So You've Been Left Behind . . .

rapture, god, jesus, bible, premillenial, dispensationalism, satan
I found an honest to goodness left behind letter! (As well as numerous pictures of materials actual people keep in their homes for those of us left behind. I got that comforter for my birthday, btw. It's incredibly light and incredibly warm.) In case you're confused, a left behind letter is a letter written by a believer in the Rapture to their loved ones to be read after the Rapture occurs. Mind you, these people believe that every Real True Christian(tm), as well as every child under a certain age (around puberty, cuz puberty is Teh Sinful), has disappeared off the planet, en masse, in the "twinkling of an eye". Consider the insanity that would follow such an event, and then read the letter.

Dear loved ones and friends:

Please forgive me if I don’t begin this letter with a proper salutation because i'd totally be offended by a lack of "proper salutation" after every child on the planet has disappeared, but since I don’t know who will read it when the time comes, I can’t properly address it to any particular person. Suffice it to say that it is intended for anyone who reads it. It is early January, 2002, as I type this, and early June of the same year as I revise it (and just a few months later--late August--as I post this online version on Geocities). (Now that it's 2009 and Geocities will be going out of commission later this year, I'm moving it, and all my other Web sites, to Webs.com.) , as I’ve said. the fact that 7 years has passed and still no Rapture hasn't fazed her a bit!.

By the time you read this letter i'll be dead. no, wait, ascended into heaven. it is too totally different!, millions of people will have disappeared from the earth--including me! I’ve printed some information from the Internet, and enclosed a booklet titled “What to Do if You Miss the Rapture!” and a video titled “Have You Been Left Behind?”--all of which will explain what happened, and what you need to do. I’m including that information with the hard-copy version of this letter, along with a pocket-sized New Testament, a separate copy of the Gospel of John, and several salvation tracts. food, water and medicine to help you survive the ensuing chaos, not so much. First, though, I want to say a few things.

What’s happened is that God has taken all Christians to Heaven. which is entirely unlike death in every way. Every person who received Jesus as Lord and Savior, and every baby and child who’s below the age of accountability (or, rather, not old enough to understand the concept of sin and what it can do puberty) has been taken to be with the Lord. He’s given us brand-new bodies--bodies that will never die, or get sick or hurt. sucks to be you, down there on earth in your old, dying, sick, hurting body. anyway . . . And not only has He called all live Christians to Heaven, He has resurrected every Christian and child who’s died since Jesus ascended to Heaven, 2,000 years ago. everyone before that can suck it! He’s given them the same kinds of bodies He’s given us. (If you visit the area cemeteries, you’ll discover that many of the graves are now empty.) Not only are all adult and teenage born-again Christians gone, so are the babies and young children, both the living and the dead. They’ve been taken up, too, as I’ve said.

(BTW, there may be supposed Christians who were left behind. If so, you need to know this: many think they are Christians simply because they try to be good people, or because they go to church, or because they come from Christian families. Only the person who recognizes his sinfulness and makes the decision to accept Jesus’ offer of salvation can go to Heaven, and these people have failed to do that. If you want to read about how Jesus saved my soul, click on this link.) they weren't Real True Christians(tm) like me! and now they'll pay for it!

The first thing I want you to know is this: I am not dead! I am in Heaven, yes, but I did not die to go up there. first of all, what is the difference to this left behind loved one? and how does this "fact" help them with their grief? you're still gone. That's right, my soul and spirit are still firmly attached to my body, which is now made of a material that can live in both Heaven and on earth! teflon? (It's the same material that Jesus' body is made of. spandex?) I am just as alive and well as I was before I left earth, and maybe more so. So please don’t grieve. what is this, the fourth paragraph of gloating so far? i'm in heaven, make of teflon (or possibly spandex) and you're stuck down there!

The reason I’m typing this is because my concern, now, is for you. and the gloating. it's delicious. You need to know what’s going to happen and what you need to do. The information I printed out and stored in the envelope will explain, better than I can, those things--please read it! All of it! And watch the video, too! It’s vital that you do so, and I’ll tell you why. boy, i hope i don't get killed by the antichrist while reading this apparently useless letter. the videos are better! ! !!

What happened to the other Christians and me is something that God predicted 2,000 years ago. Long before that, He predicted that there would be a resurrection of the good and the wicked, but only after Jesus came did He predict that there would be a generation of believers that would never know death, but go to Heaven without dying. you know, the people that actually knew Jesus were expecting to be that generation. suckas! We are part of that generation, and I had the privilege of being caught up when the day came. man this woman can gloat! We will be in Heaven for 7 years or more, until Jesus comes back to this planet. and then it's back to earth for us. with you. and your sucky, nonteflon body.

In the meantime, terrible times are coming for the people left on the earth. too bad you're not made of teflon. There will be a 7-year period that the Bible calls the Tribulation, and Jesus Himself said that it would be so bad that unless He cut it short, no one would be saved. he could cut it short, but he won't. god's a dick like that. Thankfully, Jesus said that, for the sake of those who accept Him during that period, those days will be shortened. by death! Unfortunately, the vast majority of people will die while the Tribulation’s in progress. God’s wrath will be poured out on the world during that time. It will be His last-ditch effort to get people’s attention so they’ll turn to Him because simply holding a news conference, or arranging every star in the sky to read "believe in me" wasn't an option.; unfortunately, the majority of the people will refuse to listen, and will die and go to Hell as a result.

My plea and my prayer is that you will not be among those people!!! if you're going to die, die believing. Please heed what I’m writing, what the people who wrote the information I printed out wrote, and what’s explained on the video. I can’t promise that you’ll survive physically, actually, according to what i just said, you won't. but if you’ll do what I’m telling you, I promise that you will survive spiritually, not as good a deal as my teflon body, but what can you do? and then when it’s over, you’ll be resurrected, too--to spend eternity with Jesus. When that happens, we’ll be together again, always.

There will soon be a one-world government, headquartered in Europe, and its leader will be an extremely wicked man that the Bible calls by a number of names--the Antichrist, the Man of Sin, the beast, etc. no, he's never referred to as the antichrist, but whatever. He will sign a 7-year covenant with Israel that will officially start the Tribulation. The Antichrist will be possessed by Satan himself, will have the ability to deceive people, and will demand worship. but god, in his infinite mercy, will totally blame you for being deceived by a powerful, supernatural being. you know, mercy. And the way he’ll get it is this: he’ll set in motion a system where people have to accept in the hand or forehead something that the Book of Revelation calls a mark. No one will be able to buy, sell, or hold a job without one. To receive the mark, they’ll have to worship the Antichrist and reject all other gods, including the true God. To make it worse, there will come a time when anyone who refuses the mark (which will be either a tattoo or, more likely, a computer implant) will be martyred. mercy is a relative term.

Please, please, don’t--I repeat, do NOT--accept that mark!!!! accept the martyring. The Bible makes it very plain that to do so will be an unforgivable sin. Anyone who does will be condemned to Hell for all eternity--they will not be able to accept Jesus as Savior if they’ve accepted the Antichrist’s mark. If you take it, we’ll never be together again, and you will suffer God’s wrath forever. i recommend a heroin addiction. you may as well have fun with your ability to buy things. I don’t want that to happen to you; PLEASE heed what I’m saying! I beg you. who actually says "heed"?

When the 7-year period ends, Jesus will return to Earth, and we who were Raptured or resurrected will come with him--on white horses! teflon bodies and ponies! Jesus will bind the devil and lock him in a bottomless pit for a thousand years. and then let him back out. for no apparent reason. Everyone who accepted the mark and worshipped the Antichrist--those who are still alive when He comes--will die. slaughtered by Jesus while the people on white horses watch. Those believers in Jesus who survived the Tribulation will go into Jesus’ new Kingdom as mortal believers. no teflon bodies for you! They will marry, have children, and hold jobs or own their own businesses. what sort of business does one own after most of the world's population is roasting in hell? They will live throughout the 1000-year period. The only people who will die during the Millennium will be unbelievers who commit serious sins wait- unbelievers? (some of the believers’ children, grandchildren, etc., will be unbelievers, sad to say with Jesus standing right there? seriously? that's like not believing in trees.).

I want you all to be part of this, too--those of you who were left behind--so I’m leaving you this information, both this online version and the hard-copy version. I’m also leaving you my Bibles, my Bible prophecy books (both nonfiction and novels), and my other Christian books, videos, audiocassettes, and CDs. Please read them, watch them, and listen to them; in particular, watch the video I’ve enclosed with the hard-copy version of this letter, read the information in the manila envelope, and read my Bibles--they’re yours now. And pray that God will protect you and guide you, because now as never before, your lives depend on your doing so. because being martyred is "protection". mm hmmm.

That’s all I can think of to say right now, so I’ll close off here. Now that you’ve read my letter, please read carefully the information I included in the manila envelope with it, and watch the video. The video itself is just 15-20 minutes long, so it won’t take you long to watch it all. 15-20 minutes, in fact. I will pray that God will see you through the times that are coming right up until you are martyred for following my instructions, so that we can be together again. Until then, know that I love you!

If you are able to survive till then, you will do the same. the same what? If not, you will be resurrected and given a new body, and you’ll be part of the new Kingdom, too. And either way, we’ll be together once more, and it will be a happy time, believe me! happy except for mourning all the people who died horribly and then went to hell for all eternity. Then, after 1,000 years, God will sentence the devil to be trapped forever in a horrible lake of fire (along with everyone who refused to accept Jesus). wtf? He’ll destroy this earth, and create a brand-new one and a brand-new universe to go with it. cuz this one's getting a little run down. even god likes that new house smell. Everyone who had a personal relationship with God will live with God on that new earth forever, in the kind of resurrection bodies those of us who were Raptured or resurrected are enjoying now. see, eventually you get teflon bodies! it just takes a while.

Hope Springs Eternal

rapture, premillenial, dispensationalism, fundamentalism, fundy, christianity,
The cognitive dissonance of the peculiar sect of fundamentalist Christianity that is premillienial dispensationalism has to be crushing. Absolutely crushing. So, it was with both amusement and pity that I watched the thread CountUP to the Rapture grow on Rapture Ready.

"How long can they count," I thought, "before the obvious occurs to them?"

So far, we're at day 41, and we've reached a level of pathetisad previously unseen in human history.

100knight got the ball rolling: Basically, we increase the number everyday until the King comes for us. Since we don't know when it is, we count up instead of down. And of course it stops when HE calls us. We can also discuss any other things we have in mind

READY!?!?

GO!!!

1!

Sorry if this is a bad idea...

I really expected the mods at Rapture Ready (who disappear dissenters with an efficiency Pinochet would have envied) to nip this one in the bud.

Not Perfect But Forgiven expresses the general premil attitude towards life: I'll get on board with that. I'm growing more tired of this sinful world each day. I'm sort of upset we can even count to "1" in this situation. It can't come soon enough!

Seated doesn't seem to understand what reverse psychology is: Reverse Psychology at it's finest!

it all starts getting a little down on day 4:

cieralovesantonio: unfortunatley 4 come soon jesus. todays good 4 me

cocopea9052: Whew okay, thanks Day 8, got it. Oh please let's not see double digits!

100knight: Oh noes! We've reached 10!!!!! WAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

despair sets in at day 20:

cocopea9052: Have we grown tired of the Count Up already. No one posted Day 19 and now we are almost at the end of Day 20. I know this sucks doesn't it? We don't really want a count up, what we need is a count down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

100knight: DAY 34*sigh*

now at day 41, true pathetisad has arrived:

acceptedinthebeloved: I haven't been keeping count in here very much, but I just wanted to drop in and mention that the biblical meaning of the number 42 is "Departure"... shall we dare to hope?!

nothing like a little numerology with your rapture.

Take Me Away!: 41 people!!!!!!!! Lord, please let it be soon! We are so so tired......

yeah, counting does that to me, too.

I think I'll take a look back in another 41 days and see what comes after pathetisad.

Reversing Pascal's Wager

atheism, atheist, religion, christianity, rapture, premillenial, dispensationalism, depression,
Most of you are probably familiar with Pascal's Wager by now, but for the uninitiated, a brief review. Pascal's Wager states that if the atheist is right, and there is no god, they lose nothing by worshipping anyway, but if the atheist is wrong, they lose everything by not worshipping, and gain eternal reward by doing so.

Pascal's Wager is silly for a variety of reasons, but one central tenet of the Wager is especially flawed: you lose nothing by worshipping.

Really? What if you're a premillenial dispensationalist, and you think Jesus is going to rapture the faithful to heaven very, very soon? Like now. Or now. or . . . . . now!

If you're one of those people, you waste the only chance you're getting at life by treating it as a placeholder, something to be barely endured until your eternal reward arrives.

At the Rapture Ready message boards, JefferyDollar asks:

Do I need to change my attitude?

Hello all,I need your opinions on my perspective I think I may need to change it.... ever since coming to this board after being changed from one that would rather have the rapture occur 50 years from now to one that really just wants its to be today I dont know if maybe I need some balance.Here's an example. My dads a pastor and hes been one for about 15 years now. He has preached nothing but the Word of God which is one reason why I think we havent gotten large like some on the other churchs in the area sometimes people dont want to stay where they are challenged every sunday so Ive seen alot of people come for 3 or 4 weeks then they fall off. But recently we have seen a change I believe people are beginning to wake up to the fact that time is running short and we need to get serious.

Just recently we have decided its now time to sell some land we own and begin building on to our church. Now before when I wanted the rapture to occur much later in my life the idea of building on to our church and having a larger ministry was exciting but as of late because I so desire to be caught up when my dad talks about the ministries plans to build Im very much not as excited Im sure it would take at least 2 years from when we first broke ground and then if this is God's plan it would further seem that he would want it to at least operate at full capacity for some amount of time. I just feel really different about it and feel like I am wrong for feeling this way, when my dad talks about this ministry the things he talks about would need at least 10 or so years to be accomplished and I cant help but be like ummm I dont really want to be here that long but I feel like I am kinda being selfish because many people could be saved from this ministry ..... i just get kinda down when I even hear about long term plans even when its about a ministry that would save many souls.. i think I am wrong for feeling this way... please help am I wrong for this??

To paraphrase, "I don't really want to be here anymore, I'm sick of living, and I want it to all be over now. Is that bad?"

First of all, that's a huge red flag for depression. If you lose interest in the things you used to enjoy, and don't replace them with other things to enjoy, chances are, you're depressed. If you can't get excited about anything in your life, I highly recommend an antidepressant and a good therapist. These people take this grey, pointless endurance of life as a given, a virtue even.

Chicken5516 (someday I have to find out what the reference is) God wants you to continue to live your life and fullfil your obligations. But I have noticed talking with people and reading comments from folks like you, that the desires that we all use to have for 'future' endeavors is just not the same as it use to be.

I am so convinced that the Rapture is going to occur soon, and I am so at peace with it, that I'm not concerned with retirement or buying that new 'big' home or even buying a new car.I just want to go home to be with Jesus. That is all I think about - Day and Night. THAT is my soul's desire. But I know that while we are waiting, I am to continue to go to my job, continue cleaning and doing repairs on my home and car, and continue to spread the Word to the Lost.

But I have no desires for anything like a vacation or adding on to my home or anything like that.I just want to go home!!

I'm not saying that mental health is measured by how many cars you buy or how often you go on vacation, but to be this unconcerned with your life cannot be healthy. I don't think I'm doing a very good job of expressing exactly how appalling I find this attitude.

WaitingonHisReturn isn't even interested in her children's lives: I feel the same way, just yesterday my husband and I were talking and we have 2 girls one in 1st grade and 1 in 5th, they want to buy their yearbook this year...

I said I would buy one and they could share, my husband looked at me and asked why would'nt i buy 2 i explained that I don't think we will be here when they are old enough to really look back at it for memory purposes...

I know I am not supposed to think that way but it is hard not to

I couldn't care less about yearbooks, but I wonder what else she isn't doing for them because she thinks they'll never reach adulthood?

Mrs. B is dragging herself through decorating. Yes, I think we should live as though we COULD die tomorrow (or be raptured), yet at the same time live as though we might live a long time yet. We must be about our Father's business. Whatever that is for each of us.

Mothers and fathers need to be godly mothers and fathers. Ministers need to minister. All of us need to live for Christ.

Personally, we have added on to our house last year and my dh wants to go through each room and fix it up. My heart really, REALLY isn't in this project. I'm more into delving into God's word and spreading the gospel and raising our dd to be a child of God and being a "sister in Christ" to my "brothers and sisters". I've been selling things to give to missions. The last thing on my mind is a redecorating project. But...as my dh's help meet, I will help him.

Oddly, as soon as I embraced my atheism, I became very interested in decorating. The two seem to have no connection, I know, but I believe that the only beauty I will see is the beauty I see in this life, so I decided to surround myself with as much beauty as possible. That includes walls in colors I like, paintings I like, floors I like. Hey, I see it every day, I should like it.

And then we get the real reason JefferyDollars can't wait for his life to be over: it is depression. Poor boy.

But to make a long story short my life took a drastic change when my mother went home to see our saviour on August 30th 2008, before that I had always deep down had that It cant happen to me mentality and when I would hear of stories of people or their loved ones dying early deaths I never thought it could happen to me.

But God being so good and so able to turn bad things to good things for his glory allowed my response to such a tragic event to be that everything in my life that I had before God fell back drastically to well below 2nd place. After my mom died I finally realized how quickly this life passes and how everyday we need to live for Jesus. Now all I want is to fall at his feet and to hear that sweet trumpet, I want to fall into his arms and thank him for getting off his throne and stepping into time and suffering at the hands of his own creation just so my mom would have place to go when she died where we could all be reunited some day. His love is simply mind bogglingly to me its truly beyond words. I simply now long to see him high and lifted up in all his glory because he loves me beyond measure. I finally realized that everything down here is so fragile and imperfect and every good thing we can get down here can quickly be ruined by this fallen world (moths and rust) now I just want to be where the joy never ends and no evil exists (no dreams of success or vacations or experiences here on earth can compare) and when my mom had had enough suffering in this world he allowed her to simply and quietly fall asleep with all her closest family around her. I just cant describe how much I love him for that and now I cant wait to see him part the sky he is truly my hero..... I hope this explains it sorry so long!

What makes me mad is that this belief system encourages his depression, it encourages his withdrawal from his own life. Grief is natural. Of course poor JefferyDollar feels the way he does, he just lost his mom less than a year ago (and posted this question on Mother's Day, no less), but at some point he needs to live his life.

This may very well be the only chance he gets at life. And he's wasting it. If I were able to respond to this I would, very gently, urge him towards grief counseling in an effort to get him back among the living.

Not the Rapture Ready crew.

Cocopea9052 either can't recognize grief, or she finds it admirable:

Wow Jeffery, I'm near speechless and tears. I cannot believe you are just 22. This is so amazing and it seems I do recall reading bits and pieces about your Mom's passing before. I am just blown away by your insight and love and trust in the Lord. Your honesty about wealth and what you wanted to pursue. Wow, I mean my son loves the Lord but he does not have the maturity you have. Your Mom would be so proud of you for the wisdom you came to know of our Savior. You are an amazing young man! It just goes to show, it is not just old people or those who are struggling with life that want to go be with Jesus. It does not take much if you really look into the world to see what it really is.

You know the insight and discernment you have is truly a gift from God. I only WISH I had known the Lord at that age. Most of us don't get that until we are older and have been through much. I thank God for the way he comforted you after your Mom's passing. Wow, what a beautiful note to end Mother's day on. Thank you for sharing this, it was wonderful to read and really blessed my heart. I will share it with my son. God bless you.

This sort of thing makes me reconsider my stance on attempting to defaith people. I normally find it to be pointless and rude, but this whole mess . . . I dunno.

The Rapture- Yeah, We'd Notice

rapture, tribulation, premillenial, dispensationalism, antichrist, christian, jesus, god, bible,
Premillenial dispensationalism is one of those odd, fringey fundy things that takes seeing to believe, though I wouldn't blame you if you saw it, and still didn't believe. Believing in premillenial dispensationalism requires having a world view so odd, so far removed from the real world, that encountering the real world can only happen through the lens of belief.

This is what happens when you view the world through the lens of a particularly bizarre belief (from the Slacktivist.):

Hence the career of Rep. Michelle Bachmann. She's not a demagogue trying to manipulate the rubes on the barking mad religious lunatic fringe. She is herself one of them. She's a true believer. Bachmann is both a member of Congress and, in her mind, a member of the Tribulation Force.

This explains Bachmann's current obsession: stopping the attempt to create a one-world global currency. Matthew Yglesias links to Bachmann's discussion of this one-currency conspiracy with talk-show host Glenn Beck, pointing out that the effort Bachmann opposes is both imaginary and impossible.

Matt's bewilderment here is understandable. His problem here, though, is that he's restricting his discussion to reality and that's not where Bachmann is coming from.

This latest article from Rapture Ready, The World's Response to the Rapture, by Joseph Chambers, is another example of such a distortion of understanding. As far as I can tell, Mr. Chambers views the unsaved as being entirely unlike the saved. I don't mean just in terms of salvation, I mean in every way possible.

Background: according to this belief system, the end of the world begins with every Real True Christian(tm) being taking bodily to heaven at once. Children who have not yet entered puberty will also be taken- mostly because even RTCs can't really get behind tormenting 2 year olds. So, the event Mr. Chambers is discussing is a few million (at best) adults disappearing right in front of our eyes, along with every child in world. All of them. Yeah. I'm guessing those of us left behind might make it 5 minutes before initiating a nuclear holocaust that reduces the entire planet to an asteroid belt.

Mr. Chambers has a slightly different view on things, mostly because he thinks the bible predicts a whole 7 years of inexplicable events following the Rapture.

There is a growing hatred for anything that centers on Jesus Christ. wow- persecution porn in the first sentence! dude, you're over 75% of the population of the US, you are not being oppressed. It apostrophe s like the world wants to promote a “god” idea that can fit all belief systems, but trashes the God of Christianity and the idea of the Son of God as a Savior of all men. There is an even greater hatred for the idea of a Rapture we think you're clinically insane and pity you, we don't hate you, where a large number of people are going to be caught up and supernaturally removed. More and more of the leading ministers in Biblical circles are denying the Rapture and turning to theological ideas that suggest a Christian dominion of the earth rather than escape from the earth. Much of the Evangelical world and all of the Catholic leadership are dead set against a sudden exodus of the chosen saints of God. funny, we get no mention of how Lutherans, anglicans, episcopalians, greek orthodox, russian orthodox, etc. feel about this. i guess they don't count.

When you understand the multitude of different ideas relating to End Times events, it is challenging to describe the many different reactions that may well follow the great escape of the saints. no, it's not at all challenging. no one will notice the rapture of the few million adults because we'll be just a little distracted by the rapture of EVERY CHILD ON EARTH. The Rapture may well serve to unite the religious world and force them to forge a united reaction. right after they stop looking looking for their children. There are not many religious leaders left that do not have a growing distaste for Bible-believing fundamentalism. yes, yes, yes, you're persecuted. we get it. poor you. Every major religious trend has served to build a consensus against what is being called “narrow-minded fundamentalism.” ya know, if everyone hates you, there might be something to it. just sayin'. Building a broad-based movement to bring the Catholic, the Evangelical, and the Pentecostals together well, we managed one more group of christians, but what about all the rest? demands that no theology is important enough to divide the church world. if it really were the "one true faith", wouldn't everybody know that? there's dozens of different "one true faiths", just within christianity, doesn't that say something about the concept of the "one true faith"?

We now have a religious atmosphere that drives the fundamental truths to the back room. considering what else is said to occur in back rooms, that might be an unfortunate metaphor. That is the crowd that is going to be the Raptured saints. who's the crowd? the truths are the crowd? what? It would be a great relief to many religious personalities if we would just disappear. oh, it's not just religious personalities. We will! yeah! Holiness of lifestyle is hated. BWAHAHAHAHAHA what holiness? christians and atheists act the same, except atheists are less likely to get divorced. if we're going by holiness of lifestyle, shouldn't the atheists get raptured? Ministers that still preach and teach separation from the trashy and carnal world are considered cultic and bothersome. if you actually would separate from the world, we'd all be happier. The music of the average church in the acceptable church growth world is unclean and repulsive. it's got african rythms! black, scary rythms! The atmosphere in the Jewish synagogues when Jesus came the first time is a fair example of today’s church atmosphere. they're giving out high interest loans in churches now? Genuine truth has fallen in the streets. THUMP! Most ministers that still continue to preach the Rapture also trash solid Biblical holiness living. nobody is good enough for this guy!

. . .



The Rapture is going to make an incredible stir throughout the world. not for the reasons you think. nobody would be impressed that a few million fundy nutters disappeared because they'd be distracted by the fact that EVERY CHILD ON THE PLANET IS GONE. This is one of the greatest moments in human history yes, the suffering of billions of parents, quickly followed by the horrors of the Tribulation will be a wonderful moment in human history. and the result will be an incredible crisis. ya think? The media will explore every detail. in the five minutes before the nuclear holocaust, the ones that aren't in the fetal position, refusing to blink Interviews will be granted to all sides i'm not even sure what that means and many different explanations will be given. how many explanations for EVERY CHILD ON THE PLANET IS GONE could there be? The paranormal world will have a field day with many bizarre stories. ufologists will be having more fun. Somehow the majority of the world will be convinced to carry on and to join the new day of liberty and license. so, EVERY CHILD ON THE PLANET IS GONE, and we're all going to party?

This is seriously offensive. This guy seems to think that most people on the planet regret not getting abortions and would be thrilled if their children disappeared. Have you ever seen one of those pleas from the parents of a missing child? Now imagine the entire world like that.

Under the heading of "The Catholic Church is Teh Evul":

The best way to deal with a crisis is to celebrate it like we celebrated 911 and Katrina? what? and the celebration will begin. catholic church and celebration are not ideas that any sane person would put in the same sentence. The One World Church will quickly develop a speakers’ bureau to appear on all news channels. the news channels being run by the always childless, i guess. Let’s consider what may be their explanation. the mayans were right! I believe they will proclaim that a supernatural miracle has occurred. Religious fanatics and rebellious fundamentalists have been removed by an act of God so that the world can finally experience peace. god wanted peace so he left behind muslim extremists? that seems a little . . . odd. is Mr. Chambers saying muslim extremists will be raptured, too? They will say that these people were no different than the terrorists within the Muslim world. other than the bombs. They were like the Taliban of Afghanistan they are like that, just without the bombs. and we have been spared their hindrance to our planned wonderful world by this miracle of their removal. there is so much wrong with this idea, i can barely scratch the surface.

Forerunners of the Antichrist excellent band name will see this as their golden opportunity and they will join in with the religious One World Church. They will herald the coming revelation of their “Christ” and great paranormal events will become commonplace. As the idea that this “Christ” is waiting to be manifest begins to grip the world, great excitement to His coming will develop. Great speakers with demonic appeal obama! will conduct rallies all over the world. They will build excitement to the point of hysteria. Incredible miracles of healing (i.e., blinded eyes opened) and mass healing events will occur. This new church world of the inclusive church will explode. It will be religious mania. in other words, the fake christian church will actually deliver what the real christian church promised? ummm . . . what?

This new religion will be as emotionally real as the true Pentecost of the past. but not really as real? The only thing missing will be the restrictions of commandments and standards. it's going to be a little hard to have a "christian" religion without the ten commandments. episcopalians are seriously liberal, but not even they have abandoned the restrictions against murder and stealing. It will be the greatest day of mass religious events in history. like unto what mass religious events in history? The music is already written, the african music with scary black rythms! the singers have already trained, and these campaigns will feature the best. hey, at least while we're all deranged with grief, we'll have a nice concert to go to. The present contemporary, rap, rock, funk, and other ungodly (black!) music are all the music of the Antichrist he's black! and are ready to inoculate the world. doesn't "inoculate" mean protect against disease? The multitudes will line up to be baptized and marked as the worshippers of this new “Christ.” They will actually believe that he is the true appearing of the real Christ. dude, he can heal the sick and he's got a good backup band. why not?

The rest of this article devolves into a discussion of the persecution the RTCs so desperately want, but won't experience because they'll be raptured. Always missing out on the good stuff, I guess.

A Sad Way to Live

religion, religious, atheism, atheist, rapture, premillenial, dispensationalism, fundamentalism, fundamentalist, fundy, jesus, god,
The following discussion on the Rapture Ready message boards really makes me wonder if there is some sort of correlation between fundamentalism and depression. Their view of life is just so . . . sad. Life has become for them (or perhaps has always been) this arduous journey through a hostile land, filled with hardship and despair, best over soon. It seems that the wonder and joy that I find in life is entirely absent theirs. Reading their posts is very much like talking to someone suffering from depression.

Aby777: please!!!! Lord come in 2009 !!!!!
im so tired of this nasty world!! what else JESUS just RAPTURE US!!!!!
do bad things happen in this world? yes. is there no beauty and wonder and joy? apparently not for Aby777.

kgreen20: Yes, God, please!!!!!!!!!!!Amen.
can I make fun of the mentally ill for overuse of exclamation points?

JABowman: Yeah, this world is getting worse by the nano second, I'm ready to spend eternity with my Savior!
imagine feeling that with every passing fraction of a second, the world is getting worse. that's . . . bleak.

chadishere07: I'm with ya'll Im tired of sinning and screwing up I just wanna praise Jesus being perfect
i'm honestly unsure if he means he wants to praise jesus for being perfect, or if he want to be perfect by praising jesus. either way, that seems like a seriously boring way to spend ETERNITY.

Jesuslover 2002: dont worry it wont be longer.. Scripture He who is coming will come and will not tarry. it wont be much longer... so hang in there its almost over "so hang in there, it's almost over" is what i tell myself during dental work. these people regard life the way i do dental work. i've had a tooth pulled instead of getting a root canal done, that's how much i hate dental work.

Waiting4Jesus regards life the way I regarded high school (somewhat more positively than dental work): My soul is so weary and I'm so sick of this place. I pray every single day to the Lord to come quickly.

InHis Service: I used to pray "Lord call us home soon" but now I pray "Lord call us home today and at night it's Lord call us home tonight.... soon is too long now!! what is going on in these peoples' lives? seriously.

Not Perfect, But Forgiven sums it all up: second that. This world loses its flavor everyday. If Heaven is a lush jungle teeming with activity, then earth is a barren field with weeds and pot-holes scattered throughout. There's just nothing here. Our minds are so focused on home, no material wealth is desirable at this point. We are too close to our blessed hope. It's all about listening to the Holy Spirit and moving forward to that day.

life is a "barren field with weeds and pot-holes scattered throughout"? no beauty, no wonder, no pleasure, no love, no laughter, nothing worthwhile at all? i'm not even talking about "material wealth", i'm talking about the basic joy of being alive. how can anyone celebrate losing that?

It would be entirely unethical, I'm sure, but I would love to dose each and every one of these people with Prozac, lots of it, and see if they remained rapture obsessed fundamentalists. I think some of them would not.

Why the Rapture?

rapture, jesus, god, christian, christianity, insane, premillenial, dispensationalism, pretrib
In case you are not familiar with premillenial dispensationalism, it is a sect within christianity that "literally" interprets the Bible, with special emphasis on Revelation (yes, that acid trip) to come up with the idea that at the end of days, the "bride of christ" (Real True Christianstm)will be lifted bodily to heaven (naked!) to become mindless worshippers of god (no, really, they're looking forward to this) while the rest of us are tormented for 7 years by the Antichrist (no such thing in the bible), after which Jesus will return to earth to collect those who have converted, and survived, during the last 7 years, and to destroy everyone else. Jesus will reign for 1000 years, at which point Satan gets another shot at it, is defeated and then . . . well, I dunno. It's unbelievably odd. For an in depth look (or if you think I'm making this shit up, I recommend Rapture Ready. All the crazy you'll ever need!)

Recently, a poster on the Rapture Ready message boards posted a revealing poll on why this belief attracts adherents.

123 people voted.

65 want to expierence [sic] all that I have read will happen.
9 admit that they are kinda afraid to die, I'd want to be Raptured instead
4 think being alive and aware is better than rising from the dead.
1 It does not really matter to me.
1 just wants to see if it is real and true.
43 people didn't like any of those options and went for "other".

Candlelight : Just cannot wait for the thrill of seeing the Glory of Jesus and total joy and peace. I guess he means after all the tormenting and suffering and killing.

Sukie72962 needs suicide watch: I am longing to see my Lord and Savior face to face and I don't want to wait to die in order to finally see Him with my eyes, I already see Him with my heart but I want to see Him with my eyes.

Mickey is sick of life and people in general: I said "other". For me the thrill of the Rapture, is thinking I'm one moment busy with live and worrying about tomorrow, and the next lying on my face before the Throne of my King. Mostly I want this evil world to be over and done with. It would have been great to dream about growing old and having grandkids, but I'm still young...ish (34), and if life and the human race keep deteriorating at the rate that it is, I do not want to be here much longer. I yearn to be with my Lord!

I sense some serious disillusionment in store for Sundial: I feel privileged to know that my Father thought so much of me that He allowed me to live in the era that will experience the rapture. That tells me how much He loves me.

Truthlover doesn't just want to be raptured, she also wants to be right: In front of loved ones, to give them little room to doubt what happened.

Chicken5516 would be much happier with a less repressive religion: I selected 'other'....I just want out of this World and in the presence of my Lord and Savior. I'm weary of this sinful body.

Gator128, like a lot of responders, seems to like the whole flying portion of the Rapture most: i want the rapture for one reason. to meet to jesus in air and finally to be home

You know, I used to think psychiatrists were a little free with the psych meds, but now I think not enough people are taking them.

The War on Logic Continues

religion, fundamentalism, evangelical, evangelism, evolution, dispensationalism, premillenial, conservative, stupid

Wow. Just wow. These people vote! These people have children!

(From the Rapture Ready message boards)

Cindy S.:

al,
I am just now reading through the bible. I just have to know, how did you come to embrace premillenial dispensationalism without ever having read the bible once . . . oh, wait, questions that answer themselves. I am now in the book of Exodus.What stood out to me today is our courts are modeled after the laws described in the book of Exodus. yeah, look, legal systems the world over (at least in democratic societies) are strikingly similar, aren't they? Why would our world which some like to believe came to being with a bang, develop a court system right out of the bible? ummm . . . what? when the justice system was designed in the US (based largely on the legal system existent in the British Empire) the big bang theory was hundreds of years away from being discovered. does she think that the US legal system is less than 50 years old? at the time our legal system was being founded, everyone was a creationist It's because there is no evolution. can I just say WHAT?! how does the legal system has a basis in biblical tort law equal "evolution is a lie"? A + B = C therefore B=Q? It's absolutely amazing what the Lord reveals to me. oh, yes, it is.

Give Peace a Bullet to the Brain

Honestly. At what point does a person look at the world around them and say, "You know what? Just not enough violence and hatred and killing out there. I should speak out against anything that seeks to put an end to it, or at least slow things down. That's not what Jesus would have wanted."

Apparently when they become a Christian fundamentalist.

From the raptureready message boards, we get this gem:

A Christian, Muslim and Jew pray for peace among nations
From Worldwide Faith News wfn@igc.org
Date Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:39:41 -0800
A Christian, Muslim and Jew pray for peace among nations
New York, January 12, 2009 --

Leaders of three faiths that trace their origins back to a common ancestor -- the Patriarch Abraham -- joined their hearts and pens today to form a common prayer for peace between Israel, Gaza and among all nations.Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon of the National Council of Churches USA, and Dr. Sayeed Sayid of the Islamic Society of North America, acknowledged having "different views" as to how to end the confrontation between Israel and Gaza, said they looked "to the power that is greater than any of us can even contemplate" to ask for peace in the Middle East.

I don't think that will accomplish anything for a variety of reasons, but it's nice to see people trying. Or not.

Gabby (under the fig tree) replies: That prayer won't reach the ceiling since it is not prayed in the name of Jesus Christ. stupid jews and muslims, thinking god listens to them. as an atheist, i think you're all a pack of godbotherers, but whatever, go ahead and think you're special.

lynGraphics doesn't understand, I dunno, science, dna, and incest apparently: besides.... we ALL have one common ancestor!

Beagler proves that religion makes one stupid: I get so tired of people equating allah the demonic moon god to Jehovah the creator of the universe and author of my salvation. yeah, i know, philology from a chick tract. look, one more time and then i'm done, "allah" is the arabic word for "god" in exactly the same way "perro" is the spanish word for "dog". they mean exactly the same thing. arabic-speaking christians pray to "allah". are we done yet?

final trumpet is a little angry that a christian would dare to pray with those from other faiths. how dare they! That prayer will not reach the ceiling anyway since it is against he scriptures. Since when is a Christian supposed to be praying in agreement with those that deny Christ and those that worship a false god?

what the hell is the matter with people, anyway? do these asshats think more prejudice and bigotry and violence is the answer to our problems? every now and then i wish there was a god, so that asshats like these would have to answer for this sort of thing.

Every Time I Think I Can't Be More Offended . . .

some christian asshat proves that i can be.

(from the RaptureReady message boards) cbressler1976 has a great thought!: I have been upset about the innocent children in all of the fighting in Gaza....but this thought came to me....these little children that are dying would have been taught Islam and hate...this way they have a chance to go to heaven!! It's terrible that they are dying and my heart is sad....but when I was talking to God this thought came to me....the ones that are dying are going to be able to go to heaven....instead of growing up and following Islam...so, something good is coming out of this....

ok, do i need to explain how sick and offensive and disgusting and, and . . . GAH! this is? oh, poor little children, bodies torn apart, dying in pain, afraid and alone, but it's a good thing! it's fantastic! isn't god wonderful? if they had lived, they would have turned into filthy, dirty muslims. i'll say it again- GAH!

wvborn56 apparently shares in the OP's love of children torn apart and bleeding in the dirt: That is an excellnt point. It is always good to have an eternal perspective. on a long enough time line, asshole.

Very good thought, on the other hand their parents think they are with "allah" which is the arabic word for god. ARABIC-SPEAKING CHRISTIANS CALL GOD ALLAH. GET OVER IT. and enjoying 72 virgins. ok, it just got that much more offensive. and we started out with dead children being a good thing. there should be an award for this sort of thing. But we know they rest with Jesus. Too bad their kids can't tell them they are worshiping a fake god. The kids know more than the "teachers" of islam. i think every christian in the US should be required by law to write a letter of apology to the islamic world at large. every day.

mommytoa3rdgradeboy (does she change her screen name every year, or is he just really slow?) seems to think god is good in choosing natural disasters instead of shipments of bibles: Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember, at first, feeling soooo sorry for all the little children who had died in the tsunami (sp) in 04, I think???? but you know, not for the adults. they can just . . . um, well . . . go to . . . yeah. Then, it just hit me like a ton a of bricks--those little children, had they grown up, may never have come to know the Lord, and now they can be w/ Him. so, god couldn't just send over some missionaries, maybe a couple of boxes of bibles, some chick tracts, something? a 50 foot wall of water was the best option? i guess it is my moral duty to never have children, because then god would have to set pennsylvania on fire in order to protect them from being raised as atheists.

what's the fucking matter with these people, anyway?

Low Pressure Rapture System

The Rapture Index continues to fall! We've fallen 1 point to 155.

Mercy and Love

Let's start with the dictionary before I get into what mercy and love are.

mercy: compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence

ok, what's forbearance? an abstaining from the enforcement of a right

so, mercy is the compassionate or kindly forbearance of abstaining from the enforcement of a right toward an offender, an enemy or other person in one's power. i don't need to add to this one.

love: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person well, love is hard to define, so i will add this. love is when what you admire, respect or like in another person outweighs what you dislike, are annoyed by or find contemptable in another person. love is when you find yourself not only willing to sacrifice for another person, but you do it without thinking, and without expecting anything in return.

my dog, for example. he is loyal and sweet and funny. he follows me around looking at me like i am the most wonderful thing he can imagine. he also eats out of the garbage, gets in the way, gets sick and pees (or worse) on the brand new carpet. he fights me when i cut his nails, he fights me when i brush him, and he's a pain in the ass to walk. i could do without all the negative stuff, but i would never get rid of him. i love him. i often don't eat lunch so he can have food, and i have put off my own doctor's visits to take him to the vet. he can't repay me. that's love.

this is why i find it amazing when fundamentalist christians tell me that god is love and mercy and then tell me about all the horrible things god does, and will do, to the people that he loves. you wouldn't believe me if i told you that i loved my dog after i set him on fire. i have to right to give him to the aspca anytime i want, but you wouldn't believe that i loved him if i did that simply so i didn't have to walk him anymore.

you can see why i am an atheist. i'm more inclined to worship my dog. (you can feel free to worship my dog.)

here's what fundamentalist christians think of god's love:

Everyone knows that Christ said that mens love will grow cold in the last days. i didn't know that. got a chapter and verse for me? We have a strong idea that we are in the last days by just looking around us and seeing those around us whose love has grown cold. i haven't noticed a downturn in loving . . . oh, prop 8. that would definitely qualify as "cold". One sign you do not hear hardly ever mentioned but that is in almost every church on every corner is an absolute sign of the days we are in. follow that grammar. i dare you!

That sign is the fact the Church has stopped teaching the judgment of God. Most people in "church" only talk about the wonderful love of God and the Mercy of Christ. Most teach that God would never "judge" does this poster just like quotation marks? i admit, they're quite festive, but really us because he loves everyone. apparently, this poster is a little torqued that god isn't as exclusive as the latest hot NYC club. He wants all to come to the knowledge of Christ and be saved.Yes the Love of God and the Mercy of Christ are wonderful, but the scripture is very clear that they have their limits.

why? god made us the way we are. free will aside, it's his own fault we are the way we are. he made the whole universe in 6 days. if he wanted us to be different, he could make us different. besides, you know that woman who killed her daughter, a little girl named Caylee? her parents are standing behind her. why? because they love her. she did the most awful, terrible, horrifying thing anyone could do, and they still love her. that's what love is. (if they helped her hide it, that's going beyond the exigencies of love, but you can't blame them for loving their daughter.) apparently, god is less capable of love, and his love is far lesser than the love of a human parent.

why am i supposed to worship this person again? oh, yeah, or he'll spank me. what an endorsement.

People in "churches" struggle with the concept of a loving God letting bad things happen. wouldn't any thinking person? A question frequently asked of me is, "How can a loving God allow something like 911 happen and how can he let innocent children die?" good question. possible answers: no god, not omnipotent, no god, not omniscient, no god, god is a sadist.These questions are from churchgoers professing to be Christians! how dare they think and question! true christians don't think, they pray! you think i'm being funny, don't you? This is the lukewarm church of Laodacia if I ever saw it!!

now witness the most amazing cognitive dissonance in the world. it's right up there with, "my husband beats me senseless on a regular basis because he loves me."

God is love but He is not complete without judgment. It's possible that the poster did not mean what he said here. I think the poster meant "He is not completely without judgment", which is entirely different from "he is not complete without judgment." If the poster did mean to say that god is incomplete without judgment, then he is saying that god isn't just love, god is love . . . and judgment.

God DOES HATE! god is love, god IS love, yet god hates. hatred is the most destructive thing of which humans are capable. hatred feeds itself on every good thing in your soul. hatred is corrosive and consuming, and if you let it fester, you will find within yourself nothing else. how do you suppose people end up blowing up office buildings filled with innocent victims?God HATES His enemies and will judge any who choses to directly disobey him. We in the USA are heading for a major Judgment right at our doorstep, so, are we away from home or are we inside our homes and will find it when we get to the front door? and yet our churches are dead silent to it. "to" it, or "on" it? God will be more merciful to Ninevites than to us because of this. god will give more mercy to the Iraqis than to us? Sort of an odd position to take. "You, you don't worship me properly at all, yet I will show you more mercy than those who do worship me properly because . . . well, just because." Most "Christians" in "Churches" just stop with the fucking quotation marks. will be like this

this message board allows for an endless variety of annoying, juvenile smileys. the smiley here is shocked, shocked! or a smiley big john doll.

when they find out that the wrath of God is what is going to destroy the USA, nothing more, nothing less. what would be more than that (at least from our perspective)? Why is he destroying us again? Will the destruction stop exactly at the borders with Mexico and Canada? What about US protectorates such as the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico? May our churches begin to actually seek the truth and speak it from the pulpit before His wrath comes!!! if his loving, merciful wrath is guaranteed, why bother? but I doubt that it will happen....since their love has truly grown cold... God have mercy on those of us who believe His TRUTH! why are you being punished by your loving, merciful god? this is just so bizarre. if you have 5 children and one of them broke a vase, do you punish all 5 of them severely? of course not. who does that? god, that's who!

kays couldn't agree more: Excellent. I agree so much.

frankly forgiven agreed with a smiley face and: I agree 100%

honestly, I feel like sneaking onto this board and posting things like "whoo! god's loving, merciful vengeance! yeah, wrath!" I was going to say that i'd get kicked off, but i bet nobody would notice the sarcasm.

refocus doesn't seem quite as happy about the loving, merciful wrath: I think we are living on borrowed time in the U.S., but i know there are faithful here. Just read these posts. Keep shining your light! I pray that God will not judge the forgiven, and sanctified, with the rest. Like in Lot's day, may he take us before his wrath comes. didn't someone get turned into a pillar of salt for the enormous sin of turning around? In the meantime, lets stand firm against the enemy's wrath. His time is short, and he knows it. so, satan is the enemy and he is wrathful. god is wrathful. what the hell's the difference? i'm getting wrathed either way.

Time to Fight . . . Or Is It?

There was this videogame, where the main character kept announcing "Time to die" in the moviefone voice . . . but that's neither here nor there.

The RaptureReady message boards continue to amuse.

MROD seems to have succombed to persecution porn with this post: I am sure I am not the only one who has thought about or prepared themselves for what the future may bring in these trouble times. True, MROD, we're all cutting back and saving what we can . . . oh, that's not what you mean, is it?

It would seem that if pressure mounts against us Christians the pressure of being the majority, or the pressure of oppressing the rest of us? that has to be exhausting. or become targeted in the future by whom? the majority? that would be . . . you. that we should join together and fight this is funny until you consider how much these people exercise their second amendment rights ... but where does Jesus give us this in scripture?

he doesn't.

Matt 5:39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

seems pretty clear to me.

It seems that the only people that are meant to fight are the Jews. huh? show your work. So far from what I have read, we are just to stand and trust in the Lord's might to fight for us. good luck with that. If anyone can show me a verse in which Jesus says we must fight I would love to see it. because all this turning the other cheek and being meek is really a pain in the ass. I am just posting this message because I think as Christians we must deny ourselves as Christ gave himself up for us on the cross. what? wouldn't denying oneself be very zen? i think one reaches nirvana that way. I think we might go through some sort of suffering that is to come on his account. and when you equal the jews their suffering, let me know. No, it wont be the wrath of tribulation ya know, because we won't be there. but I think right now the Bride is being purified... God is pruning and its uncomfortable. what unfortunate imagery. besides, pruning is only uncomfortable for the branch being cut off, is the poster trying to say that god doesn't love him anymore?I cant tell you how many of my brothers and sisters in Christ are going through lots of really tough times... adultery, divorce, foreclosures, lay offs, repossession of vehicles, rough job situations, financial issues, and serious health problems. because god doesn't work that way. tell me where, exactly where, in the bible it says that praying to jebus means you won't have troubles? To me it all seems like a big WAKE UP call to Christians, ... pay attention, be watchful, Jesus IS COMING! shouldn't i be the watchful one? after all, when jebus returns, you'll be raptured to heaven (naked!) and i'll be tribulating.

dorcus replies: I was thinking about this subject the other day. these people really scare me. I actually think the New Testament tells us to obey those in authority so that we can live in peace. it does? then why were the original christians toppling empires back in the day? The New Testament also tells us that those in leadership are put there by God himself it does? the old testament has many instances of god directly appointing kings and generals, but i don't think the NT addresses this issue. sticky though, if you consider that these people fucking HATE obama. they think he's the antichrist . . . but god appointed him president. ok. , so if we fight back are we fighting against God? If this thinking is correct than the the Revolutionary War was actually against the word of God. these people's minds are like endless tangled skeins of yarn. Yet, the US has done much historically to bless and protect the Jews and Israel (once it became a state) that was in 1948. how much history is that, exactly?. One could go crazy trying to figure it out. i'll grant you that.

wally, who shamelessly misuses copyrighted images, says: It will be a long and difficult debate. do you fight or not? does the bible command it or forbid it? But God told us to turn the other cheek, give our cloak and shirt, walk miles, do everything for the glory of God. end of debate, apparently. Will we take a stand? see the previous sentence. you wrote it. Many will and sell their lives dear. Some will be voices crying from jails MLK?, hidden rooms, or openly tortured is he honestly suggesting that USians will be tortured on tv in the US? or maybe christ's chosen people are the muslims. now it all makes sense!.Each one must ask the Lord and to, not and do His will through us. Whatever is done must be as a testimony to Jesus. doesn't matter if you obey or disobey god, just do it as a testimony to jesus. Follow His example. allow yourself to be tortured and killed without resisting. Remember rams are sheep too and they have horns. hello? are you not familiar with jesus' example? i'm the atheist here. And the greatest of displayed faith - was a soldier. what the fuck is he talking about?

Matt 26:50-52 :

50Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for."
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

again, pretty clear.

AnnOdom44 replies: There is one place where Jesus tells His disciples to get a sword, but I can't find it right off hand

I think Eph 6:17 is what she is talking about, but she gets it wrong. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ashleigh isn't so eager to smack people around: Yes, we are told to "fight" but not the way the world fights. And the battle isn't a battle for our lives or comforts. It's a battle for the spiritual lives of others, because when all is said and done, that is all that matters... whether or not a person has received Christ as their Savior. So, she'll be showing at my door with a bunch of pamphlets, but she won't be carrying a gun. better than the alternative.

Ramadi Warrior is, unsurprisingly, a little less pacifistic: I'll tell you when to fight. You fight when the United States Constitution is no longer protecting you and it is not holding the government. it dropped the government? on it's head? I guess you could say that it's happening now or for the last 8 years, but why quibble?, but aside from that. aside from that what? you have to follow up "aside from that" with something. anything! This country was founded on Biblical principles the founding fathers just accidentally separated church and state and then accidentally wrote lots of letters defending that position, even occassionally using that exact phrase. It's an illusion! and was clearly blessed by God. clearly? find me the US in the bible, asshat. We should rise up and take this nation back for God- however we have to do it. lock your doors, kids. I'll be fighting when they outlaw my Christianity. never, then? If they want to come after me, bring it. I'm hearing that as said by Marcus Fenix in Gears of War 2. (It's one of his fighting phrases that pop up anytime you're in a fighting sequence. There's about a dozen of them, and some of them are quite amusing. the kill phrases are even better. every now and then, if you snipe someone's head off, he says, "look ma, no face") If they want my guns then they better bring an army with them waco? because God has given every individual the right to defend himself now he's confusing the constitution with the bible. this guy is dangerous!

Chopin's Ghost eggs Ramadi Warrior on: Yeah you tell it brother!

you watch the people carrying bibles around. they're dangerous.

The Millenial Reign

Ok, if you're not familiar with premillenial dispensationalism (I linked you to wiki to keep the crazy from seeping in too far), the basics are thus: faithful are whisked up to heaven (naked!), 7 years of really bad shit for the rest of us, then satan's rebellion is crushed for a 1,000 year reign of the Psychochrist(tm), then satan is allowed to rebel again (yeah, I dunno) and then . . . something.

So here's the charming visions of the 1,000 year reign of the Psychochrist(tm) from the RaptureReady message boards.

I have often wondered what everyday life on Earth will be like during the Millennial Reign of Christ. How different will it be? How similar? Will there still be fast-food restaurants? Banks and credit unions? Or will there even be a need for money anymore? Would there still be entertainiment in the form of television, movies and theater? exactly what television and movies would be considered godly by these people? Touched by an Angel? as for theater, no. too many gays in the theater, and they're all in hell at this point, so, nope, no more theater. If so, what sorts of shows would people see? Only religious fare *gagging sounds*, or would some of the classics such as the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein or the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan still be performed? What sort of work will those of us who have been raptured be expected to do? Teach? Inspire? describe the job of "inspiring" to me, please Gardening? Physical labor? in a freakin' utopia? i live a life of repression and boredom and all i get to show for it is 1,000 years of physical labor? satan sounds better all the time. I have no doubt we will have a degree of supernatural power (instant teleportation from place to place perhaps?) uh, yeah. sure. watch me back away slowly., so how will those abilities be utilized?I don't expect anyone to have any sort of definitive answer. The Bible is totally silent about this (save for the final outbreak of disobedience at the very end when Satan is once more set free still not sure why). I just find it fascinating to speculate on such things, even though I'm sure I'm dead wrong about everything I've ever come up with in my mind's eye.Any thoughts? Or am I treading on thin ice here? god forbid you question or imagine. it's wrong. it might lead to sex and sex leads to dancing!

wvborn56 replies: I don't even have a clue what I would like to do if I even had the choice. In fact I am hoping I don't have a choice. I trust the Lord to assign my duties much better than to choose myself. because what i want most in life is not to ever make a decision again, forever. surely someone who reads my blog can hook me up with satan's email address.

mswilso says: One thing I know for certain will be different. Instead of a Democracy, it will be a Theocracy, with Jesus the King as ruler of all! whoooo. Just thinking of the implications of that make makes. makes! my heart soar. For example, you know how people can go for years while they wait for trial and sentencing. the wheels of justice and all that. No more with that. no more justice? Jesus will "rule with an iron scepter" you'd think with everyone getting golden mansions that the Psychochrist(tm) could have a nicer scepter, and you can bet that any necessary justice will be meted out faster than Chuck Norris ever could when chuck norris jumps into a lake, he doesn't get wet, the water gets norrised. Very quickly, IMHO, people will start to get used to God's idea of "fair and balanced"...hheheheh yeah, i don't like the sound of that.

Not long after the beginning of the Millenium, I believe that people will start to live up to their true potential, unhindered by greed i very rarely engage in greed, except when it comes to pistachios. i cannot control my love of pistachios., lying i tell white lies, cheating nope, stealing never!, or any vices such as gambling i'd rather spend the money on clothes or video games, drinking to excess not in 9 years, prostitution whoa!, or organized crime uh, what?, or sin in any shape or fashion. mind you, the people in heaven, or wherever, at this point are god's chosen people. this is how mswilso sees his fellow christians. Yikes!

It will be a truly utopian society, in my opinion. what, without prostitutes and organized crime? That doesn't mean that sin won't be present isn't Jesus roaming around with an iron scepter?, but sinful actions won't be tolerated in Jesus' Kingdom. don't like the sound of that, either. But I believe Grace will still abound she is kinda fat, huh?, and it will be amazing to see in action Grace/Mercy/Justice as provided by the Prince of Peace. who's walking around with an iron scepter.

Not Perfect But Forgiven apparently can't wait for his turn at middle management: Very true. With our new bodies and sinless natures if i'm not going to be engaging in really hot, totally amazing [censored] with [censored] what do i need the new body for?, we wil be much wiser than in our earthly forms or just really boring, and we will know MUCH more from our 7 years spent in Heaven waiting for the Psychochrist(tm) to get with the exploding of the rebellious. When the Millenium starts, I think alot of raptured people will be in admisitrative roles, teaching, counseling, etc. that's my reward for the most boring, repressed life ever lived? middle management? seriously? Some glorified people new bodies? may be sent to help build, since they will most likely be much stronger than normal people and can lift and carry more so middle managment or pack mule. The thing is, we won't be living on the job site who does?, but will be commuting back and forth from the New Jerusalem where our mansions are the golden ones. with 82.5 rooms. The views we are going to see on the way to work will be stunning! I can't wait! i can.

RRuth is obssessed with the inane: It's always refreshing to hear people ask questions like this. or something. I've spent my entire life, asking these questions and have gotten the strangest looks from professing Christians i bet. Many act surprised at the thought of Heaven no, they're surprised at your amazing stupidity and probably insanity. there isn't a christian alive surprised by the idea of heaven. Some seem to not care about Christ coming, or where we're spending eternity. more like, they have actual things to think about, like paying the electric bill, and how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? My most recent questions to a surprised Christian was, "So, WHAT KIND OF FOOD why was she shouting?, do you think we'll be eating at the Marriage Supper?" Think there will be CHOCOLATE?

RRuth also has peculiar hopes for the cuisine of the future: Before man's fallen state, we (including beast just the one?) had feasted upon HERB why Herb and not Charlie? What about Bob? I think she means "herbs" or possibly vegetables. Either way, hell sounds better and better. I bet they got steak down there. I haven't seen any indication to us eating flesh in our glorified bodies. The lion will be feasting upon herb herbs, godamnit, herbs! again too. Ooops, sorry, I hope you don't mind hearing for eternity, "eat your vegetables!" ;-) they'll be the only thing available, apparently.

No Bandwagon Here seems to be conflating the reign of the Psychochrist(tm) with several bad scifi movies and the Cthulu mythos: I think meat will still be eaten, but it would come from the sacrifices that will still be done.why would sacrifices be done during the millenial reign? and what does he mean by "still"? I'm not performing sacrifices, are you?...I am not a big veggies guy, but I could handle the fruit. Just think, if we can teleport apparently, anything you say on this board becomes fact. i wish i had such a superpower. , that would reduce the need for heavy equipment such as trains and aircraft to transfer materials. Also I think our jobs would be related to our peculiar ? perception of how the world works now. I am not sure how to explain it but imagine our Lord pairing up believers from different time/technology periods to overcome a problem encountered while rebuilding the earth why is the lord having a problem rebuilding the earth? he made in 6 days, right?. The implications make my head spin! right there with ya! Imagine working under or with Adam with his pre-programed knowledge base uh, what? Adam didn't know jack shit until he ate from the tree of knowledge, and after that, his sole contribution to the world was a loincloth. what wondrous technology!, and him asking us our opinion based on our modern day knowledge base....what an honor! oh, yeah, that's right. Einstein won't be available. he'll be with me in hell. apparently with the xboxes and the gays. Personally, this melding of technologies is where I believe the solution to the energy crisis will come from for the millinium. Why. Would. There. Be. An. Energy. Crisis. Imagine being in the audience of the new food channel show Cooking with Eve ok, that would be kinda cool. She will have recipies for foods we have NEVER heard or seen!! Wow....I am sooo looking foward to this.

Immeningen says: Why would life be much different? because it's freakin' utopia! Except perhaps for what the Bible does say, that the King will rule with a rod of iron where is the good here?, and there will be a population explosion ouch!, man will still have to work tell me again why i lived such a boring life for this, there will still be the seasons, and a time for planting and harvesting, etc. a time for sorrow a time for joy, a time for a girl and a time for a boy, a time for silver and a time for gold, a time for a secret that's never been told. Basically very similar. Yet somewhat unknown to us. you'll notice the gays when they're gone.

AbidingHope commits the cardinal sin of english with: Some of you guys have some wonderful ideas! You’ve made me smile while reading this thread. But in my view I see the world reverting back going back back? that drives me crazy to what God intended it to be in the first place. all powerful god couldn't keep the world the way he wanted it? really? he creates the whole freakin' universe in 6 days and he can't maintain a fucking . . . . garden. I don’t think there’ll be planes, automobiles, modern cities and technology and all that stuff anymore. I think it’s going to be VERY different than what it is now.

BelovedChild has quite the unusual checklist: I think that it may be a more agricultural type of society. Remember the passages about planting your own vineyard etc. Ancient Israel was very largely agrarian. prior to the industrial revolution ALL SOCIETIES WERE AGRARIAN. hello! So was the Garden of Eden. no, it was a fucking garden. I think that people will be very much into arts and crafts done by hand. be still my beating heart. This would be fun. if hell is the opposite of heaven, i really want to be there. Imagine learning to weave your own designs in material, make you own pottery. no, that doesn't turn me on. There could be a barter system. you know, or not.

I would imagine the arts too would flourish, and be available to everyone. like they are now? it's called the interwebs. you want to see picasso paintings? type in picasso. Music, painting, scupture, dramatic arts no theater, the gays are all in hell. Possibly good and excellent musicals which exist now not without the gays, or the great Oratorios by the great music masters like Handel, maybe some composed by great Biblical heroes. who were known for their Oratorio skills? Who knows? hopefully not you.

I would like to think that communities would be small enough that we would all know each other everyone who ever had an impure thought is in hell. i think you'll all know each other. all two of you., somethings like old villages or small country towns. There would have to be lovely gardens, etc.I am also pretty sure that we will be following the Jewish calander and worship festivals. why, aren't you christian? I wonder if we will be able to keep a version of Christmas, but celebrated on His real birthday. in heaven, with jesus? i would think so. healthy sports too would flourish. unhealthy sports being? Maybe the great cricket team with all the heavenly greats v the living. oh flying spaghetti monster, the madness has infected england! Must have the cricket.I would also like to have beautiful long hair, with floral ornaments and red shoes. yeah. why don't you just buy red shoes now, grow your hair long and put some flowers in it? seems like you don't have to wait for the rapture for any of those things.

The Lone Soldier asks: I wonder is the world will be oxidized, like it probably was before the flood? If it is then that means we could grow to be giants and never get tired. ummmm . . . oxidation is a chemical reaction ranging between metal rusting (slow oxidation) and fire (fast oxidation). how would that make us grow to be giants and never get tired? If he is referring to a higher concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere, that wouldn't make us taller. I mean, i've gotten straight oxygen up the nose at the hospital a couple of times, and i'm still short.

That's exactly as much of that crazy as I can take, but I do have to say, no video games in heaven, no heaven for me!

Wise as Serpents

Awesome band name! Also the name of the latest article by Ron Graham of RaptureReady (your resource in case the rapture happens!).

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents weren't serpents bad back when they were lizards?, and harmless as doves,” Matthew 10:16. So often today, we only see a section of this verse being adhered to, and that’s to be harmless as doves BWA HAHAHAHAHAHA yeah, fundagelicals in the US are just dovey! backing wars, supporting torture, shouting n***er at cameramen, "dove" is exactly what comes to mind. Many Christians seemingly dismiss the part about being wise as serpents. i'll buy that they reject wisdom. Jesus was sending His disciples out into the world, a world full of evil or political systems that saw the christians coming and knew that wasn't going to work out well for them. same difference. His commandment still stands, He sends every Christian out into the midst of that same evil world overwhelmingly inhabited by evil, evilevilevil. you know, my niece has to write a sentence for each vocabulary word for homework. one of the words was "pointy". (she's 9) she wrote "my pencil point is very pointy", then erased "point" because she didn't want to use the same word twice in the same sentence. apparently, even 9 year olds are better writers than Jack Graham. devouring, satanic wolves. what's with the wolf hating? They are majestic animals. They certainly aren't evil. Unless you count eating meat as evil, in which case I'm sure Jack Graham is evil, too. Poor wolves.

I send you forth as sheep. baa! Don’t misunderstand the meaning here. The sheep in this case are those of us who are called by His name, those belonging to the Lord. Jesus is our good shepherd. We are His Church, His flock, and as such He sends all Christians out into the world to be the light of the world. he should have sent them forth as wolves. wolves are a lot harder to kill than sheep. hell, I could kill a sheep. We’re not to hide from the wolves, but we are to witness to them and to spread the good news of Christ to all those who are perishing. I now have an amusing image of holding a bible in front of a slavering wolf, who is not at all persuaded not to drive me off. Even the most fearsome of wolves need to hear the Gospel. I think the wolf might be more interested in the bacon in my pocket, but whatever. (don't carry bacon around in your pocket if there is even the slightest chance of a wolf encounter. my dog wouldn't let that one go.)

Many Christians are content with remaining as sheep no matter who becomes their shepherd. such being the nature of sheep. On November 4th of this year, many professing Christians exchanged their true Shepherd, who calls them by their name Bush?, for a false shepherd, who will only lead them astray. Obama! We won and you lost! Sheepish Christians will be led to the slaughter as they continue in the mindset of this false shepherd being their new deliverer. Isn't Obama ending the war? Even if he were Muslim, they don't eat people. If this false shepherd has his way, the Christians in this country will become the apostate Church spoken of in the Book of Revelation. that's exactly what Obama wants! Who gave this guy a copy of the Liberal Agenda? Everyone, right now, take out your Liberal Agenda, turn to page 2, paragraph 3, subsection ii(b): This Agenda is not to be shown to professing Christians. Could it be any clearer, people?

In the midst of wolves. Jesus used wolves poor, misunderstood wolves! as a metaphor referring to cruel, greedy, rapacious, destructive men why? wolves kill to eat, just like us. they share the food with everyone in the pack. they don't rape. they are not destructive. I really dislike this wolf metaphor. Bad Jesus!. Jesus said “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad, Matthew 12:30.

I also dislike this "he is not with me is against me" thing, too. It leaves out the vast spectrum of people who couldn't care less. Like me. I am an atheist. I don't care what you believe. You want to worship Jesus, be my guest. You are also welcome to worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Cthulu for all I care. I'm not with Jesus, but I'm not against him, either. Yet his assertion that this is not true, that by not supporting him, I am opposing him has caused more death and misery and suffering than anything else.

Bad Jesus!

Basically those who are the followers of Satan are the wolves in this case. wait for it . . . Everyone – that’s everyone I mean everyone! – who doesn’t follow Jesus Christ is a follower of Satan. Muslims? Satanists. Buddhists? Satanists. Hindus? Satanists. Jews? Satanists. Consider carefully Jesus’ statement above he said that those who are not for him are against him, not that they worship Satan!, Satan is utterly and emphatically against Jesus Christ from what I understand, Satan is utterly and emphatically against God. Jesus he just wanted to tempt into sin in order to get at god. I always did like Satan's character best. Satan spreads lies, because he is the father of all lies or he's lord of the flies, and scatters people abroad. huh? Jesus’ statement places everyone who is not with Him in the same category as Satan i'm the same as the ruler of hell? where's my damn powers? i want some powers and some demons and some suffering souls right now!; Satan is already condemned to rule hell. not a bad deal. and so are all who follow him. The difference being Satan can’t change his eternal destiny, but those deceived individuals who follow him can. eh, he still gets to rule hell. (yeah, I was fun in Catholic school)

Many Christians today are so full of fear that they allow this evil world to dictate to them what they can do for Christ and what they can’t. really? that's why the average christian is not obeying Jesus' commands to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and comfort the suffering? Matt 10:8 Matt 25:43-45 My brothers and sisters, this should not be so. We are to be the example in a world of evil and we can only be an example if we are actually out in the world proclaiming the message of the Gospel of Christ. We have nothing to fear for “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world,” 1John 4:4. We have nothing to fear but fear itself

“Alas, how many are influenced by fear of men! Oh, you cowards, will you be damned out of fear? Will you sooner let your souls perish than show your manhood by telling a poor mortal that you defy his scorn? Dare you not follow the right though all men in the world should call you to do the wrong? Oh, you cowards! You cowards! How you deserve to perish who have not enough soul to call your souls your own, but cower down before the sneers of fools!”
Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon certainly pulls no punches. As Luke, a friend my mine from Australia , so aptly puts it, “Straight down the line, no mucking about”. That was Spurgeon’s way, and why was that? Because that was our Lord’s way also. Jesus did not mince words and it’s not difficult to understand what He means by “Wise as serpents”. Which is why I find it hard to understand why Christians so conveniently ignore Jesus' commands to help people, even the least among us. He didn't mean (just) preach at them, he meant real help. "As you do unto the least of my brothers, you do unto me." Pretty fucking clear.

Wise as serpents. The serpent was a symbol of cunning and wisdom uh, and evil. Jesus doesn’t want us to be complacent in our walk with Him but to be ever vigilant, prudent, and sensible as we confront this world and all its evils. The world is full of temptations that we Christians must, at all cost, avoid. like [censored], or [censored], or my personal favorite, [censored]? The serpent was wise and cunning and Jesus expects His sheep to display at the very least those two characteristics, but to use them in a very different way than the serpents and the wolves of this world. Use the tactics of your enemy against him? Isn't that the justification for torture and war? We who are filled with His Holy Spirit use those characteristics with love and compassion as we confront the lost souls of this world. I'm sure the torture victims really appreciate the love and compassion with which they are tortured!

“O that men were wise enough to see that suffering for Christ is honour yeah, there are some honors I will pass on, that loss for truth is gain less is more? green is the new black?, that the truest dignity rests in wearing the chain upon the arm rather than endure the chain upon the soul.”
Charles Spurgeon

Harmless as doves. The English word harmless is translated from the Greek word “akeraios” and refers to being of a pure mind, without a mixture of evil, free from guile, innocent, as in the case of a dove. Why are doves pure, but wolves and serpents are not? they're all animals, not one more capable of guile and deceit than the other. shouldn't we be comparing animals to, say, man? Jesus isn’t saying we should be fearful but that we should be innocent as doves as we trust Him and step out in faith because it’s through His name, and through His power we do so. Do you know why security companies hire excons and the NSA hires people who hack their systems? because it is wolves who know how wolves work. doves don't understand how wolves operate, and thus get eaten.

Many of today’s prominent Christian leaders are admonishing their flocks, not to concern themselves with politics.

Churches, like all nonprofits, are 501c(3) organizations, named after the section of the Tax Code that applies to them. 501c(3)s are forbidden to engage in politics. A priest is welcome to admonish his congregation to vote prolife. He can even verbally promote one candidate over another. However, the instant the 501(c)3 starts using its own money to say, mail out flyers, or send employees door to door to stump for a candidate, it loses its tax free status, and must convert to a "inc." or "co." or "LLC". They will also have to pay back taxes for the years in which they engaged in this activity. (See: Mormon Church and Prop 8) It is wise for christian leaders to not engage in politics at all, lest it lead to tax code violations.

They say spreading the Gospel is our concern and we can’t be harmless as doves if we are involved in politics. sound advice from my perspective. Yes, spreading the Gospel of Christ is number one on our list of priorities, and yet, every Christian in this country should know that if it hadn’t been for the overwhelming intervention of Christians when this nation was first established, there would be no United States of American as we know it today. uh-huh. That's only because the vast majority of people on the damn continent were christian. the christianity of the founding fathers was entirely tangential to the nation they created, as evidenced by the fact that we are not a theocracy. If they really wanted to create a christian nation, they could have. In fact, founding father Thomas Jefferson himself coined the phrase "separation of church and state." Suck. On. That.

Many Christians today aren’t really following Christ’s commandment to preach the Gospel to all creatures including bears? what about salamanders? and in that sense there’s no need to be wise as serpents, just harmless as doves, or a better description would be worthless as salt that has lost its saltiness. What?! the taste of salt is an inherent property to sodium chloride. salt that is no longer salty isn't freakin' salt anymore!

Behold I send you forth. Simply put, God Almighty sends us forth to spread the Gospel of Christ to all who will give an ear. and to everyone who won't, since they won't leave me alone. if these asshats were only talking to me about sex, i could have them arrested. Sadly, many Christians today aren’t willing to spread the Gospel. or they're polite. or shy. i feel for the shy people. don't worry, shy people. we won't laugh at you. As a matter of fact, many professing to have the love of Christ in them have no heart for the lost whatsoever. and now i'm lost. where am i? how did i get here? Spurgeon states that suffering for Christ is an honor. feel the honor, bitch! feel it! any wonder why torture doesn't work? either you get people like me who would say absolutely anything to get you to stop, or you get someone who feels they are being honored, and doesn't tell you anything. Is that our attitude today? Or are we merely going about our business unconcerned with the salvation of those who are so deceived that they follow Satan instead of Christ? third option: believing in nothing. What of their eternal destination? same as yours. i have no idea if there is an afterlife or not, i think not, but who knows, but i think we're all going there.

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 9:12. You and I once walked as those worldly wolves in gucci and prada? of today, which is after the lust of the flesh. mmmmm [censored], really hot [censored] with [censored]. the lust of the flesh is underrated, trust me. No longer are we tied to this world in such a way as to follow those who are under Satan’s power. follow me into the sky! We should not be lusting after personal gain to obtain self-reliance. i'm not lusting after personal gain, i'm lusting after [censored]. really, really, really hot [censored]. Being indwelt by the Holy Spirit [censored!] means we aren’t motivated by the flesh as is the world. yeah, that's right, you don't need to eat or drink or breathe as much as the rest of us. whatever. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations…” 2 Peter 2:9. Jesus will supply all the power hyperpower! we need to escape temptation if we will only trust Him.

As Christians we have been called by a Holy calling could you stop with the same word over and over again?, and as such we are to be wise as serpents, cunning, and full of the wisdom that comes from God alone. or, you know, life. As believers we are to approach each day as a child of the light as opposed to us children of darkness. such barbaric metaphors! think about it. why is light good, dark bad? because, way, way, way back in the day, before electricity and guns and, well, fire, people died in the darkness, killed by nocturnal predators. Nowadays, you can lock your doors, turn out all the lights, and be completely safe. I prefer darkness to light personally, because prophyria has left me very sensitive to light. (i have a low electric bill), confronting evil and calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to bind evil from our midst as we spread the Gospel of Christ to a lost and perishing Christ rejecting world. BWAH HAHAHAHAHA. I want to see a demonstration of this!

Be pure minded and this is why i fail at christianity. right now, i am thinking of [censored], and it is good!, innocent as doves pooping on a car!, without a yearning to pursue evil desires oh, but pursuing desires is so . . . very . . . fun, but still as wise as serpents poisoning people with out fangs!. We’re in the world but not of the world, we are different no you're not. christians lie, steal, cheat, fuck and blow up buildings like everyone else. get over it!, and that difference is what galls the world no, that sameness is what galls you. what galls me is your self-satisfied, holier than thou, righteous determination to rub my nose in your belief while the world burns around us all., they just can’t understand Christian behavior you got that right!. They’re out there, those wolves, just around the next corner waiting to devour us rrrrrrr!. Thanks be to God we have nothing to fear from them.

Fear not is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible. Clearly God’s wish for our lives is that we shouldn’t fear because we’ve placed our trust and faith in Him. no, god's wish is that we fear him. he tormented the egyptians just to prove that he existed, tormented the israelites for not believing in him enough, ordered the israelites to torment everyone else, and if i let one little impure thought through my head [there it goes], i will be tormented forever in hell. fear not, indeed! True faith does not fear what we don’t know or can’t see, true faith just worships it to the exclusion of actual reality true faith and trust is allowing God to take care of all those little things. wait, i can get god to clean my toilets? how do i convert? There’s an old adage that was passed around a few years ago and perhaps this is a good time to bring it back. It went something like this, “Don’t sweat the little things, and all things are little things to God”. i think that was "don't sweat the small stuff", but whatever.

We have entered the last of the last days see all the end of the world predictions that didn't come true and Jesus will extract His Church very soon now, of that I’m sure. In the meantime, Christians are to be that light Jesus speaks about set on a hill, wasn't that a shining city, not a light? and most certainly we’re to be active in the governmental processes of our land. stop that. we're a representative democracy, not a theocracy. “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light,” Luke 11:33. who the hell would put a lit candle under a bushel? a firebug?

Jesus promised us that if we be “wise as serpents” we would not be deceived, especially in these end times when He told us there would be so much deception being promoted as truth. if you're listening to Mr. Graham, you've been deceived. Isn't always the liar who warns you against liars? Even those individuals you’d love to follow can be deceived. who? satan? obama? me? you can trust me. really. Be careful, be diligent, and be wise as a serpent.

God bless you all, no thanks!

Ron Graham