Answers

What bothers me about these numbers is that I think we can all agree
that at least ONE PERCENT of society is mentally unstable but able to
function in society with the help of drugs and counseling. I am sure
its MUCH HIGHER than that but to be on the conservative side I will
say ONE PERCENT. Now at least 10 percent of those are potentially
dangerous on any given day. Taking the 16 million (probably more)
who think Jesus will come back on or around 1/1/2000 and doing the
mental-case math, it seems we have at least 16,000 people who are
likely to do something very bad on or around 1/1/2000. It only takes
1 person with a gun or bomb to kill a whole lot of people.

I am not a doomer (evident in my recent posts) but this scenario
has been bugging me for more than a year and now I have numbers to
back it up.

If 16,000 people "go off" during the roll over we are going to see
some exciting news stories. I think I will stay home for the holidays.

A commonly held belief among "interpreters" of the book of
Revelations is that the anti-christ must come to power for a contract
of 7 year's(peace plan) and then break the peace(half way through)
and start a massive war.

If that interpretation is true(me thinks so), then if the anti-christ
were to take power today, Jesus couldn't return untill at LEAST
sometime in 2003.

A few years ago I was in our drugstore and ran into the pharmacist in
an aisle. I asked him about the huge crowds lining up for
prescriptions, it was flu season and I reasoned that by the long lines
it must be pretty bad. He said "Oh no, it's everyone lined up for
their anti-deppressants. The period between Thanksgiving and
Christmas always TERRIBLE".

I'd be suprised if your figures shouldn't be much higher. I'm also
concerned for several people in my neighborhood { & their families }
who have serious chemical imbalances...I'm gonna stop here before I
start ranting.

Add to that the 30 percent increase in gun sales in CA this year { 50
percent for long guns}, normal holiday stress, fear, uncertainty...
not a good witch's brew.

At last, someone who has read the book, and understood the plain
language written therein.

This beast/governmental/religious/monetary system (antichrist) has yet
to emerge in it's fullness. We have time yet to learn the most
painful lessons before God has to come down here to straighten out the
mess we have made and save our sorry behinds.

No man knows the day nor the hour so you can drop any bets at Vegas.

All we are commanded to do is watch the signs of the times.

Those idiots that think they can "force" God to return by causing
violence are just as deluded as those that expect a Messiah Touchdown
at the Mount of Olives on 01/01/00.

The first group is just plain dangerous. Then again, the world's
religions haven't a history of kindness and passivism.

True Christians understand patiently waiting and working on their own
character.

Point 1: Today there is a gross misunderstanding of what
Christianity really is. Adolf Hitler and many Nazis claimed to be
Christians, as do some radical factions in this country, but are
they? A Christian is not someone who just holds a certain set of
doctrines or spouts the name of Jesus. When someone becomes a true
Christian, he has a changed heart and he literally becomes a
different kind of person. He believes the Bible and obeys it - a book
which contains such dictums as:

"Love your enemies."
"Bless them that curse you."
"Love thy neighbor as thyself."
"Do good to them which hate."
"Pray for them that persecute you."
"Forgive those who trespass against you."
"Be at peace with all men."
"Be kind one to another:"

Now those arent the mores of some wild-eyed terrorist bomber, so
despite Renos protests to the contrary, a true Christian would
commit NONE of the violent or terrorist acts that the uninformed
suggest they might.

Point 2: Just a tiny minority of Christians believe that Jesus will
return by 1/1/2000. Taking current understandings of Bible prophecy
into consideration, that event might take place before AD2007, though
nobody really knows. Exact date setters are considered to be
heretical.

Invar and Elskon, thank you for your clear and careful explanations on
behalf of true Christians. It always amazes me the amount of
misinformation there is in our society about the use of the word
Christian to define someone, either oneself or others. Many confuse
the word Christian with the word "gentile," and nowadays many confuse
the word Christian with far right-wing radical television preachers,
who may or may not actually be Christians. It also greatly pains me
that so much negative perception exists about the historical role of
people calling themselves Christians doing horrific things to others,
i.e., the Crusades, the burning at the stake of "heretics," etc. And
that it should be perceived that true Christians would lead others
into future acts of violence amazes and distresses me. Jesus and His
true followers were and taught just the opposite, and true Christians
today attempt to emulate Him and follow His teachings of love and
compassion, morality and relationship to the Father.

As we, the American people, approach the new millennium, we face
many troubling questions. One is: How can we, as a nation, be sure
that we have spelled ``millennium'' correctly? The easiest way is to
remember the old poem that we were all taught back in elementary
school:

Two ``n''s and two ``l''s

You've spelled it quite well

One ``l'' or one ``n''

You're a big fat stupid hen

But an even bigger question facing us, as we approach the year
2000, is: Can we, as a nation, get past the divisiveness, the
bitterness, the sliminess -- in short, the Jerry-Springer-ness that
plagued us throughout 1998? It will not be easy. The American public
is still deeply divided, according to a recent Gallup Poll showing
that:

-- 72 percent of the public agrees with the statement ``President
Clinton has been punished enough.''

-- 71 percent of the public agrees with the statement ``President
Clinton has not been punished enough.''

-- 73 percent of the public agrees with the statement ``The Grand
Canyon was created by a race of fierce, prune-eating hamsters from
space.''

These poll results remind us, as if we needed reminding, that the
public cannot be trusted to decide any issue more complex than ``eat
in'' vs. ``take out.''...

The Scripture in no way says the world will end, but that it will
live forever and ever. So what does this story really reveal? 104
million Americans live in deception. That's only a part of it though,
as the WHOLE world will be deceived, save the Elect.

Someone tried to hammer you on Decker's bugout thread. He must
think that all that Christians are allowed to do is love everything
and everyone, stay nice and mousey until "we all fly out of here."
That's hardly what I would call standing in the gaps.

Also, Christians... understand this - if you live in fear, that
is not of God, and you are breaking a commandment. Kinda' has a way
of showing a profound LACK of Christianity.

As you must know by now, judging from the venom of the post on
Decker's bugout thread, They hated Him and they will hate those that
stand for Him. A "Prophet" translate quite simply to *a spokesman for
God*, nothing more. Although I would never presume to use the title,
everyone thinks that it has to be some type of "seer" or some such
nonsense. The only true seeing ability that anyone can get is from
reading the back of the book. Many believe themselves Christian, but
they don't even know, as they are described, that they are naked, (no
garments - or righteous acts), and wretched, miserable, poor and
BLIND.

As for standing forth and speaking what I know... Are we not
admonished to "Cry aloud and spare not?" I'm your huckleberry.

You keep declaring the premillennial dispensational view as fact,
while the church worldwide and even major denominations here in
America are predominately amillennial. Whats more, there is a
scriptural problem with premillennialism. Please be patient with me
for making this a rather long and nit-picking post. The I's are
dotted and the T's are crossed, because if the Scripture verses
quoted below mean what they say, then our end-time views need
rethinking.

1Th 4:16-17 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

All agree that those verses refer to the so-called "rapture" of the
Church. In fact, 1 Th 4:16-17 is one of the central passages in
Scripture that supports the physical return of the Lord Jesus to this
Earth. Note the WE. Paul was speaking to the Church of which he was
part and we have every scriptural reason to believe that WE also
includes us: you and I and the rest of the church. That's relatively
simple, isn't it? Also note that Jesus is returning with the "trumpet
of God."

But the Bible is full of trumpets, including seven in Revelation, so
the next logical question is this: Of all the trumpets in the Bible,
at which one is the Church taken to be with the Lord?

1Co 15:51-52 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; WE shall not all sleep,
but WE shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and WE shall be changed."

So WE are taken to be with the Lord at the LAST trumpet. That trumpet
is singular, so no other trumpets are blown with it. Also, there are
no modifiers such as, "except the trumpets of judgment," or "except
the trumpets in Revelation." That needs to be emphasized:

There are NO exceptions! Not one Bible trumpet is left out, so we
will be on Earth through SIX of the seven trumpets in Revelation!
Now, the last Bible trumpet, number SEVEN, blows in Rev 11:15, but
the conditions surrounding that trumpet blast are described in
chapter ten:

Rev 10:6-7 (KJV) ". . . that there should be time no longer: But in
the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to
sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to
his servants the prophets."

What a tremendous verse. If there is a central Scripture about the
chronology of the Lord's return, Rev 10:6-7 has to be it. As is true
of every other creation of this present age, when the seventh trumpet
sounds, it also appears that time itself will come to an end. That's
important, because understanding time coming to an end affects our
end-time doctrine.

1. The "mystery of God" is the Church in Christ Jesus. So the Church
as a betrothed body of believers on Earth will be concluded at this
trumpet.

2. "As He hath declared to His servants the prophets." Which
prophets is the Lord speaking of? We don't see any excluded, so these
prophets are all the prophets in the Bible, both Old Testament and
New. All prophecy relating to this age will be fulfilled at this
trumpet.

Now let's look at the verse where that seventh trumpet sounds - right
in the middle of Revelation, after the Seven Churches, after the
Seven Seals, after six other trumpets, and after the Two Witnesses:

Rev 11:15 "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices
in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for EVER and EVER."

The 7th angel sounds, and the Lord reigns forever. Right then,
forever! After that trumpet blows, there won't be time for a
tribulation, or for a 1000-year millennium.

One More time: AFTER THAT TRUMPET BLOWS, THERE WON'T BE TIME FOR A
TRIBULATION, OR FOR A 1000-YEAR MILLENNIUM.

We go straight into the eternal Kingdom of God when the last trumpet
sounds, at the SAME TIME we are taken to be with the Lord. Despite
differing doctrines, that is the chronological picture as declared by
Scripture. So when is the great tribulation? Matthew 24:21 tells us
there will be one. Well, the Greek word for tribulation is thlipsis,
also translated affliction and trouble. Thlipsis, used 37 times in
the New Testament, almost always refers to the suffering of the
saints. Here are a couple of familiar verses:

Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. In the world ye shall have [thlipsis] tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Rom 12:12 "Rejoicing in
hope; patient in [thlipsis] tribulation; continuing instant in
prayer." 2Th 1:4 "So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches
of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and
[thlipsis] tribulations that ye endure."

Generally speaking, the unsaved don't go through thlipsis; they are
destined for orgy or thumos. Orgy and thumos are the Greek words for
wrath. So we saints will suffer tribulation during the Christian Era,
but we are not destined unto a final wrath, but unto eternal
salvation. The wicked are destined unto wrath, the judgment of the
Great White Throne, and the second death. So when is "the great
tribulation"? Revelation tells us:

Rev 1:9 "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in THE
Tribulation (NASB), and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for
the testimony of Jesus Christ."

May God forgive us for forgetting the terrible suffering the saints
have already endured. Between two and twenty million Christians
killed by the Roman Empire in tortures unimaginable. Up to twelve
million more during the middle age by the Catholic church. In our own
generation alone, the Nazis murdered six million Jews, and up to five
million Christians. So how bad do you have to die to be in "The
Tribulation?" We don't read The Pilgrim Church, Fox's Book of
Martyrs, or Martyrs Mirror anymore, so we have lost our sense of
history.

The Lord has permitted the enemy to blind our eyes and we have lost
sight of the Lord's big spiritual picture. The Great Tribulation of
the Church began with the stoning of Stephen, and continued until
the "time of the Gentiles" control of Jerusalem ended (1967). In
fact, since the true saints have suffered terribly ever since the
cross, the "Great Tribulation" that Jesus spoke of may be His name
for this whole age.

Oh yes, and one more point: Revelation is bifidic and chiasmic, so
chapters 12-20 of Revelation are a repeat prophecy covering the SAME
TIME as the chapters 2-11, i.e., the whole Christian Era.