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2-THE RAPTURE: IN BRIEF BY SCRIPTURE BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN FROM THE DEAD, AND BECOME THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THEM THAT SLEPT. FOR SINCE BY MAN CAME DEATH, BY MAN CAME ALSO THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE, EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE. BUT EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER: CHRIST THE FIRSTFRUITS; AFTERWARD THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING-1 Cor 15:20-23. So the saints are to be LOOKING (or watching) FOR THAT BLESSED HOPE, AND THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST-Titus 2:13. They...

NEW YORK - A new 10-nation survey of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians, considered the fastest-growing stream of Christianity worldwide, shows they are deeply influencing the Roman Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches and are poised to make a big impact on global affairs. p>The poll released Thursday by the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that "spirit-filled" Christians, who speak in tongues and believe in healing through prayer, comprise at least 10 percent of the population in nine of the 10 surveyed countries. The study also found that followers are more willing than previously thought to bring their...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As many as 200 vehicles got stuck in deep snow early Saturday in the San Bernardino Mountains as the latest in a series of storms struck California. The storms quickly moved eastward, closing all three major highways over the Sierra Nevada. Up to 10 feet was expected over the weekend at the Sierra's higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service. Snow piled up 3 to 4 feet deep along a 15-mile stretch of highway between the Snow Valley ski resort and Big Bear dam, said Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County fire...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The first of two major winter storms was expected to strike California late Thursday night, bringing strong winds and rain along the coast and heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada. "The entire state of California is pretty much under the gun for the next three or four days," Duane Dykema, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey, said Thursday. "People are definitely going to have to be wary if they have travel plans, especially if they plan to go to the mountains." The first storm, which originated in the eastern Pacific Ocean, was expected...

One of the largest and most active volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula near the settlements of Perryville and Chignik has grown increasingly restless since the turning of the new year, sending up small ash plumes and experiencing increased seismic tremors. The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Tuesday upgraded Mount Veniaminof Volcano’s level of concern to yellow for activity considered higher than the normal background. The level of concern is up from green, indicating normal activity, but isn’t yet to the orange level when an eruption is expected to occur or is occurring. Veniaminof is about 300 miles southwest of the Kodiak...