Peace and Security?

“While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”   1 Thessalonians 5:3  ESV

“Trump says deal with Iran completed, ‘will bring peace and security to the whole region’”

https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/trump-says-peace-deal-with-iran-completed-will-bring-peace-and-security-to-the-whole-region

“The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. "And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”     Zechariah 12:1-3 NKJV

Once again the headlines inform us of yet another attempt at forging a "mideast peace agreement" which, according to the Word of God, will end in failure. If you are a student of Bible prophecy this should certainly come as no surprise. As this passage from Zechariah makes clear, any effort to bring peace between Israel and its enemies is doomed to failure. Why you ask? Because what we are seeing is the groundwork being laid for the fulfillment of yet another well known prophecy in the Bible, this one from the book of Daniel.

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate." 

Daniel 9:27 NKJV

As most know, this verse refers to the coming world leader referred to most often as the "antichrist". When he appears on the scene he will "confirm", (a word meaning "enforce"), a peace agreement between Israel and its enemies. Why "enforce"? Simply because what we are being told is that it proves impossible for the parties to agree to any sort of peace on their own. As the passage from Zechariah tells us, anyone (other than the coming antichrist) who makes an attempt at forging a peace agreement will fail. The phrase translated to "be cut in pieces" also can be translated "tattooed", which I actually find very interesting. If you think about it, every president in recent memory who has tried to involve himself with the "peace process" comes away "tattooed" with his failure. 

Time will prove that President Trump is also going to be tattooed when his attempt at forging a peace will fail as all others have.  Although this attempt is courageous, the earth, and especially the Middle East, will never see peace until Jesus arrives at His second coming.  I also found it interesting to read several commentaries which suggested that this so called peace agreement is actually opening the door for the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 38,39 prophecy, or the Gog- Magog War. 

“And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. “Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.”  Daniel 8:23-25  NKJV

The truth is, what we are witnessing today occurring all around the world is Satan preparing the way for the emergence of his lackey, the antichrist.  Somehow this coming man of sin will rise to power by deceit and cunning while at the same time managing to broker and enforce a peace when so many before him have failed.  If we are as close to the end as many believe, this man is currently active on the world stage and being positioned by Satan. 

When discussing the coming antichrist, many have made the point of describing all of the attributes listed in God’s Word about this man as a way of explaining how he is able to somehow achieve the impossible. While not disagreeing about their importance I would like to suggest one simple explanation which may often be overlooked.  You see, in the passage above from Daniel we are told that although this coming world leader will be extremely strong, “his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power”.  So the question which follows is simply this; “if it’s not his power, who’s power is it?”  If we look at it this way, I believe the answer is clear as to where his power originates. 

If you have never taken the time to read and study the book of Zechariah, I invite you to start today. Often overlooked, the book is one of the "Minor Prophets" of the Old Testament, a name given to twelve books because of their small size, not their importance. In fact, next to Isaiah, there are more prophecies concerning the coming Messiah in it than any other book in the Old Testament. There are also plenty of prophecies concerning the time in history in which we find ourselves today. Oftentimes this book is referred to as the "Apocalypse of the Old Testament" because of the prophecies it contains concerning the future of Israel.

The stage is being set for the appearance of the antichrist. No one has had any success at forging any type of peace between Israel and her enemies, and according to the Bible, no one will. Until of course, the "man of sin" enforces a treaty which ushers in the seven year period of time we know as the Tribulation. So how close could that be?  Many believe that time is in the immediate future as the signs we have been told to watch for are appearing all around us.  Of course, if that is truly the case then there is one very important event we should all be watching for.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."                                          1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  NKJV

“But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”    1 Thessalonians 5:1-6  RSV

In this passage we see the subject Paul is discussing is the rapture of the Church, and it is here we find that Paul makes a very interesting statement when he tells us that as “children of light, and children of the day,” we will not be surprised when Jesus returns and takes us away to be with Him.  As I thought about this passage, one of the first things that I began to consider was why Paul uses the difference between day and night to show us why we will not be surprised.  As I began to think more about this, there were a couple of things that seemed obvious, but possibly overlooked, that I had not really considered before.

The first one is that in the daylight it is much easier to not only see what surrounds us, but also to see what in fact, is right in front of us.  Now if that seems to be an oversimplification simply try walking down a strange hallway in the dark when a few chairs have been scattered about.  Yet turn on a light and it’s a very simple exercise to avoid bumping into any of them.  So in truth, what Paul is telling us about the rapture of the Church is that those of us who are believers and have accepted the salvation offered to us by the death of Jesus on the cross will not be surprised by the rapture because we will see it coming!

Now if that sounds a little strange to you, consider how Paul also uses the illustration of a thief in the night to explain why believers won’t be surprised.  A thief loves to use the cover of darkness simply because it makes it harder for people to see him, and therefore allows him to come and steal without you knowing he has been there.  So it comes as a surprise to awaken and see what has happened under the cover of darkness.  If the thief tried to break into your house in the middle of the day while you were awake and at home, how far would he get before you recognized what was happening?  If you were watching and knew what to look for, I think you would have probably called the police long before he approached your door.

I believe what Paul is telling us here is that in the very same way, believers will not be surprised at the rapture because we will recognize “the times and the seasons”.  How is that possible you ask?  The answer to that is found in the phrase Paul uses in verse two where he says that we “know perfectly”.  In my mind, when I examined the meaning of this phrase in the Greek, I immediately thought back to the illustration of the chairs in the hallway.

 

As I see it, the advantage to walking down the hall with the light on is that you can see with both perception and recognition.  To my way of thinking, perception is seeing and knowing what is in front of me while recognition is the understanding of how to carefully deal with what I see.  So I was surprised to find that the definitions of these two words seem to say that very thing.  The word “know”, eido, means…to see, to perceive with the eyes, to perceive with any of the senses, to perceive, notice, discern, discover.  The word “perfectly”, akribos, means…exactly, accurately, diligently, from the root word akribes…exactly, carefully.

So in essence Paul is telling us that when it comes to the “times and seasons” of the rapture of the Church, believers, as children of the day, will not be surprised because we will “know perfectly” or perceive and recognize that our blessed hope is near.  When I first graduated from college my intent was to pursue a career as a coach.  One of my first experiences was learning how to scout the next opponent of our team, and I was paired up with a coach who had more than forty years of experience doing just that.  His method of teaching me was to constantly ask me what I was looking at and what I saw.  I quickly learned from him, and knew I had learned well when I began to watch and see the same things he did.

There is no doubt in my mind, based on what I see that the rapture of the Church could happen at any moment.  I am willing to say that anyone else who believes that is definitely a member of the “children of light, and children of the day,” that Paul speaks about.  When Paul called us children of the light, he meant we’ve been given the knowledge to understand what’s coming. Is the end in sight?  When so many in the body say they see the same thing, don’t you believe it’s a reasonable conclusion?  As one very prominent Christian speaker has said, the more you know about the subject of Christ’s return, the more you recognize how close it is.

Attempting to forge “peace and security” in the Middle East is doomed to fail, yet I believe it is an important sign of where we are on God’s timeline for this earth.  It certainly seems to myself and many others in the body of Christ that virtually every week we are being treated to more and more signs that the rapture of the Church is close at hand. If you have never made the decision to accept the gift of eternal life offered by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ I urge you to do it today.  Simply tell God you accept His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and turn your life over to His control.

 Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

Keep watching.

Never Alone

“Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”   Genesis 12:1-3. NKJV

Contained in this passage is one of the most important promises, along with a warning, that I believe God has given to the nation of Israel and all the other nations that inhabit the earth. In simple terms God says that any one person or nation that blesses Israel will be blessed, but to those who curse Israel, they in turn will be cursed. The United States and Israel have been allies since the inception of the Jewish state in 1948, and throughout the intervening years of both war and peace in the middle east we have continued to support the independence of Israel. 

Anyone who has taught the subject of eschatology, or what the Bible has to say about the end of the world as we know it, has at one time or another encountered the same question over and over again, and that is "where is the United States in prophecy?" Since it would appear that we are not mentioned specifically, those who teach on this subject have been left to come to conclusions based on what we do find in scripture and also on what we don't. The position I have chosen to teach over the years is really a simple one, and it goes something like this. The United States is not mentioned in the end times scenarios written in scripture for one of two reasons. One, we don't exist as a nation, or two, we exist but choose to not get involved.

Now since we have always been allies with Israel, the logical conclusion would be that we suffer some sort of an attack or at least are threatened with one serious enough to force us to question our support and then choose to withdraw. This is the conclusion most would come to based on the fact of our past strong support for Israel. Recent events on the political front initiated by our current president, however, may be signaling a radical shift in our foreign policy which in turn might suggest that in any future conflict the United States may choose to withdraw it's longstanding support for Israel.

President Donald Trump reportedly warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense phone call on Monday that further military escalation against Iran could leave Israel increasingly isolated, as new details emerged about growing disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington during the latest regional crisis. According to Israel’s Channel 12, Trump told Netanyahu, “You better be very careful with what you do because you might soon be left alone against Iran.”    https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-warned-netanyahu-you-may-be-left-alone-against-iran/

Already in Israel the feeling is emerging that the United States is "rethinking" its historical support of Israel. They see our president attempting to influence the policy making of the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.  Slowly but surely it would appear that a shift is occurring in regards to our relationship with Israel, and Israel is fully aware of it. There are signs that Israel is preparing to address the threats from Iran without the support or approval of the United States, which in the past has been a major concern. Does Israel feel abandoned already?

President Trump says that Prime Minister Netanyahu will accept whatever deal his administration makes. Maybe, maybe not. Netanyahu could see the approaching November midterm elections in America and even Israeli elections in October, and declare that this is the moment for a new Israeli Independence Day.  https://harbingersdaily.com/a-time-to-act-is-now-the-moment-for-netanyahu-to-declare-a-new-independence-day-for-israel/

There is no other way to take this statement than President Trump telling a sovereign nation that he alone calls the shots and Israel has no choice but to accept them.  I would suggest that is a grave miscalculation on his part as the Bible tells us that there is coming a time where the entire world is against Israel and they will defend themselves without any help from anyone other than God.

Iran & Israel cease fire for now, PM Netanyahu warns: If Iran attacks again we’ll respond with ‘overwhelming force ’https://allisraelnews.com/iran-israel-cease-fire-for-now-pm-netanyahu-warns-if-iran-attacks-again-well-respond-with-overwhelming-force

“And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD.     Jeremiah 31:28 NKJV

“We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves. This is why -- this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel. I know that you stand with Israel. You stand with Israel, because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to history's horrors.  Facing me right up there in the gallery, overlooking all of us in this (inaudible) chamber is the image of Moses. Moses led our people from slavery to the gates of the Promised Land. And before the people of Israel entered the land of Israel, Moses gave us a message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years. I leave you with his message today, (SPEAKING IN HEBREW), "Be strong and resolute, neither fear nor dread them.''  

Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to Congress 3/3/15

Israel can defend itself.

I would certainly not argue that point even when looking at the list of enemies the nation of Israel faces at the present time, and I would remind you that I and many others believe the next major event on Israel’s prophetic calendar is the destruction of Damascus revealed to us in Isaiah 17.  Yet when it comes to defending itself, I would also point out that it is one thing to defend against a smaller, weaker opponent than it will be when the entire world comes knocking at their door.  This will be the case after their destruction of Damascus, as it is explained to us in Ezekiel 38-39 where God allows the armies of Gog and their allies to mass for an attack on Israel in order to reveal Himself to both Israel and the world as the true defender of His people.

“The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. “According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’ “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—‘after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. ‘When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, ‘then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. ‘And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”    Ezekiel 39:23-29  NKJV

In this instance, Israel will not find it necessary to take on the responsibility of defending itself as God chooses to do that Himself by supernaturally confusing the enemy to the extent that they turn on each other and destroy themselves.  Personally, what I find most intriguing about what God has to say in this passage is that the entire nation of Israel, everyone, will “know that I am the LORD their God”.  Some might think it surprising, or somehow miraculous that the coming antichrist will be able to enforce a peace between Israel and its enemies, but I want to suggest that might be rather easy given the fact that the entire world just watched God defend Israel!  I don’t believe too many of Israel’s enemies would need to have their arms twisted to agree to a peace with Israel after watching what God can do.

“And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “that My fury will show in My face. “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, ‘so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. “And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. “Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’      Ezekiel38:18-23  NKJV

Who defends Israel?  God Almighty.  Does Israel really need America as its ally when they have the God of the universe on their side?  The simple answer is no.  This is only my opinion, but as someone who has studied the words and watched the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu for many years, my belief is that he has a personal relationship with God and knows full well who defends Israel.  As a politician, he might desire the friendship and support of the United States, but as a believer, he knows full well who really defends Israel.  

“Tell you what, if there wasn’t me, there would be no Israel right now”… Those were the words of President Trump in an interview on Wednesday.https://harbingersdaily.com/no-israel-without-trump-mr-president-god-isnt-looking-for-a-partner-to-share-his-glory/

I would have to say that I personally believe that to be an incredibly naive statement that demonstrates a rather large ignorance of Bible prophecy.  If I were to give any advice to our president I would strongly suggest he read and become intimately familiar with the passage from Genesis which begins this post. Should a major conflict, which we know from scripture is on the near horizon, occur in the Middle East and we choose to withdraw our support, God is very clear that we will be cursed. The only question is what form our judgement would take.  

The Bible states in no uncertain terms that Israel is the apple of God’s eye and He will not only defend them but promises that He alone will judge them at the end of this age.  Their survival is guaranteed and no one individual or any nation on earth can change that.  Considering we are told that all of the nations of the earth will be against Israel, and it’s biggest ally, the United States, is threatening to withdraw its support, one can’t help but wonder just how close we are to the end of this age.

There is no question in my mind, and many others as well, that we have arrived at that point in time which the Bible speaks so much about and that the removal of the Church to spend eternity with God by way of the rapture will shortly occur. Becoming part of the body of Christ, the Church, is the result of our choice to accept the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ for our sins.  If you haven’t made that choice, what better time than right now to do it, before it’s too late.  

Simply pray a prayer like this; Jesus I know that I am a sinner, and have sinned against you.  I believe you loved me enough to send your Son Jesus to die for my sins, and that He rose from the dead so that I can live.  Forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to live for you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Keep watching.

No One Knows

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only”.  Matthew 24:36  NKJV

How often have you heard this verse quoted as an argument surrounding the time of the rapture of the Church and whether or not we can know it?  To be honest, not only could I not put a number to how many times I have heard it, I can’t even remember just how long ago I first heard it because it was so long ago.  As far back as I can recollect it seems I have heard this over and over again whenever the subject of the rapture comes up.  Yet funny as it may sound, for just about as long, I can recall being somewhat uncomfortable with this explanation and application for reasons I could not fully explain.

So the time finally arrived when I decided that this was a question I needed to answer for myself and proceeded to apply what understanding I had at the time concerning Biblical interpretation towards examining this portion of scripture and deciding for myself if it did indeed refer to the rapture.  I proceeded to do that using the basic knowledge of the rules of interpretation that I had been taught and which have been used for generations.  One of my earliest teachers was Chuck Missler, a wonderful Bible expositor and teacher that I am sure many of you are familiar with.  One of his favorite sayings concerning studying the scriptures, and one which I will never forget goes something like this: “If you torture the data long enough, you can get it to confess to anything”. 

All too often it would seem many employ just that tactic in order to support a position they adhere to, when in fact, a closer examination of the passage proves otherwise.  One of the first rules of interpretation is that you never take a verse away from the context in which it was written.  This principle, which has stood me in good stead over the years, is extremely important in this particular case.  So first of all we need to examine this passage in light of the context in which it was written.  Think “big picture”.  So the first thing I did with this verse is take a step back and look at the entire conversation, when it occurred, who Jesus was talking to, and what was going on that prompted Jesus to say what He said. 

“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”  Matthew 24:3  NKJV

So by examining the context of this conversation, and asking the three questions I just mentioned, this is what I came up with.  This was the beginning of the Passion Week, and Jesus was soon to be taken and crucified for the sins of the world.  From what He had been saying to His disciples, they had a pretty good idea that something was up and were seeking clarification.  As Jews, looking for their Messiah, their concern was with the nation of Israel and its future in relation to the coming kingdom, which the prophets and Jesus had foretold.  Their question to Him was specific, and pointed; “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

When I did this, it seemed obvious to me that Jesus was speaking about the future of the nation of Israel, and not the Church as many have chosen to believe.  From the Jewish perspective, the disciples knew only that one day the current age would end and that the Messiah would establish His Kingdom.  They knew nothing of the Church as it would be established, or of what is now known as the “Church Age”, so an obvious question I asked myself is why would Jesus speak of it or refer to the rapture in answer to their questions about Israel and the future end of the world?  The only answer that makes sense to me is that Jesus is simply answering the disciple’s questions about when the world as they knew it would end. 

Now I am sure there will be those who would disagree with that conclusion, but to those I would point out something else I noticed.  If we wish to follow the rule that you never take a verse out of context, it seems logical to read the verse that immediately precedes the passage where Jesus says that no one knows the day or the hour.  If we do that, and read both together, this is what we find.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away”.  “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.    Matthew 24:35,36  NKJV

It certainly seems obvious to me that Jesus is speaking of the future time when heaven and earth will pass away.  Although we might not know the day or the hour this occurs, we certainly do know when it will happen because Jesus revealed it to the Apostle John on the island of Patmos when He showed him the “things to come”.

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”     Revelation 21:1-5  NKJV 

Heaven and earth will pass away at God’s command and He will usher in eternity with a new Heaven and a new earth.  Only He knows the day and the hour this will happen, but He has also told us that if we watch, the signs of that time approaching will be as obvious as a woman in labor. Heaven and earth do not pass away at the rapture, so to take Jesus’ own words and apply them to a different event just seems wrong. I am sure there are, and will be those who disagree with my thoughts on these words from Jesus to His disciples but in all honesty I think the simplest answers are the best ones.  Of course, this then begs the question; can we know the time of the rapture?  

Would you believe my answer to that question is “no man knows the day or the hour”?  Now I am not trying to confuse you so let me explain what I mean by that statement.  I recall as a history major back in my college days spending time studying the Manhattan Project, which was the US government program aimed at creating the first atomic bomb.  Something that made a very big impression on me was discovering that when questioned about what was going to happen when the first test bomb was set to explode, the scientists replied that they really had no idea.  In other words, they didn’t know.

God, our Heavenly Father, was, is, and always will be the only one who knows the future.  Many might claim foreknowledge but the truth remains that no one knows the future but God alone.  There will always be a difference between knowing the future and thinking you know the future, which we have seen demonstrated time and time again by those who believe they can predict when the rapture will take place.  No man can know, with one hundred percent certainty, when the rapture will occur. Many have, and will speculate believing they have figured it out but in the end, they don’t know, just like the nuclear physicists that created the first atomic bomb did’nt know.

On that subject there is another point I would like to make which addresses something I hear quite often.  When discussing predictions of rapture dates I often hear people say that by picking a specific date, one automatically disqualifies that date for being the correct one because “no one knows”. I would respond that what I have said previously still holds and that is it’s impossible to “know” for certain that the rapture will occur on a specific date.  That does not, however, mean that someone might correctly guess the day it might occur.  No one “knows” the winning lottery numbers but people do guess correctly some of  the time.

While trying to predict the timing of the rapture seems to be growing in popularity, I would suggest that while fruitless, it is also a result of the growing awareness that our time of departure is close at hand.  We have been told plainly by the scriptures that if we are faithful to watch, we will recognize the signs of the end of this age as they appear.  I believe the recent focus on the rapture and end times signs is, in fact, a result of many in the body coming to the same conclusion, and that is that the time of our departure is imminent.

The rapture of the Church, made up by all who have chosen to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and sacrificed Himself for our sins, is quickly approaching, The signs we have been told to watch for are becoming all too hard to ignore.  If you are one who has never made the decision to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I pray you would consider doing that today.  Simply pray a prayer like this one and receive the free gift God has offered to all who choose to believe.

Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven.  Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Keep watching.