:
Latin: "Rapture", in the context of eschatology, is an English noun derived from the Latin verb rapiō, "caught up" or "taken away." as found in the Vulgate rendering of 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Greek: The Latin rapiemur is Saint Jerome's translation of the Koine Greek verb ἁρπαγησόμεθα [harpagesometha], which means "we shall be caught up," "taken away," or "raptured." The dictionary form of this Greek verb is harpazō (ἁρπάζω), which is used only in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and Acts 8:38.
Acts 8:39 "And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away (Greek harpazo) Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Verse 40: But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." (KJV)
Strong's references 13 usages of harpazo in the New Testament.
Haven't seen him lately, but I went to school with Nick. Why?
Exactly how things will go. There are so many Evangelicals out there that are keeping tabs on world events that nothing would escape them. For the thief in the night scenario, things would have to be so subtle that most of us who are not being diligent would miss it. We’re in so much of an information age that things could sneak under the radar for those who are not watching.
There is nothing in the Bible that says the temple needs to be built EXACTLY on the temple mount, exactly where the Mosque is now. In the spring of 2003, Orthodox Rabbinical students argued that point by laying a figurative corner stone at the border of the disputed area next to the wailing wall. It caused all sorts of ruckuss at the time but it supported an opinion I’ve had for a long time that there is nothing literally stopping the temple from being built except for God’s timing. The Bible says the temple will be rebuilt, it doesn’t say it will be rebuilt exactly in the same place as the other two were! It is conceivable that both mosque and temple could exist side by side for a time!
It’s not literal but allegorical.
It would get out....You could not keep that a secret it would be leaked....
The prophesy went that the generation that saw the rebirth of Israel will see the Second Coming of Yashua. That would mean therefore ......???
The Tribulation Focuses on Israel
The Bible teaches that the tribulation is a time of preparation for Israel's restoration and conversion (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:3-11; Zech. 12:10).1 While the church will experience tribulation in general during this present age (John 15:18-25; 16:33; 2 Tim. 3:10-13), she is never mentioned as participating in Israel's time of trouble, which includes the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and the Wrath of God. Gerald Stanton explains:
The Tribulation does not deal with the Church at all, but with the purification of Israel. It is not the "time of the Church's trouble," but the "time of Jacob's trouble." The emphasis of the Tribulation is primarily Jewish. This fact is borne out by Old Testament Scriptures (Deut. 4: 30; Jer. 30: 7; Ezek. 20: 37; Dan. 12:1; Zech. 13:8-9), by the Olivet Discourse of Christ (Matt. 24:9-26), and by the book of Revelation itself (Rev. 7:4-8; 12:1-2; 17, etc.). It concerns "Daniel's people," the coming of "false Messiah," the preaching of the "gospel of the kingdom," flight on the "sabbath," the temple and the "holy place," the land of Judea, the city of Jerusalem, the twelve "tribes of the children of Israel," the "son of Moses," "signs" in the heavens, the "covenant" with the Beast, the "sanctuary," the "sacrifice and the oblation" of the temple ritual. These all speak of Israel and clearly demonstrate that the Tribulation is largely a time when God deals with His ancient people prior to their entrance into the promised kingdom. The many Old Testament prophecies yet to be fulfilled for Israel further indicate a future time when God will deal with this nation (Deut. 30:1-6; Jer. 30:8-10, etc.)2
The Church is Absent from the Tribulation
Not one Old Testament passage on the tribulation refers to the church (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:4-11; Dan. 8:24-27; 12:1-2), nor does the New Testament ever speak of the church in relation to the tribulation (Matt. 13:30, 39-42, 48-50; 24:15-31; 1 Thess. 1:9-10, 5:4-9; 2 Thess. 2:1-11; Rev. 4-18), except as present in heaven. Such silence speaks loudly and supports the pre-trib position, especially when combined with clear, explicit statements that promise her exemption from that time (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10). Note the clear promise to the church of Revelation 3:10:
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.
If pretribulationism is indeed the teaching of Scripture, then we would expect that passages dealing with the tribulation would consistently make no mention of the church. This is exactly what we find. However, Israel is mentioned often throughout these texts. Dr. Robert Gromacki has studied the New Testament book of Revelation, chapters 4-19, which gives the most detailed overview of the seven-year tribulation in all the Bible. He has shown the following:
However, there is a strange silence of the term in chapters 4-19. That fact is especially noteworthy when you contrast that absence with its frequent presence in the first three chapters. One good reason for this phenomenon is the absence of the true church and true evangelical churches in the seven years preceding the Second Coming. The true believers of the church have gone into the presence of Christ in heaven before the onset of the events of the seven year period. The church is not mentioned during the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments because the church is not here during the outpouring of these judgments.3
The Church will not go through the Tribulation.
Around midnight about ten years ago, my sister was working on her computer when she heard loud, annoying static.
She said, “What is that!”
She discovered it was coming from my father’s earphones for the hearing impaired that was located in the adjoining room.
She held the ear phones up to her face for a closer look on how to turn them off. All of a sudden the static turned into the music of the Hallelujah Chorus with choir-like voices singing “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
This was followed by a strong calm male voice saying, “Prepare! The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon! This is the last generation!”
Then the loud static came on the earphones again. My sister finally figured out how to turn the headphones off. She looked around the room to check for the source of the message and found that the TV had been turned off; the satellite dish had been turned off; and no radio was operating.
My sister excitedly told my mother, who was still up and working in the kitchen, “You are not going to believe this!”
She told my mother what had transpired. My mother told my sister to write the message down. She did, and still has the envelope it was written on, as well as the headphones. Shortly after midnight she called me and relayed what she had heard. She also told her pastor.
The headphones had never made a static noise before or since the message.
It is interesting to note that several later years I was led to write two songs in that same room about the end times and Christ’s return.
Prophesy states the Temple will be built where that mosque is now. If it’s not, then it’s not the rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple. It’s some other structure. Heck, they could build it now and then call it the “Temple” and we’d be done with it. Maybe.
Read the Book of Daniel
That day will come as a thief - for the damned.
Not so for God’s elect. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1Th5:4
And.. here’s the other option..
Whatever agreement it is.. people will think it’s so wonderful they won’t care that it’s 7 years.
The agreement will stop something seriously bad and people will be willing to take whatever in order to get it stopped.
Maybe a nuclear war?
Okay, what is Yashua doing when He comes and we meet Him in the air. Where are those people going. This is the “Rapture” that is happening. Where is He going?
Don’t you think it would be apparent if the world finally witnessed peace with Israel and the Palestinians? of course it would..There is no secret to a Peace Treaty coming...
I don’t know how the Rapture of the Church will actually happen..I have my own idea...
If a Solar Eruption/CME happened to knock out the power grid like the 1859 Carrington Event, the world would be in the dark, no communications at all, maybe just for the selected few...
If people went missing who would know??? not very many if any...When power was restored, I think people would then think of the rapture as having happened....
The world may not witness the peace.. or the treaty.
People won’t be paying attention and they’ll just think of it as a lull in the fighting.
I know I don’t keep up with every suicide bomber in Israel or which settlements Israel now occupies, etc.
In fact.. remember there for a while around 2006/2007 there was suicide bomber after suicide bomber in Israel.
When was the last time you saw a Palestinian suicide bomber in Israel? Not saying it hasn’t happened recently but I’ve not heard of one in years..
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