Who Will Be Left Behind?
"Not everyone who says to Me, "˜Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, "˜Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, "˜I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" "" Matthew 7:21""23 (NASB)
Life is rarely predictable. When Moriel published my recent article, "Is the Rapture Really Taking As Many As You Think?", I mentally braced myself for what I anticipated to be an email avalanche of negative responses mostly having to do with eschatology for such things as the timing of the Rapture or the nature of the Tribulation. I never anticipated that there would be a response expressing the assertion that I was fostering some kind of spiritual elitism, that I was proposing that only those who "have it all together" will leave the "have-not's" behind. The term that I used repeatedly throughout the article was "the faithful", so I am fascinated that this scriptural term is associated by so many with some kind of spiritually snobby elite group of people. But putting aside for a moment that such visceral reaction clouded the plain truth of what was actually written, I think the worthy question behind all the emotion is, "How can you possibly know who is going to be left behind?" For the same foundational reason I provided in the previous article: it will be the same ones who were "left behind" at Jesus' First Coming.
Is the Rapture Really Taking As Many As You Think?
"Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left." "" Matthew 24:40""41 (NASB)
which depicts what is probably the most mainstream concept of how the Rapture is envisioned to work. It shows a Sunday morning church service where the pastor is preaching about the Rapture to a congregation of a couple hundred when the dramatic sound of thunder takes all but a handful "in the twinkling of an eye". (1 Co. 15:52) The miserable few who are left behind are dazed and shocked in a now almost empty church as more than 95% of the congregation were instantly translated in the Rapture. At the risk of filling up my email beyond its theoretical capacity, I am going to ask you to consider whether it is really going to happen like that. Do you think everyone currently attending church is going to be snatched up as portrayed in the video? I think it is opposite of that. If I were making the video, 190 people would be sitting there wondering what happened to the 10 or so whose disappearance was so unobtrusive to that Sunday morning service that they begin with a search to see if they are in the bathroom or parking lot.
How Joel Touched a Nerve
by Pastor Bill Randles
Yesterday a young man quietly stepped out onto a wrestling mat in Iowa and defaulted an opening round match in a tournament that he was highly favored to win. In a prepared, brief and modestly worded statement, He explained that his action was an expression of His christian faith.
How They Deny Jesus"¦
Pastor Bill Randles
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.(2 Timothy 3:1-5)
There is a frightening phenomenon that I have observed lately. I have been seeing the unhappy spectacle of young people, between their teens and early thirties, reared in the evangelical subculture, yet  denying Christ.
Understanding Our Times
Well, here you go. The very same videos with which Christians flooded my email celebrating the imminent Return of Christ are the very same ones being credited by non-believers as pointing to Maitreya's arrival in this article. Just in case you haven't heard, this quote from the article explains who Maitreya is: "Many now expect the return of their awaited Teacher, whether they call him the Christ, Messiah, the fifth Buddha, Krishna, Kalki Avatar or the Imam Mahdi." Bible-believing Christians who understand the times in which we live know this "Teacher" to be nothing less than the ultimate Antichrist.
The Wilderness Then and Now in Afrikaans
Die wildernis van gister en nou.
"Want ek wil nie hê, broeders, dat julle nie sou weet nie dat ons vaders almal onder die wolk was en almal deur die see deurgegaan het, en almal in Moses gedoop is in die wolk en in die see, en almal dieselfde geestelike spys geëet het, en almal dieselfde geestelike drank gedrink het, want hulle het gedrink uit 'n geestelike rots wat gevolg het, en die rots was Christus. Maar God het in die meeste van hulle geen welgevalle gehad nie, want hulle is neergeslaan in die woestyn"¦ Maar al hierdie dinge het hulle oorgekom as voorbeelde en is opgeskrywe as 'n waarskuwing aan ons op wie die eindes van die eeue gekom het." (1 Kor.10: 1-5,11)
Witnessing with Bible Prophecy
by Jackie Alnor
The natural outcome of recognizing the signs of the times for the Christian should be the urgency to share the gospel with others. It is inconceivable to think about the looming wrath of God being poured out upon those we love who will be left behind if they do not receive the free gift of salvation before the rapture.
It has truthfully been said that "apologetics is the handmaiden of evangelism." You cannot proclaim the truth without being prepared to defend it. The defense of the faith and the proclamation of it are two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other.
When witnessing to others it is so important to find common ground upon which to begin the conversation. There are no formulas to follow; we must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit because we cannot argue anyone into the Kingdom. It is a work of God upon the heart and all we can be are vessels God uses to speak on His behalf. Those who have ears to hear will listen, and those who have been given over to their own devices will respond accordingly.
To keep reading go to link:
http://rrrapostasyalert.blogspot.com/2011/01/december-31st-show-witnessing-with.html
Comment on Discernment vs. Apologetics
Moriel just published Jackie Alnor's article, "Discernment Ministries vs. Apologetics Ministries: Is There A Difference?" to which Jacob added the following...
The line between apologetics and discernment is indeed nebulous. In the earlier years with Dr. Walter Martin, etc. "apologetics" mainly meant cult evangelism. With the apostasy of the last 25 - 30 years however, much of what had been considered "evangelicism" is also now cultic and just as heretical as the Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons.
Discernment Ministries vs. Apologetics Ministries: Is There A Difference?
Apostasy Alert
The field of the Christian study of apologetics stems from the command of scripture to:
"Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." [Jude 3]
Jude was not addressing some uniquely called individuals in the church to some special office like pastor or evangelist, but makes it clear in the first verse that he was calling all believers to the task. "To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." [Jude 1]
Yet over the years the defense of the faith against "every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God" [2 Cor. 10:5) has become specialized due to the superabundance of cults, heresies, and isms that attack the faith from within and without the professing church.
As America Celebrates Christmas, Rev. Franklin Graham Says Secular 'War' Rages Against Christians
Friday, 24 Dec 2010 03:58 PM
By David A. Patten and Kathleen Walter
As Americans gather with their families to celebrate Christmas, the Rev. Franklin Graham decries the continuing cultural "war" against Christ and his believers.
The campaign against Christianity rages "not just in America, but in many countries around the world," the noted evangelist and son of world-renowned preacher Billy Graham declares during an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV.
Also during his Christmas message to America via Newsmax, Graham reveals that his inspirational father fully intends to return to the pulpit. The last time the elder Graham preached was in July 2006, during a revival at Baltimore's Camden Yards. But Franklin says his father's joy during the Christmas season remains undiminished.
"My father loves Christmas because we're celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and my father, his entire life has been about sharing this wonderful message of God's love for the world," he says.
Read more: As America Celebrates Christmas, Rev. Franklin Graham Says Secular 'War' Rages Against Christians