Endtime_Survivors

Hi all. A new video about escaping the Great Tribulation. The video length is a little under 5 minutes and takes a post-tribulation position. As usual, I'm keen to hear what others think.

LK 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. I'm guessing "strength" is probably a reference to our physical abilities, though I'm open to a more spiritualized interpretation, like strength of character/will. But, what about heart, soul, and mind?

I think it's good to keep this in mind, but there are times when it just feels right to blast a brother/sister who's teaching something contrary to what Jesus taught. I guess the best way to know what to do is to be constantly asking God, "should I be soft or hard on this person".

Thanks for this encouraging contribution to the topic, George.

Yes it is broad, but I don't think unfair or inaccurate. All humans have problems. To the extent that we are following "the way" we are Christian. To the extent that we are not following "the way" we are not Christian. I think this is the difference between the "Law" and the "spirit". I don't think the title of "Christian" should ever be static or presumed and I think this is why Jesus told Nicodemus, "the wind blows where ever it wants and you cannot see where it comes from or where it goes". I think this philosophy has helped me, personally, to better appreciate the efforts of those whom I'd normally not think of as Christian. I take your point and I appreciate your conviction. I think the word "compromise" covers a pretty huge spectrum between point A where we deny our faith and point B where no amount of torture, persuasion, or temptation could cause us to deny our faith. Paul talked about becoming all things to all people, which is pretty vague. The spirit of the teaching is that we need to be willing to change to suit the situation, but I think there's a lot of room there for people mistaking such change as compromise. Jesus sometimes walked around in a disguise to hide himself from the authorities? Was that a compromise? One minute Jesus would say, "Don't argue with them, they are blind leaders of the blind" and the next he'd spend whole chapters arguing with them. Peter corrected God himself when God told him to change. He thought it would be compromising on his faith to eat "unclean" animals. Faithfulness and conviction can easily become hard-headed stubbornness without flexibility. Should we reject the 1/3 which they do agree with because of the 2/3 which they do not agree with? None of us has perfect understanding of all truth. There may be times when we do need to, as Jesus suggested, wipe the dust off our feet as a testimony against them, but then again James and John wanted to destroy a village for rejecting them and Jesus rebuked them, two of his closest followers, for getting it so wrong. I don't think Jesus contradicted himself, but I do think the Kingdom of Heaven is set up in such a way that we can't rely on our own understanding. In acts, Peter is thrown in jail and miraculously escapes. Later, Paul is thrown in jail and a miracle occurres allowing him to escape, and yet he doesn't. He stays. As a result something good happens but how did he know to stay? The miracle of the earthquake opening the doors was surely a sign that God wanted him to leave. Anyone attempting to know what to do based solely on examples from the Bible won't know what to do. They'd be just as likely to get it wrong as to get it right. I think this again points to a need for flexibility in how we understand/interpret the Bible, not only for ourselves, but on behalf of others we interact with. God may be leading them in a different way to how he leads us (i.e. to leave jail or to stay in jail despite the miracle?) and we need to have the faith to accept that God may have a different understanding of truth and compromise than we do.

I enjoyed reading your post. I find it difficult sometimes to achieve a balance between confidence and humility during disagreements. It just seems like it's always easier to focus on the disagreements rather than the agreement we may have with others. For example, two people who have a heart for helping the poor may end up refusing to work together because they've got some disagreement about the trinity. Or, more than that, what if it was an atheist and a Christian who both had a vision for helping the poor (and in that regard they are both sincere about loving their neighbor), but couldn't get along because of their theological differences? This is part of what I like about Jesus' message. He definitely wanted people to appreciate him and God, but it seems he could also recognize that God was working through people at different levels, according to his understanding of what would be good for them at the time, like the story of the "good" Samaritan, who was neither a Jew nor a Christian, and yet was the hero of the story because he showed love to his neighbor.

I wouldn't see it as "some Christians" but rather all of humanity having this issue. All learning is about changing our minds and attitudes.

I've been thinking recently about how God calls people in different ways and how God's ways are not our ways. Can two different people be following God and yet disagree? What does that look like?

I also do not think this is talking about being killed by Muslims, though I also don't think it's talking about the authorities, either (though it will include people with authority). I think it's talking about people who think they are right with God, but who behave contrary to what God wants. The pharisees believed they were right with God, and used that supposed rightness to justify killing Jesus (i.e. he was blaspheming). James and John asked if they should call down fire on a village who rejected them and Jesus rebuked them for it. These guys were two of Jesus' closest and yet they still got it wrong from time to time. I'm reminded of Jesus talking about the people standing outside who would knock, and he'd say, "I never knew you, you workers of iniquity". They said they'd eaten with Jesus and assumed he would recognize them. These people believed they were right with God, yet God saw it differently. I think the only way to really overcome this kind of thing is to be pretty sincere and diligent about asking God to show us where we may be wrong. Self righteousness can be pretty deceptive, and quite dangerous. I think this kind of thing happens on forums, where people sometimes behave quite unlovingly, but think it's okay because they believe their perspective/interpretation is inspired. Sometimes people really are wrong or mistaken in their point of view and we need to have the confidence to respond in such situations, but we'll also be judged the same as we judged others, and since we also have areas where we're wrong or mistaken (since none of us has perfect understanding of all truth) we should be pretty careful how we correct others.

This is quite similar to what I believe, too. Paul talks about a time when they will say "peace and safety" and the "sudden destruction will come".

Hi Davida. I'd rather hear your thoughts directly. Would you mind paraphrasing the articles in your own words?

Hi Davida. Thanks for your response. I had a look at the first link and did a search through the article for the words "buy" or "sell" and didn't find them. That's a fairly crucial part of the Mark prophecy. It says the purpose of the Mark will be to control buying and selling. Anyone who doesn't take the Mark will not be able to pay the bills. The incentive for taking the Mark is fairly obvious in this context. In a world where even Christians believe that it is money which makes the world go round and that it is money which gives life (i.e. they must "earn a living" by working to get money) the importance of the Mark being used to control buying/selling becomes clear. Any interpretation which does not account for the stated purpose of the Mark (i.e. to control buying/selling) is almost certain to be inaccurate. I think all of us are still trying to work out how ISIS fits into prophecy. Certainly it would be foolish to deny that they must have some role to play, but that role must be consistent with the bigger picture, too. How do you see the "mark of Islam" being used to control buying/selling?

It's possible, though I think unlikely. What is the "sign of Islam" which you mention?

The way I understand it, the statue is made up of world empires which flow on one from another. They're all part of the same system. Then a little stone, not in any way connected to the statue, strikes the statue on it's feet thus destroying it and all the empires which came before it. Governments, politics, economies, etc; they all have their place but none of them is the kingdom of Heaven. To me, this illustrates what I see as a fairly common theme in the gospels and prophecy; God's kingdom is better than any man-made kingdom.

Hi all. My friends and I just finished a new video. It's an attempt to provide some rational explanation as to how the rise of Isis could fit in with Bible prophecy. I look forward to some stimulating discussion on this issue.

Yup. I am reminded of Philipians 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,"

I suppose so much depends on personal perspective and conviction. That's part of what makes Jesus so appealing to me; he's not interested in the formulae of faith. Over and over again he stresses the need for a deep, personal conviction irrespective of theology. Was Enoch taken up because he performed the correct religious rituals that others had not? What was it about him that God chose to deal with him differently to how he dealt with other humans? So very little is said about him so I am curious as to how others interpret his situation.

This has also been my experience. I don't think anyone looks forward to suffering. Jesus asked for some kind of alternative, but he also had a resolve to move forward with what God wanted for him. I think we can be like that, too. Jesus said that we should pray that the trib won't be in winter or at a time when we're resting etc. The 144k are given at least some miraculous protection (i.e. they are immune from the stinging locust creatures). They get that protection because they are specially marked by God and they get that special marking because they "follow the lamb withersoever he goeth". I think there is an important lesson there. Our best protection is to be willing to follow God where ever he may lead, even if he's leading us into a fiery furnace (i.e. like Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego). Immediately after describing how Christians would be betrayed by their friends and family, how we'd be handed over to authorities, hunted down and killed, he says, "but not a hair of your head will be harmed". Obviously he's talking about a different kind of "harm" than just what happens to our physical bodies. The spirit is infinitely more important than the physical, so while our bodies may suffer and die, our spirit will be protected. The pre-trib theory seems to miss all this; that it is a willingness to forsake everything, including our lives, which gives us power over this world. The Revelation says the saints overcome the Beast by the word of their testimony and by not loving their lives even unto death. Jesus said that no one took his life from him; he chose to lay it down. Look at the impact that choice has had on the world. That choice communicates something powerful that speaks to us deep down inside; integrity, courage, and backbone. The pre-trib theory seems to communicate the opposite to the world; when the going gets rough, the Christians will run away. If God chooses to spare us from the Tribulation, I'll be thrilled, but being spared from trouble isn't the message I see Jesus preaching. God won't give us more than we can take, which means that at an individual level he is intimately involved in what each of us goes through, but concerning the bigger picture of being a witness to the world Jesus' message is one of confronting our fears and showing the world that we really do have something worth dying for.

Yeah I was also thinking it was an issue of quotes since the first line of your post was okay. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Agreed.

Hi Diaste. I'm not sure what it is, but something seems to keep happening with your posts where they stretch off the screen (to the right side) making it difficult to read. Does it appear that way on your screen, too? I only see it for your posts.

True enough, but there's a whole heap of potential for following wrong. There's a world of difference between the person who sticks their chin out and says, "I can't be wrong because I follow the Holy Spirit" and the person who looks inside and asks, "Holy Spirit, am I following properly"?

Hi all, My friends and I have made a short video giving a brief update on our thoughts regarding how the Brexit could relate to prophecy. We're not interested in sensationalism, but we do see that there are significant developments in world politics happening which bear a strong resemblance to what we see in prophecy. The video is a few minutes long and represents only a brief introduction to how we view this event as possibly being important. I look forward to hearing what others think of our suggestions.

I'm pretty curious to hear what the pre-tribbers (I hope you guys don't mind me using that abbreviation, as I'm fine to be referred to as a post-tribber) think about a hypothetical in which their understanding of the return was mistaken and they find themselves still here on earth when all the troubles start happening. I'm not asking you guys to admit to being wrong, but only to describe what your response would be if things do not work out according to your current understanding. For example, if I'm wrong in my post-trib stance I'll probably be a little embarrassed but I also think it won't matter much since I'll be so pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't actually need to go through all the troubles etc. I don't think any post-tribber actually wants to go through tribulation, but we also see merit in being both physically and, most importantly, spiritually prepared for that eventuality. If we end up being wrong, I think most of us could be pretty happy about that. On the other hand, if the pre-tribbers turn out to be mistaken, then what would be the result? I've heard a lot of pre-tribbers take the position that there is no need to prepare for anything, almost as if they see any kind of spiritual preparation as a lack of faith in their conclusion that Jesus will return before the tribulation. It's a weird catch-22 in that sense (i.e. they've put themselves in a position where it's shows a lack of faith to be prepared for the worst). The parable of the ten virgins comes to mind. On the other hand, I have met a few (very few) pre-tribbers who do actively think about and consider what they'd do if they end up being wrong. Even though they still hold a different position, I find myself highly respecting them for their willingness to be prepared "just in case". Anyway, I look forward to hearing what others think.

I'm not sure how much difference that should make, as God is able to reveal new truth or perspective to us at any time. I think it's safer to deal with the teaching on the merits of what it actually says than whether or not anyone has ever heard of it. After all, there are plenty of Jesus' teachings which many Christians these days are unaware of!