Specify beliefs on the occurance of the coming Kingdom.\nTimeline of the Judgements, and please don't recommend the Left Behind Series as a source!!!
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Revelations is in a special category of literature called apocalypse.  Like biography, gothic, romance etc, it is a literature that has rules that describe it.  All apocalypses are symbolic purely.  They use symbolic language to communicate real world ideas, but are never literal accounts.  There is an entire body of literature called apocalypses.  They are prophetic literature in the sense the recorder is seeing the world through God's eyes.  They are not prophetic in the Isaiah sense, which is a different type of literature and communication.\n\nAnother example is Daniel.  Most Christians do not realize that Daniel has never been a part of the Jewish historical books.  But it, like Job or the Song of Solomon (which I think ended up outside their canon) are in the wisdom literature.  Wisdom literature is made up of non-historical stories that tell a message about God.
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venuscolony,\n\nI hesitate to answer this question because it seems that everyone has an opinion, and an argument over eschatology will only help from one perspective. What do we do with what we believe?\n\nIf there is a rapture, then it could be dangerous to have children because they could be left behind. An education might be a waste of money and time and energy because you might not finish. Do you see my point?\n\nOn the other hand, if we are going to be here during the tribulation, then we would be wise to prepare for the tough times that are coming. There will be persecution of Christians, and we should memorize as much of the Bible as possible before they are confiscated and destroyed. Maybe we should live where we could raise our own food since receiving the mark of the beast will damn those who receive it, but without it you can’t buy and sell.\n\nYou see what we believe about these last days should affect the way that we conduct our lives.\n\nIf we look in the Bible for a rapture, we will only find it in a mistranslation in the Latin Vulgate where the word “apostaseia” which means “falling away” is mistranslated “raptura” in the Latin from which we get our word “rapture.”\n\nThe Bible passage below most clearly defines the timing of Jesus return.\n\nConcerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4\n\nIt’s pretty clear, isn’t it? What did Jesus say about His return?\n\nIn Matthew 24, Jesus reveals things that will signal His return and in Matthew 25, Jesus tells us how to live in these last days. Please, read the 2 chapters for yourself.\n\nLet’s think about Jesus use of the days of Noah as an example of the time of His return. Noah was in the world at a time when there was so much evil that it was hopeless and God destroyed the entire population of the earth except for Noah and his family. Earth must have been a very evil place. God did not remove Noah from the evil of his generation, but He spared Noah from His Own wrath.\n\nThis precedent can be seen elsewhere is the Bible, too. In Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family were there in the evil right up until God’s wrath destroyed the cities. In ancient Egypt, there were 7 plagues that were very destructive, but in every case the Jews were spared God’s wrath. They were enslaved and their lives grew more difficult and they were persecuted, but they were protected from God’s wrath.\n\nI believe that this same precedent holds for our generation. We will not be spared from the evil that is coming, but God will never pour out His wrath on us; however, Jesus said that those days will be cut short for the sake of the elect – that’s us.\n\nThen you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matt 24:9-14\n\nAlso, in Matthew 24, Jesus says that all the nations will see Him approaching – not in stealth – where Christians just turn up missing. Jesus said that everyone who is alive will be aware of His return.\n\nI could go much longer
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Yes to all your questions. It seems we have heard it forever that God will return for those who have made themselves ready. Will we hear it the next thousand years? Don't think so. All you have to do is look in Revelation and see this is truly the last days. All the old prophecies are almost totally fulfilled. The world is just about at the place when God will finish up and do what he said he would do. Most people either don't believe the end is almost here or don't wish to believe it. One day we will know for sure want we?
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I believe as you do, rapture prior to 7 year tribulation\n\nWhy - here is one of several places in the bible that says so....\nI won't list all, to much space taken \n\n1 Thessalonians 4\n16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
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Be thankful people don't use the standards of 2000+ years ago! We really are more understanding than in those days. \n\n'Who made GOD?' and other type questions; I see many questions of this nature, and wonder how can humanity put into human understanding GOD and his plan. I mean I understand humanities need to understand things - but we are never going to understand these big concepts. \nDeath, GOD, etc. \nI totally agree that "it's clear Jesus said his Kingdom is not of this world."
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well the bible says no man knows the day or the hour.  but you will know the season.  that to me says we may verywell be able to narrow it down to within a few months of when christs second coming will happen.  century score decade year season month and week all come before day and hour we may be even able to tell the WEEK of his coming. the bible say we will know the season.  not we MAY know it says we WILL know. maybe that can be taken literally.\n I can say biblically it must happen between now and the year 2018\n\nthe bible says the generation that sees israel reborn as a nation shall not pass before the second coming israel was reborn as a nation in 1946 the bible defines a generation as 72 years therefore. do the math.\n\nWE ARE IN THE END TIMES PEOPLE!\n\nknow this the US MUST TURN AND COME AGAINST ISRAEL TO FULFILL BIBLICAL PROPHESY.  the bible says ALL NATIONS OF THE WORLD will come against israel\n\nwhen will the world end.  ACTS 1:7 "the father sets those dates. and they are not for you to know"...
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Very cool question.\n\nIt is a short way to refer to what some believe is prophecy in the old testament about the second coming of Jesus Christ.\n\nThe Holy Bible: King James Version. 2000.\nThe Psalms\n97\n\nThe LORD's Dominion and Power\n1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice;\n        \nlet the multitude of isles be glad thereof.\n2 Clouds and darkness are round about him:\n        \nrighteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.\n3 A fire goeth before him,\n        \nand burneth up his enemies round about.\n4 His lightnings enlightened the world:\n        \nthe earth saw, and trembled.\n5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD,\n        \nat the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.\n6 The heavens declare his righteousness,\n        \nand all the people see his glory.\n7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images,\n        \nthat boast themselves of idols:\nworship him, all ye gods.\n8 Zion heard, and was glad;\n        \nand the daughters of Judah rejoiced\nbecause of thy judgments, O LORD.\n9 For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth:\n        \nthou art exalted far above all gods.\n10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil:\n        \nhe preserveth the souls of his saints;\nhe delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.\n11 Light is sown for the righteous,\n        \nand gladness for the upright in heart.\n12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous;\n        \nand give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
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You jackass. the verse (8:68) refers to distribution of spoils of war. Now, anymore FAKE KORANIC VERSES I NEED TO READ?\n\nWho's the one embarrased now?\n\nEDIT:I want to make it clear. This verse is not taken out of the context because IT WAS NEVER IN THE CONTEXT!! It's fictitious.
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gosh it seems like a lot of people are pretty skeptical about what you are saying but i am in agreement with you.  now i am not very knowledgeable on endtimes prophecies but i would not be completely surprised if Jesus' second coming were to occur in this age.\n\nWith that said, it is not for us to predict or prepare for the exact date of Jesus' second coming but every day we should live as if it were the last.
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I think man is fallible and only in retrospect can we tell if prophecy is true. How many prophecies have proven untrue?\n\nIt is a great day to be alive!!\n\nGood luck and God Bless!!
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The bible says only the father knows when the end will be. And it gives us the signs to look for for to tell us whn the end is near. Take a look around, see what is going on in the world today, violance, hunger, wars, distruction against the church, etc. We are living the tribulation already , it has already begun. read the boobk of Revolations. Are you really prepared???
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Jesus warned: “There will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning . . . , no, nor will occur again.” (Matthew 24:21) That event will bring an end to the present unrighteous system of things. Its climax will be “the war of the great day of God the Almighty”—Armageddon. That will indeed be a calamity for all those who remain a “part of the world.”\n\nWhat kind of judgment will this be? It will be selective, removing only “those who do not [choose to] know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10) But it will not be a disaster to those who listen to God’s warning and instructions, as did Noah and his family. This event will certainly be an act of God, since he will protect his servants. That makes it different from other disasters, which take the lives of good and bad alike.\n\nWHEN Jesus taught his followers to pray for God’s Kingdom, he knew that its coming would bring an end to thousands of years of human rule independent from God. During all that time, God’s will was not being done on earth in general. (Psalm 147:19, 20) But after the establishment of the Kingdom in heaven, God’s will is to be done everywhere. The time for the awe-inspiring transition from human rule to God’s heavenly Kingdom rule is getting very near.\n\n Marking this transition will be the period of time that Jesus called the “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” (Matthew 24:21) The Bible does not say how long that time period is to be, but the calamities that are to take place during it will be worse than anything the world has ever seen. At the beginning of the great tribulation, something will happen that will be a severe shock to most people on earth: the destruction of all false religion. That will not be a shock to Jehovah’s Witnesses, for they have long anticipated this.  The great tribulation ends at Armageddon when God’s Kingdom crushes the entire Satanic system.—Daniel 2:44;
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A very good question; and very sincere. Shows that you want to learn more about how a real Christian beleives. Read the above Bible verses, and check out 1 Cor. 15, and come to your own conclusions, based on the Bible. You can also look up the words "2nd coming" and will be lead to Biblical verses concerning Christ's coming ( no "rapture", as you know) \nEnjoy the Bible study, and God Bless you.
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It's not the idea of a rapture that I don't believe in, but the word itself. The word isn't found in the Bible. I do believe Jesus will come the way it says, but wonder where the word "rapture" came from.
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Read some of Zecharia Sitchins books....taken from 7000 year old text. \n\nAlso, the Bible could be speaking of the populated world at the time. Or civilization as it was known then.
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The questioner's point is that Jehovah God's Word the Bible explains clearly that this world, this system of things, is temporary and has no expectation of success for all humanity. Other gods and belief systems teach that this system is the one we are stuck with, yet such beliefs have been unsuccessful for thousands of years.\n\n(2 Corinthians 4:3,4) If, now, the good news we declare is in fact veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through
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There are references in the Old Testament to Armageddon. Prophets such as Ezekiel wrote of the coming battle. The Apostle John did write Revelation. However, he wrote it by revelation given him through the Lord Jesus Christ and His angel. \n  The Lord Jesus did teach many things concerning the end of the age and His Second Coming. You can read them in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. If you do not have a Bible, I will gladly send you one free of charge. You can also read the Bible online at www.biblegateway.com. Choose a modern translation such as New International Version. \n  Jesus Himself repeatedly taught that He would return to earth someday to establish His rule over all creation. He told His disciples, "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26).\n\nThis is why the various Christian churches have always believed this (even if—like your church—they haven't always emphasized it). The first Christians stressed it; the Apostle Paul called it "the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Every major church doctrinal statement or confession of faith since then has included this truth.\n\nWhy is Christ's second coming important? First, it gives us hope—hope that someday all the evil and injustice of this world will be destroyed. The Bible says, "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13).\n\nThe second coming of Christ, however, is important for another reason: It warns us that someday this world as we know it will suddenly come to an end, and it will be too late to repent and turn to God. Are you ready for that day when you will stand before God—either because of death or because of Christ's return? You can be, by turning to Christ in repentance and faith and committing your life to Him today.