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Your email: Randy, Thank you for your website. I only found it yesterday and found you have a lot of great information. I have been studying prophecy for the last year or so and have found the truth in the post tribulation theory. The left behind books got me thinking and then I looked for the truth and Jesus has shown me the way. Before I read those books I never worried about prophecy. So, while the writer is misguided at least they make people think. I know we are getting close to Jesus return which leaves me with a few questions. 1. How do we know for certain that the
next treaty signed by Israel will be “the one”. From
what I know Israel has signed many treaties before. Couldn’t
the next just be another on the way to the final? Matthew 24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Am I missing something here? I have been talking to my husband about preparing an emergency kit for terrorism but not for the tribulation. I have been thinking we are mystery Babylon and we will be persecuted for our falling away from God. But, then I took faith in that if we are mystery Babylon that God would send an angel to warn us to flee when the time came. And if God was gonna tell us to flee then he would provide for our needs as he did for Lot when Lot fled from Sodom and Gomorra. Thanks for any insight you are willing to share, In Christ, K. |
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My answer: Hello K., WOW! Great email! My inbox tends to be weighted with a large portion of scornful email, so your email was a refreshing treat! It was well written and and the questions are polite and well thought out. You wrote: I have been studying prophecy for the last year or so and have found the truth in the post tribulation theory. The left behind books got me thinking and then I looked for the truth and Jesus has shown me the way. Before I read those books I never worried about prophecy. So, while the writer is misguided at least they make people think. My response: I praise God that your seeking heart found the truth! Yes, the Left Behind books have a lot of people thinking, but unfortunately many read them as if they are the Gospel. When the series first came out I didn't resist them like I do now. Back then the writers made statements that their books shouldn't be followed for prophetic accuracy, but later they were being touted as prophecy experts and that the theology of the Left Behind series was sound doctrine. When most people here such things they stop comparing the statements of man against the Bible to see if what they are saying is true. I am glad that you have not fallen into such complacency. You wrote: 1. How do we know for certain that the next treaty signed by Israel will be “the one”. From what I know Israel has signed many treaties before. Couldn’t the next just be another on the way to the final? My response: Excellent question! It is not so much the act of signing treaties with her enemies that will get Israel into trouble, but rather what kind of treaty she signs. The danger is that Israel will despise her covenant with God. She can do this by demonstrating rebellion against God. The most pronounced rebellion Israel can make against the covenant is to despise the very reward God gives in the covenant to Israel, her land. If you recall in scripture Esau despised his inheritance and no amount of tears could get it back. Israel is in danger at this very moment of despising her inheritance. She will give to her enemies the inheritance that she has no authority from God to give away. Isaiah (28:11-20) depicts this rebellion as the "covenant with death:" 11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, "This is the place of repose"— but they would not listen. So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there— so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured. Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place." So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through." The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror. The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you. You can see from above that God offered the land as a resting place, but they wouldn't listen. They make a covenant in which we are shown that they are assured protection by their enemies, but the enemies break this covenant and sweep over Israel. The covenant with death is the same covenant depicted in Daniel: He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. Daniel 9:27. You wrote: 2. What is the significance of the western wall web cam link on your site? Does it have to do with the two witnesses? Or the rebuilding of the temple? My response: The web cam's purpose is just to watch the Temple Mount due to its importance as the major theater of end-time events. I would hope we will see the two witnesses and the rebuilding of the Temple not only on the web cam, but on TV as well. You wrote: 3. and finally even though I know we aren’t going to be whisked away before all the bad stuff happens, I have always had faith that God will see us through. My response: I agree 100%. You wrote: That by preparing food and such or an escape commune shows a lack of faith in God. My response: Here is what I wrote on the web site addressing this issue: This section of our web site is dedicated to helping people prepare physically for what the prophets have warned is at the door. Although the following preparations are of a physical nature, we must understand that it is by faith in the sovereign power of the risen Christ that we take action. Our actions, including the deeds of preparation, are proof of our faith. By taking such action we are acknowledging what God foretold through the prophets. We take action because we believe. You will probably never be able to make complete preparations for what is coming, but your act of obedience in faith will be a spiritual one and you will be carried through the times ahead beyond whatever provision you may make. Just as God carried Israel through the wilderness beyond her own self-provision so will our LORD carry those who remain faithful. Above all else is our God, and his grace is sufficient to cover all your needs! As you can see I am not
replacing faith, but affirming it by my actions. I live in Florida.
As you know we endured "a few" hurricanes last year.
We saw the storms coming and made preparations. We (my family
and I) made these preparations knowing a great and destructive
force was bearing down on us and not knowing to what extent our
preparations would be sufficient and yet all the while we trusted
God for our well being. I can tell you that our provisions made
life far more bearable than had we not prepared and our faith
in God gave us unmeasurable peace before, during and after. # 2) Never
forget why you are preparing! You are not preparing out of fear
of what will happen. You're preparing in faith that God will
bring about what he foretold through the prophets. We trust God
with absolute conviction. We do not just prepare for ourselves
and loved ones. We are preparing for others we may not yet know.
God will take care of many through the faithful ones! You wrote: I have prayed about this and have felt no calling to create an escape hide-out. My response: I believe that this is really addressed in the same light as above. I am not advocating "escape hideouts" so much as I am advocating 'storm shelters.' Here is what I wrote on the site: There are many advocates for complicated and expensive preparations that include solar and wind powered electricity generation. They advocate underground bunkers located in the middle of nowhere. For the average person these preparations, although ideal, are too far out of reach for our personal budgets. If you can undertake such preparations then it may be advisable to do so, but I will keep the focus of what this information addresses to what the rest of us can do, and that's quite a bit. It is obvious from what I wrote that most of us are not in the position to make such drastic preparations. And yet I didn't claim all was lost if you couldn't. I am in no position to make the more extreme types of preparations, in fact, my preps are rather modest. Here is what I go on to say on the site: Most of us will assume that our house will serve as our shelter for long-term purposes. If you have a basement then this will be the family long-term shelter. In cold climates it won't be warm, but it shouldn't freeze without heat. In a warm climate it will be a welcome place to get out of the heat and it is a natural storm shelter. If you do not have a basement you may want to consider a small cinderblock type shelter sunk halfway into the ground with soil bermed the rest of the way up the walls. The idea is a safe haven in the event of tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. If this too is out of reach then designate rooms in or near the center of your house to ride storms out in. If possible, reinforce the ceilings, walls and doors of these rooms for added protection. Whatever you designate as your long-term shelter is also where you will store the bulk of your supplies. As you can see this is not some kind of fortified bunker mentality. Many people all over the country and the world have made these type of arrangements to legitimately deal with local storm conditions. You wrote: Do you have any scripture that would support preparing a place to run? The scripture that came to me when I prayed about it was in Matthew where Jesus warns us not to try to save our life but to give it up for him freely. My response: No, I do not have a scripture that supports "preparing a place to run" because I am not advocating such a thing. The scripture you reference is an excellent one that I use often. It is my hope that you can see within my answers that I have provided to your questions that I am not advocating self-salvation, just storm preparation. Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? Proverbs 6:6-9. Now of course I am not calling you a sluggard. But the proverb speaks of being prudent. We could never be totally prepared for any disaster and yet who, but the sluggard among us, would suggest that we don't make some attempt when we know the storm is imminent? You wrote: Am I missing something here? I have been talking to my husband about preparing an emergency kit for terrorism but not for the tribulation. My response: Well, you may have answered your own question here. Why should we be selective about which disasters we prepare for? Why prep for terrorism and not for a hurricane or 3.5 years of desolation (tribulation)? Ironically, a general emergency kit will give you the very basics to initially cope with most disasters, be they hurricane, desolation or what have you. You wrote: I have been thinking we are mystery Babylon and we will be persecuted for our falling away from God. But, then I took faith in that if we are mystery Babylon that God would send an angel to warn us to flee when the time came. And if God was gonna tell us to flee then he would provide for our needs as he did for Lot when Lot fled from Sodom and Gomorra. My response: Well, more specifically I believe that New York City is Mystery Babylon. In terms of fleeing I would agree and would also agree that God would provide the needs. All though it is possible, I don't think it probable that God would provide any more manna for us than He did for Lot. But I do think that among God's ways of providing it will be people who have put up the "provisions in Summer," like the ant, that will be where we are guided to by His Holy Spirit. Historically it was during the Great Depression that many homeless and hungry people found sustenance at the back doors of homes across the country. These homes gave from what they had stored away and I believe it was one way God provided for the people of the land. I have really enjoyed your email and look forward to hearing from you again. I pray that I have served you well. In the service of the LORD Jesus, Randy |
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Your email: Randy, Thank you very much for your response. I appreciate your honest answers. It gave me a lot to think and pray about. Of course a few questions popped out in my pondering. Old question: 1. How do we know for certain that the next treaty signed by Israel will be “the one”. From what I know Israel has signed many treaties before. Couldn’t the next just be another on the way to the final? Your answer: It is not so much the act of signing treaties with her enemies that will get Israel into trouble, but rather what kind of treaty she signs. The danger is that Israel will despise her covenant with God. She can do this by demonstrating rebellion against God. The most pronounced rebellion Israel can make against the covenant is to despise the very reward God gives in the covenant to Israel, her land. If you recall in scripture Esau despised his inheritance and no amount of tears could get it back. Israel is in danger at this very moment of despising her inheritance. She will give to her enemies the inheritance that she has no authority from God to give away. Isaiah (28:11-20) depicts this rebellion as the "covenant with death:" You can see from above that God offered the land as a resting place, but they wouldn't listen. They make a covenant in which we are shown that they are assured protection by their enemies, but the enemies break this covenant and sweep over Israel. The covenant with death is the same covenant depicted in Daniel: New Question: Again we don’t know that for certain the next treaty will be “the one”. I don’t think they detest their heritage. I understand the covenant, but would God penalize Israel for giving away such a small piece of land. Wouldn’t God praise them for wanting to make peace with their neighbors? They are sharing what God has given them in the name of peace. We are supposed to share our material gifts. This confuses me. They have been terrorized for so long. They have suicide bombers and missiles being launched right into their cities. So, has Palestinians. There are Palestinian Christians that want peace too. I know there aren’t many but they are there. How can we bring peace to that region without it having an end-times implication? Old question: I have been thinking we are mystery Babylon and we will be persecuted for our falling away from God. But, then I took faith in that if we are mystery Babylon that God would send an angel to warn us to flee when the time came. And if God was gonna tell us to flee then he would provide for our needs as he did for Lot when Lot fled from Sodom and Gomorra. Your answer: Well, more specifically I believe that New York City is Mystery Babylon. In terms of fleeing I would agree and would also agree that God would provide the needs. All though it is possible, I don't think it probable that God would provide any more manna for us than He did for Lot. But I do think that among God's ways of providing it will be people who have put up the "provisions in Summer," like the ant, that will be where we are guided to by His Holy Spirit. Historically it was during the Great Depression that many homeless and hungry people found sustenance at the back doors of homes across the country. These homes gave from what they had stored away and I believe it was one way God provided for the people of the land. Two questions arise out of this: First: Did you say that it will be just New York City because in Rev 18:18 mystery Babylon is referred to as a great city? Why couldn’t it be all of the U.S.? LA, Seattle we have many of the characteristics of New York. Even Chicago, which is referred to as a mini New York. The U.S. has many hidden bases around the country. If the entire country (or at least the east coast) wasn’t taken out would it really put an end to the U.S. as a super power? Would taking out New York be enough? A different question, how would New York be guilty of the blood of the saints? Rev 18:24. Wouldn’t that be Washington? Second: I can see the wisdom in the rest of your statement. If New York is mystery Babylon then they will be warned to leave and it will be up to other believers to take the people in. But, if it is all of the U.S., I don’t think we can do anything to prepare. That would be fleeing to Canada for us and probably Mexico for you. If the countries took us in we would be refugees. Since it would be the second half of the tribulation, we would be asked to take “the mark”. So, we would be persecuted anyway. I keep praying for God to show me a clear path as to what to do. You wrote: Am I missing something here? I have been talking to my husband about preparing an emergency kit for terrorism but not for the tribulation. My response: Well, you may have answered your own question here. Why should we be selective about which disasters we prepare for? Why prep for terrorism and not for a hurricane or 3.5 years of desolation (tribulation)? Ironically, a general emergency kit will give you the very basics to initially cope with most disasters, be they hurricane, desolation or what have you. Final thought: We have to be selective as to what disaster we prepare for. What exactly we will be preparing for will determine how much we actually prepare. If I am only preparing for a hurricane (not in Michigan but for argument sake) we would have less to prepare for than if we were preparing for the tribulation. In the hurricane example state agencies and agencies like the Red Cross come in to help the people. There are many sources of help. But, if we are preparing for the second half of the tribulation, I am picturing a world where we would not be able to live among non-believers. Our homes won’t do much good. We won’t be able to buy or sell goods. It is a different kind of preparation. Once again I appreciate any insight you can give. In Christ, K. |
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My answer: Hi K., You're welcome, it was my pleasure. You wrote: Again we don’t know that for certain the next treaty will be “the one”. My response: Yes and no. No in the sense that if the Road Map is not implemented then obviously the rebellion has not occurred. Yes if the Road Map is implemented then we will know that this is the one. Don't be confused by the disengagement plan. It is not the rebellion covenant. It is just a component of the covenant with death. I'll explain more in my answers to your following points and questions. You wrote: I don’t think they detest their heritage. My response: I would agree, but I never said they would despise their heritage. I said they would despise their inheritance, the land. The difference is enormous of course. They can still celebrate their heritage as Jews without the land, but the land itself is what God gave Israel as her reward in exchange for her obedience in the covenant God made with Abraham. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." Genesis 15:18-21. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. Genesis 17:1-9. You wrote: I understand the covenant, but would God penalize Israel for giving away such a small piece of land. Wouldn’t God praise them for wanting to make peace with their neighbors? They are sharing what God has given them in the name of peace. My response: Remember my Sister, we must not lean upon our own understanding. The antichrist himself will come proclaiming peace and safety. As you can see from the covenant scripture above, the land was to be an everlasting possession. That means they have no authority to give it away. In the Patriarchal society that Abraham lived in that meant that the land belongs to God who gave it to His children to use. God can take the land away temporarily by war when the children are disobedient, as He has done in the past, but it will always be given back to a remnant of obedient children. Israel can never give away the land, no matter how small, because it is God's. To do so would be to despise the covenant God made with them via Abraham. The land was prized by God and was a special gift. To give it away in exchange for freedom says two things: Their inheritance (land) is not as important as self-preservation and that they will rely on their own strength and cunning rather than seeking refuge in God to protect them as He has done through so much of the twentieth century. Remember that God promised them peace when He would send the Messiah. They are seeking a worldly peace because they are weary of running, hiding and fighting. The worldly peace they seek will be found ultimately in the antichrist when he makes his covenant of death. Israel will indeed have peace and it will seem, at the time, that they made the right decision, but it will anger God. Their peace will only last 3.5 years before the desolation begins. You wrote: We are supposed to share our material gifts. This confuses me. My response: Our material gifts also belong to God, but unlike the land God gave Israel our goods are not our inheritance. We are not only free to give them to those less fortunate, but we are encouraged in scripture to do so. This is not the case with the Holy Land. In fact, the land will be our inheritance as well when Yashua comes and joins us to Israel. You wrote: They have been terrorized for so long. They have suicide bombers and missiles being launched right into their cities. So, has Palestinians. There are Palestinian Christians that want peace too. I know there aren’t many but they are there. How can we bring peace to that region without it having an end-times implication? My response: Yes, the terror is dreadful for
both sides, but compared to the desolation it seems like a walk
in the park. I think there is some error in your thinking that
should be cleared up before you can see the whole picture in
a clearer sense. It is not our responsibility to bring peace
to Jerusalem. God said that He would do it. He will do it when
He comes again to establish His everlasting kingdom on earth.
This is the peace of Jerusalem that we are to pray for. Yes,
we should also pray for peace now for the sake of God's faithful
who reside in the land, but only God's peace will do. We must
have compassion for all humanity, but we must never let compassion
blur the lines between God's chosen and those who hate Israel.
The devil has designs on Mount Zion. He wants to seat his son,
the antichrist, on the throne of God's Temple (when rebuilt)
in order to consummate his rule over earth. This is a mirror
of what God will do with His son, Yashua, when He comes to legitimately
set up His kingdom by violently overthrowing the illegitimate
kingdom of Satan. The end-times will most certainly come. God
has ordained it and set for it an appointed time. When God says
there is an appointed time then nothing can change it. You wrote: First: Did you say that it will be just New York City because in Rev 18:18 mystery Babylon is referred to as a great city? Why couldn’t it be all of the U.S.? LA, Seattle we have many of the characteristics of New York. Even Chicago, which is referred to as a mini New York. My response: This may seem complex without
the proper understanding of other things. One facet of this complex
scenario is that the world does not want the US to be destroyed.
Not even Jihadists want to destroy America. They would rather
gain control over her and curtail her power and influence. In
order to destroy American influence over the world one has to
destroy and rebuild the world economic system that is controlled
by the US dollar which in turn is controlled by the financial
centers in NYC. NYC is the financial capital of the world. She
is the trade capital of the world. She is the seat of world government
(the UN). Look at what 9/11 did to our economy. Imagine NYC going
up in a mushroom cloud -- horrible! The world government would
disappear, the world economy would grind to a halt. The world
will not be able to trade their goods to the US. America would
become a crippled version of what Russia looked like after communism
fell . . . only worse! 3Then the angel carried
me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting
on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names
and had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in
purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones
and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable
things and the filth of her adulteries. 5This title was written
on her forehead: When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. 9"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." 15Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. 18The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." Revelation 17. Look closely at this scripture.
The prostitute rules over the earth. Ninety-nine out of every
hundred people asked would name NYC as the city that rules over
the earth. The world government rules from there as does the
world economy. It is also very clear from the context that the
prostitute is only one city. You wrote: The U.S. has many hidden bases around the country. If the entire country (or at least the east coast) wasn’t taken out would it really put an end to the U.S. as a super power? Would taking out New York be enough? My response: Having military power isn't enough, it is who wields that power that is most significant. For all of its flaws Washington has not been tyrannical or dictatorial in its powers, but take away its financial power and the replace it with a savior that will help you get back on your feet and suddenly American power becomes a force for evil in the wrong hands. America is prepared to lose Washington, but we are not prepared to lose NYC. Human nature being what it is I am certain that there are many waiting in the wings to take power in Washington and do the Antichrist's bidding. How do you think people would vote if NYC disappeared and the US economy shriveled up? They will vote with their fear. They will sell out the constitution if the government promises to take care of them. You wrote: A different question, how would New York be guilty of the blood of the saints? Rev 18:24. Wouldn’t that be Washington? My response: The answer is really found in the context of Rev 17 & 18. The answer is economic. Washington acts to preserve its cash cow, NYC. The power of Washington, the UN and the West is found in NYC. Washington will do whatever the markets ask for. Destroy NYC and Washington will become powerless economically. NYC is the engine behind the world's economy and the financial strength of our military. 2With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. This verse sets the stage. In other words in an open market economy anything goes. Once the general morality has been sufficiently eroded then we are set for the next step: 12"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will make war against the Lamb . . . We must remember that the world will not generally make war knowingly against Yashua and His believers. We will be singled out because by our refusal to take the mark we stand against the new world economic system and therefore will be perceived as a threat to it. Greed is the main foundation of the murder of Christians. Our presence is the presence of God and stands in the way of an immoral free-for-all in the world's markets. It is the greed of Wall Street that leads governments, business and peoples to kill and torture those who stand in the way. When the economic power of the West has been broken it will be replaced with an Islamic economy of war. You wrote: Second: I can see the wisdom in the rest of your statement. If New York is mystery Babylon then they will be warned to leave and it will be up to other believers to take the people in. But, if it is all of the U.S., I don’t think we can do anything to prepare. That would be fleeing to Canada for us and probably Mexico for you. If the countries took us in we would be refugees. Since it would be the second half of the tribulation, we would be asked to take “the mark”. So, we would be persecuted anyway. I keep praying for God to show me a clear path as to what to do. My response: I agree with your reasoning, but
the flaw is in your error over, "the second half of the
tribulation." First, your understanding will greatly increase
when you see that there is no 7-year tribulation. The Bible never
mentions such an event for that time span, this comes from pre-trib
mythology in which they twist the scriptures in order for their
rapture myth to make sense. In Daniel 9:27 we see the seven year
covenant made by the antichrist. It initially is a peace covenant.
He breaks the covenant halfway through by abolishing the sacrifices
and setting up the abomination in the Temple. Daniel tells us
that this abomination will cause the desolation. Jesus also referred
to this time as the desolation. Yes, it will be a time of tribulation,
but the word tribulation is not given the significant meaning
of a time period in the Bible like the word desolation which
the angels told Daniel would last 3.5 years. You wrote: Final thought: We have to be selective as to what disaster we prepare for. What exactly we will be preparing for will determine how much we actually prepare. If I am only preparing for a hurricane (not in Michigan but for argument sake) we would have less to prepare for than if we were preparing for the tribulation. In the hurricane example state agencies and agencies like the Red Cross come in to help the people. There are many sources of help. My response: Your reasoning has some foundational
assumptions that are in error. As a former owner of a survival
kit and equipment business I can tell you that all kits for all
disasters have the same basic components. The differences are
found in the peripheral items that are specialized to specific
tasks, for example gas masks. You wrote: But, if we are preparing for the second half of the tribulation, I am picturing a world where we would not be able to live among non-believers. Our homes won’t do much good. We won’t be able to buy or sell goods. It is a different kind of preparation. My response: I kind of just addressed this, but I wanted to add to your understanding. When you read my preparation pages on my web site you will find that I have made statements about our preparations being not just for ourselves. They will be for other believers, but also to ease the suffering of the unbelievers around us. Don't let Hollywood depict what the end-times will be like. They only have part of the picture. In many ways the world will go on functioning just as it always has. Jesus even told us that people will be marrying and being given into marriage right up to the last day. Believers will be in hiding in many places while living right out in the open in other places. Persecution will come in waves followed by "normalcy." Some of us will flee when persecuted from one town to the next while others will spend the desolation in the same house they have now. The main idea when you plan your preparations is to plan for the worst case scenario even though we don't really know if it will befall us or even what the worst case scenario is. Worst case preparations always address the basics: Water, food, shelter and warmth . . . no different than for a hurricane, because a hurricane might be the worst case scenario for some of us. Wow, I have spent some time on this, but I felt that you had good questions and just needed help seeing the bigger picture. I hope I have helped. I won't always be able to invest this kind of effort since there are many others who also seek answers, but I will be glad to answer your questions on a smaller scale ;o) I pray that I have served you well. In the service of the LORD Jesus, Randy |
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