Pro and Con 318

Uploaded 5-12-99

Incoming Email

I wanted to tell you a few things...I started reading your books a little over 2 years ago, and it helped to bring me back to the Lord. Last year, in May, I really thought that I would be ready for the Rapture, but now that I look back, I really don't think that I would have been. I AM NOW though. I just wanted to thank you not just for your books, but for also helping me to view the Bible in a different light. There is so much more knowledge in that one book than just appears on the surface. You've helped me to realize many of the hidden meanings and secrets contained in it. It has taken on a totally new dimension for me. I've been married for almost 4 years now, and it is very easy for me to liken my relationship to Christ, as I liken myself to my wife. It just seems so obvious now. If we can just maintain a relationship with our spouses in the same light that we do with Christ, then it becomes a perfect marriage. I have learned to appreciate my wife so much more, just from reading the Scriptures in that way. My life has been COMPLETELY transformed in the last year, and it is utterly amazing. I hadn't attended church since I was 13 (I'm 30 now) and in the last year, my wife and I have found a wonderful Baptist church that is so full of life and the Spirit, that more times than not, I can hardly keep myself from bursting into tears of Joy during services. I feel so alive now. So overcome with the POWER of God. It is simply AWESOME. Now, when I look back on my life, I just can't believe that I didn't see all this sooner. I completely missed out for all those years. I was into heavy drugs, partying, unmarital sex. Just about anything you can imagine, I was into. I don't regret those things now though, because now that I know the Truth and now that it has made such a profound change in my life, it serves as a powerful witness to all of the people who knew me before and after my rebirth. If you could have only seen me a year and a half ago. I had hair down to my bottom (Not that there's really anything wrong with that) and I looked completely scary. I used to pride myself in how 'wicked' I looked. I've gone from that, to now I'm becoming a youth minister. I know that God gets all the credit for this change, but Marilyn, I have to say that you played a humongous role in my life. You helped me to see the Word and the Bible as something that is So ALIVE still today, as it was when it was written and spoken. I always believed in God(Or so I thought) but I had never REALLY put my faith in Him, and let Him work through me in my life. When I read John 14:14 now, those words have so much meaning to me now than they ever could have before. IT'S all true. I know it was probably wrong to test those words, but I did it anyway, several times. AND EVERY TIME I DID, THEY CAME TRUE. There hasn't been one thing that I have trusted in the Lord for, that hasn't come to pass, when I believed in Him and what I said with all my heart. All I can say to you Marilyn, is that you helped to save a life and bring utter Joy and happiness to a man, who previously could not see any better than a blind man, when it came to God's promises. I love you Marilyn, and GOD RULES!!!!!!! Love...

P.S. ...Sorry for the long e mail, but I just HAD to tell you my testimony. Please don't EVER get discouraged by what you are doing. Surely you've affected others in the same way as you have my wife and I. Now, I truly understand the meaning of Agape Love......Blessings...

My reply

My, what a wonderful testimony. You brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing this with me.

You should be able to help young people that are going through what you have. Some of the 19 young people (around 19 years old too) that came to our house c. 1969/70 to study the Bible with me had gone through some of these things you mention. I remember several members of the group staying up all night praying with one who had flashbacks from drugs he had taken earlier in his life. Drugs are a sign of our times. Rev. 18:23 says, "for by thy sorceries (pharmakeia, medication, drugs, sorcery, witchcraft) were all nations deceived." Thank God you are out of that now....

Incoming Email

"But about that day and hour, NO ONE KNOWS, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but ONLY THE FATHER." (Matt.24: 36).

"Keep awake, therefore, for you do NOT know on what day you Lord is coming." (Matt 24:42)

"Therefore you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an UNEXPECTED hour." (Matt 24:44).

As for what you said about "He is near..." Yes, I agree. It says repeatedly in the Bible that He is near and His time is coming soon. But, God's reference to near is not exactly the same as ours. When most people think of near, they think sometime within the next day or so. In Genesis, it says that it took God 7 days to create the world. I do believe God created the world and everything on the earth was created by God, but scientists have proved that there are millions of years in between the evolution of man and the first forms of plant life. That shows right there that one of God's days is not the same as one of our days. I am not making any prediction about when He will come, but I am trying to show you that it doesn't matter which way you read the Bible, or how long you study the Bible, you cannot predict when the Son of Man will return to the earth. The Bible warns against false prophets. In accordance with the Scripture, it would seem that predicting when the Rapture is to occur is a false prophecy, therefore, in a way, that would make you a false prophet. Please e-mail me back with your opinions and/or other biblical reference that you have defending your opinion. My dad wrote you the first time...(my e-mail was sent back to him). I would, however, like to hear from you as well. I am not judging your opinions in any way or saying that I am right. I base my opinion solely on what is written in the Scripture and I mean no offense to you if I have caused any. In Christian love

My reply

> "But about that day and hour, NO ONE KNOWS, neither the angels of
> heaven, nor the Son, but ONLY THE FATHER." (Matt.24: 36).

"KNOWS" is present tense. On that day no man knew.

> "Keep awake, therefore, for you do NOT know on what day you Lord is coming." (Matt 24:42)

"YOU" refers back to the one that got left behind.

> "Therefore you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an
> UNEXPECTED hour." (Matt 24:44).

"YOU" still refers back to the one that got left behind. The KJV says, "for in such an hour as YE think not the Son of man cometh."

> In Genesis, it says that it took God 7 days to create the world. I do believe God
> created the world and everything on the earth was created by God, but scientists have
> proved that there are millions of years in between the evolution of man and the first
> forms of plant life. That shows right there that one of God's days is not the same as
> one of our days.

The beginning of the Earth was in the dateless past. It was created good in the beginning, but it became waste and desolation. It only took 6 literal 24-hour days for the LORD TO REFASHION THE EARTH TO MAKE IT A FIT HABITAT FOR ADAM AND EVE. IF THE NIGHT HAD BEEN SOMETHING LIKE 500 YEARS LONG, THE PLANTS WOULD HAVE DIED. HE WILL DO THE SAME THING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MILLENNIUM, FOR AN ASTEROID IMPACT WILL HAVE DESTROYED CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT.

I didn't mean to capitalize that. It just happened. Neither the shift key nor caps lock key was down.

> I am trying to show you that it doesn't matter which way you
> read the Bible, or how long you study the Bible, you cannot predict
> when the Son of Man will return to the earth.

I can tell you that he will return at the Second Advent on Nisan 1. Eze. 29:17 sets the say, "in the first month, in the first day of the month." Then verse 21 says, "In that day (Nisan 1) will I cause the horn (king) of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth (the Word, the Logos) in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD."

> The Bible warns against false prophets.

I don't see how that could apply since I am not a prophet. I just study the scriptures and tell how it looks to me. Agape

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Re: What do you think about this?
BBC Sci/Tech: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_242000/242002.stm

Christmas in September

The star of Bethlehem that guided the wise men to the baby Jesus is a well- known and powerful story for Christians. But do scientists have an explanation for it? Possibly, says our Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse. Historical research suggests that it is likely that it was the year 7 BC when a group of wise men, probably more than three of them, arrived at the court of King Herod asking him: "Where is he that is born the King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him."

The Star of Bethlehem is only mentioned in the Gospel of St. Matthew. It is not a dramatic light in the sky, but a more subtle message to those looking for it. The Star of Bethlehem is also mentioned in a non-biblical text called the Protoevangelium of St James.

Here the description of the star is very different: "And the wise men said: 'We saw how an indescribably greater star shone among these stars and dimmed them so that they no longer shone.'"

The explanation for this difference may lie with the need for the writer of the Protoevangelium to associate the Messiah with a great star on the principle that, without a great star, there could be no great Messiah.

Clues in the text

The star had to have appeared before Herod died, some time before 11th April 4 BC. Also the reason why Joseph and Mary had travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem was the census decreed by Emperor Augustus around 8 BC.

Another clue is that the arrival of the wise men came as a great surprise to Herod. This indicates that his advisors had not seen the star.

Notice also that the wise men said they saw the star in the east. This is thought to be an error in translation from 'en te anatole' which is a phrase that has a special astronomical significance. It means that the star was up all night. It rose as the Sun set and set as the Sun rose.

This is one of the five principal astrological positions of the Babylonians when a celestial body was thought to have its maximum influence on world events.

In Matthew we have one of the major problems in the interpretation of the Star of Bethlehem. The wise men said that the star 'went before them' and stood over where Jesus was born. This we cannot explain.

Jupiter and Saturn

So these are the clues. Is there anything that gives a satisfactory explanation for them?

Many objects and events have been suggested, exploding stars, shooting stars or meteors, the planet Venus, close approaches of Jupiter and Saturn and even Halley's Comet. Some explanations can be discounted immediately. Ancient astrologers would have known all about Venus.

Halley's Comet was spotted by the Chinese in August 12 BC and, unlike its recent dismal showing, it would have been a spectacular sight in the night sky. But to be the Star of Bethlehem it was four years early.

There is, however, another significant clue a millennia after the life of Christ. In 1377, an unknown author wrote in the chronicles of Worcester Priory about an event that happened in 1285 AD. The planets Jupiter and Saturn had come close together in the sky in the constellation of Aquarius.

Centuries later, Johannes Kepler, last of the great astrologer-astronomers, also believed that a conjunction, a term meaning close approach, of Jupiter and Saturn was the Star of Bethlehem.

At Christmas 1603, from his observatory at Hradcyn near Prague, Jupiter and Saturn came close together again in the sky. Kepler was fascinated because the conjunction was in the constellation of Pisces, a constellation with special significance for Israel. Significantly the last time this had happened was in 799 AD and the time before that was 7 BC.

Christmas day

We can calculate what happened to Jupiter and Saturn in 8 and 7 BC and see that Jupiter and Saturn came together in the ancient skies three times. On the 27 May, 7 BC, they paused at one degree apart and two months later had separated to 3 degrees apart.

They came together two more times, being 1 degree apart on October 6th and December 1st before they moved away from each other. It was what astronomers call a triple conjunction.

To astrologers of the time these events were staggering. Saturn was commonly identified with the God of Israel and Jupiter with the Messiah. They had come together in the constellation of Pisces, the water sign. Water falls to Earth and makes it fertile which was believed to be the role of Israel among nations.

If Jesus was born in 7 BC, as many believe, and if the conjunction theory is correct then it points to the birth of Jesus in August or September. We have no way of being sure of the exact day but we could take the so-called acronychal rising of Jupiter and Saturn when they were in the sky all of the night.

If this is so then the correct date for the first Christmas is Tuesday 15th September 7 BC.

The main image features an illuminated star which has been hung inside St. Catherine's chapel in the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

My reply

I disagree with the birth of Jesus in BC 7, and a conjuction, even a triple one, being the star of Bethlehem. I think it was something God did that was more out of the normal course of things. I was very interested in the following quote, as I had never seen it before:

> The Star of Bethlehem is also mentioned in a non-biblical text called
> the Protoevangelium of St James.
>
> Here the description of the star is very different: "And the wise men said:
> 'We saw how an indescribably greater star shone among these stars and dimmed
> them so that they no longer shone.'"
>
> The explanation for this difference may lie with the need for the writer of
> the Protoevangelium to associate the Messiah with a great star on the
> principle that, without a great star, there could be no great Messiah.

I think, why try to explain it away? It took something pretty astonishing to get these men to travel about four months and bring Christ expensive gifts. We had the greatest gamma-ray burster ever seen last Jan. 23, 1999, just 120 days before Pentecost. I'm sure God had something spectacular in mind when the Messiah came the first time.

Now that I think about it, it seems a bit strange that the wise men travelled 4 months (4 x 30 = 120) and the GRB was seen 4 months before Pentecost (Feb., Mar., Apr., May). Is there a correlation? More food for thought.

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> To those in the churches who would be awake --
>
> What happens if Russia decides they want to impose a "peace agreement" in
> Israel regarding the Palestinians just as NATO has taken up the role of a
> global police force? And what will happen if the U.S. threatens to go up
> against the Russians? Will the Russians ignore us just as NATO has ignored
> them in the Yugoslavia fiasco? WW3 is just around the corner. Those
> prophetic voices of late across the country, that Russia will pull off a
> surprise nuclear attack on the U.S., are soon to be fulfilled. Here's a news
> article received today . . .
>
> Russia supports Palestinian state
>
> CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Russia will support an independent Palestinian state
> whenever the Palestinians choose to declare it, Russia's ambassador to Egypt
> was quoted as saying Tuesday. The statement represents a significant shift
> by Russia, which had urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to delay a
> planned declaration of statehood on May 4. Ambassador Vladimir Gougev told
> Egypt's Middle East News Agency that Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov
> had promised such support in a letter to the head of the Arab League, Esmat
> Abdel-Meguid. In April, Ivanov held talks with Arafat in Moscow and said he
> had urged him to delay proclaiming a state May 4 - the deadline for the end
> of negotiations of the final status of the Palestinian territories. See full
> story

***Why are you so worried? Mt. 24:6 says, "ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: SEE THAT YE BE NOT TROUBLED."

> Take a look at this.
> Ezek 38:8-12
> 8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou
> shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is
> gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have
> been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they
> shall dwell safely all of them.
> 9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud
> to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
> 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the
> same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil
> thought:
> 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I
> will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling
> without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
> 12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the
> desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are
> gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell
> in the midst of the land. (KJV)
>
> Most of us are familiar with this portion of scripture. There has been some
> confusion as to which land the Russia confederacy invades. Certainly verse 8
> is clearly speaking of Israel in the latter years (now). But notice in verse
> 11, they come up against the land of unwalled villages. That is the USA.

***No. They come against Israel on the 2300th day of the Tribulation, which is the first day of the Millennium.

> Israel has many walls; we do not. Notice also that the invading army wants
> to take cattle that dwell in the midst (mid-west heartland). Some prophetic
> voices have told us that they will come up over the Arctic and down through
> Canada, Minnesota and into the heartland - after the coastal cities burn
> with nuclear fire. The key to unravel the confusion is found in verse 10.
> The destruction of America is the "evil thought". Furthermore, note the
> words, "at the same time . . . ." In other words, at the same time they
> invade Israel, they will also destroy America.
>
> This will soon come to pass.

***I think it will be the Feast of Trumpets, Sept. 13, 2007.

> These are exciting times to be alive and serving the Lord!
>
> Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
> accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
> stand before the Son of man. (KJV)

***Amen to that.

> -- The Usually Right Reverend ( :- 0 >

Incoming Email

This message is from Down Under!!!! Australia.
I have been astounded by the depth of study and analysis I have seen in your writings, a very big congratulations on all your hard work!!!

I have a couple of general questions for you.

Firstly, what will happen at rapture time to very young children? I am a born again christian. My wife is not. Our daughter is nine months old, and will be eleven and a half months around May 21. Will she be included in God's harvest due to her age of innocence? What about other children of similar age globally?

I would be interested on your thoughts about how current specific world events tie in with biblical prophecy. Specifically the current catastrophe in Kosovo.

I thought we would have started seeing some definite candidates for the anti-christ by now if the rapture was so close. There does not appear to be any individuals on the world stage capable of aggregating such power at the moment.

Finally, the bible talks of a lot of signs that other generations could have interpreted as signifying end times. Eg, "There will be wars and rumours of wars", "Knowledge will increase", etc, etc. Some people might interpret these discussions as no more than good old millenium doomsday talk (ie, the mass mid set associated with the end of a millenium that predicts global apocolypse). Critics argue this is just a manifestation of our collective fear associated with a major time event in world history. I by no means concur with this. How does one counter this attack (specifically if we are trying to persuade the lost to embrace the promise of our Almighty God...

My reply

Thanks.

Children under the age of accountability will go with their believing parents. There is even a chance that an unbelieving spouse will go. Nothing was said whether the wives in the Ark believed or not. Acts 16:31 says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Whether that was true in just that case or in others, we are not told.

> how current specific world events tie in with biblical prophecy.

Wars and rumours of wars, but "see that ye be not troubled" (Mt. 24:6).

> Finally, the bible talks of a lot of signs that other generations
> could have interpreted as signifying end times.

That doesn't mean that those of other times were right. We have more signs converging than any other turn of the millennium has had. They didn't have Israel in the land, Jerusalem in Israeli hands, Israel growing leaves, the Oslo Accords, etc. The Jan. 23 gamma-ray burst being 120 days before Pentecost is something they didn't have either.

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Why do you believe the two witnesses will be Moses and Elijah, rather than Elijah and Enoch?

My reply

That's easy. Rev. 11:4 says, "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."

Zech. 4:14 says of the two olive trees, "These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."

At the Transfiguration, Mt. 17:3 says, "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him" (Jesus).

Colossians 4:10 says these words that were to be read "in the church of the Laodiceans" (4:16), "touching whom ye received commandments (i.e., Moses): if ye come unto you, receive him."

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cynthia roop wrote: Re: Astrology is not from God

you are mixing an abomonation with scripture. God made the stars, but he did not ask us to look to them for answers. He asks us to look only to Him and His word. You are a false prophet.Astrology is satanic, and to use it in any way is just plain stupid. You may say you know the word of God, but to dabble in the occult then teach it as the word of God or revelation from God is wrong wrong wrong. Repent and quit

My reply

And you are mixing astrology (Satanic divination of the supposed influences of the stars upon human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects) with astronomy (the science of the celestial bodies and of their magnitudes, motions, and constitution).

Gen. 1:14 says, "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven (lit. heavens) to divide the day from the night; and let them be for SIGNS, and for seasons, and for days, and years." There is the gospel of Christ told in the heavens if you only have eyes to see it. Satan has tried to pervert it to blind the eyes of man. I do not dabble in the occult at all. I would be deathly afraid to do so. Do you remember what happened to king Saul. He consulted the witch of Endor and died the next day because of it.

Job. 38:31,32 (NIV) says, "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons." The meaning of the names of the stars in the constellations tells a story that you are obviously missing. The names of the constellations also tell a story. Christ is called a lamb and a lion in Scripture. Aries, the ram, and Leo, the lion, represent Christ.

Incoming Email

...this passage has always been an enigma to me, especially verses 8 & 9. You have a discerning spirit, and I was interested in your thoughts on this passage. So much is happening, and so fast. I pray that you and Ed are well; blessings to you both. In His Love

My reply

Lu. 16:8,9 says, "And the lord commended the unjust steward (that was having his stewardship taken away), because he had done wisely (shrewdly, cleverly): for the children of this world are in their generation wiser (yes, like con artists, cunning, sly, crafty) than the children of light. And I say unto you (the one that lost his stewardship), Make to yourselved friends of (lit., by means of) the mammon (money) of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they (the friends made by money of unrighteousness) may receive you into everlasting habitations" (i.e., the "children of this world" will all go to hell.

The rich man did not approve of the unjust steward's action. He took away his stewardship. However, he admitted that the unjust steward was resourceful, but that resourcefulness didn't make him a child "of light," but of darkness. He was still a child "of this world."

Pro and Con 319 Or Return

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