The Pretribulation Rapture—Todd Strandberg and Jack Ward
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed (transformed)
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed).
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die. For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us, this nature that is capable of dying] must put on immortality (freedom from death).
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: “Death is destroyed; victory is complete!” And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished [h]forever) in and unto victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? “Where, Death, is your victory? Where, Death, is your power to hurt?” O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [i][upon the soul] through [j][the abuse of] the Law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].
The rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the near future. Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church. The Apostle Paul gave a clear description of the rapture event in his letters to the Thessalonians and Corinthians.”For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess, 4:16-18).
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
The timing of the rapture is not known. From the Word of God and from sound reasoning–something Jesus used quite frequently–I hope to prove the reality of the pretribulation rapture.
The word “rapture” comes from Paul’s “caught up” remark in verse 17. The words “caught up” are translated from the Greek word harpazo, which means “to carry off,” “snatch up,” or “grasp hastily.” The translation from harpazo to “rapture” involved two steps: first, harpazo became the Latin word raptus; second, raptus became the English word “rapture.”
Scriptural Evidence for the Pretribulation Rapture—Todd Strandburg Rapture Ready.com
The Unknown Hour
When we search the Scriptures and read the passages describing the Lord Jesus’ return, we find verses that tell us we won’t know the day and hour of that event. Matthew 25:13 says Jesus will return at an unknown time, while Revelation 12:6 indicates that the Jews will have to wait on the Lord 1,260 days, starting when the Antichrist stands in the Temple of God and declares himself to be God (2 Thes 2:4). This event will take place at the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation (Dan 9:27). Note that some people only see a three-and-a-half-year tribulation. In a way, they are correct because the first half of the tribulation will be relatively peaceful compared to the second half. Nonetheless, peaceful or not, there still remains a seven-year period called the tribulation. When the Jews flee into the wilderness, they know that all they have to do is wait out those 1,260 days (Mat 24:16). There is no way to apply the phrase “neither the day nor the hour” to this situation. The only way for these two viewpoints to be true is to separate the two distinct events transpiring here: 1) the rapture of the Church, which comes before the tribulation; and 2) the return of Jesus to the earth, which takes place roughly seven years later.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
In Luke 12:36, the Word states that when Christ returns, He will be returning from a wedding. In Revelation 19:7-8, we read about the marriage itself. The marriage supper takes place before the marriage. According to Jewish custom, the marriage contract, which often includes a dowry, is drawn up first. The contract parallels the act of faith we use when we trust Jesus to be our Savior. The dowry is His life, which was used to purchase us. When it’s time for the wedding, the groom goes to the bride’s house unannounced. She comes out to meet him, and then he takes her to his father’s house. This precisely correlates with the events according to the pre-trib scenario. Jesus, the Groom, comes down from heaven and calls up the Church, His Bride. After meeting in the air, He and His Bride return to His Father’s house, heaven. The marriage supper itself will take place there, while down here on earth the final events of the tribulation will be playing out. After the marriage supper of Jewish tradition, the bride and groom are presented to the world as man and wife. This corresponds to the time when Jesus returns to earth accompanied by an army “clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Rev 19:14).
What They Didn’t Teach You in History Class
Many groups try to discredit the pre-trib rapture by saying most of the end-time events in the Bible have already taken place. A group of people called preterists claims that the Book of Revelation was mostly fulfilled by 70 AD. If the events described in the Book of Revelation took place in the past, I’m at a loss to explain some of the current situations I see around us: the rebirth of Israel, the reunification of Europe, the number of global wars that have occurred, and the development of nuclear weapons. During history class, I must have slept through the part where the teacher talked about the time when a third of the trees were burned up, 100-pound hailstones fell from the sky, and the sea turned into blood (Rev 8:7-8, 16:21). I think several people would have to question their opposition to the pre-trib rapture doctrine if they knew that the evidence provided to them was based on the understanding that most tribulation prophecies have already occurred.
The People of the Millennium
If Christ were to come back after the tribulation, rapture all the saints, and slay all the ungodly, who would be left to populate the earth during the millennium? Only the pre-trib viewpoint can account for this post-trib problem. The Church is raptured before the tribulation, a vast number of souls are saved during this seven-year time frame, and those who make it through the tribulation go into the millennium while the unsaved are cast into hell.
The Saint U-Turn
In the pre-trib scenario, after we rise to meet the Lord in the air, we will go to heaven and abide there seven years. At the end of that period, Christ will come down to earth, defeat the Antichrist, and cleanse the temple. In a post-trib rapture, we would rise in the air to meet the Lord, then do a 180-degree U-turn and come back down to earth. Revelation 1:7 states that Christ will appear out of the clouds and come down to earth. Zechariah 14:4 says that His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. If He’s already headed our way, why would we need to be caught up to meet Him?
“Come Up Hither”
Many pre-trib writers cite Revelation 4:1, which says, “come up hither,” as a prophetic reference to the rapture of the Church, leaving Revelation chapters 1 through 3 as a description of the Church Age. After the shout to “come up hither,” the Church is not mentioned in Scripture at all. The attention of Scripture switches from the Church to the Jews living in Israel.
Armies in Fine Linen
When Jesus returns (Rev. 19:18), an army follows Him. The army’s members are riding on white horses, and they are clothed in fine linen that is white and clean. In Revelation 19:8, we are told that the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. If the saints of God are returning with Christ to wage war on the Antichrist, then it is not possible to have a post-trib rapture without us running into ourselves as we are coming and going.
The Time of Jacob’s Trouble
In several passages, the Bible refers to the tribulation as a time of trouble for the Jews. The phrase “Jacob’s trouble” pertains to the descendants of Jacob. Jeremiah 30:7 says that this time of trouble will come just before the Lord returns to save His people. The final week of Daniel’s 70th week is yet to take place. An angel told Daniel that, “70 weeks are determined unto thy people” (Dan 9:24). Scripture never mentions that the tribulation is meant to be a time of testing for Christians. However, some post-tribbers try to claim that they are the ones being tested during the tribulation. To make this so, they need to spiritualize the 144,000 Jewish believers in Revelation 7:2-8 who receive God’s protective seal. Placing the Church dispensation into the same time frame as the seven-year Jewish dispensation, as the post-tribbers do, raises one good question: Can two dispensations transpire at the same time? In the past, God has only dealt with one at a time. Having both present during the tribulation would have to be an exception.
“He” That is Taken Out of the Way
Before the Antichrist can be revealed, Paul said a certain “He” must be taken out of the way. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:7, the “He” that must be removed is widely thought to be the Holy Spirit. It has been promised that the Holy Spirit would never leave the Church, and without the working of the Holy Spirit remaining on earth, no one could be saved during the tribulation. The removal of the Church, which is indwelt by the Holy Ghost, would seem the best explanation for this dilemma. The working of the Holy Spirit could go on during the tribulation, but His influence would be diminished because of the missing Church.
War or Rapture
(Rev 19:19-21) When Jesus returns at the end of the tribulation, He will be coming for battle. For those who believe in a post-trib rapture, it would be strange to meet your Lord and Savior just as He’s rushing into battle. The idea that war and rapture could occur together is difficult to imagine, especially since they transpire at the same moment.
The Five Foolish Virgins
The wedding story that Jesus gave in Matthew 25:2-13, I believe, is a parable of the rapture of the Church. It explains how some will not be ready. Jesus clearly states that a group of people will miss out on an event, and will cry out to God to let them into the place where He resides, heaven. Although some try to put this parable in a post-trib context, it doesn’t fit very well. The ones left behind in a post-trib rapture will not need to seek the Lord because they’ll immediately be confronted by Him and His army of angels.
God Hath Not Appointed Us to Wrath
In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Paul assures us that God has not appointed His people to wrath. This wrath is plainly God’s anger that will be poured out during the tribulation. Pre-trib believers interpret this as meaning that Christians will be removed from the earth. Post-trib believers tell a different story. They describe this as meaning that God will protect Christians during the tribulation and pour this wrath out on the unbelievers only. This idea runs against the statement made in Revelation 13:7, in which the Antichrist is given power to make war with the saints and to overcome them. A post-trib view would make God’s promise of protection from wrath into a lie. In years past, it was possible to think of being protected from the guns and swords of that day. Today, when any major war would involve nuclear and chemical weapons, it’s impossible to expect that same kind of protection. When Nagasaki, Japan was bombed during World War II, the bomb exploded over a Catholic church. Everyone who was in the center of the explosion died–both Christians and non-Christians. The only way to validly interpret God’s promise of protection from wrath is by viewing 1 Thessalonians 5:9 as the bodily removal of the Church from this world.
The Salt of the Earth
Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). When the believers are supenly removed, the earth will be plunged into spiritual darkness. When this happens, the Antichrist will then be free to control the world.
God Takes an Inventory
In Revelation 7:3, an angel descends to earth and seals the servants of God. Two bits of information about this sealing highly disclaim a post-trib viewpoint. The first item is the number of people sealed: 144,000. The second one is that all those who are sealed are from the 12 tribes of Israel. For the events in Revelation 7:3-8 to be true in a post-trib interpretation, either the Church has turned against God or God has turned against the Church. A post-tribber could write a thousand-word commentary about why the Church doesn’t need to be sealed. Instead of trying to argue about why the Church is not mentioned or sealed, a pre-trib proponent could just say, “We’re already in heaven.”
Noah and Lot as Examples
The tribulation period is compared to the times of Noah and Lot by Jesus in Luke 17:28. Most people argue over whether the time frame Jesus was talking about in that passage was pre-trib or post-trib. In doing so, they miss an important point. The two circumstances that the Noah and Lot situations have in common are the removal of the righteous and the judgment of the unbelievers. From these two accounts, we see that God prefers to remove His own when danger is involved.
Common-Sense Reasons for Believing in the Pretribulation Rapture
The World Test
One way to check the soundness of a doctrine is to see how the world reacts to it. One company put out a questionnaire that was used to screen prospective employees. One of the questions was, “Do you believe in the rapture?” If you answered “yes,” your chances of getting hired would not be good. Some internet sites do not allow the topics of Rapture or Second Coming. They do allow topics such as sex, gays, and drugs. The only time the news media mentions the rapture is when someone sets a date and is proven to be wrong.
That Old-Time Religion
It used to be a rule of thumb that when one was visiting a church or listening to a preacher, one could assume the preacher believed in repentance, prayer, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost if he taught the rapture doctrine. It was also true that the churches on fire for God worshipped out of storefronts. Today, many of those storefront churches have moved into marble palaces and have strayed from their principal doctrines.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Whenever I look at all the groups that teach false doctrine and are highly focused on end-time events, I cannot find any that support the rapture theory. Some organizations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, teach a false gospel and are heavily into Bible prophecy. Why, then, don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses teach a false doctrine that would be right up their alley? Could it be that the demonic forces that influence these groups know something that Christians opposed to the rapture don’t know? The list of prophetically minded cults that reject the idea of a rapture goes on and on. Here are some more: the Mormons, the Worldwide Church of God and the Moonies, as well as leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh.
Proponents of the Pre Trib rapture theory….
King James Study Bible
Ryrie Study Bible
Thompson Chain Reference Bible
Scofield Reference Bible
Holman Study Bible
Nelson Study Bible
The Believers Study Bible
The Disciples Study Bible
Well known popular Preachers and Bible Teachers on radio, TV and Youtube…..
Tim Thompson
Andy Woods
Tom Hughes
James Cadiz
JD Farag
Randy White
Amir Tsafati
Brandon Holtzhaus
Gary Stearman
Gary Kah
Billy Crone
Ron Rhodes
Eric Barger
Mark Hitchcock
Todd Strandberg
Curtis Bowers
Bill Keonig
Barry Stagner
Leo Hohmann
David Fiorazo
Jack Hibbs
Chuck Smith
Skip Heitzig
Jack Hayford
Don Perkins
David Reagan
Ed Hindson
Don Stewart
Jan Markel
LA Marzuli
Chip Ingram
Billy Graham
Franklin Graham
Erwin Lutzer
Jimmy Deyoung
Mark Dehan
Geoff Grider
Jan Markel
Daymond Duck
Randall Price
Terry James
Tom Horn
Adrian Rogers
Charles Stanley
David Jeremiah
Greg Laurie
Tim Lahaye
Hal Lindsey
Jack Van Impe
Chuck Missler
Thomas Ice
John Macarthur
John Hagee
J Dwight Penecost
J Vernon McGee
Perry Stone….and many more
The Church Would Rebuke the Antichrist
If the Antichrist came to power with the Church still here, I do not see how he could operate. When Hitler was fighting to take over England, a number of Christians were praying for victory. Hitler made mistake after mistake, and England outperformed its enemy at every stage of the conflict. It is difficult to measure the impact of intercessory prayer in physical warfare. Little is known of how great a role praying saints played in the defeat of Nazi Germany. If the Church were to reside on earth during the tribulation, I am sure she would give the Antichrist fits. In Revelation 11:3, the two witnesses alone give the Antichrist enough headaches. Millions of Christians who know their Bibles well would recognize the man of sin and pray fire down on his head. The post-trib view would have to plan on the Church just rolling over and playing dead the whole seven years.
1 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. 2:7-8 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
The man of sin cannot be revealed unless there is a falling away first. That phrase falling away means that there is a “departure.” Many study Bibles will say that it is a departure from the faith. But what does that have to do with the appearance of the man of sin since the whole context is about the church of Thessalonica fearing they had missed the coming of the Lord. It’s not about apostosy but it about the coming of Christ. Clearing verses 7 and 8 are talking about the Anti-christ again. So when we he be reaveled. When He who now letteth will let until HE be taken out of the way. The Holy Spirit restrains sin and He indwells the church. When He is removed the church is removed with it. Remember you will have no restrainer in the days after the Man of sin appears. So how can the church be there?
I am not going to argue with anyone about this. I understand a little bit of how you can arrive at at Post-Trib, mid trib views of the rapture. But the main thing is to be ready “in an hour ye think not the son of Man cometh.”
We should all remember one thing: Knowing the Antichrist’s mother’s maiden name isn’t the primary goal. Knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and having your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life should be your number-one priority. The jailer asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31).
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Arguments against the Pre Trib Rapture
After messages and articles that attack the pre-trib rapture, I’ve noticed a certain number of arguments that are repeated.
The most commonly mentioned points of debate……….
Nowhere in the Bible, can you find the word “rapture”
It amazes me that some folks write to me, questioning the validity of the rapture, simply because the word “rapture” doesn’t appear in the Bible.
With 1 Thes 4:16-18 giving us such a clear description of the rapture, you would have to conclude that some people are just playing games with the Word of God. I could change the name of my site to “Catching Up Ready” to satisfy these folks, but I hardly think that would improve things.
Their logic fails because there are a huge number of words that don’t appear in the Bible, including the word “Bible.” Because God’s Word was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, one could truthfully say that no English words are in the Bible. Let’s take a look at 1 Thes 4:16-18 in the original Greek:
416A. I don’t see the dead in Christ rising, Jesus descending from heaven, and us meeting Him in the air. So the cynics are right: the word “rapture” is nowhere to be found. All I see is gobbledygook.
For the record, the word “rapture” comes from the Latin word “rapturo,” which in turn was a translation of the Greek verb “caught up” found in 1 Thes 4:17. You can call it the pre-trib rapture, the pre-trib rapturo, or the pre-trib caught up–it’s all the same thing.
Nowhere in the Bible does it directly say that the Church will be raptured before the tribulation.
Pre-trib opponents should have thought this one through because any pre-tribulationist has the same right to say, “Nowhere in the Bible does it directly say the Church will go through the tribulation.”
Jesus did say, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). The only time frame I can think of when we believers would not be expecting Jesus to return would have to be before the tribulation.
The Margaret MacDonald Origin
One of the most widely circulated attacks against the pre-trib rapture is the notion that a girl named Margaret MacDonald started this theological view back in 1830. The claim is typically made that MacDonald received a demonic vision, passed it on to John Darby, who in turn popularized it. Disproving this assertion proves rather easy. Pre-trib scholars have discovered a host of rapture writings that predate Margaret MacDonald.
Epharaem the Syrian said, in 373 AD, “For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.”
One post-trib author offered a reward to anyone who could find a quote that predated MacDonald. He had to quickly cough up the money when someone identified a scholar who wrote about the pre-trib rapture several years before MacDonald. As of late, dozens of examples have been found, and the literary surface has hardly been scratched.
With the revealing of all these pre-MacDonald writings, you would think that this argument has been debunked. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We seem to be involved in a tug-of-war with the truth. Apparently, due to their lack of research, pre-trib opponents continue to pump out publications that cite MacDonald as the originator of the pre-trib rapture.
The Last Trumpet Argument
Because Paul, in 1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thes 4:16, said believers would be raptured at the sounding of a trump, many folks have tried to make it appear that the rapture trumps are the same trumpets found in Revelation 11:15-18, Joel 2:1, and Mat 24:31–which all occur during the tribulation.
When you have trumpets commonly used throughout the Bible, I think it’s foolish to just assume any two of the 62 trumps or trumpets are prophetically related. To be able to make the claim that the tribulation trumpet soundings are the same as the rapture trumps, you would need a direct statement saying this is the case.
In the movies Ben-Hur and The Wizard of Oz, I recall hearing the sounding of trumpets. Are both these trumpets somehow prophetically related?
If your friend John said he went to his favorite restaurant last night, and another friend Larry said he also went to his favorite restaurant last night, is it logical for you to assume they both went to the same restaurant? Obviously not, because even though John and Larry went to their favorite restaurants, they may have had two different eating establishments in mind. The same logic should apply with the word trumpet.
With such a blind devotion to this one similarity, I have to wonder if these last-tumpeters are able to distinguish the difference between Tylenol and Exlax. They’re both over-the-counter drugs, they come in pill form, and they can also be found in a medicine cabinet. Of course, one will make your headache disappear and the other will make your toilet paper disappear.
Pre-wrath proponents say that the Seventh Trumpet blown in Rev 11:15-18 is the same last trump Paul spoke of in 1 Cor 15:52. However, they fail to take into account the fact that John wrote Revelation 40 years after Paul wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians. How could Paul refer to something that was not yet revealed?
Post-tribbers use a trumpet sounding in Joel 2:1 as evidence for a post-trib rapture on the Day of the Lord. I have three problems with Joel 2:1:
Joel clearly says that the purpose for blowing the trumpet is to “sound an alarm.”
According to 1 Cor 15:52, the rapture is something that occurs in the twinkling of an eye. Joel 2:1 says the Day of the Lord is nigh at hand. In order for Joel’s trumpet to be the same one in 1 Cor. there would have to be a time delay between the sounding of the trumpet and the rapture of the Church.
The fact that there is another trumpet being sounded in Joel 2:15 further clouds the possibility that these trumpets could have anything to do with the rapture.
When Paul was writing to the Corinthians, he specifically said “the” last trump. During the Feast of Trumpets, the Jews blow short trumpet blasts. They end the feast with a long blast from what is called the last trump, which is blown the longest. Judaism has traditionally connected this last trump with the resurrection of the dead. Paul also made the connection. For many Christians, the association between the rapture and the Feast of Trumpets is so strong, they look for the rapture to someday occur on this feast.
The Day of the Lord Argument
A number people have attempted to refute the pre-trib rapture by trying to associate the “Day of the Lord” with a catching-up of believers at the end of the tribulation. They base their rapture views solely on the idea that the “Day of the Lord” and the rapture are either synonymous or somehow linked together.
The Achilles heel of their argument has to be the notion that the “Day of the Lord” and various other “days” of an end-time context refers to a 24 hour period that occurs at or near the end of the tribulation. Probably the most commonly cited verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:2 where Paul tells us the “Day of the Lord” will come “as a thief in the night.”
I’ve read countless articles that describe the “Day of the Lord” as Christ’s advent at Armageddon. These articles go on to say that, because Paul also tells us the Lord will come “as a thief,” we have a direct link to the same description that is applied to noted rapture verses.
It’s rather obvious that those trying to rely on the “Day of the Lord” never bothered to validate the meaning of this particular day. I’ve checked a number of commentaries on the “Day of the Lord” and many of them define this as being an all-encompassing period that begins with the Great Tribulation. Let’s examine some verses that clearly indicate that the term “day” is used to represent a broader time period.
II Peter 3:10-13
The “Day of the Lord” Peter spoke of in second Peter, cannot be a one day event because it mentions the destruction of the earth by fire and its renovation. Rev 21:11 tells us the earth will not be renewed until after Christ’s 1000 year reign.
Joel 2:11-20
The “Day of the Lord” Joel describes, includes the defeat of the northern army. Ezk. 38 and 39 is parallel passage. Most scholars would time the destruction of the Gog army as occurring before in the first half of the tribulation.
John 12:48 In the book of John, Jesus uses the term “last day” to indicate when the lost would be judged. Rev 20 makes it clear that the unsaved will not be judged until after the millennium–yet another 1000 year gap.
Hebrews 10:25
One of the best indications that most of the various “day” references are citing a general time period can be found in Hebrews 10:25: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Surely, Paul would not be warning us to watch for a day that would be coming at the end of the tribulation. That type of logic would be like warning children, as they cross the road, to watch out for tail lights.
The First Resurrection
I’ve heard some folks say, “There cannot be a pre-trib rapture because to have one would require a second resurrection at Christ’s return to earth.” This conclusion is drawn from Revelation 20:
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev 20:5-6).
One pre-trib writer, explaining this passage, said, “The first did not mean first in time, but rather first in kind.” The first resurrection was for God’s people the second will be for the unsaved.
A quick way to shoot down the notion that the first resurrection is tied to a specific date, as opposed to a more general time frame, is to take note of the tribulation rapture of the two witnesses and the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. At the mid-point of the tribulation, the two witnesses are killed by the Antichrist, resurrected by God, and then caught up into heaven (Rev 11:3-12).
Revelation chapter 7 describes the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists just before the Beast issues his mark. Sometime during the latter half of the tribulation, Revelation chapter 14 indicates they will be “redeemed from the earth,” standing before the throne of God.
Confusion over Confusion: 2 Thes 2:1-6
Because Paul, in 2 Thessalonians, said the Antichrist would be revealed before the Day of the Christ, post and pre-wrath adherents frequently try to cite this passage as one that refutes the pre-trib rapture.
To quell the Thessalonian’s misunderstanding that they had somehow entered the tribulation, Paul told them the Antichrist must first be revealed. By telling them they had no reason to panic, Paul is clearly disputing the idea that the Thessalonians could someday find themselves facing the tribulation hour.
I’m constantly being irked by Post-trib and pre-wrath folks’ consistent, or better yet deliberate, failure to accept the simple fact that the pre-trib doctrine calls for a rapture and a second coming. Because they only glean the prophetic word for one event–the second coming–they’re unable to recognize pre-trib rapture passages.
Of course, when you fuse the two advents together, you end up with verses that appear to contradict each other: 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,” and Revelation 13:7, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Reverse Logic Stuck In Reverse
Many people are against the pre-trib rapture simply because they see it as being the dominant view on the timing of Christ’s return for the Church. The anti-pretribulationists often think they are the last remaining true believers. I’m simply dumbfounded over why some people choose rebellion against the majority view as their guide for finding truth.
The measurement of popularity alone is a terrible way to determine something’s validity. It is particularly strange when people solely rely on the contrarian view to judge truth from fiction. I utilize contrarian views all the time to help determine what is truthful; however, it would be a terrible mistake on my part if I made Contrarianism the core foundation of any of my beliefs.
If you’re using reverse logic, you need to support your conclusions. The vast majority of the population would agree that apples grow on apple trees and cherries grow on cheery trees. The pure novelty of the opposite being true does not in any way help make it so. Unless you see farmers gluing apples onto cherry trees or picking cherries from apple trees, you have no basis to think that these two fruits do not grow on anything but the trees that share the same name.
Some people are clearly more in love with the idea of a conspiracy than they are the truth. Every time an airplane crashes to the earth there’s someone who will proclaim it was caused by anything from an act of terrorism to a bizarre government plot. It’s just not exciting enough to say it was a mechanical problem that led to the crash.
The idea that the pre-trib rapture is the dominant view is not correct in the first place. Most evangelicals would say they look for a pre-trib rapture, but if you include all Christians, pretribulationists would rank third behind post-trib and preterist adherents.
Persecute Me Please
You would think the desire to go through the tribulation would be as popular as the desire to jump into a pit filled with vipers and broken glass. As illogical as it may seem, there appears to be a large number of Christians that fully expect to get roughed up before Christ returns.
Many Christians argue strongly for the right to suffer persecution at the hands of the Antichrist and the one world government. These tribulation saint wannabees constantly harp, “Because Jesus and His disciples suffered persecution, we should expect no better.” It’s been my experience that people with the weakest faith are generally the ones that talk the boldest. When the slightest difficulty comes their way, they cry to high heaven.
I hate to be the bearer of good news, but the word of God clearly states that believers will escape the tribulation bloodbath. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:9). “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev 3:10).
In one regard, people who think the Church will go through the tribulation are somewhat correct. I believe a huge number people–who are Christians in name only–will find themselves left behind. By having the rapture before the tribulation, all those who find themselves facing the wrath of God will be without an excuse.
No Secret Rapture
“There is no secret rapture” is the beginning declaration of a large percentage of messages that attack the rapture. Rarely is this statement backed by supporting scriptural evidence. A few people will cite Rev 1:17, “every eye shall see him,” as proof that the rapture will not be a secret event. Of course, I would immediately note that “every eye shall see him” is the second coming.
I have a hard time understanding how these folks could think pretribulationists preach a secret rapture. We seem to be doing our very best to popularize the rapture before it takes place. I doubt that, afterwards, with all the car wrecks, plane crashes, and missing persons reports, the rapture will remain a secret occurrence.
The only people I know who are attempting to keep the pre-trib rapture a secret are its critics. Pre-wrath and post-trib folks have the national media and the liberal churches as their allies in their ongoing effort to silence all knowledge of the “blessed hope.”
No Imminency
Because an imminent or any moment rapture is one of the major teachings of pre-tribulationists, opponents of this view attempt to dismantle the imminency of the rapture.
Although Jesus said, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Mat 24:42), advocates for knowing the “day” will claim this only applies to the unsaved. I hear arguments like, “Surely a loving father would tell his own children when he’s coming for them.”
To try to get around “no man know the hour,” a popular scripture often cited is: “But yea brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thes 5:4).
Despite all their monkeying with scripture, pre-trib detractors just cannot escape Jesus’ restriction against knowing the timing of the rapture. In fact, our Lord was so restrictive about the rapture, He said its occurrence would come as a total surprise. “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).
Now as far as the second coming goes, the Bible couldn’t be plainer. It clearly states that Jesus will return 1260 days from the moment the Antichrist sits in the Temple of God and declares himself to be God. Because there exists both a known and an unknown date, many scholars have logically concluded that there must be two different events occurring–the rapture and the second coming.
The Restrainer
In 2 Thessalonians the Apostle Paul speaks of a “he” that will restrain the advent of the Antichrist. The restrainer’s removal is required before the Antichrist can be revealed.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only hewho now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
A debate has erupted over the identity of the Restrainer because if this “he” is the Holy Ghost, the only real explanation for his removal would be the rapture of the Church, which is indwelled by him. The strongest argument offered against the Holy Spirit being the Restrainer is the belief that if God’s Spirit was ever removed from the earth, no one could then be saved. The removal of the Holy Ghost does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. I believe his being “taken out of the way” will only be a degree of removal.
Before the Church Age, people were able to find salvation, which obviously meant the Holy Spirit was at work on earth. When the outpouring of the Holy Ghost occurred at Pentecost, we didn’t have a second Holy Spirit come to earth. His removal at the rapture will only be a reversal or ending of the Pentecostal outpouring.
Replacementism
Because Revelation places a strong emphasis on Israel during the tribulation, and not on the church, most post-tribulationists have adopted a replacement theology view in order to maintain the focus on them.
Replacementism is the view that Israel, having failed God, has been replaced by the Church. The Church is now seen as spiritual Israel and spiritual Jerusalem. This teaching claims that all the promises and blessings, in fact Israel’s entire inheritance, now belongs to the Church. However, all is not lost for Israel; it gets to keep all the curses.
Dispensational theology, taught by nearly all pre-tribulationists, teaches that God has separate strategies for dealing with the Church and the Jews. When you consider the change in focus, during the tribulation, from the Church to Israel, the pre-trib rapture provides a good explanation for this transfer of attention.
To say that Israel is no longer God’s chosen people is really playing with fire because the Antichrist will likely be saying the same thing when he tries to destroy the Jews during the tribulation. I look for people that hold to replacementism to be in the cheering section when the Beast goes on his Jew-killing campaign. “The Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance” (Psalm 94:14).
“This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar – the Lord Almighty is his name: ‘Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,’ declares the Lord, ‘will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me’” (Jeremiah 31:35-36).
The main thing is the main thing. The timing of the rapture is NOT one of the main things. These are the main things…..
We believe in these Seven Essentials of the Faith:
–Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Matthew 1:23, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Romans 5:8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 1 John 1:7-8 If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
–Matthew 28:6, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Mark 16:6, And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 1 Cor 15:3-4 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: I Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
–Ephesians 2:8-9 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
–John 17:17;Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 2 Timothy 3:16; All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Peter 1:20-21. 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
–Mark 10:18 Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God. Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Romans 3:23 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one. Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies
As governments consider far-reaching, costly policies to mitigate human contribution to global warming, Christian leaders need to become well informed of the scientific, economic, and ethical debates surrounding the issue.
Consistent with the findings of A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case against Harmful Climate Policies Gets Stronger, we believe:
(Genesis 1:1–31; 8:21–22), Earth is robust, resilient, self-regulating, and self-correcting. Although Earth and its subsystems, including the climate system, are susceptible to some damage by ignorant or malicious human action, God’s wise design and faithful sustaining make these natural systems more likely—as confirmed by widespread scientific observation—to respond in ways that suppress and correct that damage than magnify it catastrophically.
A Call to Action
In light of these facts,
Cornwall Alliance, 9302-C Old Keene Mill Road | Burke, VA 22015 | 703.569.4653 | www.cornwallalliance.org
Forget Climate Change: Energy Empowers The Poor.
The computer climate models that are the only reason for fears of dangerous, manmade global warming have proven wrong. They predict warming at twice the rate actually observed since the 1970s, and they failed to predict the complete absence of warming since January 1997. There remains, therefore, no good reason for the fears.
It follows that policies to fight global warming fight a non-problem. They waste trillions of dollars needed instead to help the world’s poor meet much more urgent needs. In developed countries they slow, stop, or reverse economic growth, destroy jobs, and raise energy costs, harming everyone—especially the poor and elderly. And, by depriving developing nations of the abundant, affordable, reliable energy they need to rise and stay out of poverty, they would condemn them to more generations of poverty, disease, suffering, and death.
Therefore we petition President Obama, Congress, our governors, our state legislatures, and county and city governments to repeal all policies previously adopted to fight global warming and not to adopt new ones (such as the currently proposed “Clean Power Plan”), and we petition President Obama and the United States Senate to refrain from embracing any global treaty or agreement to limit carbon dioxide emissions to fight global warming.
Whose Supported Policies Kill More People: Islam…or Greenpeace?
By Roy W. Spencer, Ph.D.
Approximately 200,000 people have died due to global terrorism in the last 10 years.
During the same time, many millions of people (mostly women and children) have died due to policies promoted by Greenpeace and other “green” organizations (e.g. anti-DDT, anti-golden rice, anti-fossil fuel).
I’ve said it before…I don’t really care where our energy comes from…as long as it is abundant and affordable. Until someone comes up with an alternative energy source with those two characteristics, humanity is stuck with fossil fuels as our primary energy source.
It’s not like the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior runs on solar energy.
Since poverty is the leading cause of premature death in the world, and fossil fuels have enabled the world to prosper and live longer, more comfortable lives, being against fossil fuels is, in my opinion, either misguided or evil.
It appears that Greenpeace is pulling out all the stops to minimize the impact that we skeptics have on the global warming debate. In addition to the COP21 meeting in Paris in December of 2015, A December 2015 Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness hearing chaired by Ted Cruz appears to also be an event Greenpeace is trying to thwart.
Here’s what’s been happening. Last month I was contacted by what now appears to be a front-group (or fictitious group?) for Greenpeace called “Hamilton Ellis”, supposedly headquartered in Beirut. Supposedly on behalf of Mideast oil interests, they contacted a number of skeptics with offers to pay for reports on climate change.
Here’s the email I received:
Dear Dr Spencer,
I am a partner in a business advisory firm based in Beirut, working across sectors but primarily focusing on energy and defence.
One of our clients is an E&P company that is concerned about the impacts of the UN climate talks later this month. I am writing to you now because we are looking to commission a briefing to be released early next year, following the talks, which highlights the crucial role that oil and gas have to play in developing economies, such as our client’s MENA region.
Given your influential work in this area and your position at the University of Alabama we believe a very short paper authored or endorsed by yourself could work strongly in our client’s favour. Does this sound like a project you would be interested in discussing further?
Kind regards,
Jonathan
–Jonathan Ellis
Hamilton Ellis Associates
Tel: +961 1 956 412
Fax: +961 1 956 355
hamiltonellis.com
If you try their website, you get a blank page. A Google search turns up no previous consulting work.
It turns out what they were really trying to do was to find out what kind of fossil fuel funding skeptics have been receiving. I am told that more on this revelation (which was not my discovery) will be forthcoming at ClimateDepot.com. (UPDATE: I’ve published the information, in an article by Dr. Patrick Moore, here.)
Of course, the popular meme has been that we skeptics are paid large sums by Big Oil and Big Coal.
I wish.
Over the years, I’ve charged to give talks out-of-state, taking vacation time away from my research day job (which is 100% federal and state funded) to avoid any charges of “double-dipping”. A few of those talks have been for fossil fuel-related organizations, a few have been for environmental organizations, but most have not.
My affiliations with the Marshall Institute and Cornwall Alliance have been on a volunteer basis. I’ve also been paid a modest amount to write a couple of reports over the years, as well as to help in a recent legal case. The total compensation I’ve received is very small compared to my day job, and it’s even very small compared to the ad revenue I receive from our little weather website, Weatherstreet.com.
Many years ago I was paid to write articles for a website called TCSDaily.com, which turned out to be fossil-fuel funded. I didn’t know that at the time, but I don’t think it would have mattered. After all, like most of us in the modern world, I’ve given far more money to fossil fuel interests than I’ve ever received from them. 😉
I’m still waiting for that Big Check from Big Oil. After all, I’ve been carrying their water for years. In my case, my support of fossil fuels (and the prosperity and longevity they have enabled humanity to achieve) goes back decades. It’s a no-brainer. If there is another energy technology as cheap and reliable and large-scale, I’m all for it.
But there isn’t. So I’m not.
And I really don’t care if every CEO of every coal and petroleum company eventually sides against me. (Why should they take a public relations hit, when they know that – at the end of the day –people still need their energy?)
You see, as a scientist I won’t accept the premise…the premise that more CO2 in the atmosphere is “carbon pollution”, and that it is necessarily a bad thing.
After all, more CO2 is causing global greening, and increased crop productivity, with only mild warming (which isn’t necessarily mostly due to increasing CO2) and no demonstrable increase in severe weather.
But, since Greenpeace seems to think that doing any work for a fossil fuel interest is bad, let’s talk about what is “evil” for a moment.
Besides promoting global warming policies that will cause energy poverty (and if there’s one thing that kills people reliably, it’s poverty), Greenpeace has been promoting anti-human policies for decades. Their opposition to golden rice alone is enough to call them out as bigger enemies of humanity than ISIS…at least so far. We really don’t see the harm they do splashed over the TV screen because it’s the poor in third world countries that suffer the most from the policies they promote.
In 2014, terrorism killed over 32,000 people. But golden rice could save as many as 1,000,000 poor children’s lives each year, by supplying necessary vitamin A….yet, Greenpeace has been actively campaigning against poor countries growing golden rice.
Although they now deny it, they were also opposed to DDT, which is relatively safe and saves millions of lives.
It’s not just religious organizations calling them out. Atheists have been outraged, too: The Evil that Greenpeace Does.
Of course, Dr. Patrick Moore famously left the organization he helped found and lead when it became clear that they were valuing nature above human life. Patrick also has called them evil.
And this is besides their opposition to the primary fuels that power the global economy and allow people to live long lives free from the misery that poverty brings.
So, does Greenpeace have any moral authority on matters related to the wellbeing of humans? There seems to be a serious shortage of it in green circles these days.
For example, George Soros, after years of driving down the value of coal companies by promoting “green energy” policies, turned around and recently bought over 1 million shares of Peabody Coal at dirt-cheap prices. So, where is his moral authority on environmental matters?
And I’m also reminded of Al Gore selling Current TV to Al Jazeera (funded by Mideast oil interests) last year, netting him $100 million.
Apparently, hypocrisy runs deep in the Green Blob.
If Greenpeace believes that there are too many poor people in the world using up the natural resources they want for themselves to power their ships and commute 250 miles by jet to work, then they are on the right track with the policies they support.
They just shouldn’t expect to keep the moral high ground in the process.
This article was originally published on drroyspencer.com.
Bible answers to catastrophic climate change.
Intro: The world is ramping up calls for action on Catastrophic climate change. Does it exist? ….let’s ask God, after all He created the world. He is the expert on the world. And as believers we need to be informed about this. It will be the number one priority for those who believe our planet is at a grave risk. And it’s all we are going to hear about. 1:00
Isaiah 45:18“For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.”
The earth was made to be populated by humanity. God knew there would be billions of people on this planet. He has put in safe guards for its sustainability as well as the materials necessary for the life and welfare of man. 4:00
Colossians 1:16-17“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Jesus Christ holds everything together. Nothing randomly happens in creation. If the world was created by God, there is nothing to fear about some random action of man or nature destroying it! If the world was created by random actions then we would constantly fear a random action of man or nature destroying it. 8:00
Genesis 8:22“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
My favorite passage about the fallacy of Catastrophic Climate Change. God promised after the flood the world will have distinct seasons and continue to have them. The rainbow reminds us that God will never destroy the world by flood and it reminds that the earth will continue to have seasons. 11:00
2 Peter 3:7-10“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. 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. 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. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
God will sustain the earth. He will not let man destroy the earth. In fact, God will destroy it. But He is keeping everything together until the last person repents and turns to Christ in faith. Then all hell will break loose on this God-forsaken planet. 15:00
There is no sense in arguing with people about man-made global warming or catastrophic Climate Change. God has turned these idiots over to reprobate minds. Romans 1:28. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
But the church needs to be aware of the truth. The church needs to worry about saving souls to Christ instead of saving the planet. We cannot be tricked into this lie of the devil and lose our focus on our real purpose….to preach the gospel to lost men, women, boys and girls and to equip the church to do so.
Listen many predict that some of these actions to prevent catastrophic climate change will take us back to the horse and buggy days. And it’s true that if they get rid of oil….. how will we fly planes, and drive trains, and trucks and keep this great economy going? It won’t be long until we are back to the early 20th century with maybe some battery powered cars here and there. Not planes or trucks. But no, they won’t send us back to the 19th century. We know God isn’t going to allow that. One reason is that the anti-Christ will use modern technology to control the world called The mark of the beast.
Another reasons is that Jesus Himself, the creator and sustainer of the Earth, said there would be normal buying and selling as in the days of Noah and Lot. Matthew 24:37-38 “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark.”
Luke 17:26-30 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”
“They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;” “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all”
“Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
It will be business as usual until judgment comes. But great immorality will abound….we see that already…… and No one will be aware that The Judgement of man is coming because they are busy living and trying to be happy and survive. So……Greta Thunberg can travel all over the world in her yacht (what a joke) and people can cry and howl and make threats against gas, oil and coal all they want…. but is anything really going to change? nope! Not according to the Bible.
But Practically speaking…….
The biggest reason that I don’t worry about the climate alarmists very much is this………..switching from fossil fuels to alternative energies will be detrimental to the poor. They simply cannot afford the cost of so-called sustainable energy sources. Our own economy would totally collaspse if we went away from oil and gas and coal. Think of how our lives would change! Do you really think that the Middle East, India, China, Japan, and Russia is going to change? Heck no. Who is going to make them? Alternative fuels will never catch on.
As Christians, of course we should be concerned about our effect on our environment. God appointed man to be the steward of this world (Genesis 1:28), “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
We don’t want to trash the earth and live in filth and disease. No one wants that. However, we should not allow environmentalism to become a form of idolatry, where the “rights” of an inanimate planet and its non-human creatures are held in higher esteem than God and man created in His own image. (Romans 1:25) “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
But many articles and statements have been made and published recently put great doubt that there even is a climate emergency
A global network of 500 scientists and professionals has prepared this urgent message. Climate science should be less political, while climate polities should be more scientific. Scientists should openly address the uncertainties and exaggerations in their predictions of global warming, while politicians should dispassionately count the real benefits as well as the imagined costs of adaptation to global warming, and the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of mitigation.
Natural as well as anthropogenic (man made) factors cause warming
The geological archive reveals that Earth’s climate has varied as long as the planet has existed, with natural cold and warm phases. The Little Ice Age ended as recently as 1850. Therefore, it is no surprise that we now are experiencing a period of warming.
Warming is far slower than predicted
The world has warmed at less than half the originally-predicted rate, and at less than half the rate to be expected on the basis of net anthropogenic forcing and radiative imbalance. It tells us that we are far from understanding climate change.
Climate policy relies on inadequate models
Climate models have many shortcomings and are not remotely plausible as policy tools. Moreover, they most likely exaggerate the effect of greenhouse gases such as CO2. In addition, they ignore the fact that enriching the atmosphere with CO2 is beneficial.
CO2 is plant food, the basis of all life on Earth
CO2 is not a pollutant. It is essential to all life on Earth. Photosynthesis is a blessing. More CO2 is beneficial for nature, greening the Earth: additional CO2 in the air has promoted growth in global plant biomass. It is also good for agriculture, increasing the yields of crop worldwide.
Global warming has not increased natural disasters
There is no statistical evidence that global warming is intensifying hurricanes, floods, droughts and suchlike natural disasters, or making them more frequent. However, CO2-mitigation measures are as damaging as they are costly. For instance, wind turbines kill birds and bats, and palm-oil plantations destroy the biodiversity of the rainforests.
Policy must respect scientific and economic realities
There is no climate emergency. Therefore, there is no cause for panic and alarm. We strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policy proposed for 2050. If better approaches emerge, and they certainly will, we have ample time to reflect and adapt. The aim of international policy should be to provide reliable and affordable energy at all times, and throughout the world.
The data being used to support anthropogenic (man-caused) global warming is typically based on small data sets, single samples, or measurements taken in completely different regions. This creates questionable results that are ignored by the alarmists because it doesn’t fit their narrative. And The climate change alarmist’s warnings and preparations won’t change anything anyway because we cannot do away with fossil fuels and doing away with them will harm the poorest people in the world and ruin the economies of many nations. 27:00
Conclusion:
Bottom line: God is in control. He knew there would be billions of humans. He made the world for billions of people. He will not let us destroy it. He will judge this world though so we must be ready for Jesus to appear! Instead of worrying about the PLANET BEING saved….you should worry about whether YOU ARE saved!
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 28:04
Noted professors and scholars who DO NOT support the Climate change agenda
Sheila Prabhakar Abraham, Ph.D. (Entomology), Associate Professor of Biology, Southeastern University, Evangelical Protestant, Lakeland, FL, USA
Robert V. Acuff, Ph.D. (Nutritional Biochemistry), Professor, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, East TN State University, Evangelical Protestant, Elizabethton, TN, USA
Dwight D. Allman, Ph.D. (Political Science), Associate Professor of Political Science, Baylor University, Mainline Protestant, Waco, TX, USA
Michael Asten, Ph.D. (Geophysics), Professor of Geophysics, Monash University School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Evangelical Protestant, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Timothy Ball, Ph.D. (Climatology/Geography), Professor of Geology (ret.), University of Winnipeg, Roman Catholic, Victoria, BC, Canada
Charles G. Battig, M.D. (Medicine), President, Piedmont Chapter, Virginia Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Richard J. Becherer, Ph.D. (Optical Physics), Technical Staff, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Adjunct Professor, University of Connecticut (ret.), Roman Catholic, Naples, FL, USA
Calvin Beisner, Ph.D., M.A. (History/Economics), Founder and National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, Evangelical Protestant, Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA
Edwin X. Berry, Ph.D. (Atmospheric Physics), President, Climate Physics LLC, Bigfork, MT, USA
David L. Black, Ph.D. (Chemistry), Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Aegis Sciences Corporation, Evangelical Protestant, Nashville, TN, USA
Frank Blume, Ph.D. (Mathematics/Probability & Statistics), Professor of Mathematics, John Brown University, Mainline Protestant, Siloam Springs, AR, USA
Jeffrey K. Boer, D.Min., Pastor, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Protestant, Hialeah, FL, USA
Carl W. Bogue, Th.D. (History of Theology), Pastor, Presbyterian Church in America, Evangelical Protestant, Scottsdale Arizona, USA
Joseph Boot, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Ezra Institute and Westminster Chapel, Evangelical Protestant, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Phillip A. W. Bratby, Ph.D. (Physics), Devon, United Kingdom
Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. (Environmental Ethics), Research Fellow, The Heartland Institute, Rowlett, TX, USA
Roger L. Burtner, Ph.D. (Petroleum Geology), Chevron Oil Field Research Company (ret.), Evangelical Protestant, Fullerton., CA, USA
Jerry Camerry-Goggatt, Ph.D. (New Testament), Professor of New Testament and Narrative Theology, Vanguard University, Freeland, WA, USA
Ward Canfield, Ph.D. (Mathematics), Lecturer of Mathematics, Loyola University, Mount Prospect, IL, USA
Ronald Carson, Ph.D. (Nuclear Engineering), Fellow, International Council on Systems Engineering, Evangelical Protestant, Renton, Washington, USA
Robert M. Carter, Ph.D. (Geology), Professor, Institute of Public Affairs, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Raul Eduardo Chao, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Chairman, The Systema Group, Johns Hopkins University, Roman Catholic, Lakeland, FL, USA
Kenneth W. Chilton, Ph.D. (Business: Environmental Economics), Senior Environmental Fellow, Lindenwood University, Evangelical Protestant, Lake Saint Louis, MO, USA
Marc A Clauson, Ph.D. (Intellectual History), Professor of History and Law, Cedarville University, Evangelical Protestant, Xenia, OH, USA
Roger W. Cohen, Ph.D., Fellow, American Physical Society, Durango, CO, USA
John Coleman, B.S. (Journalism), Meteorologist/Journalist (ret.), co-founder, The Weather Channel, San Diego CA, USA
William B. Collier, Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry), Professor of Chemistry, Oral Roberts University, Evangelical Protestant, Tulsa, OK, USA
Jason Colwell, Ph.D. (Mathematics), Associate Professor of Mathematics, Northwest Nazarene University, Evangelical Protestant, Nampa, ID, USA
Mark Coppenger, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Professor of Christian Apologetics, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Louisville, KY, USA
Patrick I. Coyne, Ph.D. (Agriculture), Professor Emeritus, Kansas State University, Evangelical Protestant, Hays, KS, USA
Claude C. Culross, Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry), Roman Catholic, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Joseph D’Aleo, Ph.D. (hon., Meteorology), Certified Consulting Meteorologist, Weatherbell Analytics; American Meteorological Society Fellow, co-founder, The Weather Channel; Roman Catholic, Hudson NH, USA
Donald J. Devine, Ph.D. (Political Science), Senior Scholar, Fund for American Studies, former Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Roman Catholic, Washington, DC, USA
Harold H. Doiron, Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering), Chairman, The Right Climate Stuff Research Team, NASA (ret.), Roman Catholic, Pearland, Texas, USA
Freeman J. Dyson, B.A. (Mathematics), Emeritus Professor of Physics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, Mainline Protestant, Princeton, NJ, USA
Elolia, Ph.D. (Theology), Professor of Theology and World Christianity, Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Milligan College, Evangelical Protestant, Johnson City, TN, USA
Vincent Esposito, Ph.D. (Nuclear Engineering), University of Pittsburgh, Roman Catholic, Murrysville, PA, USA
David L. Flick, D.Min. (Theology), Evangelical Protestant, Yukon OK, USA
Miguel Flores-Vergara, Ph.D. (Plant Biology), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Franks Lab, North Carolina State University, Evangelical Protestant, Raleigh, NC, USA
Neil Frank, Ph.D. (Meteorology), Former Director, National Hurricane Center, Evangelical Protestant, Fulshear, TX, USA
Martin Fricke, Ph.D. (Nuclear Physics), American Physical Society Senior Fellow, elected to APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA), Roman Catholic, San Diego, CA, USA
William Gillham, Ph.D. (Philosophical Theology), Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Albion College, Mainline Protestant, Albion, MI, USA
Rainer Gladisch, Ph.D. (Internal Medicine), Director and Professor Doctor, Universitätsklinikum Mannheim, Roman Catholic, Mannheim, Germany
Albrecht Glatzle, Ph.D. (Agriculture), Climate Policy Advisor, Asociacion Rural del Paraguay, Evangelical Protestant, Fernheim Boqueron, Paraguay
Ron Gleason, Ph.D. (Theology), Senior Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Yorba Linda, CA, USA
Alan Gomes, Ph.D. (Historical Theology), Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Talbot School of Theology, Evangelical Protestant, La Mirada, CA, USA
Guillermo Gonzalez, Ph.D. (Astronomy), Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Ball State University, Evangelical Protestant, Muncie, IN, USA
George Grant, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Pastor, Parish Presbyterian Church, King’s Meadow Study Center, Chalmers Fund, Evangelical Protestant, Franklin, TN, USA
William M. Gray, Ph.D. (Geophysical Sciences), Professor Emeritus, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Eastern Orthodox, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Ant Greenham, Ph.D. (Missions), Associate Professor of Missions and Islamic Studies, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Wake Forest, NC, USA
Bradley G. Green, Ph.D. (Theology), Associate Professor of Christian Thought and Tradition, Union University, Evangelical Protestant, Jackson, TN, USA
Randy Green, Ph.D., Byram, MS, USA
Jay Grimstead, D.Min. (Theology), Director, Coalition on Revival, Evangelical Protestant, Murphys, CA, USA
Wayne Grudem, Ph.D. (New Testament), Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Larry Gulberg, Ph.D. (Chemistry), Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Seattle Pacific University, Evangelical Protestant, Lake Forest Park, WA, USA
Eric Glenn Haenni, Ph.D. (Zoology), Assistant Professor of Biology, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Roman Catholic, Steubenville, OH, USA
William Happer, Ph.D. (Physics), Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics (Emeritus); former Director, Office of Science; Fellow of the American Physical Society, Princeton University; U.S. Department of Energy; Mainline Protestant, Princeton, NJ, USA
Lee Hardy, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College, Evangelical Protestant, Grand Rapids MI, USA
Jeff Haymond, Ph.D. (Economics), Dean, School of Business Administration, Cedarville University, Evangelical Protestant, Spring Valley, OH, USA
Thomas A. Hemphill, Ph.D. (Business Administration, Strategic Management, and Public Policy), University of Michigan, Flint, Roman Catholic, Flint, MI, USA
David J. Hesselgrave, Ph.D. (Rhetoric & Public Address), Professor Emeritus of Missions, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Evangelical Protestant, Lakehurst, IL, USA
Thomas R. Hauff, Ph.D. (Biblical Studies), Multnomah University, Vancouver, Washington, USA
Donald A. Hirst, Ph.D. (Physics), Evanhoe & Associates, Mainline Protestant, Bellbrook, OH, USA
Scott Horrell, Th.D. (Theology), Professor of Theological Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Garland, TX, USA
Craig D. Idso, Ph.D. (Geography), Chairman, Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, Tempe, AZ, USA
Klaus Issler, Ph.D. (Curriculum & Instruction), Professor of Christian Education and Theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, Evangelical Protestant, La Mirada, CA, USA
Bryce W. Johnson, Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering), Eastern Orthodox, Saratoga, CA, USA
Robert M. Johnston, M.D., Johnston Eye Center, Green Cove Springs, Florida, USA
Peter Jones, Ph.D. (New Testament), TruthXchange, Evangelical Protestant, Escondido, USA
Klaus L.E. Kaiser, Ph.D. (Chemistry), Director, TerraBase Inc., Evangelical Protestant, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Richard A. Keen, Ph.D. (Climatology), Emeritus Instructor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Mainline Protestant, Golden, CO, USA
Hugh Kendrick, Ph.D. (Nuclear Engineering), U.S. Department of Energy, (ret.), Mainline Protestant, Anacortes WA, USA
Bernard M. Kepshire, Ph.D. (Fisheries Biology), Ph.D, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ret.), Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ret.), Roman Catholic, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
Madhav L Khandekar, Ph.D. (Meteorology), Scientist, Environment Canada (ret.), Markham, Ontario, Canada
Nelson D. Kloosterman, Ph.D. (Ethics), Executive Director, Worldview Resources International, Evangelical Protestant, Saint John, IN, USA
Dan Koev, Ph.D. (Political Science), Assistant Professor of Government, History, and Political Science, Regent University, Evangelical Protestant, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
August Konkel, Ph.D. (Old Testament), Professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Evangelical Protestant, Paris, Ontario, Canada
Edward C. Krug, Ph.D. (Soil Science), Biogeochemist (ret.), former Field Researcher, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Project, Environmental Protection Agency; former associate scientist, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois; Mainline Protestant, Urbana, IL, USA
Richard Land,, Ph.D. (Philosophy), President, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Matthews, NC, USA
Mark J. Larson, Ph.D. (Historical Theology), Peace Reformed Church, Evangelical Protestant, Garner, IA, USA
David R. Legates, Ph.D. (Climatology), Professor of Climatology and Geography, University of Delaware, Evangelical Protestant, Middletown, DE, USA
Lubert Leger, Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry), NASA (ret.), Roman Catholic, Houston, TX, USA
David H. Lester, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Chairman, Go Nuclear, Inc., Fox Island WA, USA
Phillip E. Lestmann, Ph.D. (Mathematics), Professor of Mathematics, Bryan College, Evangelical Protestant, Dayton, TN, USA
William Light, Ph.D. (Organismic Biology and Geosciences), retired scientist, California Academy of Sciences, Marietta, GA, USA
Stephen D. Livesay, Ph.D. (Curriculum & Instruction), President, Bryan College, Evangelical Protestant, Dayton, TN, USA
Michael Lodahl, Ph.D. (Theology), Professor of Theology and World Religions, Point Loma Nazarene University, Mainline Protestant, San Diego, CA, USA
Alfredo M. Lopez, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Research Vice President (ret.), ExxonMobil Research and Engineering, Roman Catholic, Miami Beach, FL USA
Leroy Madden, Ph.D. (Chemistry), Professor of Chemistry, Missouri Baptist College, Retired, Ellisville, MO, USA
John F. Manville, Ph.D. (Analytic Organic Chemistry), Research Scientist (ret.),Victoria, BC, Canada
Christopher McGrath, Ph.D. (Anatomy), University of Otago, East Taieri, Mosgiel, Otago, New Zealand
William Mikler, Ph.D. (Biblical Philosophy), Communio Christiana, Lake Mary, FL, USA
Tracy C. Miller, Ph.D. (Economics), Associate Professor of Economics, Grove City College, Evangelical Protestant, Grove City, PA, USA
Anthony Mills, Ph.D. (Engineering), Emeritus Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, U.C.L.A., Montecito, CA, USA
Craig Vincent Mitchell, Ph.D. (Philosophy, Christian Ethics), Associate Professor of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Criswell College, Evangelical Protestant, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Tony G. Moon, D.Min. (Theology), Professor of Christian Ministries, Emmanuel College, Evangelical Protestant, Franklin Springs, GA, USA
William G. Moore, Ph.D. (Historical Theology), Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Evangelical Protestant, Clinton, SC, USA
Barry Myers, Ph.D. (Information Science), Associate Professor of Computer Science, Northwest Nazarene University, Evangelical Protestant, Nampa, Idaho, USA
Robert G. O’Lynn II, D.Min. (Homiletics), Assistant Professor of Preaching and Ministry, Kentucky Christian University, Mainline Protestant, Grayson, KY, USA
Jerry F. O’Neill, D.Div. (Theology), President, Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Jackson Painter, Ph.D. (New Testament), Professor of New Testament, Simpson University, Evangelical Protestant, Redding, CA, USA
George Paul, Ph.D., Evangelical Protestant, Stanmore, NSW, Australia
Franklin E. (Ed) Payne, M.D. (Medicine), Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Georgia Regents University (ret.), Evangelical Protestant, Augusta, GA, USA
Philip Pennance, Ph.D. (Chemical Physics), Professor of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, University of Puerto Rico, Roman Catholic, San Juan, PR, USA
Mark J. Perry, Ph.D. (Economics), Professor of Economics, University of Michigan, Flint, Roman Catholic, Washington, DC, USA
Lyle Peter, Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry), Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Seattle Pacific University, Phoenix, WA, USA
Joseph A. Pipa Jr., Ph.D. (Theology), President, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Greenville, SC, USA
William T. Reddinger, Ph.D. (Political Science), Assistant Professor of Government, History, and Criminal Justice, Regent University, Evangelical Protestant, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Jay Richards, Ph.D. (Philosophy/Theology), Assistant Research Professor, The Catholic University of America, Roman Catholic, Potomac Falls, VA, USA
Alejandro Rodriguez-Gomez, Ph.D. (Telecommunications Engineering), Associate Professor, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech, Roman Catholic, Barcelona, Spain
David Rossin, Ph.D. (Metallurgy), Cornell, MIT, Case, University Park, FL, USA
Ludwig Rudolf, Ph.D. (Mathematics), Retired, Munich, Germany
James H. Rust, Ph.D. (Nuclear Engineering), Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (ret.), Mainline Protestant, Atlanta, GA, USA
Michael R. Salazar, Ph.D. (Chemistry), Professor of Chemistry, Union University, Jackson, TN, USA
Daryl Sas, Ph.D. (Cell and Developmental Biology), Professor Biology, Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA, USA
Mark Saucy, Ph. D. (Systematic Theology), Professor of Systematic Theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, La Mirada, CA, USA
Herbert Schlossberg, Ph.D. (History), Ethics and Public Policy Center, Alexandria, VA , USA
Ian W. Scott, Ph.D. (New Testament), Associate Professor of New Testament, Tyndale Seminary, Mainline Protestant, Toronto, ON, Canada
John Shanahan, Ph.D. (Civil Engineering), President, Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy, USA, Roman Catholic, Denver, CO, USA
Thomas P. Sheahen, Ph.D. (Physics), Science and Environmental Policy Project; Director, Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology; former energy research scientist with several national laboratories, Roman Catholic, Deer Park, MD, USA
David Shormann, Ph.D. (Aquatic Science), President, DIVE, LLC, Evangelical Protestant, Magnolia, TX, USA
Garrick Small, Ph.D. (Economics), Associate Professor, Central Queensland University, Roman Catholic, Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia
Mike Spaulding, Ph.D. (Philosophy/Apologetics), Pastor, Calvary Chapel of Lima, Evangelical Protestant, Lima, Ohio, USA
James Spiegel, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Professor of Philosophy, Taylor University, Evangelical Protestant, Upland, IN, USA
Roy W. Spencer, Ph.D. (Meteorology), Principal Research Scientist, The University of Alabama in Huntsville; U.S. Science Team Leader, Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer aboard NASA’s Aqua Satellite; Evangelical Protestant, Huntsville, AL, USA
Walter A. Starck, Ph.D. (Biological Oceanography), Townsville, Queensland, AU
Jim Steele, M.S. (Ecology), Director Emeritus, Sierra Nevada Field Campus, San Francisco State University, Manzanita, CA, USA
Duane A. Steiner, Ph.D. (Physics), Physicist, US Navy, Ridgecrest, CA, USA
Robert Stewart, Ph.D. (Microbiology), Professor and Chair of the Department of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, Regent University, Mainline Protestant, Norfolk, VA, USA
Owen Strachan, Ph.D. (Theology), Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, Louisville, KY, USA
Kenneth Talbot, Ph.D. (Theology), President, Whitefield Theological Seminary and College, Evangelical Protestant, Lakeland, FL, USA
Timothy D. Terrell, Ph.D. (Environmental Regulatory Economics), Associate Professor of Economics, Wofford College, Evangelical Protestant, Spartanburg, SC, USA
Dirk Thoenes, Ph.D. (Chemical Technology), Professor Emeritus, Eindhoven University, Den Haag, Netherlands
Kevin Timpe, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Professor of Philosophy, Northwest Nazarene University, Evangelical Protestant, Nampa, ID, USA
Joseph Touhill, Ph.D. (Environmental Engineering), President, Touhill Technology Management, Roman Catholic, Jamison, PA, USA
Eduardo G. Del Valle, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), EGDV Consultants, Inc. (ret.) Roman Catholic, Miami, FL, USA
David Vance, Ph.D. (Instructional Design & Technology), Pastor, Redeemer Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Protestant, Blacksburg, VA, USA
Larry Vardiman, Ph.D. (Atmospheric Science), Paleoclimatologist, Institute for Creation Research (ret.), Evangelical Protestant, Rockport, WA, USA
Melinda Walker, Ph.D. (Biology), Chair & Professor of Biology, Charleston Southern University, Evangelical Protestant, Summerville, SC, USA
David F. Wells, Ph.D. (Theology), Distinguished Research Professor, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Evangelical Protestant, South Hamilton, MA, USA
Bruce Werner, Ph.D. (Plant Breeding & Genetics), Menan, ID, USA
Thomas E. Weyand, Ph.D. (Metallurgical Engineering), President, Pittsburgh Mineral & Environmental Technology, Inc., Roman Catholic, New Brighton, PA, USA
Robert Lloyd Whetten, Ph.D. (Physics), Professor of Chemical Physics, University of Texas, San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Fowler White, Ph.D. (New Testament), Senior Pastor, Valley Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Protestant, Lutherville, MD, USA
Walter Wilcox, Ph.D. (Physics), Professor of Physics, Baylor University, Mainline Protestant, Waco, TX, USA
Scott Williams, Ph.D. (Applied Mathematics), Evangelical Protestant, Springfield, VA, USA
David A. Wing, Ph.D. (Biochemistry), Professor of Chemistry, Union University, Evangelical Protestant, Jackson, TN, USA
Calvin M. Wolff, Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry), retired scientist/engineer, NASA JSC as contractor with Northrop Services Inc., Eastern Orthodox, Seabrook, TX, USA
Nicholas C. Zoller, Ph.D. (Mathematics), Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Southern Nazarene University, Mainline Protestant, Bethany, OK, USA
A Message To Agnostics
Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Atheists who reject the possibility of God can never be really sure there isn’t God. And since they can’t be positive that is 100% doubt. Do they really believe that 99% of the people that believe in God are stupid? Most atheists are actually agnostics. Agnostics are those who admit that they don’t know if there is God or not. Wouldn’t you want to find our for sure if God exists? Wouldn’t you check it out? If 99% of people lived in square houses and you lived in a round house wouldn’t you check out and see why people live in square houses? If you are smart you would.
I think I have discovered three reasons why people are agnostics.
You would have to too proud to admit that you might be wrong about God, and too arrogant to admit that everyone else might be right. Of course these people think that living in a round house is right and all the other 99% are wrong to live in a square house.
You would have to be incredibly stupid to live in a round house while almost everyone else lived in square house. You would have to be stupid to not investigate why most everyone lived in a square house. You have to be stupid not to investigate the Bible and find out for sure if God is real or not. If there is evidence you have to be stupid not to really investigate.
You would have to be incredibly ignorant to simply ignore all the square houses and continue to live in a round house. Most agnostics just ignore the evidence. That is incredibly ignorant to fail to investigate and find out about God.
What if God is real? As one man said to an atheist “I believe God is real I’m following Him with complete faith and trust…. And if He is not real what have I lost? But for you…. the atheist….if God is real and you have not believed on Him what have you lost?”
I believe the evidence of the Bible, the scriptures about Israel being in her land again in fulfillment of Bible prophecies is to much to ignore. The Old Testament prophecies about Jesus birth and death are great evidence. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead and they have ever found a body or given a shred of evidence to prove that He didn’t…. is solid evidence that God is real.
Also the evidence of people that claim to know Him is proof that God exists. You can’t see electricity but you see the evidence of it when you turn on the light switch. The evidence in nature, DNA and mathematics are examples of order in the universe. Think about how man is different than animals. Man wears clothes and man sings, man loves, man builds and man tears down is evidence of a divine hand.
One day the Bible says that we will all give an account of our lives before this Holy God. Wouldn’t it make sense if this were remotely possible to prepare for it? We prepare for the remote possibility of calamities by taking out insurance. Wouldn’t you take out insurance on the possibility of God actually judging you one day?
The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. All of us who believe in God believe it by faith in the evidence. God knows that fallen man can never prove He exists. But there is enough evidence to have faith that He does. I would ask atheists to drop the pride and arrogance and have faith. Not everything is black and white. Not every question can be answered in this life. Have faith in God and through faith you will know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
Two Things Atheists Should Consider.
Jesus is the most documented person in history. He is the most studied, dissected, debated, loved, hated, and ignored person in history. There is no doubt by all that Jesus lived and walked on this earth during the first century. There is no doubt that Jesus was crucified on a cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb. No one will deny that.
Israel is a nation that God claimed as His own people. They existed for hundreds of years and then disappeared for centuries. But the Bible prophesied that God promised to bring them back and it appears that He did. It is a fact of history that Israel has returned and that it was predicted in Bible prophecy. This is something that no one can deny. But I have heard atheists debate God and His existence. But I never hear them debate the resurrection of Jesus or the existence of Israel. All religion is their target. Why won’t specifically target Christianity or Judaism? If Jesus rose from death to life and Israel rose from ashes to life as a nation as foretold in the Bible then we shouldn’t we investigate these claims?
Two things that Atheists should consider. First of all did Jesus rise from the dead? If He did that changes everything about Him. He goes from a itenerant teacher to the Son of the living God! And secondly because Israel exists does that means that the Bible is the word of God? The reason I ask that is because didn’t the Bible prophesy Israel would come back and be His people again?
Let’s look at the evidence.
People saw Jesus alive. People remember Israel.
After Jesus was crucified and buried He was seen alive by 500 witnesses according the Bible. There are not 500 hundred people that can prove without a doubt that you are who you are.
The fact that Israel existed as a nation 3,000 years ago has been documented by hundreds and thousands of artifacts and evidence and they disappeared as suddenly as they came upon the scene. Would not this eyewitness testimony be evidence? Well you say the Bible is a religious book and that disqualifies it. What about historians such as Josephus and many others that back up the Biblical account?
Something happened that suddenly changed the disciples. God brought Israel back in 1948 as a nation that suddenly changed the world
Eleven of the twelve disciples died for preaching about the resurrected Jesus according to history. John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos for preaching about Jesus. They seem to have went from cowards to courageous in a matter of days.
Consider that this little nation Israel…. no bigger than Rhode Island is the focus of world attention every day. Would that give us reason to conclude that this might be God ordained?
Look what God said in Ezekial 39:27-28 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
Sounds like God planned to bring them back and predicted He would 2500 years before He did.
Christians died and still die everyday. Many want Israel dead today. It’s true that many will die for a cause. Some will die for a religion, Muslims are encouraged to commit suicide to kill the enemies of Allah. Soldiers give their lives for their country and people die protesting against communism or government abuse. Some die to protect family members. Police and firefighters die protecting others.
But why did and do Christians die? Christians die for a person, Jesus Christ. They die for telling other people the good news that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin. They die for preachin and teaching that Jesus rose from the dead. Christians died and still die today because it appears that they believe that Jesus is alive today and risen from the dead and the only hope for mankind.
Consider that Christians don’t kill TO spread the gospel, others kill Christians FOR spreading the gospel! Christians don’t fight. Christians don’t war. (the crusades were a Catholic-Muslim war.) Christians don’t take over a nation for the cause of Christianity. Christians are simply salt and light where they live. Would you not say that Christianity is different from any other creed, religion or cause? Would we not therefore conclude that these men and others after them believed and still believe that Jesus rose from the dead?
It is a fact that Israel gave us the Savior Jesus Christ who is a Jew. Israel was scattered and died as nation in AD 70, very soon after Jesus died. We know that all of Israel’s enemies want her dead. Iran has promised to push her into the sea. We must agree that the world has been against little Israel from the day they were born again. Now we know for a fact that Israel has no oil or mineral resources. No natural beauty, no great beaches and yet is the greatest tourist attraction in the world. Shouldn’t we then think it rather odd that so insignificant a little nation has garnered the world’s attention?
Their enemies tried to destroy Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and it appears to the Christian and Jew that God protected them. Christians say that Israel has come back today because the Bible tells them that Jesus is coming back. Why is He coming back? To rule and reign in Jerusalem for 1,000 years and to perfect the world as it was during the garden of Eden.
So we must conclude that Israel was a dead nation that now exists. Is it because God caused them to rise from the dead? And if He did this wouldn’t the rest of the Bible be true including the fact that Jesus rose from the dead? Shouldn’t we conclude that is why people died for Him then and still today?
We know where Jesus was buried. Israel is back in their God given land.
Jesus did not disappear. We know He was put in a tomb and we know that it was sealed and protected. That is historically proven. We know where Mohammed and Buddah are buried. We know where Joseph Smith is buried and they are still buried.
Jesus tomb is empty. If His body were stolen would not someone would have found it and stopped this movement immediately? Somebody would have a story as to what happened to Jesus that would refute the Bible‘s contention wouldn‘t they? But we don’t have these stories. If you look at the evidence we must conclude that it appears that Jesus rose from the dead.
We know from history that Israel was scattered and the land of Israel became a desert. Today Israel flourishes as a nation. We know that Israel is in the exact location predicted it would be in the Bible.
If we look at the evidence about Jesus Christ’s resurrection and Israel’s rebirth do we not conclude that the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus rose from the dead?
And if He rose from the dead then could it be that He is the Son of God? In fact is He God incarnate as He claimed He was? And do we not admit that the Old Testament prophets were correct 100% on Israel so far?
These my friends are two things we should and must consider. Is it irrefutable truth? It appears to be on the surface. As one looks deeper the case may be stronger for the Bible.
Will you look at this evidence with an open mind and heart? Will atheism continue to dominate your thinking? Will you not see because you don’t want to see?
Or will you not hear because you don’t want to hear? The Bible says that men’s hearts are blinded. The heart is desperately wicked and who can know it? Will you look at this evidence and still say “I want more, I need more, I don‘t believe it” because you don’t want to believe it?
Listen to what one former atheist said. “I would not believe in God but I believed that my heart would continue to beat and I believed that my eyes would continue to see and that my lungs would continue to breathe. I was a person who could not put together a toaster but thought I had this god thing all figured out. Well on day I asked God to show me if He was out there. I found that what I knew about God was enough to send me to hell. Months later I put my trust in Jesus Christ and His word and only then were my eyes were opened to a whole new realm of faith and knowledge.”
Understand that you aren’t going to get any more evidence. You have all the evidence you need in the resurrection and in Israel for faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Consider these things carefully and prayerfully.
I challenge you to ask God to reveal truth to your mind and heart. And then see what happens!
Why Are there No Amputee’s healed?
Many atheists will ask this question to cast doubt on God and the Bible. “If God is real why doesn’t He heal amputee’s? Why is there no healing of an amputee in the Bible?” Well there is one instance of an amputee being healed in the Bible. Luke 21:50-51And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. There were also lepers healed in the Bible and some of them probably had missing fingers and maybe even hands and the Lord made them whole. So critics cannot say that the Lord did not heal an amputee. But the bigger question is that Jesus raised the dead three times but He restored only one limb and that being an ear. Why no emphasis on amputees? I’m talking about missing arms and legs?
I have always believed that most healing after the foundational work of the Apostles is God’s divine providence. We pray for those with cancer, and other diseases and God heals them sometimes and sometimes He doesn’t. It’s all according to His perfect will and our eternal good. But I don’t ever recall anyone praying for a missing limb to be restored. Have you? We just don’t do that. God could do it of course, but we don’t pray that way. I believe that the Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us to pray that way because God hasn’t worked that way in the past. But why not?
I think I know why. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Habakkuk 2:4 ….but the just shall live by his faith. Romans 1:17 as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith.
Healing an amputee is altogether different than any other healing. Think even about Jesus raising the dead. Skeptics could say was the person really dead? Did they just swoon? But when we think about restoring a missing limb there would be no doubt! If a missing limb is restored it would be very obvious. No one could call that a trick. That is why I say healing an amputee would actually bring an end to faith. We then would have certainty. No need for faith. It would be like hearing God speak. That would be the end of faith and the beginning of fact and certainty. No ambiguity means no faith.
And I would argue that a perfect God cannot redeem a fallen man by fact but by faith. Man’s heart has to trust in God by faith not by fact. You cannot trust in something that is a fact. Fact is not faith. Fact makes us robots, faith makes us servants. Fact forces us to think and act, faith gives us the choice to think and act.
God didn’t want us to have all the facts but to have enough facts to bring forth faith so that we would trust in Him and follow Him by our choice. Fact doesn’t bring love. Faith brings love. Would you rather your spouse choose you by the fact OF you or by faith IN you? That’s a huge difference. It is rather obvious that the reason God saves us by faith is because God loves us. He could have saved us by fact without love but that would not make a very good relationship. God saves us not only to keep us from hell but to have a relationship with us. After all He has prepared a place for us and where He is we will be. That sounds like a faith based relationship not a fact based relationship.
We were given free will by God. Free will is determined by faith not by facts. We can ignore facts and that would be stupid. We can ignore faith and that is our choice.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is everything for the follower of Jesus Christ. We live by warm, loving faith and not cold hard facts. Praise His name for faith!
Israel….Blessing Or Curse Genesis 12:1-3
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Intro: When Mark Twain toured the land of Israel then called “Palestine” in 1867 desolation was widespread, and he noted it quite graphically in his book, “The Innocents Abroad”. Mark Twain called Israel then “barren symmetry.”
These are things Bible prophecy teachers have been talking about for decades; about how the Jews started back to that barren land 100 years ago and began draining swamps and irrigating large areas of barren deserts making them productive. They planted millions of trees as part of the reforestation of the land because Israel was stripped of trees by the Ottoman Muslims who occupied the land for several hundred years. But why is Israel so important? Why are they the apple of God’s eye? Why are they
Verse 1 …..Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
As Abram left his country to a land that God would show him..from every corner of the earth the Jew has been going home, and he will continue to go. And the result has been phenomenal. But, there is something else at work here; something that takes nothing away from those sacrifices, but something that is indispensable for understanding the truth of what is going on. In reality God is causing these things. He has a reason for causing them and that reason is the land must be made ready for the final chapter—the restoration of the people to their land and to their Messiah. Israel was established so God could reveal Himself to the world. The ten commandments what God requires of man was revealed to Israel. The blood sacrifices were begun by Israel. God’s dealing with man began with a people and a people related to God for the first time.
Verse 2 …..And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
This is firmly born out in the Book of Ezekiel. Chapters 33-48 have to do with the restoration of Israel in the end times, and much of what is written in those chapters is literally being fulfilled this very day. Paramount among those things is the amazing advent of Israel’s agricultural and manufacturing capacity. The Arab nations, with their hundreds of millions in population and multiplied fortunes in oil surround them, yet they are decades behind in technology, food production, etc. Israel is leading not only the region, but in some areas they are even leading the world.
Some examples of what God is doing in Israel, which is about the size of New Jersey, are: 4th longest life expectancy in the world at 82 years (longer than the US, the UK and Germany); more Nobel Prizes per capita than the US, France and Germany; the only country on earth to enter the 21st Century with a net gain of trees (amazing in that it is 60% desert); 93% of Israeli homes use solar energy; scientific research institutions are ranked 3rd in the world; produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin; leads the world in patents for medical equipment; highest standard of living in the Middle East and third highest in Asia, and the list could go on. Not bad for a country that was birthed in a scorpion-infested, malaria-plagued, sparsely inhabited land 75% of which was immediately expropriated by a spiteful world and given to people with a visceral hatred for them.
The prophet Ezekiel knew that his people would one day return to their land en masse, and that God would insure that the land would be able to support them. Not simply to a level of base subsistence but with an abundance of sustenance along with expertise in every discipline that would be needed to compete with the best the Gentile world would have to offer. And that is exactly what is happening this very moment.
Israel must be great because God is great. Israel must survive or God’s word is not true. Israel exists therefore we know for sure that the Bible is the word of God.
……3. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee
But, there is a problem. And as much as prophecy-minded Christians are aware of the hatred of the world toward the Jews and Israel, the real problem is not found there. It is found in the fact that though the Jews are going back to their own land and are doing all those great things, they are going back in unbelief regarding Jesus being their Messiah. Thus, they believe that what they are accomplishing is because of their own intellectual prowess, moral courage and military power. That is not true and one day soon, beginning at the mid-point of the tribulation and continuing until the 2nd Coming, God is going to allow the last great Gentile world ruler and his rabidly anti-Semitic world to teach them that lesson. Sixty-six per cent of them will die in the process. But as was the case with God’s punishment upon Babylon for their glee in bringing down Judah, so will He pour out His wrath on this Jesus-rejecting, Jew-hating world for its gleeful attempt to annihilate Israel.
Because of who and what America is there should be no doubt whatsoever that this country will be held to a higher standard regarding its official attitude and treatment of both the nation of Israel and the Jewish people—God’s people (Romans 11:1-5I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
The undeniable fact of Israel’s modern celebrated status compared to the much less than celebrated status of her neighborhood adversaries should be flashing lights of both promise and warning to countries, businesses, churches and people. And that includes a warning to our own beloved country—one that will go unheeded. God means exactly what He says, “…whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye…” Zechariah 2:8 Blessing or curse? Which will it be for you and your family?
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
God would bless the world through a nation that would give birth to son who would be the Savior of not just Israel but the whole world!
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Is Jesus Returning soon?
The most important theme in the Bible is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel means “good news.” The “bad news” is that we are all sinners. The Bible says that “the soul that sinneth it shall die….the wages of sin is death…..” The good news is that Jesus took our sins upon Himself. “He who knew no sin became sin for us that that we might have the righteousness of God.”
If we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead then we are “saved” from the eternal death and separation from God. We are “saved” from going to a place called hell. We are “saved” from the wrath of God upon sinful men.
We are placed in a right relationship with God through faith and trust in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. “There is no other name under heaven given whereby we must be saved.”
That brings us to the second most important topic in the Bible…the return of Jesus Christ to reign on the earth. Jesus was born as a baby and when He became a man He died on a Roman cross for the sins of all mankind. After 40 days He arose from the dead and was taken up to heaven. Acts chapter one tells us that the Lord will return to earth in like manner as He was taken up.
The return of Christ is the next prophetic event on God’s endtime calendar. The return of Christ will happen in two stages. First the Lord will return for His church, all of those who have trusted in Christ as their Savior. This is found in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 and in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Also this is referred to in John 14:3 and Titus 3:5. This meeting will be in the air will be sudden and unexpected.
His return for His church is called the “rapture” a word which means to snatch away, So called because of the sudden disappearance of believers mentioned in the above scriptures as they meet the Lord in the air. After the rapture there will be a seven year period upon the earth the Bible calls the tribulation. Matthew chapter 24, Luke 21, and Revelation chapters 6-18 decribe this terrible time in great detail. The church will be in heaven during this time enjoying rewards for faithfulness to Christ and the “marriage supper of the Lamb.”
After the tribulation the Lord will return to the earth with His heavenly church. He will then set up His kingdom on earth. He will rule and reign in the Holy city of Jerusalem in the new temple. He will be ruler over those who survived the tribulation, who believed and trusted in Jesus Christ. Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years. Those who did not trust in Christ during the tribulation and in all ages past have been taken to hell awaiting the final judgment.
Satan will be bound during this time. But near the end of the thousand years he will be loosed for a little season.
Satan will amass many followers during this time. Those who follow him are some of the grand children of those born of the tribulation survivors. These people have not followed the rule of Christ in their lives.
The Lord Jesus will quickly put down the rebellion. Then there will be the Great White Throne Judgment. Jesus will judge those who died in their sins from all ages and they will be taken from hell and cast into the Lake of fire forever and ever!
The Lord will then create a new heaven and a new earth wherein only righteousness will dwell for all eternity.
When are these things going to happen? The word of God tells us to look at the fig tree. If the fig tree has budded and bearing fruit you know that the time for reaping figs is near.
The fig tree, Israel has budded and is bearing fruit. This means that Israel is a nation and is prospering economically. God’s people have become a nation again as prophesied in His word. Therefore we know that the return of Christ is near.
Other signs the Bible gives us of the soon return of Christ….
* Wars and rumors of wars
* False teaching within the church. Lack of belief in the Bible, the resurrection, the virgin birth, the return Christ, salvation in Christ alone.
*One world economy and government
*Steady increase in earthquakes and natural disasters
*An increase in knowledge.
*Fear among many about the future
*Hate among people.
*Families being torn apart. Marriage being undermined by gay marriage and co-habitation.
*People loving pleasure, sports, recreation, drugs, sex, etc more than God.
*Worship of false gods and relgions.
Despite all these warnings people will ignore them and life will go on just as Jesus predicted that it would. Jesus said “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the son of man be.”
Noah preached for 120 years and only eight people were saved from the flood by getting in the ark. Sadly, people are again ignoring the pleas from the preaching of the word of God and ignoring their own common sense. Even their own heart that tells them this world is going in a very bad direction.
Is this some sort of fantasy created by Christians? The Bible says that these things will happen. This is God’s plan according to His word. The question is….who are you going to believe?
The Bible claims to be inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. The Bible predicted that Jesus Christ would be born hundreds of years before His birth.
The Bible predicted that Israel would become a nation again after almost two thousand years. The Bible is one hundred percent correct in its prophcies so far.
Are you going to take a chance that none of this is true? Are you going to risk your eternal destiny on what you think?
The Bible over and over says that Jesus is going to return. He is going to return whether you believe it or not. Millions have trusted in Jesus Christ and are in heaven with Him now awaiting the fulfillment of these events. Many millions here on earth are believing and trusting that He will one day return for them.
Would you join them today? His word is truth. These things are going to happen. The choice is up to you. It makes sense to trust in Christ. Get ready for His return. Don’t delay…get ready today by trusting in Jesus Christ!
Jack S Ward