Ray12614

By the 'Church' I meant the multi denominational, and independent church bodies in the USA as an whole. I know it is not wise to generalize, but, for the most part church leaders have ignored teaching on biblical citizenship and have taught their people to stay out of politics and public education. I believe we are seeing a downward trend in our culture because of this trend. I am in favor of Christian schools and/or home schooling, and wish you and yours the best. I do have hope for the future in Christ and His Kingdom in spite of the decay around us. Hope this explains my comments . . . Ray . . .

Yes . . . how far mankind has fallen when left to themselves . . . As for the USA . . . several things stand out. 1. the Church surrendering education to un-saved teachers. label them what you want; atheists, liberals, progressives, or whatever . . . the results are the same . . . generations of unsaved god hating people who have now been elevated to leadership levels. 2. the Church bought into the idea of separation of church and state principals, and decided that they would stay out of politics which created an void that the ungodly gladly filled. Now we are not only seeing laws being made that violate scriptures of right and wrong, but, they are now coming after the Church which has been silent for far too long . . . .

Hello Annette, glad to see an post from you . . . I know you are going though family issues etc. Your train illustration is a good one right now for this day. Yesterday in OH they passed a bill enshrining abortion into their constitution. I grieve for the babies and mothers who will be taken advantage of in OH. Mostly I grieve for this nation that has such a disregard for life, and the Author of Life . . . Jesus himself. God the Father does not take lightly what the voters have said (unless of course there is voter fraud) and will begin to deal with USA accordingly. SO . . . this is an dark tunnel we are going through but if we trust the conductor we will make it safely though this darkness and reach His destination for us. So we stay on the train, keep praying, voting righteously according to principals in God's Word, and stay faithful to Him and each other. It might be a bumpy and dark ride but we can carry the light of Jesus and illuminate the darkness as God's ambassadors to hurting people, and of course encouraging each other in the Lord. You are loved and valued more than you know . . . Grace and Peace . . . Ray . . .

Well folks . . . alot of good comments . . . but remember the old but good modern saying: 'WWJD' (what would Jesus do). Frankly, let me be blunt . . . Can you see Jesus dressing up as an goblin or spector demanding treats or risk being tricked? IF you can . . . then . . . well I don't know what to say about that other than your vision of Jesus is rather unrealistic . . . (I'm being kind). The real question is: When we do celebrate halloween what does that say about us??? Are we ignorant of what it stands for, or, does that say that our walk with the Lord is shallow and weak ? ? ? For me . . . not taking part in the 'festivities' of that day means that it will be one less thing that I will have to account for at Jesus' Bema Seat . . . . Ray . . .

In 40+ years of being saved, i have only seen Mat 18 verses applied a handful of times. WHEN they are done correctly in a spirit of gentleness and desire for renewed fellowship those scriptures work 100% of the time. MOST Christians either carry the offense until something pushes them over the anger threshold, then they simply leave the church bad mouthing the church when they have not attempted to resolve the offenses. That is a sign of immaturity, or, a sign of their ignorance of scripture, or, their unwillingness to apply the Matthew scriptures in their lives (disobedience). Sad to say but most times people are unwilling to put in the effort to reconcile and deal with offenses.

I love it and can't wait to see it . . . . What is your reference to Father Time? (Just asking)

Hummm . . . I have pondered this scripture too . . . . Is there a difference between being raised from the dead and the resurrection? Of course we understand that the resurrection involves the final disposition of believers and unbelievers, so there is a difference then. Also . . . We see from scripture that Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus before Jesus was crucified. That means that he would hove to have died twice right?

Sound advise . . . thanks . . .

It certainly explains much of what we saw that provoked this war. So . . . education is very fundamental for what we also see rising up in the USA. Liberalism, humanism, devaluing of human life, and Marxist ways of thinking instead of biblical world views. 20 years to voting aged humanists . . . and 30-40 years to progressive polititans that get elected into governmental offices . . . . Hummmm . . . . .

IF I don't live to see the rapture before I sleep in Jesus . . . . then nothing has changed for me . . . I will fufill my purpose in my generation . . . staying true to Jesus . . . working for the Kingdom and the King of the Kingdom . . . being a profitable servant (parable of the talents). My salvation is not based on one end time event that is in God's control . . . IT IS BASED on the ONE who died for me and is coming back to receive me to Himself. Me personally . . . I am looking for the rapture, but, My advice to all who might read this reply; Get your house in order, get rid of those sins that so easily beset us, and serve Jesus where ever He has placed you. Then if you are alive and remain when He comes, you are ready. If you die and go to heaven, you are ready. If you remain and see the anti-Christ first . . . you are ready . . . and when you stand before the Bema seat of Christ you will be an profitable servant. Grace and Peace . . . Ray . . .

It has to do with several things in my opinion: 1. Their news sources, are they liberal? Most likely. 2. Their love for God and indirectly God's people. Has it grown cold? When that happens their opinions are more likely to be swayed against Israel and the Church. 3. Are they progressive liberals masquerading as Christians . . . or . . . do they have various sins in their lives that leads to deception and bad opinions about other things . . . like Israel. You can then pray for your friends effectively once you understand issues that may be in their lives . . . . My opinion . . . Grace and Peace to you and yours . . . Ray . .

Exactly! Biden administration is the Obamas administration 2.0.

I support Israel's actions to defend itself however it needs to get that done. Having said that I also understand that war is 'messy' and terrible, but, passivity is NOT how you deal with bullies or anyone who wants to destroy your country. Israel should respond with overwhelming force to clean house so to speak. Having said the above lets pray that the innocent people caught in the middle will be spared, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in Israel and the Gaza strip.

I would like to know George's view of this . . . .

Thanks for answering him . . . I was about to this AM but thought surely somebody else has done so by now. Yes, chapter 4 reveals Jonah's reasons for at first refusing to preach to Nineveh. It also reveals God's reasons for desiring to spare the city from destruction in the very last verse. So . . . . how about us ? ? ? Can we be so angry at groups of people (you fill in the group name) today who are 'anti-christ', anti family, anti-God and support vile and nasty behavior that we refuse to witness and/or warn them??? Sure we can be righteously angry about their various sinful behaviors, but, what about compassion for the people themselves? What if God wanted us to speak to some of them about His love and mercy so that they don't wind up in hell eternally separated from God ? ? ? Just asking . . . Ray . . .

Well ……. In my case I would have to say no I don’t always correctly interpret the scripture correctly. But when I find it out I have stood up and corrected myself. I try to avoid areas that I don’t understand but occasionally stray into them. regarding Jonah the last verse of the book God explains why he spared the city. I do know that God will never have to apologize for his decisions regarding how he deals with nations or cities. He has the complete picture while we see only parts of it. regarding Saul and other hard headed knuckleheads like me I thank God for his patience and mercy he has given me. thanks for your reply! Grace and peace……. Ray

I get what you are saying . . . because I have done that a couple of times. Interestingly enough, last night I taught on Jonah and how he allowed hatred for Nineveh to fuel his disobedience of refusing to preach to them. He knew that God was compassionate and merciful, and did not want God to change His mind about destroying that city. My teaching was about the Mercy and Compassion of God to ALL people, and how we should not think that certain people cannot or won't receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. My application was that we must not become arrogant as the people of God thinking that we are somehow better than unsaved people. In fact we were once just like them until Jesus saved us from whatever sins we were into. Did I stretch the book of Jonah a bit? Probably. But it was what my local church body needed to be aware of (in my opinion).

So . . . I agree with what you have said above, and also with others on this subject. The Bema seat is not for us to be judged for sins that we have done before we were saved, or, since we have been saved. It is a place of rewards given and rewards withheld based on Jesus' righteous judgements of our lives. HOWEVER: For us to think that the Bema seat of Christ will be just a "no big deal" event IS A Big Mistake on our part. To think that we will skip through it with a casual attitude is just plain crazy in my opinion. For us to say: "Oh well, rewards would have been nice, but, I can get along without them . . . I am saved and that is all I care about" is NOT what will be happening at the Bema Seat. Imagine appearing before Jesus for the sole purpose of having our entire lives after we were born again examined and scrutinized, and seeing our Lord's approval, or disappointment on His face . . . . (Selah) That should give us an healthy dose of the fear of God regarding how we will stand approved, or unapproved for how we have lived our lives. Me personally . . . I am glad that I made it to the Judgement Seat of Christ, but, I also know that I will tremble before His eyes of scrutiny peering through my life's works, sorting it all out etc. So . . . since it is Jesus' approval that I am seeking . . . I should live my life for Him, doing what He says I should do . . . resisting sin and keeping myself clean . . . looking for His soon coming as it it were tomorrow, but also doing good works that he wants done like His coming won't happen for another one hundred years but being a faithful steward of what He has given me. My opinion only . . . Grace and Peace to all here . . . . Ray. . . .

Very good article! Thanks for sharing.

I am excited about the rapture (catching away) as I see the light getting lighter and the darkness getting darker. BUT . . . more than that, I am getting my personal affairs in order regarding serving Jesus in a more dedicated way, resisting sin in my life, obeying the Bible scriptures regarding how I should behave in a dark and evil world. Treating my brothers and sisters right, being quick to forgive wrongs done to me and loving unconditionally. I am more intentional about how to be pleasing to my Master (you know . . . the things that nobody sees but Him). Regarding the rapture . . . . Me personally? I lean towards Pre wrath rapture (when ever that happens) because we are not appointed to wrath. And God has a long history of delivering His people from wicked men, and surprising people by doing the supernatural. I think that all sides of the rapture issue will be surprised when this biblically sound doctrine happens. So lets keep our lights trimmed and ready for Jesus' return. BUT make no mistake about it biblically this event MUST happen . . . . and I am determined to make it to the end and be found faithful serving as best I know how trusting in my Master who loves me and gave Himself for me. Grace and Peace . . . .

No worries . . . I am not the moderator, or, the OP of this post. LOL. Yes, I agree that the biblical pattern for us as modern day believers is to assemble face to face, and that we should for multiple reasons. IF I elaborate on them I too would be leaving the OP intended subject. LOL. On a general note: My church live streams our services for those who cannot attend, and for our friends who live too far away to attend (most of which have their own churches they attend) but come an visit us from time to time when in our area. Live streaming is a lot of work to do it right, and though we are not 'professional' as other church bodies, we at least avoid most of the pit falls of poorly done streaming. Our streams end up on our church website and also on YouTube. As an elder/teacher I share Wednesday night teaching with other church leaders. I do admit that the live streaming has rattled me in the past because I know that my teachings can be replayed, and dissected, and picked apart by those who love finding fault in my delivery style, grammar, and more. On the flip side of this, I am more focused, direct, on topic, and biblically evaluated by myself because I know that when I say something wrong, my critics are waiting for me to mess up and replay my mistakes pointing out just how bad I am (even though my heart is to serve Jesus and my brothers and sisters). So . . . . streaming is a mixed blessing that helps me be more accurate and balanced. Ummm . . . now I am rambling on and very off topic . . . apologies . . Grace and Peace . . . Ray . . .

Without taking this too far off the rails . . . . Notice the phrase in vs 26 'they assembled with the church' . . . . Today many believers choose not to assemble with the rest of the church, so . . . Paul would have to go individually to their houses and teach them? How much longer would that take? From a purely logistics point of view, at best, that is at best a scheduling nightmare. Today we have streaming of online teaching which can be good, but, it is a pale shadow of what in person teaching can do for us as we experience the corporate gathering together with the Lord and like-minded brothers and sisters. Anyway you cut it . . . its just not the same. Assembly is a precious experience that opens the door for impartation of anointed preaching and teaching So . . . what would happen today if Paul showed up in our cities??? I suspect many believers would be corrected, and rebuked for embracing worldly beliefs and practices. Most assemblies would ban him from visiting them. Communities would probably jail him for 'hate speech'. Finally, he would probably make the headlines of local news outlets and branded as a 'right wing conservative fundamentalist terrorist' and spoken against by 1/2 of the current churches. Interesting topic . . .

I am amazed how this topic quickly changed from signs of the impending return of Christ, end times events, and the rapture of the church to OSAS and purgatory. LOL But, it sort of did help me confirm my beliefs regarding the 3 possible OSAS scenarios that Patriot talked about. Also the information about Daniel and the 70 weeks was very helpful. Grace and Peace to this forum . . .

This does help. I have heard about the 69th and 70th week, but, never had looked into it. I will now, and I believe you have pointed me in the right direction. Thank you for your direction regarding this and other issues at hand in our current times we live in. grace and Peace . . . Ray . . .