iamlamad
Lamad
- Jun 8, 2013
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The "great falling away" as you wrote it should have been translated (and was before the KJV) as the great "departing" as in the great catching away. It is the power that is restraining being "taken out of the way."People believe what they want to believe.
The very same scriptures that announce the truth spoken of by Jesus and the Apostles are misunderstood and misquoted by those who prefer a different teaching (usually by "famous" pastors and TV ministries).
I have never found that quoting scriptures alone convinces the other side that they have got it wrong.
Far too many people think they know what the symbology of Revelation is and apply Revelation to
interpreting the Gospels and the epistles.
Jesus himself speaks relatively straightforwardly on the end times; and Jesus knows more about all
of this than any of us do. Jesus tells us that if we endure to the end then by our longsuffering and faith
we shall inherit eternal life. There will be a winnowing of the wheat and the chaff.
Many Christians love the rapture to heaven before the great tribulation theory because it avoids a number
of awkward issues: for example, THE CHURCH shall be raptured up. When pressed on this definition the
replies invariably include everyone, or all true believers. Most of everybody rather than fewer true
worshippers.
Why would Jesus want to rapture up Western Christians before any tribulation when today's churches
are so worldly, so liberal, so unbelieving, so uncaring for their brothers and sisters suffering in the
Middle-East.? What makes Christians of these times think that they are worthy of being rescued from what is coming upon the whole Earth?
We have Christians professing their unbelief in the Word of God; extolling evolution over Creation;
permitting homosexual marriages before the altar of God; trashing Pentecost; allowing unmarried
couple to attend worship services; [add as you can ...]
And yet such claim that they will not suffer any displeasure from God and will beamed up by Scotty
to avoid any unpleasantness down here on Earth.
No wonder there is going to be a great falling away as prophecied.
The truth is, NO BELIEVER is worthy [on his or her own] to escape what is coming. We are worthy only because HE MADE US worthy.
There is little difference in those members of the body of Christ in the west versus those anywhere else. There are dedicated believers all around this planet. However, there are many believers who have been made martyrs in other parts of the world. I suspect it will get worse before the rapture.
But all this being said, there is still an "escape" [Luke 21:36] planned by God for His children. His plan is that His children are gone when His wrath is poured out.
You are correct: ONLY the Holy Spirit can convince someone they are wrong. But, this may be started by reading another point of view on these forums.
"Jesus tells us that if we endure to the end then by our longsuffering and faith we shall inherit eternal life" What if Jesus was speaking to the Jews about the end of THEIR age, rather than the body of Christ about the end of their age? It would cause a lot of disagreements among the brethren. We must learn to recognize to WHOM a scripture is referencing. For the end times, a scripture could be referencing the body of Christ, or the descendants of Jacob, or even the nations. When one takes a scripture referencing Israel, and imagines it is for the church, their theories of the end will be off.
When studying end times, it is wise to begin the study using the latest revelation in the word and the revelation which gives us the most details. God is a self revealing God, and over time has revealed more and more, Revelation being the most in-depth look at the end times. It is wise then to form doctrines from Revelation, and then fill in missing points from older revelations. It is fact: some Old Testament verses may have a 2000 year or more gap between phrases that is missed.
Much of the Old Testament prophets were seeing the future as it were through a telescope. They could see the mountain tops of the future, but could not see the valleys in-between. One "valley" for example would be the church age.
"Why would Jesus want to rapture up Western Christians before any tribulation when today's churches are so worldly, so liberal, so unbelieving...
This is an incorrect question. There is no verse telling us God will not set an appointment for us with "tribulation." But there is a verse telling us He will not set any appointments for us with his WRATH. Firist Thes. 4 along with Revelation shows us that the rapture will take place just before His wrath begins at the 6th seal. There has been and will continue to be "tribulation" simply because we live in Satan's world. God is not angry with the saints that are being martyred today. It is not HIS wrath causing it. It is Satan and His hatred for humans and in particular humans who serve Jesus Christ.
"What makes Christians of these times think that they are worthy of being rescued from what is coming upon the whole Earth?"
Easy: Luke 21:36 along with 1 Thes. 4 & 5.
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