Rapture Septemeber 2008

I have said it countless times. I am a firm believer in POST-TRIB rapture simply because my bible tells me so. Matthew 24:29-31:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give it's light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.


This speaks of the rapture happening AFTER the tribulation. Need more proof? Hold on:

1Corinthians 15:52
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

That verse refers to the "Last Trumpet" which is the trumpet announcing the return of Christ which happens AFTER the tribulation.


1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.

This refers to the trumpet of God (aka: 7th trumpet).
"caught up together" in these verses is where the word translates to rapture. So now we have the trumpet of God which is the 7th trumpet that announces the 2nd coming of Christ.

Look at these facts and then realize that the bible only talks about 2 resurrections. One to eternal life (rapture) and one to judgement after the 1000 year reign of peace on earth. Another kicker for you protestant/evangelist christians reading, no one is going to heaven. I'm a christian but I'm not going to heaven. Do you know why? Because my bible tells me that.

John 3:13
No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

And

Acts 2:29, 34
Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day
34: For David did not ascend into the heavens.........

There you have it. No early rapture, no heaven for mankind, no hell (in the traditional sense) for the condemned. More on that later.

reply to post by feydrautha


No one can predict the day or the hour, but it never mentioned the month, so maybe we can predict the month but won't know what day or hour it will happen. Just a thought.

reply to post by undo



you make a good point but what about people like me who honestly gave her heart to God out of fear i might add at the age of 12, and still didn't feel any different? I didn't feel loved by God, i prayed but my prayers were never answered, I didn't feel the way the other born-agains felt, i felt exactly the same! I just felt more ashamed at sinning. The i feel from God and felt ten times better, no heavy heart or anything. Later as an adult, i again gave my heart to God, again the same dark void, i felt nothing, I even felt worse. I have continued to go through this up until recently, i have decided to become a Wiccan, and I have to say I feel 100 times better about life! Odd isn't it?

[Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give it's light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This speaks of the rapture happening AFTER the tribulation. Need more proof? Hold on: ]

Notice it says that these Elect are the TRIBES (the 144,000 after their preaching the gospel during the trib).......
Also his angels gather during this one ...(Thess says the LORD CALLS from HEAVEN AND WE MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR ) cannot be the same HARVEST as the Thess Scriptures ....TWO DIFF EVENTS >>....not even the same peoples ...Also notice there are no mention of ANY DEAD IN CHRIST in the verses in Matthew 24:29-31: Why not ? Because they are not the same event ...the DEAD IN CHRIST WENT BEFORE THE TRIBULATION >>>

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I have more to show you ...but you chew on that for a minute

reply to post by Jess31



Dear Jess ...I dont even know what to say ...I would have to know alot more about you to try and help you sort it out ...maybe you were just seeking the feel good more than you were an actual relationship with God ...
Not really sure what to say here ..
Wiccan is sort of a self serve religion isnt it ?
To be born again is the opposite ...it is to serve others .....

[edit on 29-8-2008 by Simplynoone]

[edit on 29-8-2008 by Simplynoone]

"How do you know my holes minty. . ? Only joking. Don't know what you mean about darwin being flawed but I do, to a point, go along with his theory of evolution. And, just like you, it has no place in my life either!
I'm not having a go at christians or the bible my problem from the start was with those who make bizarre claims! In this case, the rapture is said to be going to happen in September. The poster is sure of this because he says it says so in the bible. So I was simply asking, if it doesn't will people turn back on religion because the bible has been proven wrong? Well, of course not, but then I don't want the same poster to come back in October and tell me he's had another look at the bible and the rapture is now on for December!!!
Again, I repeat, I'm not having ago at organised religion just the kind of remarks made at the beginning of this thread."

Minty - I was hoping that you would see the minty hole thing as just playin' with you.
My point about the Darwin comment was just to reciprocate your comment about the Bible just being a book. So was Darwins book that so many people see as their "Bible" so to speak. But I did notice that you said you weren't knocking it - that it just wasn't for you. I personally very much appreciate that. So many people mock Christians or lump us in with the so called "Christians" who do horrible things such as the Crusades, bomb abortion clinics, judge others, etc. A true Christian would have no part of any of this.
I do, by the way, completely agree with you on the whole date setting thing. I really wish that people would just stop now.

"Hi Cool .....I will admit that it is a possibility (Only a slight one though in my mind) that I could be left here too ..and that there may not be a rapture ..(I do doubt it though and my heart really says there will be one ) .....And no I will not lose my faith ..I will be right here with everyone else ...maybe helping people as much as I can to get through it ...TILL THE END..I will still have FAITH no matter what ..........................."

Simplynoone - Faith is what matters and I am truly glad to see that you feel the same. Personally, I believe that all of us Christians are going to see things happen that are contrary to some of the things we believe. This will likely be part of our testing - to see if our faith is stronger than our beliefs. And while I may disagree with you on the rapture, I certainly hope you are right and I am wrong. You do put forth a very thorough point that has been obviously well researched. You have given me a lot to look over. Thank you. You are very obviously filled with the Spirit and refreshingly inspirational.

[Simplynoone - Faith is what matters and I am truly glad to see that you feel the same. Personally, I believe that all of us Christians are going to see things happen that are contrary to some of the things we believe. This will likely be part of our testing - to see if our faith is stronger than our beliefs. And while I may disagree with you on the rapture, I certainly hope you are right and I am wrong. You do put forth a very thorough point that has been obviously well researched. You have given me a lot to look over. Thank you. You are very obviously filled with the Spirit and refreshingly inspirational.]

Amen ...and thank you very much ..I was praying I didnt do all that work for nadda lol .....................

again ..I do not like date setting either ...but I do look for whatever truths I can glean from it ....(I believe there are small bits of truths in everything ...even lies have some truth mixed in ..just like the devil told Adam and Eve the truth but added a lie in with it which twisted it all around .............

The stars can only fall to earth from heaven if you employ a first century three-tiered universe model, which of course has no basis in reality. See you in October.

The Rapture was predicted to be in July 17th 2005.

And May 15th 2006.

And November 29th 2007.

And August 8th 2008.

And now in the end of September 2008.

And yet the world didn't end.

My dear Ladies and Gentlemen. Stop wasting your lives with future predictions. Start living your lives and creating the future - instead of fearing it.




[edit on 29-8-2008 by Spooky Fox Mulder]

Hi Spooky ...Yeah we know .....and we have also heard it all before ..and I am sure that none of us will lose sleep over it if it dont happpen tommorow or next week or next year or next decade it is not going to shake our faith. sure it may some but that is because they should not have banked on any man to tell them when anyway they need to do their own studying too and always be ready for that day so it does not overtake them as a thief in the night when he comes...and always keep watch as some of us on this thread are doing right now we are just keeping watch ) .....But we do appreciate your concern for us ...thank you for that ..and I mean that sincerily

One thing I am sure of ...we are closer to that day now than we were yesterday or a year ago ..or decades ago ...I will not stop looking forward to the Lords word being fulfilled or his coming ... not now nor ever ....and I wont stop thinking about it or talking about it either lol ...
Sorry if that disappoints you ...

You are aware arnt you that you are also fulfilling his word even though you may not know it ..We were expecting the words you just posted ....read this

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days SCOFFERS, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And SAYING, WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMEING ? for since the fathers fell asleep, ALL THINGS CONTINUE AS THEY WERE from the beginning of the creation.
((DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU SPOOKY ?))))))
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.




[edit on 29-8-2008 by Simplynoone]

reply to post by Spooky Fox Mulder


Fox- In addition to what Simplynoone said, I think it should be fairly obvious that most of us posting on this thread think that setting a date for "the end" is silly. You are right, there have been many predictions of "the end" and none true yet. I would say that most of us are most certainly not "wasting our lives with future predictions" and living in fear. We are, in fact, "living our lives and creating our future". I don't post on here that often because I am busy working and when I get off work, I rarely go online at all. Too busy living a fulfilling family life. I would bet that I don't even log on to ATS at all this weekend. Please don't confuse us with the people wearing tinfoil beanies or standing on the corner with "the end is coming" signs. That is not us. And there will be many others that come to this site with end of the world predictions - such as the 12/21/12 hysteria. I won't believe any of them either. The world will end at some point though and I am not at all worried. If it happens in my life time, then I won't have to wonder if I am saving enough for retirement anymore.

reply to post by Jess31


it has similar effect as a 12 step program. in fact, the 12 step programs like alcoholics anonymous are based on similar principles. have you ever read any of their material?

this reminds me of daniel in karate kid, when miyagi promises him he will teach him karate. then hands him a bucket and a sponge and tells him to wash and wax his car. then sand the floor. then paint the house. then paint the fence. by this time, daniel is fit to be tied angry, and miyagi shows him that what he had been teaching him in his work around miyagi's property, was the principle moves of karate.

for some folks there's a huge relief right from the beginning. for others, it's a struggle that seems pointless, folllowed by revelation (as was daniel's experience in karate kid). it's learning experience, regardless. from your description, you sound as if you were the kind of person who could handle
not having instant gratification, so that's the road you started on. the revelation of why, will eventually be revealed to you. it'll probably incorporate your many experiences since then and before then. i'm looking forward to hearing that, if you ever feel inclined to share it.

Originally posted by tallcool1
reply to post by Spooky Fox Mulder

 

Please don't confuse us with the people wearing tinfoil beanies or standing on the corner with "the end is coming" signs. That is not us. And there will be many others that come to this site with end of the world predictions - such as the 12/21/12 hysteria.

I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings here. I didn't mean to.

hey i like tinfoil beanies!
i'm one of those ufo believing people.
i think the universe is sporting a huge government, a sort of federation of planets, if you will, with little rebellion pockets peppered through out.
and i'm also a christian, dyed in the wool.

I also believe in ET's. Seen several of their craft now and it all started when I was about 5yrs. old. You know once you truely see one, it really sticks with ya. I allways seem to keep my eye on the sky. LOL
Anyway, I don't think the world will ever come to an end. Why would it? Because the BIBLE says so? B.I.B.L.E. = Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. Sure there is truth in it, then again, what is Truth? Is it not just the collection of the thoughts of many. And who says what those have thought was the truth is the truth. Seems to me that the facts of things are allways changing. But for the life of me, I just cant see this planet comming to an end. To me that just would not make any sense at all. I mean, what would we learn from that?......And I surely dont mean to offend any beliefs what so ever......
Oh well, thanks for listening.


[edit on 29-8-2008 by UnIr1]

[edit on 29-8-2008 by UnIr1]

Hello Unir
I can personally think of a few reasons why the world would come to an end .
And even science believes this world is doomed to destruction at some point.
Even Athiests would possibly agree there is an end of the world comeing (Would love some input on what you Athiests believe concerning the end of the world ) .
A few reasons are violence (people and nature)
Hatred
diseases rampant(especially with man creating more and more new strains of everything)
The core of the earth is heating up (that is scientific) although some claim it is not who is right >?Who knows really .
If the earth is getting hotter and the sun is getting hotter that would cause massive starvation because everything would die even plants,animals etc

Another reason ...so God can recreate all of it ..(I believe this may have been done before a few times and that would explain dinosaurs and neanderthals and why the earth may be older than we expected it to be etc etc ) I will save that for another post .Alot of believers may blast me for that theory lol .

Thanks Simply, I too have thought of all those reasons. Who knows, afterwards perhaps we can post on this forum again. HE HE.

That sounds cool doesnt it .
Wonder what we would argue about then lol
We would sure have very little to say I bet ..I mean having to start all over digging learning etc ...