Replies

Honestly, I find the idea of preterism attractive since I really don't desire to see the horrors. Likewise, I also find the pretrib rapture similarly attractive, though less so, but I have issues with preterism because I just have never understood, despite having been granted a very high IQ by God, how it works.

For instance, when was a beast given power over the whole earth such that no Christian may buy or sell? Whether the mark is literal or figurative, the Scripture plainly states that "no man may buy or sell."

Is there some alternative history that I'm unaware of where this occurred at any point since Christ.

As I understand it, Christians in the first century were able to buy and sell despite being routinely thrown to the lions?

I could go further, but of what use is it unless this clear-cut question can be answered?

None of what God predicted was to happen before He returns to earth and sets up His kingdom has ever happened. The predicted events will happen in the future, and, based on events that are occurring in our time (the most alarming, in my opinion, is the ongoing preparation for a one-world currency, serious discussions about a world government, and the plans for a chip in the hand by which one can make purchases) that return is not very far off.

Do you remember when God said that in the last days before His return that people would "give heed to seducing spirits...", believing "doctrines of demons"? Preterism and replacement theology are two of those "doctrines of demons" God was talking about.

Remember - Israel is God's prophecy clock. When Israel became a nation in a day, as God said would happen in Isaiah 66:7-8, that started the clock ticking. Only in our day are all the signs that were given by God for His return happening at once. Nobody in 70AD was talking about establishing a world government, nobody in 70AD was in the process of establishing a global currency, there was no way in 70AD to number every single person on the face of the earth, and nobody went throughout the entire world preaching the Gospel. But all of that is possible today.

No doubt about it- we are the generation in which Israel became a nation and we are the nation that is witnessing all of these things- and what did Jesus say? After answering the disciples with a number of signs which would precede His return, He told them, "33So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right R)at the door. 34"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (Matthew 24:33-34). This generation is the during which these signs are occurring.

So, if you know Christ as your Savior, and you know without a doubt that you have eternal life, you have absolutely nothing to fear. You have assurance from Jesus Himself that you will not be here to suffer the wrath that He sends on a world that has rejected Him. Satan has a lie and a confusion to fit every personality. Don't let the false doctrines, which are becoming more and more prevalent as we get closer to His return, get you away from Christ. Just keep your eyes on Him, stay reading the Scriptures, keep praying, and you'll be fine.