Biblically Optimistic and Gospel-Based
"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
—when the “rapture”occurs , I am going to be on the lookout to see if any of the driverless cars careening about collide with any bearing the “If It Ain’t the King James, It Ain’t the Bible” bumper stickers—
I saw the movie. It’s a bit of fun fiction made sufficiently plausible to allow the moviegoer a willing suspension of disbelief.
It’s decent entertainment. It’s Armageddon meets Independence Day meet Poseidon Adventure. See the movie. Enjoy the moment.
It is *NOT* presented as ‘fact’ a la “An Inconvenient Truth” or any Michael Moore movie.
Apparently, WAY too many people take fictional movies intended for entertainment WAY too seriously.
The way God see’s time, and the way we see time are quite different. Given the approximate age of the earth is 4.54 Billion years. Human kind, as we know humans (Homo Sapien Sapien), have been around for only 200,000 years.
The bible is over 2,000 years old and tells of times yet to come, well over 2,000 years in the future.
So, given the age of the earth, and we are told that God was around well before Earth was, humans have been around for only ~0.0000044% of the earth’s existance.
The bible was written at a point in time, well after 198,000 years of moden human first appearing on earth. If you know the exact end of time, you can say that we are 99.97% of the way there; but even then 0.03% of the human timeline is 600 years.
Based upon what the Bible says about the end of days; I’d just as soon be dead and buried at least 10 minutes beforehand. It doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun.
The way God see’s time, and the way we see time are quite different. Given the approximate age of the earth is 4.54 Billion years. Human kind, as we know humans (Homo Sapien Sapien), have been around for only 200,000 years.
The bible is over 2,000 years old and tells of times yet to come, well over 2,000 years in the future.
So, given the age of the earth, and we are told that God was around well before Earth was, humans have been around for only ~0.0000044% of the earth’s existance.
The bible was written at a point in time, well after 198,000 years of moden human first appearing on earth. If you know the exact end of time, you can say that we are 99.97% of the way there; but even then 0.03% of the human timeline is 600 years.
Based upon what the Bible says about the end of days; I’d just as soon be dead and buried at least 10 minutes beforehand. It doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun.
You obviously don’t get the History Channel or Discovery. It’s pretty much common knowledge now that the world will end on Dec 12, 2012. Book it.
The rise of Islam, with the subsequent promotion of World Government, World Economy, and World unity has to be a fulfillment of end time prophesy.
At no time in history has instantaneous communication between nations been enabled. And certainly the return of the Messiah, for the entire World to see, is totally within the capability of television.
And the irrelevance (little mention) of America in end time prophesy is completely believable with Obama and his marxist minions destroying our wealth and our ability to be independent of World dependence for our basic needs.
I’ll get mine in:
First...there is no rapture, no driverless cars. We meet in the “air” in the “clouds” and the dead go first. The bible was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. “Air”, the way it’s used in the bible, often refers to the our spiritual self. “Clouds” mean multitude. So when the bible says we meet in the air in the clouds and the dead go first, it’s saying we meet in the spirit among the multitudes and those that have already passed on are waiting for us. This will be everyone (still alive) at once...good and bad.
Second...the Fig Tree is Israel. God is married to the land of Israel, bible prophecy usually is centered around what is going on there. So when the fig tree was replanted, that was it...1948 and counting. That generation will not pass away without seeing the end of this age. The youngest of that generation is now 61. At the moment no one sees 120 so the end will occur before 2068. I would guess around 2020. The UN (or whatever the beast system is) has to have time to fail and then the antiChrist will rebuild it and then the end of this age will come shortly after that. Of course no man knows the hour or the day so I could be early by 48 years. We do know the season though and we are in the season. An interesting thing is the bible’s last adjustment to the lifetime of a man was downward to 72. 1948 plus 72 equals 2020. May not mean anything, I don’t know.
2012...well we are passing through the galactic equatorial plane then and there are some plasma physics involved regarding that plane with currents running through space at that point. Is that enough to disturb the earth to invoke disaster?...I don’t know. Maybe it’ll just be a bump against the sun’s and/or the earth’s magnetosphere(s).
I’m fine if I see the little stick figures running back and forth.
Here's a good study series of sermons about Dispensations and the Rapture, from Mark Hitchcock at Edmond Faith Bible Church in Oklahoma. Pastor Hitchcock just put up his own blog, too, recently.
A little bit about Mark Hitchcock (because you should get to know this prophecy teacher as he's a prolific writer and a good prophecy teacher and a good teacher in general.
Mark Hitchcock is a leading Bible prophecy expert, prolific author who has penned over 20 books on the end times, senior pastor, and adjunct faculty member of the Dallas Theological Seminary. He has appeared on hundreds of radio programs and in print as well as The History Channel, MSNBC, Fox, The Glenn Beck Show, and CNN. A leading Christian voice on Mayan 2012 prophecy, he is scheduled to appear on an NBC sci-fi special related to 2012 airing fall, 2009.
A former attorney, Mark initially worked for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Following a call to full-time ministry, today he serves as senior pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, just outside of Oklahoma City. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1991, where he subsequently earned his doctorate in 2006 and more recently has served as an adjunct faculty member.
Hitchcock has been a contributing editor for the Left Behind Prophecy Club for many years. His new book 2012, the Bible, and the End of the World (Harvest House Publishers) will be released September 15, 2009. He has also recently released Cashless (July 1, 2009, also published by Harvest House), showing how today’s headlines foreshadow a new and vastly different economic future—a one-world economy that is consistent with Bible prophecy in Revelation 13. Some of his other titles include: The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals about America’s Last Days; Armageddon, Oil, and Terror; Iran the Coming Crisis: Radical Islam, Oil and the Nuclear Threat; The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; What On Earth is Going On?; Is America in Bible Prophecy?; The Coming Islamic Invasion of Israel; Is the Antichrist Alive Today?; Seven Signs of the End Times; and What Jesus Says About Earth’s Final Days.
Hitchcock maintains an active speaking schedule, appearing frequently at prophecy conferences, seminaries, and churches. He and his wife, Cheryl, live in Edmond, Oklahoma with their two sons Justin and Samuel.
Faith Bible Church
600 N. Coltrane
Edmond, Oklahoma 73034
Phone: 405-340-1000
Fax: 405-340-7504
SERMONS
The teaching of Dispensationalim / Pastor Mark Hitchcock and Dr. Charles Ryrie
Left Behind - What's It All About? / Tim LaHaye and Gary Frazier
The Rapture
The Pre-Trib Rapture
And..., here's one to educate yourself about End Times Controversies, especially when you are challenged on the Rapture. It's about the false and heretical teachings of Preterism, which is the teaching which denies the future prophecies are related to and significant for Israel and denies that Israel is still the chosen nation before God and that it will have future significance in God's plan in the Millennial Kingdom (the 1,000 year Kingdom, before the final judgement at the Great White Throne) that Jesus, the Messiah sets up here on this earth
I would say this one is essential as it's jam packed full of necessary information. Mark Hitchcock did his Doctoral Paper on this subject at Dallas Theological Seminary and wrote a book about it, too.
About the Errors of Preterism and End Times Controversy / Pastor Mark Hitchcock
Faith Bible Church Teaching
Holy Scriptures
We teach that the Bible is the Word of God, supernaturally inspired so that it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and has been preserved by God, so that it is the divinely authoritative standard for every age and every life.
The Godhead
We teach that there is one God eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient manifesting Himself in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit; one in nature, equal in attributes, essence, power and glory.
Jesus Christ
We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate, very God and very man, that He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice, suffering the full penalty for sinners. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to intercede for us as our advocate and High Priest.
Man
We teach that man, as a consequence of Adam's sin, is subject to the wrath of God, justly condemned in His sight, wholly unable to save himself. Although man was originally created in the image of God, apart from God's salvation through Christ man is eternally lost.
Salvation
We teach that salvation is wholly by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and entirely apart from any ordinance, ritual, human merit or works. Salvation is the free gift of God and once it is received it cannot by any means be lost. While sin may interrupt the joy of a believers fellowship with God and bring the loving discipline of the Father, the true believer is eternally secure.
Spiritual Gifts
We teach that Christ gives to each believer, at conversion, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, some gift or gifts to equip him to serve the Lord and edify other believers.
The Church
We teach that the universal Church consists of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ from Pentecost to the Rapture. Each local assembly or church should be a miniature of the universal Church, expressing the great truths of the latter. The local assembly consists of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who meet regularly for teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer and evangelism.
Ordinances
We teach that there are two Christian ordinances: water baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the testimony of a believer showing forth in solemn and beautiful emblem his faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, and his union and identification with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We teach that the Lord's Supper serves as a commemoration and proclamation of Jesus' death until He comes.
Last Things
We teach the following future events: the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus to rapture the Church, the tribulation period, the second coming of Christ, the millennial reign of Christ, the judgment of the lost, and the eternal state.
And here is the Faith Bible Church page with all the sermons on it.
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I have a way of surviving any holocaust...just send $99.99.
Tax free!
Sincerity is a necessity (of belief/faith)for saving grace, not just words.