Results 201 - 220 of 749
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: mark d seyler Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
201 | Rapture beforeTribulation?? | Matt 24:31 | mark d seyler | 176706 | ||
There is a large body of scriptural evidence that the rapture will take place at the beginning of the 70th Week, commonly called the Tribulation. Following is just a small portion: The doctrine of Imminence teaches that there are no prophecies remaining to be fulfilled before the rapture. Is this taught in the Bible? What about imminence 100 years ago? Israel had not been re-established. Teachings during this past century declared the rapture imminent, although we know now that it was not. There remained the rebirth of Israel, the blossoming of the land, and the increase of signs. The Bible, for instance, does not specify when Israel would be re-established in relation to the rapture. But imminence aside, there is the teaching of expectation. Pre-wrath and Post-trib proponents tell us that the early church did not teach an “any-moment” rapture. But look again at I Thessalonian 4:17 “Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to a meeting with the Lord in the air” and I Corinthians 15 “and we shall all be changed.” Paul, writing these verses, shows expectation, each time including himself as alive and remaining. “The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” “Then we who are alive and remain…” LITV 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 “But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need for it to be written. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord, as a thief in the night, so it comes. For when they say, Peace and safety! Then suddenly destruction comes upon them, like the travail to the one having babe in womb, and not at all shall they escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness. So then, we should not sleep, as the rest also do, but we should watch and be sober.” --- All the pronouns are first and second person, with the exception of the ones upon whom sudden destruction falls. They are third person plural. Paul clearly thought of himself as one who would be raptured. These verses are written with the underlying assumption that the Day of the Lord would come in their lifetimes. “the Day should not overtake you as a thief”. “We should watch”. Matthew 24:42 “Watch, then, for you do not know in what hour your Lord comes.” Matthew 25:13 “Therefore, watch, for you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man comes.” Mark 13:32-37 “But concerning that day and the hour, no one knows, not the angels, those in Heaven, nor the Son, except the Father. Watch! Be wakeful, and pray. For you do not know when the time is. As a man going away, leaving his house, and giving his slaves authority, and to each his work (and he commanded the doorkeeper, that he watch), then you watch, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or early; so that he may not come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch!” Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief.” We watch for Jesus, not knowing when He comes. “He commanded the doorkeeper, that he should watch,” to watch for the returning master of the house. Jesus says over and over to watch because we don’t know when He is coming, and we are to be found ready. Jesus wants us ready at all times, telling us that He could come back at any time, that we should expect Him at any moment. Are we wrong to expect Him at any moment? The Bible clearly teaches the "any moment rapture"! We know Jesus is coming. We are to watch for Him. Are there prophecies to be fulfilled before He comes? Whether or not you believe the rapture to be imminent depends entirely on where you place it in referrence to other prophecies. If you believe that the rapture will occur following the the abomination of desolation according to the common pre-wrath or post trib views, then the rapture is not imminent. It cannot happen until these other events have taken place. The basic idea of expectancy implies imminence, in that if my understanding of end-times prophecy were that a particular prophecy or group of prophecies had to happen before the rapture, I would not be expecting Jesus ‘at any moment’. I would be looking intead for the fulfullment of that prophecy. There will be no imminency, and neither will there be expectancy. You will not be expecting the rapture, you will be expecting other things first. This is clearly contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. There is far too much evidence to post, if you wish to read more, please email me at markdseyler@yahoo.com. Love in Christ, Mark |
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202 | CHRISTIANITY TODAY ARTICLE | John 3:16 | mark d seyler | 176537 | ||
Hi Justme, Here might be a good starting point for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminianism God bless! Mark |
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203 | what can God do against man's free will? | Bible general Archive 3 | mark d seyler | 176083 | ||
The Bible does not say that God Never overrides a man's choice in a matter. An example of this is with Jonah, in that God exerted a strong influence over Jonah to cause Jonah to change the choice he was making. Another example would be 1 Kings 12:15, "Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat." Here, the Lord specifically caused the King to not pay attention to the people. Soloman wrote of this in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." We know that God directs the flow of history, acting through individuals, and often by causing them to act a certain way. The death of King Ahab is another example, the Lord directing events to achieve an outcome. But, that is only part of the story. There is an area that God has left strictly up to man, and that is our relationship with God. The Lord has made a way so that anyone can come to Him and be forgiven, and reborn, and invites all to come. To those who want this, He will not turn them away. To those who don't, He will not force them. There are several places that show this principle in action: Ezek 18:30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct, declares the Lord GOD. "Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. Ezek 18:31 "Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? While God pleads with man to turn from his sin, the choice is clearly left up to the man. Another example is: Luke 13:34-35 "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! The one killing the prophets, and stoning those having been sent to her, how often I desired to gather your children in the way a hen gathers her brood under the wings, and you did not desire it. 35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And truly I say to you, You shall not at all see Me until it comes when you say, Blessed is the One coming in the name of the Lord. Again, God earnestly desires to gather these together, but they did not desire it, so it did not happen. But when they have invited Jesus to come, He will come to them. So again, this clearly demonstrates that God desires relationship with those who do not want relationship with Him, and He allows their choice to be the determining factor. Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will enter to him, and I will dine with him, and he with Me. "If anyone hears My voice and opens the door" - something that you have to do - then - "I will enter to him..." So to summarize, God can and does change man's will, and predetermine man's choice in some areas, but in the area of man's relationship with God, God allows man to choose. God's preference is clearly expressed: Eze 18:32 "For I do not have delight in the death of him who dies, declares the Lord Jehovah. So turn and live." If it were God's wish that some were to perish, then why would not God delight in their deaths, as He delights in those who are saved? If both were His choosing, surely both would be His delight. But as is written throughout the Bible, our Lord desires all to be righteous. But He won't force us to love Him. Do you, who are created in the image of God, prefer the willing love of your living child, or the words of Chatty Cathy when you pull the string in its back "I-love-you"? Love in Christ, Mark |
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204 | Bible verse: how man treats first wife | Mal 2:14 | mark d seyler | 176013 | ||
Are you perhaps thinking of: Mal 2:14 But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Love in Christ, Mark |
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205 | Removing Holy Spirit removes the church | 2 Thess 2:7 | mark d seyler | 176005 | ||
Hi E.T. Pastor, This is my understanding of this verse: Those who will use this passage as a proof-text for the pre-tribulation rapture go on to say that the Holy Spirit within the church is that which restrains the wicked one from being revealed, so that the wicked one cannot be revealed until the church is removed. II Thessalonians 2:5 “Do you not remember that I told you these things, I yet being with you? And now you know the thing holding back, for him to be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness already is working, only he is holding back now, until it comes out of the midst. And then the Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume by the spirit of His mouth, and will bring to nought by the brightness of His presence.” This passage, however, does not actually say what the restrainer is, or how it operates. Following is a literal translation of this key verse: to gar musthrion hdh energeitai ths anomias monon ‘o katecwn - for mystery already works the lawlessness only he keeping down arti ews ek mesou genhtai now until out of middle becomes Omitted in this verse is what this restrainer comes out of the middle of. Does it come out of the middle of the general population, i.e. the church? Does it come out from the middle between the antichrist and his power-broker sponsors who will usher him into his agenda? There are other possiblities still. The one actual clue we have is the masculine article, indicating “he”, or personification. The restrainer is a person. From verses such as Jude 1:9 “the LORD rebuke you”, 1 John 3:8 “For this the Son of God was revealed, that He might undo the works of the devil”, and 1 John 4:4 “because He in you is greater than he in the world”, we know that we are not the ones with power against evil, but it is God. I believe that the Holy Spirit is He Who is now “keeping down” the mystery of lawlessness, but whether this is through the church, or as a direct work, the scripture does not say. While the scripture does teach pre-tribulation rapture, this passage does not serve as proof. I am interested in your comments on this. Love in Christ, Mark |
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206 | Mark Thanks for your help. Des | Bible general Archive 3 | mark d seyler | 176003 | ||
Hi Des, You are welcome! I'm glad it was useful. Love in Christ, Mark |
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207 | Forgiveness and salvation | Matt 5:20 | mark d seyler | 175915 | ||
Hi Seedling, Consider what Jesus teaches about God's righteous requirement in this sermon. Mat 5:20 "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." He then goes on to teach us what that righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees is. He presents moral law (Our relationship to the Law, Matt 5:21-48), religious observance (Our relationship with God, Matt 6:1-18), and our call to service (our relationship to others, Matt 6:19-7:12). In each point we see our guilt and inability to fulfill what is required of us, and we see the standard that God is calling us to. Unless we match the picture Jesus paints here, we do not have salvation. The beauty is, Jesus is all of this and more, and God imputes Jesus' righteousness to us. 2 Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Now our life is all about actually living out this life of Jesus in our own bodies. Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I think this passage, above all of these things Jesus taught, puts a premium on forgiveness, and me must by all means and in all circumstances forgive all who have offended us. No exceptions. This is the heart of God, Who offers His forgiveness to all people. Paul wrote to both the Ephesians and Colossians that we are to forgive as a response to God forgiving us. Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. It is only in doing this that we can fulfill our mission in this world. 2Co 5:19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2Co 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. But even as James wrote: Jam 2:10 For whoever shall keep all the Law, but stumbles in one, he has become guilty of all. we cannot be saved by our good works, because they are never good enough, so neither can we become "unsaved" by our bad works, or lack of good works, because salvation is not based on works. Eph 2:8 For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Eph 2:9 not of works, that not anyone should boast; Forgiveness is part of Love. If you love, you will forgive, and you will be forgiving. If you do not love, you are not one of His. 1Jo 2:10 The one loving his brother rests in the light, and no offense is in him. 1Jo 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers. The one not loving the brother remains in death. Nothing stands with faith regarding our salvation. We are saved by grace through faith .period. But how real is our salvation, if we do not forgive others? I hope this helps. I am interested in what you think of all this. Love in Christ, Mark |
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208 | Servants they had acquired in Haran. Who | Gen 12:5 | mark d seyler | 175913 | ||
Hi Fritz, I have not been able to determine this for certain. A number of the sources I have checked place Haran in northern Iraq, others place it in Syria. Also, the family lines between Ham and Shem fall right across this area, and are also questionable, and not clearly defined. The indication from the passage seems to me that these were people who lived in Haran before Abram's family arrived. So I don't know that this is answerable, perhaps someone else will have more information. Love in Christ, Mark |
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209 | Daniel 1:2 | Dan 1:1 | mark d seyler | 175912 | ||
Hi strong, Some that come to my mind are: What is the significance of removing the temple vessels to the treasury of the Babylonian's pagan god? Why did Daniel and his friends not want to eat the king's food? Why were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah so much greater in wisdom and understanding than all the others of the magi? I'm sure there are many more. I would be interested in hearing answers you might have for these. Love in Christ, Mark |
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210 | scared about not knowing my talent | Luke 16:10 | mark d seyler | 175910 | ||
Hi ybingham, The Lords command to us is to love each other. This is love that leads us to be devoted to the wellbeing of others. It is as we serve others that God utilizes our talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts. I would counsel to you to serve those whom God has placed in your path. Any talent, ability, or gift that is required for you to fulfill the Lord's will for you He will supply to you. You need not worry about not having the ability to perform His will. 2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (4) And we have such confidence through Christ toward God; (5) not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reason out anything as being out of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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211 | Should a man support his family? | 1 Tim 5:8 | mark d seyler | 175908 | ||
Hi jbug311, I hope this helps! 1 Timothy 5:8 "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Love in Christ, Mark |
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212 | Significance of steps? | Ex 20:26 | mark d seyler | 175904 | ||
Hi Momma, Here is what Jamieson Fausset Brown says: by steps — a precaution taken for the sake of decency, in consequence of the loose, wide, flowing garments of the priests. This is what I've always thought. I will be interested to see if someone has a different answer. Love in Christ, Mark |
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213 | Was Ham showing homosexual tendencies? | Gen 9:22 | mark d seyler | 175902 | ||
Hi DaughterofSion7, The Bible doesn't give us specific information on this incident, although "to uncover one's nakedness" is often understood to be euphemistic of sexual immorality. For instance, in Leviticus 18 this phrase is repeated over and over, but we do not believe that we are prohibited against, say, changing a baby's diapers. Many have asked this same question as you, for the same reason, and it would seem to make sense that there was something going on, but we're just not told. Perhaps Noah was drunk enough to not realize what that Ham was looking at him, but when he sobered up, he remembered. If we are going to speculate on someone else's bad behavior, we can still give them the benefit of the doubt. Just some random thoughts! Bottom line, we don't really know. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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214 | Mark, there is no link | Bible general Archive 3 | mark d seyler | 175901 | ||
Uhhhh. . . ooops! http://www.lifeofchrist.com/life/harmony/ Sorry! Here it is! :-) Mark |
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215 | Calendar of Christ's public ministry | Bible general Archive 3 | mark d seyler | 175879 | ||
Hi Des, Here is a link to a site that may have what you are looking for. There are some events in Jesus' life that you really can't put in sequence, because the gospel writers wrote differently, and they didn't always give enough information to really work it out exactly, so different lists and charts will show some things differently. But these differences are relatively minor. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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216 | Pre-Trib Rapture Assistance | Bible general Archive 3 | mark d seyler | 175858 | ||
Hi Kathy, I agree with you regarding the pre-trib rapture. These two examples that you have already refered to, Enoch being removed before the flood, and Lot being removed before the destruction of Sodom, are the two main examples in Scripture, and it is these two times that our Lord Jesus refered to: Luke 17:26-30 (26) Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. (27) They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot--they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, (29) but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all-- (30) so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. This is a common factor between these two judgments, that in each case, someone was supernaturally removed before the judgment came. There is one other instance I would like to bring up, not exactly what you are asking about, but interesting anyway. In Daniel 3, when Nebuchadnezzar builds an image, commanding it be worshipped, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse, and are cast into the furnace of fire. God supernaturally preserves them. This is comparable to the Jews during the Seventieth Week. The interesting question arises, where was Daniel? I have personally studied this topic a great deal, and would be happy to help you with any questions you may have regarding the pre-trib rapture, and why Scripture supports it. I would also be happy to address any questions or concerns regarding the other rapture views, as I believe that they are irreconcilable with Scripture. Love in Christ, Mark |
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217 | Souls wait here for Jesus before heaven | 1 Thess 5:9 | mark d seyler | 175834 | ||
Hi Steve, The born again are described by Paul in 2 Co 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. (NKJV) Some things in this passage are stated as fact, some are given as preferrences. Following are statements made in this passage: If our earthly body dies, we have a heavenly body. We want to put on our heavenly body. We do not want to be unclothed. We do not want to lose our earthly body, but to clothe it in our heavenly body. God had this in mind when He made us, and gave us His Spirit as the first part. When we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We would rather be away from our home in the body, and to be at home with the Lord. Here Paul is saying, in a nutshell, that nobody wants to die – we all want to be raptured. God created us for eternal life. Eternal life, in the eternal body, is what we want. But its not our wish to die, and leave this body, but rather, to be raptured, and put on the eternal body without ever experiencing physical death, the putting off of our body. But if we do die, we are with the Lord. We believe in Him Who put His Spirit in us, and we know the if we do die, we are with Him, because we walk by faith, not by sight. Walking by faith means that we count on what the Bible tells us, not what we see with our eyes. What does the Bible tell us, and what do we see with our eyes, concerning our being with the Lord? What we see with our eyes – that’s easy – we see this world, our physical bodies, what we do not see is Jesus! I don’t see Him anywhere! What the Bible tells us is very different. Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. The Bible teaches us that we have already died and gone to heaven, to be with Jesus, as a completed action. Go back to 2 Cor 5. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight. In what sense are we absent from the Lord? We know that God lives in us, and that He is everywhere. We are both physically and spiritually in His presence. Paul inserts this comment, that we walk by faith and not by sight, to clue us in. We are absent from the Lord in sight. If our walk were by sight, this would be to physically see Jesus. To see heaven. We do not see Him yet, so our walk is by faith. We are “at home” in our body. This is where our consciousness is, our sight. It is here, where our eyes and ears and hands and mouths are. It’s where our bodies are. We are in bodies that belong in this temporal environment, and are not equipped to exist, or even to be aware of, the heavenly realm. But where else are we? We are “hid with Christ in God”, “seated in the heavenlies with Jesus.” And at the resurrection, as our consciousness awakes in our immortal bodies, this fellowship doesn’t end or diminish. Physically, we sleep to this world, and this body, then wake to our eternal body. Spiritually, we live continuously with Jesus. 1 Thess 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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218 | who is jesus christ and what is his mis | 2 Cor 5:19 | mark d seyler | 175813 | ||
Hi Monica, The best answer I can give you is this: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (17) So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new! (18) And all things are from God, the One having reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and having given to us the ministry of reconciliation, (19) as, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging their deviations to them, and having put the Word of reconciliation in us. (20) Then on behalf of Christ, we are ambassadors, as God is exhorting through us, we beseech on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God. (21) For He made the One who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This is to say that Jesus Christ is God the Son, Who was born as a man, for the purpose of reconciling man to God. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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219 | before the Rapture or after? | Matt 24:14 | mark d seyler | 175755 | ||
Hi Brian, There are two occasions given in the Bible which declare the univeral proclaimation of the Gospel. The first is in Colossians: Colossians 1:3-6 (3) We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying continually about you, (4) hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love toward all the saints, (5) because of the hope being laid up for you in Heaven, which you heard before in the Word of the truth of the gospel, (6) coming to you, as also in all the world, and it is bearing fruit even also among you, from the day in which you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; This tells us that the truth of the Gospel has come to all the world. The second is in the Revelation: Revelation 14:6-7 (6) And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an everlasting gospel to proclaim to those dwelling on the earth, even to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, (7) saying in a great voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come; also, Worship "Him who has made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea," and the springs of waters. We know that Paul's time is past, and that the rapture hasn't come yet, so the Gospel is preached to all the world before the rapture. Concerning the statement in the Revelation, there is a great deal of dispute over this, and a lot depends on when you understand the rapture to occur. If you believe, as I do, that the purpose of the rapture is to remove the church before God's wrath is upon the earth, then this must happen after the rapture, since it is given in sequence following the sounding of the trumpets, and the opening of the Sixth seal, which all are God's wrath. The rapture must precede these. The Church is caught up to be with Jesus, then the Seventieth Week of Daniel begins. In the middle of this "week", this world-wide declaration of the Gospel occurs. And then will come the end. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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220 | How should we interpret Luke 16:1-9? | Luke 16:1 | mark d seyler | 175675 | ||
Hi Bela, I understand this to be a story Jesus tells to illustrate a point, that point being that we should always keep in mind that this world is just temporary, and that we need to use the resources we have in this world for the greatest advantage in the next world. Our resouces - position, wealth - will only last so long. It's the eternal good that we accomplish that will last into the world to come. If we only accomplish worldly good with our things, that will soon be gone. But if we minister to the saints, and invest in evangelism, bringing others to Christ, this will last. The steward was wise in that he was thinking ahead. We are foolish when we don't. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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