Jesus asked this question, “when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Lk 18:8).

Here is the full parable.

1   And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Jesus was saying that  God would speedily avenge the elect that call out to God day and night but the parable also gives us the reason for God’s delay in not immediately answering their cries. The answer is that God is longsuffering over the vessels of wrath not willing that any of His vessels of mercy should perish (Ro 9:22, 2 Pe 3:9).

There is another passage in Revelation chapter 6 that sheds further light on this passage.

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

The wording and context of the parable in Luke and the prophecy in Revelation tells me they correlate and say much the same thing. By correlating these two passages with the wheat and tare parable of Mt 13-25-30 we see that the elect in the Revelation prophecy are the same as the widow and the same as the wheat in those parables. The adversary is likewise the satanic people or the tares dwelling on the earth.

We know from the scriptures that after thousands of years of God bearing with the tares on earth that God’s judgment will come on the vessels of wrath. The major mystery that remains in this passage is why does Jesus ask if  there will be faith on the earth when He comes? Obviously the widow (the elect) is the one praying to God to be avenged so she cannot be among the faithless.

One then might wonder why Jesus even asked if there would be faith on the earth at His coming? Jesus certainly knows there will be believers on the earth when He comes or there would be little point of His coming for His own at all. You cannot be one of the elect crying out to God if you have no faith. The answer to the riddle is that Jesus was talking to those left behind after the Rapture in Lk 18:8. The acceptable year of the Lord ended at the Rapture so those that remain are under the day of vengeance (Isa 61:2) until the arrival of the Kingdom age. Those left on earth after the Rapture of the Spirit indwelt Church will have to endure a fiery trial to determine if they will believe God and obtain faith and salvation (Rev 3:10 – 2Th 2: 7-12). During this tribulation period works will be required to demonstrate faith Mt 10:41-42, Rev 14:13. All on earth will have knowledge of God and Jesus Christ before the end comes (Mt 24:14). So all on earth will either accept the truth or they will believe a Satanic lie (2 Th 2:10). Those that accept Jesus Christ and do works fitting of a believer will be saved.

Some also might wonder exactly where the elect will be while this trial is taking place on earth? They will be guests or wards of the heavenly court. While the adversary is being avenged on earth and the righteous Judge of the earth is looking for faith on the earth, the Spirit indwelt elect of the acceptable year of the Lord will have been taken out of harms way and will be adorned and prepared to become the Lamb’s wife.

Now I know that raises certain questions in the minds of those who do not believe in a pre-wrath rapture. They think we are talking about two comings of Jesus but actually we are only saying that the second coming of Jesus is accomplished in two stages. First Jesus comes in the heavens and sends for His faithful elect on earth and they are taken up to the Holy City that will be coming down from the third heaven to orbit the earth over Jerusalem (hardly science fiction). While the elect bride is being prepared for the wedding to the Lamb in Heaven the adversary is being dealt with on earth.  After the tribulation of those days every eye will see Jesus coming in great power and glory with all His angels and saints and all living will appear before Jesus to determine if they are found worthy to go into the Kingdom Age.

So the answer to the question will Jesus find faith on earth is yes, no and then yes? When Jesus comes for His elect there will be no others with true faith on the earth left but when Jesus comes in glory there will be many tribulation saints present that obtained faith in Jesus Christ during their tribulation trial.

Certain Bible prophecy teachers are saying certain things that can only be labeled as dangerous theology.

The dangerous theology I am talking about comes from subjective interpretations of the Parable of the Fig Tree mentioned in three gospels. The problem is that they teach their conjecture as truth and that is what makes it dangerous theology. When they say the Rapture has to occur before the end of next year based on their own subjective interpretation of the Parable of the Fig Tree they are teaching dangerous theology.

I am speaking of  those that say the Rapture has to occur by next year because of their conjecture that the Parable of the Fig Tree has to be talking about Israel’s rebirth in1948 and their conjecture that a generation or a lifespan is seventy years. They go on to say the Rapture would have to occur at least seven years before the seventy years are up so they say the Rapture has to occur by the end of 2011. Even worse are the ones who tie in pagan hype to come up with a 2012 tribulation. When once credible Bible prophecy teachers dogmatically set the final date for the Rapture or the tribulation they are on dangerous ground theologically.

If Christians actually believed what they are teaching as fact, the Church should do no planning for anything after next year. So if you believe them don’t build that church or start that Bible college. Why even go on with your Bible translating since you will never will get it done before next year? Everyone might as well just quit college and stop future planning for anything. Just go wait on a mountain top. Do you get the picture?  This date setting from a flimsy interpretation of the Fig Tree Parable is very dangerous theology. Thank God that most of the Church have not and will not buy into Rapture date setters.

What are those that are saying these things going to do when 2011 comes and goes and there is no Rapture? I already know. They will just change a lifespan or generation to mean 80 years and say the Rapture has to happen by 2021.

It is no skin off their nose because many already claim that a lifespan can be 80 years according to the Bible. But what about the people that actually believed your dogmatic teaching that the Rapture would occur before 2012? What about all those that will give up on Bible prophecy teachers because they once again prove to be wrong. Is it any wonder why in the last days some will mock and say where is the promise of His coming (2 Pt 3:4)? Every time some Bible prophecy teacher cries “Lion” and Jesus does not come at their call the skeptics of Bible prophecy grow in number.

I also have to ask the people that claim to believe these subject interpretations a question? Do you really dogmatically believe that the Rapture has to occur by next year? If you really do I certainly do not see any indication of that. There is no increased activity from Christians to get things completed by next year. Many of the Christians I am in contact with seem to be worrying more about an economic collapse in the United States, and for good reason. Why worry about that if you actually believe the Rapture will happen by next year? If you really believe the Rapture is coming by next year just send me your money you will not be needing it.

So, obviously such conjecture by Bible prophecy teachers do not really impact the lives of Christians anyway. So what is the point for giving gullible people false hope of an early escape? On some Bible prophecy forums all troubled people do all day is talk about their hope of escaping in the Rapture by next year. The need for escape even borders on faithlessness in my opinion.

Anyone see a parallel here with 88 reasons why the Rapture will occur in 1988? That well meaning but very wrong Bible prophecy teacher thought a generation was forty years. The fact of the matter is that we do not know that Jesus was talking about the birth of secular Israel in 1948 in the Parable of the Fig Tree .

A word to the wise should be sufficient, but will it be?

Do your realize that most that identify with Christianity still believe in Amillennial Theology? One of the problems with Amillennial Theology is that it allegorizes or spiritualizes just about all future Bible prophecy and robs the prophets of their real message and often replaces what they literally said with a man made allegory and then the allegory also varies with the views of different commentators.

I am not sure how many of you are aware of it but I have a rather lengthy article that gives many arguments against Amillennial Theology. I also have a lengthy article that argues for Premillennial Pretribulation Rapture Theology.

This is posted to make you aware of my articles on these subjects. There won’t be any comments allowed on this particular post because from prior experience I know people with other theologies will come here and want to start an endless argument on theologies that have been already argued to ad nauseam, as if  their arguments will resolve differences in theology in the limited comments section of a blog post.

Over the last few weeks I have been going through and updating all my 25 world trends articles on my website and it still looks to me that present indications are that Jesus will  return 2030-2040 AD. I know that late date does not please the 2012-2019 second coming of Jesus crowd but they simply are wrong, so that is their problem. To find out why they are wrong you will have to read these 25 articles or read my previous blog on why Jesus is not coming between 2012-2019.

Now some of you need to quit whining about how long that is and do something for the Lord with the little time that you have left, because if you really think about it, there is not much time left to work. If you go with the middle date, say 2035, and subtract seven years that is left for the Jews you are at 2028 AD. Also, the Rapture is likely to be at least a few years before then (I think 3 1/2 to 7 years). Therefore, the rapture  might happen before or around 2020-2025 AD. So that leaves true Christians only about 10 or 20 more years to get their mission on earth accomplished.

You might also consider that during the time that we have left to work it is going to become increasing difficult to work and that many in the institutional churches will be falling away into Apostasy. We already see that taking place. There is also likely to be the beginning of sorrows or false birth pains within this period before the Rapture. Possibly even the first five seals of Revelation will take place during this time. I think that will play out as a world war against those forcing fundamental Islam on the world followed by persecution of fundamental Christians as well.

I also think the United States will cease to be a superpower during the next decade. So all those that are anxious for the tribulation to get started will have plenty of tribulation right here at home in the United States. Tribulation has already started for some and its going to get much worse.

All the events on the earth that will take place in the next 10 to 20 years will just set the stage for the rise of the Beast/Antichrist. Many pieces are still not in place for the Beast but you will have to read the articles to see why Bible prophecy cannot all be fulfilled as soon as some are now saying. Some are even saying that we are already in the final seven years. That concept must mostly be wishful thinking of those that are armed to the teeth to fight the new world order because it certainly cannot come from any rational interpretation of  Bible prophecy.

On another subject – I also took out hundreds of bad links in my two blogs and my website. Linking to articles of others can be a real pain in the butt because some people redesign their websites and break links because they do not use 301 redirects to the articles that they moved. Some popular news sites also simply do not archive their articles for very long.

I really love these people who tell me that they really believe the world is coming to an end in 2012, or they are certain that the Rapture has to happen within a year or two, or that they have the date of the second coming all figured out, or that Jesus has to come before 2019 because of their interpretation of the “Fig Tree Parable”, or based on some pagan prophecy, or the sayings of  Jack Van Impe, etc., etc., but they continue to retain all their wealth like they are going to live here forever or take it with them.

If you really believe what you say you believe on the Internet and in your emails, what need will you have for all your money? Give it to someone who will use it for Christian ministry in the couple of years that you are certain that we only have left.

I certainly could use a million bucks to hire a staff and to set up a modern office and expand this ministry. I would use your money to help get the message out that Jesus is coming soon and warn Christians about all the latest heresies, and warn about the wolves in sheep’s clothing running around seeking wheat to sell baloney to, so the wolves can devour them (with mustard) before Jesus even gets here for supper.

Not to mention, that the average attender in most congregations today is brain dead when it comes to biblical knowledge and understanding, and they really needs to read my shock courses on basic Christian doctrine so they don’t get Jesus mixed up with the Mahdi or some stain on a coffee table.

Others just need to hear what I want to ramble on about (like here) but I can’t be doing much rambling on if I am busy with other tasks that go along with keeping up a website and Blog and also keeping an abode in the deepest darkest jungles of the Ozark wilderness. (We still have to appease and fight off leprechauns and trolls here, not to mention, the government wilderness control freaks).

So if you are so certain that Jesus must return before 2012 or thereabouts just send me one of those spare millions that you know you won’t ever be needing and help expand this ministry. You will not get a tax deduction because I am not on the list of IRS approved charities and probably never will be with my constitution. But what do you need a tax deduction for anyway?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not asking for small donations from anyone reading this or from those who have any doubts about the Lord coming before 2019. I can’t expand a ministry on a thousand bucks here and there, and certainly can’t on your spare change. Send your seed faith change to the TV hucksters. I need really big bucks, like a million or so from the faithful that have no doubt in their mind that Jesus must return before 2019 and so are certain they will not ever need the million bucks. I give no refunds, if you change your mind or Jesus does not return before your date, your just out a million bucks and probably used it for a better cause than you would have. You probably would have just bought more gadgets like one that will allow you to text with your toes while driving  (now don’t ask me where to buy it).

If you do not want to send the million to me then give it to the ministry of your choice or the poor. So, as the saying goes, put up or shut up!

People spouting this stuff about Jesus coming in 2012 etc., really need to put their money where there mouth is and not be hypocrites or else they should tone down their date speculations. That includes the authors that are banking money from selling 2012 new aged baloney.
You can send those million dollar donations to Don Koenig, PO Box 234, Summersville Mo, 65571.

In return I will send you a semiannual picture of my well fed (thanks to you) six dogs and six cats. Sorry, they cannot write you letters. As a bonus you will receive a envelope of fairy dust from the local leprechauns. I think if you sprinkle the dirt… er…I mean dust.. on your upside down St Joseph statue your multi-million dollar mansion will be the first one to sell on your block (not valid in California, Nevada, Arizona, or Florida).

I think one of the reasons why people get way off on Bible prophecy is that they do not understand the nature of the Bride of Christ. The Church is the betrothed Bride of Jesus Christ. Even those who do seem to understand that concept often completely miss how God showed us the future of His blood bought Church in the process of obtaining a wife in the culture of the ancient past. I think Jack Kelly explains this as good as anyone I know in this article. I hope it will help you understand that God has a unique role for the Church apart from Israel and that the bride of a soon coming King would rule with the King but would not replace the King’s Kingdom. Apart from ancient customs there are also stories and “types” in the Bible that convey similar concepts. Kelly points out such a “type” in the details surrounding the obtaining of a bride for Abraham’s son, Isaac.

Keep in mind that after the price was agreed on and the Bride agrees to become the wife she does not know when the Groom will come for her. She also cannot disown the groom and the groom cannot disown her except if there is clear proof of adultery. We do have eternal security if we remain faithful to Jesus.

The Bride | GraceThruFaith

by Jack Kelley

This is an update of an article originally published in March 2004. While it’s based on the Bible, it also includes Jewish wedding traditions from Biblical times. Some of these traditions go all the way back to Abraham’s time and are described in Genesis 24.

the young woman was to watch and wait at her parents’ home. She and her bridesmaids had to maintain a constant state of preparedness, since the wedding date would not be revealed to her until the bridegroom actually appeared at her door to take her to their new home.
Surprise, Surprise

For his part, the groom would try to show up unexpectedly to surprise her, carrying her off suddenly “like a thief in the night” when no one would see them. The only advance warning she would get was the sound of his voice shouting her name and the blast of a ram’s horn.

Full article

This is an astute article by Jack Kelly on Pentecost and rapture of the Church. Like Kelly, I also believe that the parables of Matthew 13 describe the Church on earth and would also say each parable is linked to what Jesus also said to the seven different Church types in Revelation.

*Chuck Missler gives us a small taste of this design and correlation in his teaching on Revelation:

The Seven Kingdom parables:

The Sower ……………   Ephesus: The apostolic Church

The Tares …………….   Smyrna: The persecuted Church

Mustard Seed…………..Pergamos: Marriage to the World

Women/Leaven ……….Thyatira: The Papacy in the Medieval World

The Field………………. Sardis: Denominational/Dead Orthodoxy

The Pearl ………………Philadelphia: The rebirth of the Missionary

The Dragnet …………..Laodicea: The apostate Church

* The Book of Revelation , supplemental notes page 60, Koinonia House Inc., 1995

I believe that it is very possible that the Church will be taken alive to Heaven on Pentecost on the very same feast day when the Bride of Christ was born. The Church like Enoch was born on Pentecost and tradition tells us Enoch was taken on Pentecost. Enoch was taken because he walked with God before the judgment of the flood. The bride of Christ will also not reap the coming judgment of God because she is the Bride of Christ. Only after Jesus takes his rightful role as King of Israel and takes a Gentile bride can Israel’s promised restoration come.

I know many want to believe the Rapture is on the Feast of Trumpets but remember the Feast of Trumpets will be another fulfillment through Jesus for Israel. The Feast of Trumpets starts the last week for Israel foretold by Daniel and it ends it seven years later with the second coming of Christ. Some like to think the Rapture will occur on the same date that God deals with Israel again. However, scripture really gives no indication that the Rapture has to occur precisely seven years before the second coming of Christ. The Rapture could occur months or even a few years before the final seven years for the Jews.

One thing is certain in my mind. The 70th week and the lifting of the blindness of Israel cannot even take place until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Ro 11:25). In this passage Paul was speaking of the grafting in of a Gentile Bride into the Commonwealth of Israel. This Bride born from above is born of the Spirit she is not born of any flesh, be it Jew or Gentile. However, anyone not Jewish by natural birth (she is spiritual) is typed as a Gentile by definition. Therefore, the Bride is not Jewish even though there are people who were natural Jews within the Bride. This Bride gives no sin offering of her own as required by the law. Her sins are covered by the blood of God’s Jewish sacrificial Lamb. That is the reason why Pentecost is celebrated with leavened bread (leaven represents sin), the Church is full of sinners covered by the blood of Christ.

Anyway, this article by Jack Kelly is well worth the read and it is timely, being right before the Feast of Pentecost.

Pentecost and the Rapture of the Church | GraceThruFaith

Pentecost and the Rapture of the Church

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Pentecost comes in the early summer (May-June). This year it’s May 31. It’s the only Holy Day between the 3 Spring Feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits) and the 3 in the fall (Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles). Its Hebrew name is Shavuot. Pentecost is a Greek word and translates “50 days” since it comes 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits, the day we should know as Resurrection Morning . The Feast of First Fruits is celebrated on the day following the first Sabbath after Passover and Pentecost on the day after the Sabbath seven weeks later, (Lev. 23:15-16) giving rise to its nickname “Feast of Weeks.” Since the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, both these Holy days are Sundays.
What’s a Pentecost?

Jews celebrate Pentecost (I’ll just use its Greek name to avoid any more confusion than necessary) as the day Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai in the wilderness and the nation Israel was born. (Exodus 19-20) Christians celebrate it as the day the Holy Spirit fell on the Disciples in Jerusalem and the Church was born (Acts 2). If you agree with my view that the parables of Matthew 13 describe the church on Earth and that the parable of the yeast predicts there will be sin in the church, you’ll be interested in the fact that unlike all the other Jewish Feasts that call for unleavened bread, Pentecost requires bread baked with yeast (Lev. 23:17). Pentecost also began the annual wheat harvest, perhaps pointing to another of Matthew’s Kingdom parables, the Wheat and the Tares.

By tradition Enoch, one of the patriarchs from Genesis 5, was born on the day later to be known as Pentecost. Enoch’s name means “teaching”, a primary function of the Church. For this reason many scholars see him as a “type” of the church as well. Genesis 5:21-23 indicates that Enoch was very close to God and was actually taken live (raptured) into Heaven before the Great Flood. Pre-Trib scholars see this event as hinting of a yet future disappearance of the Church before the Great Tribulation. These same traditions also hold that Enoch disappeared from Earth on his birthday. So here’s a model in Genesis 5 of a man identified with the church being born and raptured on the day that would become Pentecost, the day the church was born.

Full article.

Things are getting pretty crazy out there to say the least so I think I will give you my world trends forecast for 2010-2020 AD. I think the next decade will be the most violent decade since the days of Noah. The only decade that will exceed it in violence will be decade of Jacob’s trouble which will probably begin sometime in the 20’s. Here is a glimpse of some of the things I think we can expect in 2010-2020. I am not a prophet.  They certainly do not have to occur just because I think they might. They are not in any specific sequence.

• The United States and the world will not recover from the economic downturn other shoes will drop and unemployment will stay high right into the next world war.
• There will be a world war early in this decade and there will be civil war in many places. The World War could start with an attack on Iran but will also likely contain the Psalm 83 war. This war against radical Islam could also start over Pakistan. No matter how the war starts, at the peak of the war it will cover much of Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. Radical Islam will be defeated but it will be a very costly and bloody war. I think a Marian deception will be used to end the war and unite world religions.
• India will take back Pakistan and whole cites could be lost to nuclear exchanges between the two.
• There will be national drafts to fight the world war. The volunteer army concept will be dead.
• The whole world monetary system will have to be scrapped, the most advanced nations will be technically bankrupted because of debt. A  new world monetary system will be set up.  Most people will lose their investments.
• The word democracy may still be used but within a few years true democracies or republics will no longer exist.
• The Supreme Court of the U.S. will turn liberal and the Constitution will only mean what liberals want it to mean.
• The world will embrace the “third way” but the “third way” really is liberal fascism.
• After the world war against radical Islam a religious harlot will be given authorization to oversee all world religion. This religious harlot will claim to be the Universal World Church and have a many paths lead to God attitude. She will be tolerant and inclusive as long as others recognize that the Vatican harlot is the final religious authority speaking for God on earth. The harlot will advise the emerging world government on all religious issues.
• After the war all fundamental religion that teach exclusive paths to God will be outlawed and those who promote it will be seen as a threat to world peace. The religious harlot will persecute all that will not submit to her authority on earth.  Religious holy books will be sanitized and passages that might offend others will be taken out or changed.
• By the end of the decade religious teaching on the air waves and Internet will be controlled. You will have to subscribe to receive any religious teachings. Proselytizing will not be allowed in most of the world.
• Many liberal post-modern Protestant churches will continue down the road of apostasy and join with the harlot.
• The true Church of Jesus Christ will have to go underground in most areas of the world and she will be at great risk.
• A nuclear EMP is very possible over the United States during the next decade and if it should happen it would bring massive civil unrest, riots and martial law.
• We can expect at least one natural pandemic in the world in the next decade but the real danger next decade will be from man made viruses. There will also be famine because of the world war.
• There will be successful terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction until after the world war against fundamentalist Islam.
• Due to the growing differences between liberals and conservatives certain states in the United States will secede and there might even be a civil war.  There certainly will be conflicts in areas where police attempt to take away peoples guns. I think the nation will break up into several separate nation states based on ideology but that the separate nations will continue to have open borders and reciprocal agreements.
• By the end of the decade all nation states in North America will  join a new North American Union or face total isolation.
• Western Europe will emerge out of the world war against radical Islam as a western superpower. This will be a new union of nations, it will not include all the same nations as are in the EU today. The new union will be more on the boundary lines of  the old Roman Empire and the recently proposed Mediterranean Union. This revised Roman empire will then set up 10 zones and appoint ten leaders.
• China, India and Japan will be well on their way to becoming nuclear superpowers by the end of the decade.
• North Korea’s military will be obliterated and South Korea or China will take over North Korea.
• Russia will dominate east Europe and Northern Asia and form a block of nations almost on the same lines as the old USSR. Iran will make a defense agreement with the restored Russian superpower after the world war.
• Israel and most Arab ethnic areas will join the European Union/Mediterranean Union after the war.  This will bring a short time of peace to the Middle East that will last until the Gog Magog war (Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39).
• Iraq will escape most of the world war and even profit from it. The rebuilding of Babylon in Iraq will become a major priority after the war.
• Most of Africa will come under the control of the African Union of states.
• There will be a South American Union of states.
• Anything you say or write that is not politically correct and that offends someone else will subject you to hate speech laws and civil suits.
• There will be total surveillance of all electronic communications. The Internet will be policed, monitored and filtered. Talk radio and websites will have to be politically correct or they will be shut down.
• All main streets in cities will be under video surveillance. Geographical locations of homes and the names and identification numbers of occupants will be just two of the many layers on a massive Geographic Information System (GIS) database that will be accessible to all government and law enforcement.
• Unlimited high speed Internet and communications will become available worldwide through some new technology.
• By the end of the decade all new computers will understand human speech and be able to translate anything you say into any language audibly. Powerful miniaturized computers will be taken with you everywhere and have continual access to the Internet anywhere.
• Homeschooling will be outlawed in liberal states. Children will only be taught state approved programs. Parents that are not politically correct will be reported by their own children and parents will lose their children if they persist.
• In liberal states all sorts of sex perversions will be called normal and protected. Addicting drugs will be taxed and legalized and addicts will be released from prison.
• There will be national health care but your access to certain health care will have to be pre-approved by bureaucrats following government guidelines.
• If liberals remain in control energy prices will triple. Burning of firewood without obtaining an expensive permit will not be allowed. It will be enforced by sky police and by rewarding finks.
• There will be food and gas rationing for most of the decade. Fuel will be very expensive and travel will be restricted.
• Foods that Nanny Health Care says is unhealthy will be almost taxed out of existence. Obese people will be forced to lose weight or lose access to affordable health care. If children become obese parents may even get charged with child abuse.
• Meat will be taxed at various levels of production and become very expensive.
• Refined sugar will be heavily taxed to help pay for health care.
• Assisted suicide will be encouraged for terminal patients.
• Government will tax 90 percent of income over a certain level.
• Taxes will take over half of the pay of professional productive people to pay for massive government programs.
• by the end of next decade the standard of living in the United States will be no better and may be worse than most of the rest of the developed world.
• In spite of what some are now teaching, the Lord will not physically return to earth during this decade but the Rapture could occur (or  it may not).

Apparently Steve Gregg tried to come to the rescue of Partial Preterism after Dr. Norman Geisler reviewed “The Apocalypse Code” book written by Hank Hanegraaff that attacked premillennial theology and those who are looking for the soon return of Jesus in the Rapture.

I guess someone needed to come to the rescue and bail out Preterism after some of Hank Hanegraaff’s erroneous assumptions were pointed out by Dr. Geisler in his review and some of Hanegraff’s book could not even be fully accepted by preterists. This is the response by Dr. Geisler to Steve Gregg’s apparent defense of partial preterism.

In this article Dr. Geisler is brilliant and often demolishes the arguments of Steve Gregg’s Partial Preterism Theology, often with many of the inconsistent silly arguments of Gregg and other preterists.

What is quoted bellow are just a few of the many examples given in the full article. Also go to Norman Geisler Articles for his other articles on this and other topics. Dr. Geisler is a one of the great minds of our time and I highly recommend that anyone interested in Bible prophecy absorb his teachings.

A Response to Steve Gregg’s Defense of Hank Hanegraaff’s Partial Preterism

By Norman L. Geisler

My comments will be divided into two basic categories. First of all, several areas in which we are in agreement will be mentioned. Second, comments on numerous points of disagreement with his defense of partial preterism, a view he shares with Hank Hanegraaff, will be discussed.

Eleventh, it is amusing that Gregg uses a third century heretical teacher, Origen, as a basis for his amillennial view and dismisses earlier second century orthodox Fathers as a basis for futurism. Further, contrary to Gregg, Renald Showers (in Maranatha, Our Lord, Come!) has demonstrated that the very earliest Fathers believed in an imminent coming of Christ, not just the fourth century Ephraem. This is to say nothing of the inspired writings of the NT which proclaim Christ’s imminent return repeatedly (Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 1:7-8; 15:51-53; 16:22; Phil. 3:20-21; 4:5; Col. 3:4; 1 Thes. 1:10; 2:19; 4:13-18; 5:9, 23; 2 Thes. 2:1; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; Jas. 5:7-9; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; 1 Jn. 2:28-3:2; Jude 21; Rev. 2:25; 3:10; 22:7, 12, 20 ). Passages like “The Lord is at hand” (Phil. 4:5) and “the coming of the Lord is at hand” (Jas.5:8) can hardly mean anything other than imminent, unless one is a full preterist and denies a literal future Second Coming, claiming Christ returned in the first century. He summarily dismisses all this with a vague “for all anyone can say” and a guilt-by-association with the Word of Faith movement!

Twelfth, after rejecting the early Fathers who were opposed to preterism, Gregg inconsistently appeals to the early Fathers to justify his amillennial views. He speaks of the pretrib beliefs before Ephraem in the fourth century as unsupported by earlier Fathers. Yet, he criticizes futurist who use the early Fathers to support their view (see “Sixth” above).

Thirteenth, he rejects the dispensational belief in a literal restoration of Israel which is firmly based in the historical-grammatical interpretation of Scripture (see Geisler, ibid., chap. 15). Yet he claims to hold the historical-grammatical hermeneutic.

Eighteenth, Gregg dismisses a massive array of unconditional promises that are based on the historical-grammatical interpretation which says that there will be a literal restoration of ethnic Israel to their land (see our Systematic Theology, vol. 4, chaps.14-16). None of the passages he cites deny this future for Israel, and numerous passages he does not cite affirm that there will be one (Gen. 12-17; 2 Sam. 7; Psa. 89; Mt. 19:28; Acts 1:6-8; Acts 3:19; Rom. 11, and many more). So strongly are these texts in favor of a literal restoration of the land and throne promises to ethnic Israel that even some non-premills like Vern Poythress and Anthony Hoekema have been forced to acknowledge such a future for Israel. And not to see that Paul is speaking of ethnic Israel in Romans 9-11 (which he calls Israel “my kinsmen according to the flesh” (9:2) to whom God gave “the covenants” and “Promises” (9:4) is a bold act of exegetical blindness. And it is this same “Israel” in this same passage of which Paul says they will be “grafted into their own olive tree” (11:24) because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (11:29). Ironic as it may seem, a fundamental problem with reformed amillennialism is that it does not believe in unconditional election–at least not for Israel! As for the clear literal truth that Jesus will literally come again with his literal twelve disciples who sit on twelve literal thrones and reign over the literal “twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt. 19:28), the best Gregg can offer is “the suggestions” that “this is not the only way in which Matt. 19:28 can be interpreted.” Of course, it isn’t; there is the spiritualistic way Gregg interprets it as “a present reality.” But this is certainly not the result of the historical grammatical hermeneutic preterists profess to accept. Nor is his contention that Jesus “unambiguously” established His kingdom at His first coming, as any literal understanding of numerous passages reveals (see Matt. 19:28; Acts 1:6-8; 3:19-21; Rom. 11:11-36). For an example of straining out a hermeneutical gnat and swallowing a doctrinal camel, Gregg declares of Revelation 20 that “the passage says ‘a thousand years.’ It does not say, ‘a literal thousand years.’” The passage also says “the Devil” (v. 2) and not “a literal Devil,” but does this give us warrant for denying a literal Devil. It also speaks of “nations” (v. 3), martyrs (v. 4), “heaven” (v. 1), and even “Jesus” (v. 4). But surely all these are literal. Sure, there are figures of speech used in the text like “key” (v. 1), but the literal method of interpretation has always allowed for figures of speech about literal realities (see ibid., chap. 13). It simply insists that the figures of speech and symbols are about literal realities (cf. Rev. 1:20)

Nineteenth, when confronted with the obviously literal land promises to Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 13-15), Gregg replies, “I don’t find the word ‘literal’ in any of the passages cited.” Yet, he later says these literal promises were literally fulfilled in the days of Joshua–something that could not be true since they are repeated after Joshua’s time (Jer. 11:5; Amos 9:14-15; Acts 1:6-8; Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 11). As for insisting on the use of the word “literal” to determine whether a passage is literal, I would suggest that he look at the death and resurrection of Jesus passages again. The last time I looked the word “literal” was not in the resurrection accounts. Nor do I find it in Genesis 1-3. But there again, consistency of hermeneutic is not a primary characteristic of the preterist position. Further, it is far from “clear” that Heb. 4 or Gal. 4 teaches there is no ethnic fulfillment of the ethnic promises to Israel. On the contrary, it is a denial of both God’s unconditional grace and of the historical-grammatical interpretation of numerous passages already mentioned. Just because Abraham has a spiritual seed does not mean there are no promises for his ethnic offspring.

Twentieth, as to the promise that the land promises to Israel would be “forever,” Gregg says two things: 1) The Hebrew word for “forever” (olam) does not always mean eternal. While this is true, it is also true that it can. And when it does not, it certainly means a long period of time. But Israel has never occupied all the land designated in these promises for a long period of time. As all good interpreters know, the meaning of a word is discovered by its context. And the context of Psalm 89:37 declares that the Davidic covenant will be “established forever like the moon.” And the last time I looked the moon was still in the sky! 2) Greggs wrongly assumes God’s promises to Abraham and David were conditional, but they clearly were not. Abraham was not even conscious when God made a unilateral unconditional promise to him (in Gen. 15:12), and Psalm 89:31-36 declares that even “if they break my statutes,” God promised “Nevertheless My loving kindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed will endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me.” As Paul said of this same God, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). God has not given them back the land yet, but will in the future when the remnant returns to Him (e.g., see Gen. 13:17 and Deut. 30:16-20).

In brief, Gregg’s attempt to rescue the partial preterist position he shares with Hank Hanegraaff is a failure. It rests upon a methodologically unorthodox way of interpreting Scripture. If this same method were used on the Gospel narratives of the resurrection of Christ, the preterist would also be theologically unorthodox. Thus, while partial preterism itself is not heretical, its hermeneutic is unorthodox, and if applied consistently, would lead to heresy, as indeed it does in full preterism.

Full article

It is nice to see Todd Strandberg and Terry James Rapture Ready website make the national media again. All the exposure helps to get the message out about Bible prophecy and that we are very near the prophetic end times on earth. If you have not visited the site I highly recommend it. For years RaptureReady has been the top Bible prophecy website in the world and I still very much appreciate the link they have up to my website.

Rapture: Distress about wars and the world economy feed apocalyptic warnings – Salt Lake Tribune

Strandberg, founder and editor of raptureready.com, the largest Christian prophecy site on the Internet, spends his days linking current events with biblical passages. He created a Rapture Index, modeled after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which consists of 45 categories of prophetic indicators from the occult to inflation and the crime rate. Each is assigned a value of one to five depending on the level of activity in that category. The numbers are adjusted weekly, and the higher the number, the faster the world is moving toward its end. Just before the time known as the Great Tribulation, some believe there will be a “Rapture,” where Christ takes the righteous to heaven without their tasting death.
In recent weeks, traffic on Rapture Ready site spiked to 50,000 hits a day.

In his 22 years working on Rapture Ready, Strandberg has seen an “avalanche” of anti-Christ suggestions, including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. Obama doesn’t fit the bill, he says, but he could be a type of “anti-Christ,” which simply means too many people see him as a replacement for Jesus.
Still, Strandberg believes the end is at hand and Jesus’ Second Coming will surprise everyone, coming as “a thief in the night,” according to the Bible, but close observers will at least know “the season.”
He points to tensions between Israel and Iran, Russia’s invasion of Georgia, and the possibility of global depression as some of the top indicators.
“We are one big event from triggering a cascade that will not stop,” he says. “There are so many indicators that are active. It’s like an overhang of snow on a mountain top. Cracks are forming on the ridge and once the ridge breaks free, it will tumble down the mountain and nothing can stop it.”

full article

The bailouts may bring us one step closer to the one world Beast economic system but there are some things said in this article that quite frankly make unfounded innuendos about people in our government and in the financial management of our money that are just not appropriate.

The article seems to paint that since the great depression we have been control by a worldwide conspiracy that is deliberately leading us to the Mark of the Beast system. There is no such conspiracy there is no such evil cabal of men. What is happening is the inevitable results of man’s mismanagement of the world’s economic systems. Man is designed to organize and manage things on the earth and anywhere you have civilization management is going to take place. Otherwise you have anarchy.

Because of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life one thing man does always leads to another. He overspends and goes into debt (the borrower will be the slave of the lender) so he becomes enslaved by the lenders through his own debt to them. The lenders are people of the same nature and they do the same thing and end up being the slaves of those with more money etc., soon everyone is owing more than they can pay and the debts have to wiped clean or the whole system collapses. That is where the U.S. is at now.

God had a way to deal with that weakness in man in the law. There was a Jubilee every fifty years where everyone’s debts were wiped out and they were to start afresh. We of course do not do what God instructed Israel to do in the law so we just keep piling up debt until the system has to collapse. When the latest modern collapse of the monetary system takes place the world elite will not want to make the same mistakes again so they will create the best system they can with the tools that they have available. In the future that means RFID tags, embedded chips and a secure worldwide economic system.

it is not really a sinister conspiracy plot as some try to sell. If man could actually manage his own sin on earth he would not need bailing out by a Savior. In addition, as long as the Church is here to be salt and light things on earth may get bad but they are not going to get totally out of control. It is only after the restrainer is taken out of the way and Satan is cast out of Heaven that the Beast system takes control of the inevitable world electronic economic system. Before Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven there are no restrictions on taking part in any of this. The electronic system only becomes sinister after the angels are cast out unto the earth and force people to take the mark and worship the Beast in order to buy or sell. Only when Satan has control of the whole earth does world electronic banking fulfill Bible prophecy.

Let’s not put the cart before the horse here and think that Satan actually can do anything he wants now, he cannot. He answers to God and only in the last 42 months does God give Satan free reign on earth in order for him to deceive those who would not have Jesus rule over them.

This article also jumps to the conclusion that Americans have lost control of their destiny. Did we ever have control of our own destiny? Not only that, the U.S. is only one nation on the earth. Believe it or not, everything is not about America.

America + decline does not = end of world, as some like to think.

America is not in Bible prophecy and that most likely is because America is not a major factor in the world during end time events. Nations have risen and fallen in the past and the Beast never rose to power because of it. Will the Beast come to power now because of U.S. economic troubles? If he does it will not be because America falls but because true Christian’s rise (Rapture) and Satan falls (to the earth).

There simply is something missing in the logic of those who love these ongoing conspiracy themes. I know saying that will not be popular with those who see demonic cabals everywhere, or the end of the world every Feast of Trumpets. The truth is that the Rapture is not likely to occur on the Feast of Trumpets this year and it probably will not come on the next or the next. The Rapture does not have to occur on the Feast of Trumpets at all despite all the Internet speculations. The Church is not Israel.

Events will go on until the time set by the Father and some Christians just need to get used to that fact and stop looking for some magic formula so they can scare their friends with their new found revelations. They need to stop blaming all the inevitable problems caused by man as proof text that the end will be here in 2012.

It is always getting closer to the end but there is no conspiracy of demon possessed men running the earth. They could not get along with each other if there were. We cannot even get the Pastors and deacons of our churches on the same page and we are led by the Holy Spirit. How in the world then does Satan get his possessed and his also possessed to see eye to eye on anything?

Then you wonder why some Christians get upset with those who spend all their time trying to figure out the timing of the Rapture and the second coming instead of using their gifts for the Church and working to get people saved? In my experience half the people coming up with these dates and theories do not even attend a local church.

Don’t get me wrong, I teach Bible prophecy and I think the Lord is coming in the lifetime of most of the people reading this article but much of what is being said lately in the name of Bible prophecy really are pagan theories with Bible terminology. I guess I am now in big trouble with some of you. Please spare me the email because when I do not see things your way you send me insults. I really do have better things to waste my time on. I get a little tired of unsolicited emails from those who just have to get me to agree with their conspiracies or agree that they know the day or dates of the Rapture or second coming. Almost always after a half dozen exchanges the only thing accomplished is wasted time.

But I digress, what the big bailout means is that most of us are too greedy and we spend far more than we have and we are so far in debt that we can never pay it back. We buy houses we cannot afford betting on them to rise in value ten percent a year and we expect our mutual fund managers to keep giving us ten percent returns on our investment when they can only safely give us five. We knew that they were gambling with our investments but we thought that everything keeps going up and that they were too smart to lose. Well, they did lose, and there will be a bailout by us or there will be a depression. There also will be more bailouts by us until the world decides it does not want to bail out America anymore. When that happen we are going to lose more than you can imagine.

That is really what all the bailouts mean. It is not some dark conspiracy by satanic bankers to take over the world it is our own enslavement to debt!

What the big bailout means

Do you think it’s an accident?

Do you think it’s just a case of bad management?

Do you think the proposed $700 billion taxpayer bailout of U.S. financial institutions just happened?

I don’t think so.

In fact, I think it’s part of a master plan – one pushing us inevitably, inexorably closer to a closed cashless global economic system of total control.

I know. This seems like an extreme statement. It sounds like I’ve drunk deep of the conspiracy Kool-Aid. But let’s take a look at history.

Americans have lost control of their own destiny. Elections don’t mean much. Congressional debates are illusory. We are on a path to tyranny. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain is going to stop it. Neither a Republican Congress nor a Democratic Congress is likely to slow it down.

Most Americans seem ill-equipped to understand what’s happening or to comprehend the forces at work behind it. They seem more concerned with their basic needs and material pleasures than the fact that they are losing their birthright of self-government and individual freedom – that their children will never experience the promises of the Constitution.

What just happened? To simplify it, the government just got a lot bigger and more powerful, which means another nail was just hammered into the coffin of American liberty. And, in one of the largest wealth transfer schemes in history, a few wealthy and powerful individuals just got wealthier and more powerful – at your expense.

But this is not the end. This is not the final fix. This is not the final solution – not by a long shot. There will be more consolidations of power and money. There will be more “reforms.” There will be more regulations, more restrictions on the way you conduct your affairs, more centralization and control.

Full article

Make no mistake about it Oprah and Tolle are setting the foundation for the coming persecution of true believers in Jesus Christ and Jehovah. Their satanic religion promotes the removing of all those who will not become part of the One universal consciousness. They will intend to kill us for the sake of their satanically inspired community and think they will be doing us and the world community a favor by doing so.

This teaching is not new. It has always been the teaching of New Age for many decades. Tolle and Oprah have just used their influence to popularize it under a new cover. It has always been their answer for any Rapture as well. They will say the collective mind just removed the “Neanderthals” from the earth so the “spiritually enlightened” could evolve into a higher consciousness and bring utopia on the earth.

There will soon come a day soon when those deceived by people like Oprah and Tolle will get to carry out their plan. If you look at all of what else is going on globally to set the stage for these global agendas you should understand that it it will all happen in the lifespan of this generation.

‘Does Winfrey Ride The Beast?’ – Frederick Meekins – Apr 25, 08

More importantly, by undermining individuality as in the case of Hinduistic New Age spirituality (atman is brahman) by claming that we are just a temporary cellular manifestation of the One Consciousness, when the time comes those accustomed to this mindset won’t have all that much of a problem with mass roundups and ultimately executions of those doing nothing more that questioning the worldview of those holding power. After all, one does not lament the removal of an infected hangnail or the cutting of hair since such an act benefits the overall body — or as in the case of the global community — the One Consciousness as Tolle calls it.

Such wayward intellects, according to Tolle, have failed to evolve to the point of enlightenment and “identify only with their own physical and psychological form”. Thus, for the sake of the COMMUNITY, it is imperative that such impediments be removed. Besides, doing such really wouldn’t be wrong (a concept itself outdated and bigoted since transcendent absolute standards don’t exist anyway) since distinct individuals don’t really exist and by hastening their return to the universal consciousness one may in fact be doing them a favor by expediting them onwards towards their next incarnation.

So according to this those who believe in the rapture and take the book of Revelation literally are extremists. Yep, I qualify.

So do the Christians in China that teach the second coming of Jesus. These are the Christians the Chinese Communists are persecuting. What is happening in China and proposed in the UN is a foretaste of what will happen when we are agree to these Global treaties.

If you want to know what is going to happen in the U.S. under all three socialists that are running for president just read the article below. Under the UN principles of tolerance that we will agree to abide by under any one of these people, preaching the truths of Christianity will be hate speech and it will be against the law.

So you should see how close we are to the start of religious persecution in the United States. We are only one Liberal government away from signing on to these UN tolerance principles that is totally intolerant of Christian truth.

The election choice for next year will be to live in an ObamaNation or, to live under the Clintonists, or to put the Mac of Cain on us. Any of these choices will hasten the fascist anti-Christian tyranny that is coming. It is coming sooner than most think.

United Nations Declaration of Principles on Tolerance Really Means Intolerance Toward Christians – CWN

Read some of the highlights of the UN Declaration of Principles on Tolerance in light of the recent comments by Karen Armstrong of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations who said that people that believe in the rapture and take the book of Revelation literally are “extremists”.Here are some of the major points of The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance:

· “Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures It is not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement.”

· “Tolerance involves the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism.” [Biblical truth?]

· “Tolerance… means that one’s views are not to be imposed on others.” [Would this end freedom to share the gospel with others? Could the UN still share its views?]

· “Intolerance… is a global threat.”

· “Scientific studies and networking should be undertaken to coordinate the international community’s response to this global challenge, including analysis of root causes and effective countermeasures, as well as research and monitoring… ”

· “Tolerance promotion and the shaping of attitudes of openness, mutual listening and solidarity should take place in schools and universities, and through non-formal education… at home and in the workplace.”

· “Promote rational tolerance teaching methods that will address the cultural, social, economic, political and religious sources of intolerance– major roots of violence and exclusion.

I have made the conjecture that the mark of the Beast may have something to do with making man not quite human and that people will take the mark as some great evolutionary step forward for mankind. God says that those who take the mark can no longer be saved. This could be because the Kinsman Redeemer came only to save the Adamic race. If people become transhuman they will no longer qualify.

I do not hear about many buying into the theory that the singularity and the Rapture are the same events. Nevertheless, the article makes some good points and it is thought provoking.

One point that I would like to make is that some do think that man can achieve long life and even immorality in this generation. Bible prophecy does not teach that that this will be achieved in this age or dispensation. Prophecy does imply that it will happen in the Kingdom generation. Since man is attempting to bring about long life before the Kingdom and is on the brink of achieving it we must be very close to that Kingdom and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the world, many intellectuals and futurists have noted their belief in the nearness of the singularity, with quite a few predicting it will occur within our generation. Some proponents of the singularity have promised immortality and post-biological bodies for the human race, prompting many adherents to draw parallels between these events and the prophesied rapture of the bible. Lacking a clear understanding of bible prophecy, some of these people have come to believe that the singularity and the rapture are one and the same. However, nothing could be further from the truth. So let’s examine the facts about the singularity and the rapture.

In preparation for the singularity, a new worldwide social/religious movement has emerged: the Transhumanist Movement. Identifying themselves “singularitarians” and “transhumanists,” these people look forward to the singularity with a fervor usually reserved for religious zealots. Many within the movement believe the singularity will lead to the emergence of “post-biological humans” who are able to shed their biological bodies and “upgrade their hardware.” Many believe that by downloading themselves into a network, they will effectively become “immortal.” True believers have modified their diets, exercise routines, and entire lifestyle in an effort to increase the likelihood of living to witness human reversal of the aging process and eventual human “immortality.”

Full article

I just want to let all those who predicted that the rapture would occur on Rosh Hashanan 2007 that they were wrong. Several websites will now have to disappear or change their date.

When will the rapture actually be and the second coming of Jesus? I made a projection table that might give you some idea.