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| Good Reading: "Left Behind" In May 2004, I was sick in bed with pneumonia for 9 days. I stayed in bed like the doctor told me to, but had this consuming energy to do something. I decided to take advantage of the down time away from work, and read a book that I have always wanted to read: Left Behind. This book stirred up something in me to go on a quest in my Bible. Through all of my searching, I have decided that regardless of who is right and who is wrong about the Rapture**, YOU should not wait another moment to accept Jesus Christ or delay until the "time is right" to tell your loved ones the Good News which is... THAT BY ACCEPTING JESUS CHRIST AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR AND BY ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS, THE GIFT OF SALVATION IS THERE AND WAITING FOR THEM. NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR THE TIME THAT OUR LORD JESUS WILL COME TO TAKE UP HIS CHURCH. BUT WOULDN'T YOU WANT YOUR LOVED ONES AND YOURSELF TO BE READY? WHETHER IT IS IN THIS LIFETIME OR NOT, WHETHER WE HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH THE TRIBULATION OR NOT? WHY TAKE THE RISK? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE RISK OF NOT ACCEPTING THE GIFT OF SALVATION? I WILL TELL YOU: "YOU RUN AN ETERNAL RISK OF BEING SEPARATED FROM GOD FOREVER." When I was a baby, I was baptized and grew up in the Methodist Church. I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church at the age of 30 and then water-baptized in the Pentacostal Church at the age of 44. If you understand what I am saying about being separated from God, no matter what religion you are - but do not share this wisdom with your loved ones, you run the risk of THEM being separated from God FOREVER. Please, I beg of you, open your heart to God and listen, and/or open your Bible and read. MY READING SUGGESTION: FIRST: Study the book of John, then Romans and then Matthew. If you have trouble understanding the Bible, try reading the New Living Translation (NLT) or the New International Version (NIV). |
| 1 Corinthians 15: 51-57 (NIV) 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Click here to view the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15) |
| Matthew 24: 36-44 (NIV) The Day and Hour Unknown 36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Click here to view the entire chapter of Matthew 24) |
| Click Here: For a short video that will give you a glimpse of what could take place when Jesus Returns: http://www.youtube.com/v/SmLhyPjHVes |
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| Scripture Indicating the Return of Jesus Christ: |
| Matthew 24: 23-31 (NIV) 23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 "Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. |
| JESUS WILL RETURN!! |
| 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 (New Living Translation) The Hope of the Resurrection 13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. |
| NOTE: Trust me, I am not trying to sell anyone on the book (there is also a movie called Left Behind), but I, like many of you, have heard and wondered about "The Rapture**" of Christ's faithful followers. Many believe that this day will come after certain events have taken place, some believe not at all in our lifetime. My own personal belief has been that the Rapture would take place once the Antichrist had shown his power to the world and after the beast had made his mark on humanity; Sometime after The Tribulation (The Tribulation (or "Great Tribulation") is an event referred to in the New Testament of the Bible at Matthew 24:21 ("For then shall be great tribulation..." - King James Version) and other passages. |