Ancient of Days

yes... Jesus says so and was living proof as well. even Jesus lost a brother judas who gave him up to pontius pilate. Jesus also says no slave can be greater than his master, meaning if you follow him be prepared for the same fate as your master, Jesus... unless you would think you are better than he, of course not. Jesus never gave a straight-forward answer to his desciples has reguards the end or of knowing who his true followers would be in these days... he did gives clues that can be seen everyday though. just the same he knows that just like then to serve him fully, acceptably, you will more than likely have a choice to make when the devil makes his arguement... they will turn away from the faith if it comes between his earthly or spiritual family. I see it all the time. consequently, to follow Jesus entirely, acceptably means likely having to decide: is blood thicker than water(spiritually so to speak).........

we are all citizens of this world technically, however hebrews 11:13 is accurate "we are temporary residents in the land", likewise our purpose then is to remain nuetral as Jesus and his followers did. Jesus rejected the throne when the jews tryied to make him king on earth, he knew precisely why he was here, not for a temporary government... Jesus came to make known a kingdom flawless in its ways and one that isnt temporary nor will its citizens by any means be temporary...

fact is, its far more than close... this prophesy is just the beginning of the pangs of distress. in short you aint seen nothing yet! this is an interesting prophesy because for one, it is Jesus prophesying and two, he tied this prophesy in with daniels prophesy. daniels words take you from the last days right into the great tribulation and then ties in where johns prophesy at revelations picks up. both daniel and johns prophesy are needed to accurately understand and complete the prophesy of the end. Jesus merely uses clues to look for knowing that the end is near, daniel tells all that is to happen and where to look for the last thing thing to happen that will bring about the great tribulation. true only God knows the exact time, however through daniel God uses a high ranking angel to explain all of this, even fotelling that no man would be able to understand it till God decided it was time for it to be understood (now). daniel revealed that a king of the north would be drawn out by God making info (still unknown) reach this king, this will cause him to attack Gods holy ones (the remaining of the 144,000 still living on earth), satan will draw up all the worlds military forces to war... but Jesus says first the good news must be preached over all the earth for a witness (no man can truthfully say he had not recieved an opportunity to know the truth upon the handing down of his or her judgement), and then the end (daniel and johns prophesy) will come.........

oh, and you are very welcome. I thank you.....

my only source is the bible. its accurate, reliable, truth, and anyone believing in the bible and is caught without a bible should be ashamed... all posts can and should be backed up with scripture...

the world or earth in context to the original question as well as the scripture means organization or people, a system or established government... 1John 5:19 says "the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one (satan). John 14:30 says "the ruler of the world is coming. and he has no hold on me" luke 4:5-6 speaks of the devil moments after Jesus' baptism "so he brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time; and the devil said to him: I will give you all this authority and the glory of them, because it has been delivered to me, and to whom ever I wish I give it".... clearly then satan rules this world for now, and as long as he does its human rulers repond without knowledge of doing so to its ruler the dragon, satan the devil...

so verse 27 is the answer or meaning saying "whoever is not carrying his torture stake and coming after me cannot be my desciple", verse 28-30 is probably the best of examples as to why saying "who of you want to build a tower and does not first sit down to calculate the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it? otherwise, he might lay its foundation but not be able to finish it, and all the onlookers start to ridicule him saying, this man started to build but was not able to finish"... so you see, Jesus knows as well as anyone if you agree to something before knowing what it is you have agreed to and (like the men in luke 9:57-62) upon hearing what is required you make excuses in order to procrastinate (considering you even keep your word at that point), then you are not likely to finish what you started. does that make sense?...

you see, Jesus isnt speaking literally, he is however more or less saying in order to follow you must give up the things that hold you back. Jesus brought this out another time as well and he was met with excuses like I need to wait until my father dies so I can bury him, another man answered saying he needed to go back home first before following Jesus... this is at luke 9:57-62. Jesus replied to this procrastination as looking at the things behind.....

cotinue reading from there on throughout the chapter. Jesus is making many comparisons to explain what verse 26 means...

the world or earth many times in the bible requires context clues of the scripture in question as well as the context used for the same word or phrase in related scriptures...

there is scripture supporting God being against patriotism... John 17:15-16 Jesus says they (his followers) are no part of the world just as I am no part of the world. Jesus as well as Paul spoke on remaining in subjection to secular authority because for now God allows man to govern the world but Jesus said be no part of it. there are more scriptures to support this as well...

its really simple... everlasting fire is merely the name of the second death. scholars have already found this to be so...

there is only sleep in hell. that is all hell is sleep. find the word hades or sheol in the bible, its origin, its meaning... its just sleep!

I understand... people do mostly want an answer. I see however you do not and there is nothing wrong with that. the scripture does say also that "the living are conscious that they will die". the dead ( if you should die, God forbid) are in hell. hell isnt what most people think though, thats the important part. hell is called hades actually in the bible and was translated to hell. the word hades is defined as sheol or the common grave of mankind in the bible. consequently, the bible again in ecclesiastes Solomon as well as Jesus are harmonious, meaning its just sleep! thats all! sleep...

ok. lets see if we can put this to rest, first the answer... the rapture is truth. period. the bible is the only religious truth. there is no rapture in the bible to speak of. the word isnt even in the bible. there will be 144,000 up in the clouds at that time, yes, the great crowd no man can number (everyone else) will not be in heaven. revelation 20:1-10 will guide you through the state of earth after the tribulation and armageddon as well as explain that the ones not of the 144,000 will be on earth where satan will let loose a 1000 years to make one last attempt to turn believers away from the faith. those that do along with satan will be destroyed... there is no rapture...

James 4:4 states friendship with the world is enmity with God...

do you really believe there are different levels of hell, really?... truth is there is no such teaching in the bible. period. there are however different meanings in the bible sometimes reguarding heaven, but hell... hell has only one meaning in the bible, sleep. Jesus said "sleep". Lazarus is in his tomb... sleep. several places in the bible talk about what is confused with what most people think is hell. revelations says "the lake of fire, which means the second death". the first death is just as Jesus said, simply sleep! the second however is termination without return... the bible also further explains the first death"sleep". its much like, in fact the same as daily rest hense r.i.p.. the bible says "the dead are conscious of nothing at all"(ecclesiastes9:5) among other things proving the point...

thats an easy question... no! John 17:15-16 clerly states that if we are to be like God or Jesus, we are to be like him and become and remain no part of the world... sharing in none of the worlds affairs... something to think about... did Jesus or any of his followers in his day hold or even attempt to hold position in government or preach patriotism? whats more, can any form of patriotism be found in the bible where it is accepted or considered righteous?

... take a look at ch.7:2-3, here you can see that there will be an angel that comes between the four angels that will bring about harm to the earth and sea... this angel must first seal or protect the slaves of God, whom will be saved.

Gods people will not be harmed, that is why there isnt talk of the tribulation and the church...

Im interested particularly in those understanding daniel 2:31-45 to begin with. all are welcome to shed light on its meaning, in doing so perhaps there may be some light shed on you...

who is familiar with the book of daniel?