Tribute Thread For the Recently Raptured Faith

I can certainly see the fun in eschatology, but at the end of the day a Christian ought not lose sight of the following principle:

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"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

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Translation: Even I [Jesus] don't know when the End Times will occur.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

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Translation: It's not about the destination, but the journey.My best suggestion is to stop speculating, especially publicly, and live a good life for the Lord. When you look at it from a statistical point of view, thus far: End Times predictions have 0% success rate. When you think of it in those terms, it kind of summarizes a "boy who cried wolf" scenario. The more you attempt to predict it, the more you inadvertently harm the ultimate message you're trying to convey. With each failure comes ridicule anew.And why preoccupy yourself with it, anyhow? It's supposed to be a glorious thing. If you're so certain of your standing with God, that he might say to you on the Day of Judgment, "Well done good and faithful servant," then grumblings about eschatological meanings is an unnecessary waste of valuable time... time that could be spent on the poor or those in prison, as Jesus commanded. Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

The recognition of "Birth Pains" is one thing, naming a specific date is another. Everyone here knows what the End Times are... we've been going over it for like 12 years now. If you and all Christians are gone, we'll all know why.

How is that not analogous?"I will return with a shout."He's implying that, while he was in the physical form, even He did not know the day or time.The "End Times" is a reference to all of the phases... Rapture, Tribulations, Return, and Judgment.

That's what every Christian since the time of Paul has believed. What indication is there that this time should be different than every other generation that said the same thing?

I'm not disputing that you are told to watch for signs of his return, I'm questioning why you are concerning yourself with a specific date and time -- in this case, a specific Jewish holiday, when it says no one knows. What the Lord thinks about abortion:"Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. Tear it down, they cried, tear it down to its foundations! Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks." - Psalm 137:7-9"This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys." -- 1st Samuel 15:1-2"Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open." -- Hosea 13:16As to the rest, it sounds like the same things going on for thousands of years.. but not as bad.

I'm very curious what the transgressions of those infants were. Must have been pretty bad for the God of Love to command their obliteration on account of those infant transgressions. Abortion has been legal since the 70's... That's nearly 50 years ago. Witchcraft? what, all 10 witches... You're making it sound like an epidemic. Jesus brings up divorce, when it comes to sexual sin and makes no mention of homosexuality at all. I'm guessing the no-fault divorce is probably the greater issue.In any event, times past were much more odious. Crime has also been steadily declining.

Problem with what? I was just offering advice on not worrying about a day and time. You can take it in to consideration or throw it in the trash.

I don't understand how you can bemoan the tragedy of abortion in one breath and say that God's ordering of infants skulls to be crushed is DESERVED punishment in the next breath. That's quite a feat of mental gymnastics Your whole point was that you know Judgment is nigh because of legalized abortion. I pointed out that it's been nearly fifty years, which hardly seems like swift justice. Then you brought up witchcraft as another obvious sign that the time draw nigh... but there's less "witches" now than there's ever been because modern people know that witchcraft is pure nonsense. To me, neither seem like obvious signs and wonders. Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

... A kind of holy ethnic cleansing. His mercies are enduring!!! My best guess: forever

Ah, so God was piloting the planes, not Al Qaeda? So in other words, things you deem politically unsavory is a judgment of God. With all of that it leaves little room for Free Will.

His mercies are enduring!!!! Which part though? The death by suffocation? Death by incineration? Death by blunt force trauma from the fall? Or one guy who, by blind luck, survived on a slab of concrete underneath a cushion of air?Hundreds upon hundreds of Christians died that day. And a single person lived. What metric do you think God uses to spare some and have others die through pure suffering?

The point being, how do you distinguish between a serendipitous event and an event where you believe divine intervention is at play?

I'm kind of surprised that you take this position. I think Yeshua was almost certainly an actual figure who knew the Mishna and Torah quite well and did whatever he could to manufacture ways to fulfill the messianic prophecies. There are enough extra-biblical sources to assume that he was a real person even if ultimately just another failed messiah.Tacitus, Pliny, Lucian, Josephus (although much of it likely altered by Christians after-the-fact), the Babylonian Talmud, etc are all reputable sources.I think more often than not, lore almost always begins with a measure of truth before it grows.