July 13, 2013
I've been reading this morning in 2 Thessalonians.A few days ago I was asked by someone from Youtube to check out a certain channel, that is operated by a "watcher", or one who warns other Christians of danger. One of his videos has him refuting rapture date setters. That's good, however, it appears that he upholds the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture. I used to believe this teaching too, that is until I started reading Scripture for myself. According to 2 Thes. 2, Paul states that the Day of the Lord, or the day of Christ [same thing because Jesus is "the Lord"], will not happen until two things happen first. Jesus himself says the same thing in Matthew 24. Let's consider what Jesus has to say first. The disciples asked Jesus two things: Tell us, when will these things [his coming and the end of the age] be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age? Jesus tells them what signs to look for concerning the end of the age and his coming, but as for the time, he says no one knows the day or hour, only the Father does. Notice Jesus didn't infer or outright say that the exact time could be found in Scripture, he said that only the Father knows it. Even Daniel was told the time was not going to be revealed until it was upon us.
I've been reading this morning in 2 Thessalonians.A few days ago I was asked by someone from Youtube to check out a certain channel, that is operated by a "watcher", or one who warns other Christians of danger. One of his videos has him refuting rapture date setters. That's good, however, it appears that he upholds the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture. I used to believe this teaching too, that is until I started reading Scripture for myself. According to 2 Thes. 2, Paul states that the Day of the Lord, or the day of Christ [same thing because Jesus is "the Lord"], will not happen until two things happen first. Jesus himself says the same thing in Matthew 24. Let's consider what Jesus has to say first. The disciples asked Jesus two things: Tell us, when will these things [his coming and the end of the age] be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age? Jesus tells them what signs to look for concerning the end of the age and his coming, but as for the time, he says no one knows the day or hour, only the Father does. Notice Jesus didn't infer or outright say that the exact time could be found in Scripture, he said that only the Father knows it. Even Daniel was told the time was not going to be revealed until it was upon us.
Tell me which date setter has been right so far? Obviously none of them have been right, so why do people still try to set a date for the Lord's return? Why do these people claim that Jesus told them the day of his return, when he obviously would be going against Scripture if he did? We weren't given dates, we were given a series of events and signs to watch for. Jesus said that when you see ALL these THINGS, know that it [his coming] is near at the doors! No dates, just signs. So what are ALL the signs we are to look for?
"Take Heed That No One Deceives You"
First of all, both Jesus and Paul, warn us to not let anyone deceive us in regards to Jesus' second coming. Jesus warns us that people will say, "He is in the desert", or "Look, He is in the inner rooms", but we are not to go to the desert, or to the inner rooms to look for him, we are not to believe them. Why not? Because Jesus said his coming would be in the clouds, not from the earth, but from the heavens. In Revelation 13 the two beasts come from the sea, and the earth, therefore they are false Christs. The 'sea' and the 'earth' are terms God uses to denote peoples of the earth. Jesus then gives the signs that precede his coming as being: wars, rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, earthquakes in various places, but these are only the beginning of sorrows.
The next thing Jesus says is that "they" will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for his name sake. So who is the "they' in Jesus' warning? "They" are those of the synagogue of Satan that Jesus speaks of in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9. Was it only the Gentiles, or was it mostly the Jews who incited public riots and then blamed it on the Christians? Scripturally speaking, these days after the cross of Christ, fake Jews are people who practice the Babylonian mystery religion of Judaism. The Bible says that real physical Jews are those of the tribe of Judah, and real spiritual Jews have the faith of Abraham; those who follow Christ in spirit and truth. This world's system is in the business of deceiving the church regarding his coming, it is the false prophets, and other Gnostic religions that have a vested interest in deceiving the elite of Christ into following them rather than Jesus.
The next thing Jesus says is that "they" will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for his name sake. So who is the "they' in Jesus' warning? "They" are those of the synagogue of Satan that Jesus speaks of in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9. Was it only the Gentiles, or was it mostly the Jews who incited public riots and then blamed it on the Christians? Scripturally speaking, these days after the cross of Christ, fake Jews are people who practice the Babylonian mystery religion of Judaism. The Bible says that real physical Jews are those of the tribe of Judah, and real spiritual Jews have the faith of Abraham; those who follow Christ in spirit and truth. This world's system is in the business of deceiving the church regarding his coming, it is the false prophets, and other Gnostic religions that have a vested interest in deceiving the elite of Christ into following them rather than Jesus.
Those who belong to this dubious church, the synagogue of Satan, are those who profess to know God, and claim to worship him, yet they desire to murder the real followers of Christ. Judaism is a false religion, and is currently being embraced by Christians everywhere, they call their variety: Messianic Judaism. Judaism itself is starting to come out of the idolatrous |
religious closet with its true beliefs that are rooted in Kabbalah, and Messianic congregations are starting to follow suit. This synagogue of Satan is flying a false flag, they claim they are the true church, but they will persecute the real Christians like their brethren did to Jesus' disciples in the New Testament. This is the coming persecution Jesus spoke of that precedes the revealing of the anti-Christ and the falling away that Paul speaks of in 2 Thes. They are one in the same thing. Jesus accused the Jews of being lawless false teachers, and they had not love for God or his people. Deception is the next thing we are to keep an eye out for, we must know and understand the nature of "deception" to help us recognize it.
Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe!
The above appellation was a gag law office, or accounting firm depicted in several silly movies. It was also the name of a burger joint in Spokane, but I think it is out of business now, no surprise there. Anyway, it could also be the tag line, or motto of the emergent church. The emergent church is the apostate church that Paul speaks of in Thessalonians 2. How do I know that? Well, it is because their teachings appear to be biblical, but they are mixed with ancient mysticism and they use the same terms and methods of the "Age of Aquarius" faithful. Their brand of "prophecy" doesn't fit with the biblical brand. Bible prophecy was uttered by O.T. prophets, who not only foretold of future events accurately, they also instructed the people in righteousness, and corrected those who were lawless according to God's written law, and his verbal commands beginning with- "Thus saith the Lord..."
New Age prophecy comes from wizards who mutter and peep, and who have a form of godliness, but they deny the power there of. They subtly teach that "believers" are gods, and they boldly claim that the Almighty is okay with that, which of course isn't true. Just as in the days of God's prophets, the false prophets of our day utter with usurped authority, "Thus saith the Lord...", comes from their lying lips, yet their utterances go against Scripture and rarely if ever come to pass. And so, in this way, do they cheat their unsuspecting victims with their fancy talk, and displays of paranormal lying wonders, and oh how do the blind sheep eat it up. This is the last sign we are to look for, that precedes the revealing of the Anti-Christ - a world wide false religion. A religion that will come about by a "great revival" of openly practicing witchcraft disguised as Christianity.
New Age prophecy comes from wizards who mutter and peep, and who have a form of godliness, but they deny the power there of. They subtly teach that "believers" are gods, and they boldly claim that the Almighty is okay with that, which of course isn't true. Just as in the days of God's prophets, the false prophets of our day utter with usurped authority, "Thus saith the Lord...", comes from their lying lips, yet their utterances go against Scripture and rarely if ever come to pass. And so, in this way, do they cheat their unsuspecting victims with their fancy talk, and displays of paranormal lying wonders, and oh how do the blind sheep eat it up. This is the last sign we are to look for, that precedes the revealing of the Anti-Christ - a world wide false religion. A religion that will come about by a "great revival" of openly practicing witchcraft disguised as Christianity.
The Anti-Christ will come onto the stage of this false religious scene BEFORE Jesus' triumphant return, and declare himself to be God, this is the abomination of desolation. That is when the true and faithful should run for the hills and not look back! No where, and I mean no where, does Jesus, or his apostles speak of a 'secret' coming of Jesus, or pre-gathering, or snatching away of the saints to Jesus. Noah and his tiny family were still on the earth, safe and dry in the ark, while the masses of sinners were judged and condemned by drowning on the very same rock - the earth.
Jesus didn't make any mention of Enoch being removed before judgement came, as a type and shadow of the church being taken to heaven, when he spoke of the last days to his disciples. Don't you find that interesting? If there was ever a perfect place to link Enoch with a supposed pre-trib rapture, that was the perfect time to do it. In that event, to make Enoch's snatching away before the flood represent the "Gentile" church being raptured is a big stretch, especially since Noah was a Gentile too, who also walked with God. He was faithful and obedient, yet he was "left behind."
If anything, Enoch can represent the Philadelphia church and Noah the Smyrna church! Both are faithful, both walked with God and were found to be righteous, but one is spared the world's judgement, while the other has to go through it. The only difference being that the Philadelphia church, according to Jesus, is going to be kept in sequester on earth [Rev. 12:6:14], in the wilderness, not heaven. There seems to be link that ties Rev. 12 to the Bozrah promise in Micha 2:12 and even to the promise of the Lord gathering his faithful remnant at the Valley of Achor, and perhaps this can even be a type and shadow that looks back to their Egyptian captivity and Babylonian exile. I will have to research that a lot more and then write about my findings.
Anyway, remember that no one knows the day or the hour of Christ's coming so please, for the LOVE of God, STOP trying to guess, okay?! To be continued...
Jesus didn't make any mention of Enoch being removed before judgement came, as a type and shadow of the church being taken to heaven, when he spoke of the last days to his disciples. Don't you find that interesting? If there was ever a perfect place to link Enoch with a supposed pre-trib rapture, that was the perfect time to do it. In that event, to make Enoch's snatching away before the flood represent the "Gentile" church being raptured is a big stretch, especially since Noah was a Gentile too, who also walked with God. He was faithful and obedient, yet he was "left behind."
If anything, Enoch can represent the Philadelphia church and Noah the Smyrna church! Both are faithful, both walked with God and were found to be righteous, but one is spared the world's judgement, while the other has to go through it. The only difference being that the Philadelphia church, according to Jesus, is going to be kept in sequester on earth [Rev. 12:6:14], in the wilderness, not heaven. There seems to be link that ties Rev. 12 to the Bozrah promise in Micha 2:12 and even to the promise of the Lord gathering his faithful remnant at the Valley of Achor, and perhaps this can even be a type and shadow that looks back to their Egyptian captivity and Babylonian exile. I will have to research that a lot more and then write about my findings.
Anyway, remember that no one knows the day or the hour of Christ's coming so please, for the LOVE of God, STOP trying to guess, okay?! To be continued...