At Christ's coming (1 Th 4:v16) the trumpet will sound and the rapture will occur. As verses 16 and 17 say, "the dead in Christ will rise first" and then "we will be caught up together with them."
When a Roman army would return from victory, they would camp outside Rome and wait for the town to prepare for a triumphal entry. When the town was ready, the residents would go out to meet them and parade with them into town.
"We will be with the Lord forever." (v 17) We will be with Christ as he "rules with a rod of iron" and defeats his foes. As Christ approaches, (5:3) destruction will reign down on his adversaries.
This matches with the the passage from 1 Th. we looked at. Verse 9 is often used by Dispensationalists to argue for a pre-trib rapture since 'we aren't appointed to wrath' and the 7 year tribulation is full of wrath. However, if you read the full text for the context, it is clearly that "we aren't going to hell" "we're going to be with the Lord" Which means that the destruction which rains down on the unbelievers will not be on "us" (if we're alive at His coming).
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Christ's return
Claim:
Every clear teaching regarding Christ's return shows that Jesus' return is the culmination of all things. There is no secret rapture and no millennial kingdom.
The three clear texts teaching about Christ's return are:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 - 5:3
2Thessalonians 2:7-8
2 Peter 3:10
1 Th. 4:16-5:3
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words. 5:1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
2 Th 2:7-8
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Jesus return ONCE
It is called "the day of the Lord"
That day will come as a surprise to unbelievers "like a thief"
And destruction will come upon Christ's enemies.
This sequence coincides with the return of Christ in Revelation 20:7-9
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
Every clear teaching regarding Christ's return shows that Jesus' return is the culmination of all things. There is no secret rapture and no millennial kingdom.
The three clear texts teaching about Christ's return are:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 - 5:3
2Thessalonians 2:7-8
2 Peter 3:10
1 Th. 4:16-5:3
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words. 5:1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
2 Th 2:7-8
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Jesus return ONCE
It is called "the day of the Lord"
That day will come as a surprise to unbelievers "like a thief"
And destruction will come upon Christ's enemies.
This sequence coincides with the return of Christ in Revelation 20:7-9
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
May I recommend some John Piper videos?
Do you love Jesus Christ more than football?
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=lPBCGMBmDHE
Let's not waste our lives
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=DKNFbZa9cH4
What Christians need to remember about politics (especially the last 1/2)
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjGbZNyIBY
Do you love Jesus Christ more than football?
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=lPBCGMBmDHE
Let's not waste our lives
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=DKNFbZa9cH4
What Christians need to remember about politics (especially the last 1/2)
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjGbZNyIBY
Friday, November 7, 2008
I am not surprised that Obama has won.
Unfortunately, he is ultra liberal
It would be depressing but my life is not wrapped up in the the country - rather it is wrapped up in the Lord.
A general question I have for any evangelical that voted for Obama is "is abortion wrong?"
Page 15 of the national Democratic platform endorses "reproductive health care" - - they consistently fight for any form of abortion and partial birth abortion and Obama voted against the giving of aid to children born alive after a failed abortion attempt.
The MN Family Council states that 39 abortions are performed in MN each day.
If that is carried out in each state, we have a 9/11 happening every day across America
Another question for an evangelical that tends to vote Democratic is "have you at LEAST gone to the caucus and submitted a resolution against those stances?"
"why not?"
These are clear-cut platform stances which need to change.
Unfortunately, he is ultra liberal
It would be depressing but my life is not wrapped up in the the country - rather it is wrapped up in the Lord.
A general question I have for any evangelical that voted for Obama is "is abortion wrong?"
Page 15 of the national Democratic platform endorses "reproductive health care" - - they consistently fight for any form of abortion and partial birth abortion and Obama voted against the giving of aid to children born alive after a failed abortion attempt.
The MN Family Council states that 39 abortions are performed in MN each day.
If that is carried out in each state, we have a 9/11 happening every day across America
Another question for an evangelical that tends to vote Democratic is "have you at LEAST gone to the caucus and submitted a resolution against those stances?"
"why not?"
These are clear-cut platform stances which need to change.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
NEA - The National Education Assoc
the journal of Summit Ministries reported (October 2008):
[Delegates of the NEA met at their annual convention in July this year. they] sported buttons with provocative slogans such as "Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot!:, "Hate is not a family value," " The 'Christian Right' is neither," and "Gay Rights are civil rights."
[They passed non-education related resolutions] such as supporting stat-hood for the District of Columbia, a 'single-payer heath care plan' (i.e., government-run), gun control, ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty, and taking steps "to change activities that contribute to global climate change."
When will these "teachers" teach?
[Delegates of the NEA met at their annual convention in July this year. they] sported buttons with provocative slogans such as "Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot!:, "Hate is not a family value," " The 'Christian Right' is neither," and "Gay Rights are civil rights."
[They passed non-education related resolutions] such as supporting stat-hood for the District of Columbia, a 'single-payer heath care plan' (i.e., government-run), gun control, ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty, and taking steps "to change activities that contribute to global climate change."
their source: Phyllis Schlafly, Human Events, July 28, 2008, pg. 10
When will these "teachers" teach?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Global Warming
The October 2008 issue of the journal (by Summit Ministries) states:
British archives contain more than 100,000 Royal Navy logbooks from around 1670 to 1850 ... They are a stunning resource.
The UK Met Office ... scoured more than 6,000 Royal Navy logs dating from the 1600s. 'Ships' officers recorded air pressure, wind strength, air and sea temperatures and other weather conditions. From these records, scientists can build a detailed picture of past weather and climate ... the findings show ... we went through a similar period of global warming in the 1730s that could not have been man-made.
British archives contain more than 100,000 Royal Navy logbooks from around 1670 to 1850 ... They are a stunning resource.
The UK Met Office ... scoured more than 6,000 Royal Navy logs dating from the 1600s. 'Ships' officers recorded air pressure, wind strength, air and sea temperatures and other weather conditions. From these records, scientists can build a detailed picture of past weather and climate ... the findings show ... we went through a similar period of global warming in the 1730s that could not have been man-made.
the journal cites newstrackindia.com, August 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Michael Ruse - Evolution is a Religion
Michael Ruse, in Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians, National Post, May 13, 2000, B-3, Ruse said:
"Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion - a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit that in this one complaint ... the literalists are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today."
Every worldview needs to explain how we got here.
Secular humanists need a creation story and they have developed Neo Darwinian Evolution to explain how we got here.
"Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion - a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit that in this one complaint ... the literalists are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today."
Every worldview needs to explain how we got here.
Secular humanists need a creation story and they have developed Neo Darwinian Evolution to explain how we got here.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Global Warming
On 10/12, I reported on Dr. Larry Vardiman's article regarding climate change in the October issue of Acts & Facts.
His second article, in the November Acts & Facts at http://www.icr.org/article/4156/
There is a 0.92 correlation between cosmic ray strength / volume and cloud cover. fro (1983 to 2005) This correlation has been traced back to about 1600 AD.
"A potential change in cloud cover of 3-4 percent caused by changes in cosmic ray flux is sufficient to explain global temperature changes of several degrees due to the change in the reflectivity of clouds."
A significant amount of global warming is caused by the sun. Perhaps we should reduce its "carbon footprint"!
His second article, in the November Acts & Facts at http://www.icr.org/article/4156/
There is a 0.92 correlation between cosmic ray strength / volume and cloud cover. fro (1983 to 2005) This correlation has been traced back to about 1600 AD.
"A potential change in cloud cover of 3-4 percent caused by changes in cosmic ray flux is sufficient to explain global temperature changes of several degrees due to the change in the reflectivity of clouds."
A significant amount of global warming is caused by the sun. Perhaps we should reduce its "carbon footprint"!
Superfaults
A year-long world-wide flood would significantly change the Earth's contours. Also, in the years immediately following the flood, there can be a lot of movement of the Earth as it regains equilibrium.
As reported in the Nov, 2008 Acts & Facts:
"The Heart Mountain detachment fault in northwestern Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park is the largest continental rockslide known on earth. this mass of rock, more than 400 square miles in area and over 1,000 feet thick, moved rapidly down a slope of less than 2 degrees at an estimated speed of 50 miles per hour."
The article discusses a possible way the immense friction of this rock formation could be reduced to allow the movement. You can read the article at http://www.icr.org/article/4154/
This is not an appeal to the "God of the gaps."
Rather, it is a phenomena more easily explained within the context of a major earth-wide catrastophe which saw the earth's tectonic plates move vast distances and had long-range effects, such as the movement of the Heart Mountain detachment fault.
As reported in the Nov, 2008 Acts & Facts:
"The Heart Mountain detachment fault in northwestern Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park is the largest continental rockslide known on earth. this mass of rock, more than 400 square miles in area and over 1,000 feet thick, moved rapidly down a slope of less than 2 degrees at an estimated speed of 50 miles per hour."
The article discusses a possible way the immense friction of this rock formation could be reduced to allow the movement. You can read the article at http://www.icr.org/article/4154/
This is not an appeal to the "God of the gaps."
Rather, it is a phenomena more easily explained within the context of a major earth-wide catrastophe which saw the earth's tectonic plates move vast distances and had long-range effects, such as the movement of the Heart Mountain detachment fault.
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