The end times

[85_2_2011]

I have been reading about the end times in the Bible. It is difficult for me to interpret. My question is: When the end times are near, will all of the Christians be murdered?

From what I have read, I believe they are. For example, the book of Revelation states "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne...Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been."

 

[BFine]

Have you tried talking these matters over with the Lord, your minister and other mature
Christian at your church?

What answers/replies did you get?

 

[85_2_2011]

I do not go to church, therefore, I am asking this question online. I would really appreciate any opinions on this matter. To me, this is an important aspect of becoming a Christian. It poses the question of whether or not someone is willing to die for God. If someone is, I believe that person is strong in their faith. How many people would die for their faith in God?

 

[BFine]

It is important that you assemble with other Christians as the Bible
instructs us to.

Interestingly... Jesus knew he was here to die for sinful mankind...but there in Gethsemane
we see he struggled with laying down his life...he prayed for that bitter cup to be
removed...then said...Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done.

Many of us would struggle with laying down our lives...like Jesus but come to the same
submission...Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done.

 

[ChrisHolland619]

As Bfine says, it is important to attend church and fellowship with other believers. God calls us to do that.

Why do you not attend a church? Why do you choose to believe in one part of the Bible, yet not obey half of it? A lot of the old testament shows this. I am not attempting to condemn you, it's a question.

But to answer your question, no, the Christians will not die at the end times. That passage is in reference to all of those who were martyrs in the name of Christ, those who were put to death for their faith. That is referencing everyone that has ever died.

We, the body of Christ, the Church, will be raptured up upon Christ's return.

 

[Autumnleaf]

Nobody knows and nobody will know until the end times arrive.

 

[timf]

My question is: When the end times are near, will all of the Christians be murdered?

The Old Testament refers to the "Day of the Lord" and "The time of Jacob's trouble". It sometimes refers to just the tribulation period and sometimes to the entire 1007 year period.

In Revelation chapter six you have described the start of the tribulation. It starts with the death of 25% of the people on earth. A nuclear exchange between the US and Russia would get to around half this. If you add in deaths from associated famine and disease, you could get to the 25% number.

Some Christians believe that they will not be on earth for this event because they will be "snatched up" (rapture) based on 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and 5:9.

This would mean that there will be no "Christians" left on earth at that moment. It is at this point that the focus turns back to Israel. There will be 144,000 missionaries from Israel that will be given supernatural power and will go to evangelize the world. Many of those who become Christian during this time will be hunted down and killed. As this gets progressively worse during this seven year tribulation period, an army of 200,000,000 will come from the "Kings of the East" to fight against God.

When Jesus returns, He will vanquish this army and judge those left alive on earth into two groups, the "sheep" and the "goats" (Matt. 25:32). Those who survive (the sheep) will consist of the remnant of Jews who were faithful (the reborn nation of Israel (a nation born in a day)) (those who fled when the anti-christ put his statue in the rebuilt temple), and everyone else who believed (the nations).

We are at the point when these events can occur. For example, Revelation mentions everyone in the world watching the dead bodies of the two witnesses lying in the street in Jerusalem. This could not have happened without television and space satellites to get the signal around the earth. Now we even have cell phones and the Internet.