Luke 21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;

It is because of this that Christians find the Mayan calendar and what some scientist are saying about 2012 interesting. It is important to take note though that Christians who are sound in their theology don’t believe the world is going to end in 2012. In fact we know it is not! Here’s why:

There are differing opinions between some Christians as to when Christ will come for the church. I believe in the Pre Tribulation rapture of the church and it is from that view I am speaking to you. With that in mind we believe Jesus will come and remove all the people from the earth who have received him as their savior:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 Because the Lord Himself shall come down from Heaven with a commanding shout of an archangel’s voice, and with God’s trumpet. And the dead in Christ will rise again first. Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to a meeting with the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So, then, comfort each other with these words.

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Soon after this occurs the people left behind will enter the seven year tribulation period in which God fulfills two purposes. First, he uses this time to bring the Jewish people back into relationship with him. Second, he brings his judgment against a world that has rejected him. This will be the worst time ever in all of history.

After this seven year time period, the people who survived and who received Christ as their savior and the Jewish people who turned back to God during this time period will enter the Millennial Kingdom. This is a 1,000 year time period in which Jesus Christ himself will have returned to earth with all the Saints (those who were saved before the tribulation) to rule over all the nations. At the end of this 1,000 years, God will make a new Heaven and earth.

So with all this in mind, I hope you understand that we only look at the Mayan calendar as a possible indicator that God’s word is nearing fulfillment. We are not concerned about what the planets or the sun do, because our faith is in God and we already know what his plan is. Our only real concern is for the lost who do not understand God’s love for them and who have not received Jesus as their savior!

I am also puzzled by the way that Christians seem to be taking non-Christian mythology as truth, especially myths from a society who thought that human sacrifice was an acceptable practice.

It’s especially surprising given that it appears there isn’t any evidence that the Maya themselves predicted anything special would happen at that date. In fact there are Mayan inscriptions that reference dates beyond 2012, which would be an odd thing to do if you thought the world would already have ended by then.

It would probably be instructive to read this page on the realities of the Mayan calendar system.

By the way, if the Sun ever did try and get to the centre of our galaxy we wouldn’t have to worry about gravitational effects on the cores of the sun or the earth, we’d have already been wiped out by the supermassive black hole that is likely to be there.

We’ve got a few billion years left before the Sun dies, so I’d stop worrying about a mythical rapture and start worrying about global warming and climate change that will make life very unpleasant for your grandchildren and great grandchildren (possibly even your children at the rate we’re going)..

That is incorrect! Our battle is exactly as Ephesians 6:12 says it is. It is against satan and his minions and the evil agenda he pushes in our world and against us. It is a spiritual battle being fought in the spiritual realm. Although I agree we should definatley take a stance against the things you mentioned such as corrupt rulers, corrupt political leaders, corrupt authorities and institutions, etc. Those are things we should simply do as Christians in defense of our faith in Jesus Christ and of his word, but those things are of flesh and blood and or not in the Heavenly realms but are here on earth!

You also said “the irony is that many have been lured/lied/tricked into a “religious lull”, praying and awaiting for jesus to return and remedify our problems and the injustices around us.”

The fact is prayer is our strongest weapon against satan and the enemy and I am sorrowful if you don’t see or understand that! It is our method of communication to the God we serve and Love. God hears our prayer and will answer it according to his will and yes we pray and anxiously wait on the return of our Lord Jesus Christ because he is the only one who can remedy the problems and injustices in our world…..plus he commands us to watch and hope for his return:

Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37

And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

Peace will not come to this earth until Jesus Christ returns and brings it! By assuming that people who pray and also watch for the return or our Lord Jesus Christ don’t or can’t affect change in our world is an incorrect assumption!

Dove124,
As you and passerby should both know if you study the Bible, God spoke to us in his word by using hyperbole, figures of speech, parables, songs, poems, etc. The scriptures you and passerby gave of “eating and drinking the literal body of Christ”, “Actually picking up a cross everyday”, etc., are examples of this. That doesn’t change the fact that the message he gave is a literal message meant to be taken literal. For instance…… In John 6:51-59 Jesus is speaking figuratively. He never intended that they eat His flesh or drink His blood in the literal sense, but that they “partake” of His death in order to gain life. He had made the transition from literal to figurative when He compared Himself to the manna their forefathers had eaten in the desert in verses 48-49. The manna had sustained their forefathers’ temporal lives, but the literal message is that he would sustain their eternal lives.
Jesus even explained this in Luke 22:
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

If you don’t understand these things about how God’s word is written then I highly recommend you study up on this, because it will make a lot of difference in your study of God’s word!

Are you sure about that ? How about if I’m going to give you verses, that will repute what you said? Read Matthew 5:29-30 “And if thy right eye offend thee, PLUCK IT OUT, and cast it from thee” : “and if thy right hand offend thee,CUT IT OFF,and cast it from you”. how about in Matt. 6:20, and how about this one also;Mat.10:38 It says ” And he that TAKETH NOT HIS CROSS, and followeth after me is not worthy of me”. Now I will ask you, DID YOU or your group to where you belong to FOLLOW THIS LITERALLY? Come on , don’t lie to me.
Again, tell me if you or your congregation done these to your members: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven”.(Mat.18:18). Does your pastor bound your member or you literally? You see, you can’t do all these literally, but it can only be done spiritually. Add the verse to which PASSERBY had contributed, it is impossible to be done literally.
The TRUTH N O W I S, your statement is false.

I will discuss the next statement you said, next time, if God is willing.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

do we assume “flesh and blood” refers to people. jesus said, “eat my flesh and drink my blood”, if we will to interpret it literally, does that mean we have to eat his flesh and drink his blood? obviously not.
our struggle is not with our imperfect humanity but with those who would profit from it such as the rulers(political leaders etc), authorities(abuses of powers),against religious authorities or institutions(spiritual forces in heavenly realms)

when you don’t take on these powers, nothing changes in our lives and this can clearly be seen in corrupt and exploitative political and religious powers/leadership over nations.

the irony is that many have been lured/lied/tricked into a “religious lull”, praying and awaiting for jesus to return and remedify our problems and the injustices around us.

we can only effect changes or effect the kingdom of god when the people rise up against wicked POLITICAL and RELIGIOUS leaders which…isn’t it common sense?

And I pray that whatever arguments WE (or other visitors who may browse and give comments or may inquire) may discuss, a friendly exchange of ideas(favorable or otherwise) you will never delete it.

THANK YOU and MORE POWER TO YOU.

To God be the Glory

Your first misconception is where you believe “the Words of God are Spirit”. The words of God given to us in the Bible were given by his Holy Spirit but are his literal message to us and are meant to be taken literally. The prophets told that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, and Jesus was literally born in Bethlehem! They told us he would literally be beaten and bruised for our transgressions and he was! These are just two examples out of all the many in the Bible that show his word is his literal message to us. If a prophecy which is written in plain language is not interpreted literally, it opens the door to dozens of views as people guess as to what it might possibly mean. The history of prophetic fulfillment, however, is that God fulfills prophecy literally and about half of the 1000 prophecies of the Bible have already been literally fulfilled. This gives us reason to believe that the predictions which have not yet been fulfilled will have a literal fulfillment rather than some other interpretation.

That has not changed for God told us:

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Next you say the Ten Commandments are considered Kings! I challenge you to show me a scripture that says that is so. That is nothing more than an opinion formed by a misunderstanding of a literal word of God. In fact the prophecies in Revelation are backed up in Daniel that there are ten literal kingdoms! For further information on this you can click here: Ten Kindoms of the anti christ

The seven heads are not seven religious sects. Once again I ask you to back that comment up with scripture. In fact the seven heads represent seven Gentile empires — namely, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the final empire of the Antichrist and this is backed up by scripture in the book of Daniel. For more information on this, click here: The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

You said “The Language of the Dragon : ” I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of congregation, in the side of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be LIKE the Most High quoting Isaiah 14:14-15. Then you state “The highest official of the Vatican is called MOST HOLY FATHER” in an attempt to connect him to the scripture in Isaiah. Isaiah 14:14-15 is a clear reference to satan. He is the only one who has ever tried to exalt himself above God. That is very clear in scripture!

The anti christ is a real man and not a system or religion. He has been around from the beginning and will be around until Jesus cast him into the lake of fire at the end of the tribulation period. That is verified in so many scriptures that to deny it would only reveal your lack of understanding of scripture. For more information on the anti christ, click here: The Antichrist

You attempt to play pin then name on the anti christ by naming the Pope as the anti christ and using a numbering system that adds up to 666. First off there are many other numbering systems that people have used and would produce the same numeric results with the right information input into it. For example the Jews alphabet as numeric values for their letters, so if the right person’s name was calculated it would also total 666. I think it much more likely that their number system would reveal the anti christ since the Jews are what everything is centered around. Also, nobody will know who the anti christ is until after the rapture of the church at which time he will confirm a seven year peace treaty with Israel. Scripture is very clear about this also in Daniel 9:26-27!

You stated “as of today, there is a battle going on, not of flesh and blood, but of doctrines and teaching”. Once again that is a mis-quote of scripture. Ephesians 6:12 actually says:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This is clear that we are battling against satan and all he does to destroy man….including false teachings!

When talking about the Kingdom of Christ you stated “Will Jesus return and rule among us – physically?
answer : Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. If you are willing to join that Church,THE CHURCH OF GOD in the bible, Jesus Christ will be your Ruler. He will reign in your heart. He is the one who will “Give You Rest”(Matthew 11:28).
You are correct that in the sense his Kingdom is in our hearts, but he will also have an earthly Kingdom here on earth that will begin at the end of the tribulation period in which he will reign for 1,000 year known as the Millennial kingdom. Once again this is also backed up by scripture! For more information on the Millennial Kingdom, click here: Anticipating The New Millennium

Jesus is coming to rapture his bride the Church and once he does it will begin the worst time on earth in the history of the world. God will unleash his wrath on the world of unbelievers who have rejected him and he will bring back the Jewish people into covenant with him. By the grace of God, people who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior will not have to endure that wrath (Revelations 3:10-12, 1Thessalonians 1:10, 1Thessalonians 5:9).

If you are reading this today, and you have never asked Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin and come into your life and be your Lord and savior then do it today and let this be the day of your salvation. God wants you to come to him just as you are….you don’t need or have to do anything first to prepare yourself. God will help you with fixing whatever you may need help with in your life once you come to him! Time is running short and Jesus will be coming soon! For more information on the Pretribualtion Rapture, the click here: The Pretribualtion Rapture

I pray the Lord will open your eyes to the truth in his word dove124! Don’t let this be you:
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

MORE POWER to you Jack.

Thanks to the Lord. And to God be the Glory Always.