I held off saying anything about the “pastor” who keeps predicting the Rapture, because I wanted to deal with this in one shot.
I DO NOT CARE, if a person goes to church; I DO NOT CARE if a person says they are a “pastor”; I DO NOT CARE, if a person is claiming to be quoting bible prophecy; if they are doing things God clearly says DO NOT DO, they are working for Satan, who does these idiotic things to make people DOUBT GOD. It’s the old; “Has God really said…” deal, Satan ran on Eve.
No, Satan. No, believer. No, non-believer. No, false prophet. God did NOT say we would be Raptured on May 21, 2011 at 6:00pm (ANY standard/Day Light Saving time); or 1994; or any specific date. What God said is this, and I highly suggest you PAY STRICT ATTENTION;
Matthew 24:1-44 (NLT) My emphasis in CAPS
Jesus Foretells the Future
1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. 2 But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
4 Jesus told them, “DON’T LET ANYONE MISLEAD YOU, 5 for MANY will COME IN MY NAME, claiming, ‘I AM THE MESSIAH.’ They will DECIEVE MANY. 6 And you will hear of WARS and THREATS OF WARS, but don’t panic. YES, THESE THINGS MUST TAKE PLACE, BUT THE END WON’T FOLLOW IMMEDIATELY. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 BUT ALL THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST OF THE BIRTH PAINS, WITH MORE TO COME.
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 AND MANY FALSE PROPHETS WILL APPEAR AND WILL DECEIVE MANY PEOPLE. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 AND THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE KINGDOM WILL BE PREACHED THROUGOUT THE WHOLE WORLD, SO THAT ALL NATIONS WILL HEAR IT; AND THEN THE END WILL COME.
15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (READER, PAY ATTENTION!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.
23 “THEN IF ANYONE TELLS YOU, ‘LOOK, HERE IS THE MESSIAH,’ or ‘THERE HE IS,’ DON’T BELIEVE IT. 24 For FALSE MESSIAHS and FALSE PROPHETS WILL RISE UP AND PERFORM GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS SO AS TO DECIEVE, IF POSSIBLE, EVEN GOD’S CHOSEN ONES. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.
26 “So if someone tells you, ‘LOOK, THE MESSIAH IS OUT IN THE DESERT,’ DON’T BOTHER TO GO AND LOOK. Or, ‘LOOK, HE IS HINDING HERE’ DON’T BELIEVE IT! 27 For as THE LIGHTNING FLASES IN THE EAST AND SHINES TO THE WEST, SO IT WILL BE WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES. 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then at last, THE SIGN THAT THE SON OF MAN IS COMING WILL APPEAR IN THE HEAVENS, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
(THIS IS KEY!!!) 36 “HOWEVER, NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR WHEN THESE THINGS WILL HAPPEN, NOT EVEN THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN OR THE SON HIMSELF. ONLY TH FATHER KNOWS.
37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 YOU ALSO MUST BE READY ALL THE TIME, FOR THE SON OF MAN WILL COME WHEN LEAST EXPECTED.”
THAT is what God Almighty has said. He clearly says what must take place before the end comes. You have to ask yourself some questions, like; “Has the Gospel been preached throughout the whole world, yet?” No, there are some countries who banned the Bible, so the Word of God is not available to those parts of the world…yet.
The bible, in the Old Testament, gave a litmus test for so-called “Prophets of God”;
Deuteronomy 18:15-22 (NLT)
True and False Prophets
15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 20 But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’
21 “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
As a caveat for those who may try to defend the Harold Camping “prophecy”. Know this, it is possible for a prophet of God to make a prophecy and it NOT come true and still be a genuine prophet. You must understand that many prophecies are…warnings. Think of Jonah, God told Jonah to warn Nineveh of a terrible judgment heading their way if they did not repent of their sins. Jonah warned Nineveh, although reluctantly, and they REPENTED, so God did NOT destroy them. Jonah even lamented that he didn’t want to warn Nineveh because he knew God is loving and forgiving and would NOT destroy them if they turned from their wicked ways. That was the whole purpose of the prophecy; to warn to repentance. But, Camping was not warning anyone to repent so they could be saved…instead, he was flat out saying that the Rapture was going to occur at 6pm on May 21, 2011; he was speaking presumptuously. So, he has no defense. All he managed to do, again, was get non-believers to mock and deny God even more than they already do; which was Satan’s plan all along. Starting to see the big picture?
God wants us to be ready, at all times, for His eminent return. Why doesn’t God want us to know the exact hour of His return?
Think with me, if you left your teens home alone and told them no parties and to behave themselves and you told them that you would be home at 11pm, what would they likely do, especially if they are today’s teens? They would blatantly disobey you and party like nobodies business. All, they have to do is make sure the house is clean before 11pm, so to cover up their disobedience. And, unless you’re a keen parent…you wouldn’t be the wiser.
Same scenario, but this time you did NOT tell your kids at what hour you’d be home. How would those same kids behave? It’s not likely they would risk a party because they only knew that you would be home at any moment…but not WHEN.
The same goes for God; He knows if He told us the exact hour of His return, we would sin like a prairie fire ravaging a countryside, knowing that all we had to do was “repent” in the final minutes before His return.
If you were God, being omniscient, would you buy such “repentance”? Not likely, so why should Christ?
Are you understanding now?
Just follow Jesus, and you’ll be prepared; Jesus summed it up best; “YOU ALSO MUST BE READY ALL THE TIME, FOR THE SON OF MAN WILL COME WHEN LEAST EXPECTED.” ~ Matthew 24:44 (NLT)
Stop looking for the Rapture, instead, be ready for the Rapture.
In Christ, for Christ,
CommissionerG
In Christ, for Christ,
CommissionerG
