Posted on 06/20/2010 5:59:21 PM PDT by USALiberty
The Purpose For This Index The Rapture Index has two functions: one is to factor together a number of related end time components into a cohesive indicator, and the other is to standardize those components to eliminate the wide variance that currently exists with prophecy reporting.
The Rapture Index is by no means meant to predict the rapture, however, the index is designed to measure the type of activity that could act as a precursor to the rapture.
You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.
Rapture Index of 100 and Below: Slow prophetic activity Rapture Index of 100 to 130: Moderate prophetic activity Rapture Index of 130 to 160: Heavy prophetic activity Rapture Index above 160: Fasten your seat belts
(Excerpt) Read more at raptureready.com ...
160 is the "fasten your seat belts" level.
I would reply but we’re already gone.
Word to the wise: Be there.
Why don't people worry about living their lives as God wants them to first and leave the end times and the second coming to him, are you trying to out do Jesus and the Angels?Great comment! The Rapture doesn't make any sense anyway, because it's the suffering Christian souls left on this earth that save the others. Take them away and evil prevails.
Well, what do think the Tribulation IS? It's not bunny foof and puppy adventures. It's the ultimate evil.
It hasn’t been “bunny foof and puppy adventures” on earth for as long as I can remember, but Christ has always allowed suffering souls [to suffer] to help guide and deliver His people ... He will do so during the Tribulation as well ... that’s why the Rapture makes no sense at all ...
“”The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history of the Millerite movement, a 19th century American Christian sect. William Miller, a Baptist preacher, understood by studying the prophecies in the book of Daniel (Chapters 8 and 9, especially Dan. 8:14 “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”) that Jesus Christ would return to the earth during the year 1844. A more specific date, that of October 22, 1844, was preached by Samuel S. Snow.
Although thousands of followers, some of whom had given away all of their possessions, awaited expectantly, Jesus did not appear as expected on the appointed day and as a result October 22, 1844, became known as the Great Disappointment.””
When have there not been crackpots preaching how it was the End Times? When have these same crackpots not worked overtime to make Christians look like generally retarded rubes? Maybe it is just as well the MSN pays them little attention.
Try reading the Bible. It might help you to understand. Here is a hint: “Gathering of the Elect.”
“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way”. (2 Thessalonians 2:6,7).
One of the most comical things I’ve ever heard of.
Try reading the Bible. It might help you to understand.What True Christian wouldn't want to suffer for those less fortunate until the end of time?
Also Peter mentions it in 2 Peter 3.
I have one question:
What is the difference between "Why don't people worry about living their lives as God wants them to first and leave the end times and the second coming to him, are you trying to out do Jesus and the Angels?"
And this2 Peter 3:3Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?"
The Bible tells us to be LOOKING for our blessed hope and GLORIOUS APPEARING of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus (Titus 2:13)
We are to be in constant anticipation of Christs return.
Our lives are to be lived proclaiming Gods Good News. Impacting the world around us. Not just trying to be fat and happy, content with this world.
Without that anticipation, we have no sense of urgency. If you KNEW Christ would return tomorrow at 10:42 am, would you be at a son or daughter, brother or sister, or mom or dads door in minutes begging and pleading with them to hear Gods Good News and accept his free gift?
What other prophecy must be fulfilled b4 the rapture? I’m not a big end times prophecy buff but we have been told what the signs would be... the only bigger sign would be if “aliens” landed from “space”. The world quakes at the precipice of irreversible conflagration, when war is declared in middle east, the earth will fall headlong into an engulfing rage... it is my belief that the rapture will occur either just prior to or in the midst of that engulfing rage.
And not only should we be in constant anticipation of Christ's return, we know something else:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only but unto all them also that LOVE HIS APPEARING". (2 Timothy 4:8). Maranatha!
YOUR "opinion" is trumped by CHRISTS own words
Matthew 24:27 "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
31"And He will send forth His angels with GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
40"Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41"Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
42"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Sounds like mocking to me.
2 Peter 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
4and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
YOUR "opinion" is trumped by CHRISTS own wordsI do not decipher the Lord's Word on my own, but through the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
Your church is trumped by the Word Of The Lord.
Believe as you like ...
If you want the Evangelical view, there are legions of books, websites and arm-chair Prophets out there more than willing to turn any event into a "sure sign of Christ's Return".
I'm bored, so let me spin a new tale in Speculative Theology
The Orthodox view of things says that Satan through the Church Age has been bound in chains. (Rev 20:2). Never mind the Futurists, Revelation is written, in their view, for the benefit of the Reprobate.
The argument goes that in Mt 16:19;18:18 gives the Apostles the power to bind and loosen spiritual entities. And in Acts we see them effectively performing exorcisms. This is actually a useful thing because in Mk 3:27 we read that one can't pillage the strong man's house unless that man has been previously bound. The context of this binding of the strong man directly relates to Satan.
In view of the totality of OT history, very few Gentiles came to faith, and only then when they were confronted by men of faith. Easily, nearly 100% of humanity before the cross was reprobate. Why? Because Satan was able to darken the minds so that they could not understand (2 Cor 4:3-4)
Now after Pentecost, the disciples began in Jerusalem then went througout Judea, Samaria and to the outermost parts of the world. How is it that they could get the message to the Gentiles where it was accepted? They bound Satan progressively. We see in Acts where Satan was progressively bound as the disciples and only the disciples went out.
Now for secular sources. If you read "Cessation of the Oracles" written by Plutarch a wealthy playboy historian, adventurer, a contemporary of Paul, we read that in one of his travels he came about the men of a particular Greek city who were weeping because the Oracles were silent. I don't think that this story was made up, that indeed the Oracles must have spoken at one time, but now are silent. Why? I submit that Plutarch visited this town after the Apostles came through.
We read in Exodus how the Egyptians were able to do things that our magicians today can't do in response to what Moses and Aaron were doing in Pharoah's court. One of the more interesting stories comes from Elijah confronting the priests of Ba'al and staging a winner takes all contest in who can conjure up fire from the sky.
Fire from the sky was Ba'al's specialty, that is why Elijah chose it, and the priests quickly accepted the challenge. Now if Ba'al couldn't do this, why would any priest of Ba'al accept the challenge. What if demonic spirits could produce that occasional bolt of fire from the sky? What if demonic spirits could assist the Egyptian magicians in duplicate many of Moses' signs?
We know how the story went with Elijah, God is LORD over the demonic entities so their fire was stopped. If we examine the Dueling Plagues in Exodus, you will note that while the Egyptian magicians could make a mess, they couldn't clean it up, and Pharaoh petitioned Moses to restore the Nile after his own people corrupted it.
You may see where I am going now. The NT Church after the Apostles has never seen what a world with an unchained Satan is like. Yes, Satan while metaphorically chained up can still tempt, but his powers to deceive are bound in so much as the Church can prosper. Is he upset about that? Sure, that is why he is characterized as a raging lion. Now in Revelation, we read that prior to the Last Day, Satan will be unbound and for many this marks the Great Tribulation where God and Death have the final showdown.
I submit, for this mother of camp fire stories, that modern man has absolutely no clue as to what things will be like as far as wierd signs from the heavens once Satan is unleashed to deceive the nations once more. All I know is Satan once was permitted to send fire down from heaven and turn the Nile into blood. Let your imagination go on from there.
You illustrate my point.
Interesting -
and welcome aboard !
I'm looking at those words, and I don't see "rapture". I submit that you are eisegeting these passages, and since it doesn't say rapture, you just gratuitously put it in there.
Here is a quick test. Where does it suggest that the one taken away is being raptured - or that the one taken away is the wheat and the other Left Behind is the tare? See, you have to assume things not in evidence.
Now lets look at our LORD words on this topic and you will quickly discover that you are claiming the exact opposite of what our LORD described.
Read Matthew 13:36-43. Here are the highlights:
Once again, the Evangelicals get it all wrong because it doesn't fit the Fantasy
This is a joke thread...right?
I’ve been using that line on chicks all year. Meeting with only moderate success.
I would figure that 160 is the “get ready for Jesus” level. I’m ready.
By the way, “USALiberty,” if this is so gol-danged important....
....why are you using it to get blog hits??????????
Hmmmmmm????
Phony.
There are 2 prophecies that do happen either right before or at the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation. One is the Gog/Magog war with Israel. Basically a huge coalition army with primarily muslim nations and possibly Russia.
The other is a leader who comes on the world scene, and oversees and agrees with a 7 year peace plan with Israel. This plan will be broken by this leader 1/2 way through.
My thoughts are that this agreement is the starting point of the Tribulation. The question I have is will we see this leader rise up, before he agrees to the peace plan.
We know that during the 7 year tribulation that a one world government is implemented. We are watching as the world lines up for this already.
There will also be a one world monetary system, that people will be required to have special mark, that without no one will be able to buy or sell. There is a push to dissolve every nations currency and bring in one currency, much LIKE the Euro, but for the entire world. Also, groups like the Council On Foreign Relations want to have EVERY person "chipped" by 2017. A chip that would have all of a persons vital information and banking info, doing away with physical money. Kind of hard to buy and sell anything without a chip, if physical money is eliminated.
SO we do not need to have specific prophecies to actually be fulfilled (past tense). We can watch as these prophecies evolve.
There will be a one world government-which means the US must lose preeminence and sovereignty. What is happening today with our dear leader?
If all the worlds currencies are virtually bankrupt, then its easier to create a single monetary system. Whats happening with Europe and the Euro, and Greece and Spain? The US dollar will soon collapse. China holds over $1 trillion in US debt, not to mention others debts. What will happen to Chinas money if the US dollar collapses?
Watch Israel. EVERYTHING in Bible prophecy revolves around Israel. Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone to the entire world. The world is aligning step by step against Israel. In the Islamic world, Turkey WAS an ally of Israel. The last 2 years Turkey started to slowly change its stance with Israel. Today Turkey is no longer viewed as an ally of Israel. If Turkey has changed this much in 2 years, slowly at first, more rapidly recently, what will they be like in the no too distant future? Turkey is one of the main nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38&39, in the battle of Gog/Magog w/ Israel.
EVERYTHING Israel does is condemned by the worlds leaders. Israel is attacked-no problem. Israel responds or defends itself-Israel is evil.
There are numerous people that I have talked to, or I have heard comment, that end time events have rapidly increased in the last 2 years, and are building faster. I have thought this myself, BEFORE I heard others confirming this in me.
I'll align myself with Peter, Paul and Christ.
You talk about " you have to assume things not in evidence."
Your the one developing a theory out of whole cloth. You said that the people who disappeared were taken by the Romans. And yet Christ says "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
Likewise, the Bible admonishes us to know the signs of the times of Christs return. We are to be vigilant in looking for his return.
Our jobs are not to be focused on us and our "perfection". We are to spread the Good News. THAT is why we look towards Christs return. Just as a farmer can see storm clouds in the distance, and knows to get crops in, or sees the seasons change, and that the harvest is near, likewise we watch the signs of the times to know the season. I see the season of harvest as very near, my job is to prepare the crops for harvest.
God promised to finish a good work in me, though I'm supposed to grow in Christ, my focus isn't about perfecting me. Thats Gods job, I just open myself to his leading and teaching. My job, the Great Commission, is to tell others about Christ.
You may be surprised to find out that Scofield agrees with your interpretation that the wheat was left behind. Look at Scofield's note on Matthew 24:39. It is talking about the second advent, not the rapture. "They knew not until the flood took them all away."
Contrast this with Revelation 14:14-20 Where the evil ones are left behind for judgment.
To eisegete a passage means to add in one's own biases. I simply pointed out that the phrase "one taken" does not mean "raptured". To read "rapture" into the passage means that you inserted your own personal bias. I proved the bias by refuting your claim that Jesus taught it. I demonstrated that by pointing you to His actual words regarding the event. In that event, where He even explained it in plain words demonstrates that there is no "rapture", rather it is the wicked who are removed and the saved remain. That is the exact opposite of what you added to those "taken" passages.
The Bible doesn't use the word trinity and yet is a tenet of the Bible.
But you and I can show in Scripture this tenet. You cannot do so with a "rapture". The "rapture" is a relatively modern concept, and is not recognized as any doctrine ever taught by the Church prior to the invention of Dispensationalism. The Trinity, on the other hand has been with us from the beginning.
Furthermore, though the concept of the Dispensationalist's Rapture is not taught in Scripture, the word does indeed exist in the Bible, it is the Latin word "rapturo" which is read in the English as "caught up". There is a whole lot of eisegeting that takes place where "caught up" is to be understood as a secret return, seven years of partying, followed by a glorious return.
The pet prooftext of the Rapture Enthusiasts is found in 1 Thess 4:17 then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is where we find the latin word we get "rapture" ...deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus... Interestingly, the "meet", or 'άπάντήσις'is used in Mat 25:6 the parable of the virgins where they go out to meet the bridegroom; and it is also used in Acts 28:15 when the towns people came out to meet Paul. The idea is that we don't go up meet Christ and then leave, but that it is akin to going outside the city gates to approach a coming dignitary and escort them back to the city. This type is found on the first day of the Passion week when the people came out to our LORD entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and escorted Him in. That time it was humility on a donkey, in the future, it will be our King in Glory.
You said that the people who disappeared were taken by the Romans.
I gave you the Full Preterist view, and I believe I also gave you the view I prefer which is the Partial, or Realized Millennial view. Besides, you are not on good ground by suggesting that the Matthew 24 passage is a rapture passage. The evangelical revisionism claims a silent Rapture, "A Great Trumpet" doesn't fit too well with that Silent Rapture theory. It does fit in quite swimmingly with my prefered Realzied Millennial view.
Thanks for your thoughts (except the childish insult part)
So, why are you excerpting??? Post it.
The deranged vagrant on the downtown Detroit street corner says basically the same thing every day as you are saying. The difference is, he finishes his thoughts. I have yet to hear him say, "The end is coming, (excerpted, click on the hobo across the street for more)."
But, God gives points for blog hits, too.
Set up your Godwords account at Godwords.google.com
“Who’s that writin’?
John the Blogulator!
Tell me, Who’s that writin’?.....
LOL, who is watching your pets?
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
And, they along with everyone else who ridicules Christians for obeying Christ in looking for His return, fulfills prophecy by virtue of their mocking and simply confirms that His return is near.
The only way the MSM will cover end-times-related stories is to mock and ridicule.
The media is also ignoring this guy I met on the subway who told me that his parents were scientists being held in captivity in Iraq (Province #9 of the 13 American Colonies which include every nation on Earth), but they communicate to him via a device in his brain, and they have told him that the Iraq war was so that the U.S. military could prepare a gigantic highway from Babylon to Jerusalem for you know who.
Probably for the same reason.
We are the Dispensation of the Grace of God, not The Dispensation of the Law.
I hadn't seen this thread.
HERE'S A WARNING FROM OUR OWN SPIRIT-FILLED CHRISTIAN FREEPER WHO IS WORKING ON HIS PHD WITH HIS OWN WEBBOT SOFTWARE:
It's cryptic and certainly fuzzy. However, it is also better than nothing!
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THANKS TONS, BRO. PRAYERS AND HUGS.
Thanks for the ping!
THANKS FOR YOUR KIND REPLY.
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