• The Last Days: A Correct View of the Rapture

    The Last Days: A Correct View of the Rapture

    How important is it that we continually teach the doctrine of “The Rapture of the Church?” According to Jesus, is one of the most important doctrines that we MUST continually study, meditate on, and continue to look forward to.

    One of the points that critics of the Rapture claim, is that “The Rapture is not taught in the Bible”. When I hear someone say this, I am always amazed. I know that they didn’t come to this conclusion by reading and studying the Bible themselves. This opinion came by what they heard someone else say or teach. If we simply read the Bible we will come away with the conviction that Jesus will return for His church at a time just prior to the beginning of the seven year Tribulation.

    The description of this event found in Paul’s epistle to the church at Thessalonica, is clear that the Lord will return for His church at time appointed by Him.

  • Signs of the Last Days: Scoffers of the “Rapture”

    Signs of the Last Days: Scoffers of the “Rapture”

    There are some today who claim that the Doctrine of the Rapture of the Church is not taught in the Bible. The proof that these skeptics offer is that the word “Rapture” is not found in the Bible.

    Others critics of the event called the Rapture, claim that this doctrine was not known or taught in the early church, but became prominent only in the 1800′s.

    Many other scoffers of the Rapture claim that the doctrine of the Rapture is “made up” and is a “false doctrine.”

    Remember what satan told Eve? “Did God really say that if you eat of this fruit you will die?, You will not die…”

    Today, thanks to the research of those who painstakingly translate ancient documents into the English language, such as the Grant Jeffrey organization, we have startling new evidence for the doctrine of the Rapture from the third century.

  • The Signs of Jesus Return

    The Signs of Jesus Return

    The purpose of Bible prophecy is so that we might know that the Bible is not just another book penned by men, but a supernatural document with it’s source from outside time and space. The Bible is unique in that it makes predictions of the future with such detail and precision, that the slightest error would make any one of those prophecies unreliable. In over 2,500 Biblical prophecies, every single minute detail has been completed with precision and accuracy. The odds of any book being able to predict over 2,5o0 events in advance with 100 percent accuracy, is beyond the possibility of chance. The certainty of the fulfillment of these events already predicted and already fulfilled, gives confidence to the remaining 1,000 prophetic predictions that are yet to be fulfilled. If the Bible has been perfectly accurate so far, it is certain that the events spoken of describing the last days before Jesus returns, most certainly will also be fulfilled accurately. The following is a short list of some of those prophetic events already fulfilled, to be fulfilled and in the process of being fulfilled.

    This article and the importance of the details of this article, are the reason that I started Bible Prophecy Update. So that you might realize that the Lord of the Universe has a plan that He has been unfolding for thousands of years, and that plan includes His desire to make Himself known to you. As you read, study and become familiar with the events of Bible prophecy, you will realize that the Lord is who He claims to be. That there is a God who is above all creation and who loves every human being equally and with great fervor. When we failed to be what He had created us to be and the defect of sin spread to all human kind, He took it upon Himself to become one of us, and give His life in exchange for all of ours. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago, paid the price all of us owed for our own individual and collective sins, forever. If you will place your complete trust in what Jesus has done for you at the Cross, and accept Jesus as your own Savior, you will be cleansed of your total sin and obtain eternal life.

    When Jesus returns next, it will not be physically to the earth, but to the atmosphere above earth, from where He will call out of the earth all those who have already come into a personal relationship with Him and have accepted His sacrifice for their sins. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

  • The End of All Flesh: The Rise of the New Age

    The End of All Flesh: The Rise of the New Age

    The Bible describes the timing of this event as being the beginning of a period of seven years of Tribulation. Daniel chapter 11, and 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, indicate that a new world ruler will appear on the scene that will bring peace and calm to a world shattered by news of the disappearance of so many.

    According to New Age philosophy, this world leader will also appear on the earth during the last days. He is referred to as the “Maitreya”, who will announce himself as the “Christ”.

    The Bible describes this coming leader who is hailed as the “savior”, as being a “false Christ”, or “antichrist”.

    During the last seven years of the current age, the Bible describes this false Christ as drawing most of the world into the worship of him as their God.

    According to the authors of New Age doctrine, those who have disappeared during the Rapture, will be those who would have rebelled against this new Christ. New Age leader Ruth Montgomery, describes their New Age belief that the Messiah cannot appear on the earth until these troublesome ones have been removed, so that the earth is prepared for his coming. Those who are removed will be sent to another planet where they will be reprogrammed in their thinking. apparently this answer will satisfy most of the world population and they will hail this new leaders as the answer to all of man’s problems.

    It will be the rise and pinnacle of the New Age movement that will eventually lead to the removal of the true church and the beginning of the seven year tribulation. The world view of New Age philosophy is that the planet is being prepared for a coming Christ and the uniting of the whole world under one government, one financial system, and one religious system, headed by one man.

  • The Rapture of the Church and 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2

    The Rapture of the Church and 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2

    From the moment that I first learned the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church in 1975, there has been a deep controversy by those who claim that the Rapture will not occur until after the Tribulation has concluded.

    One of the verses of Scripture that is used to prove this position is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

    2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed…”

    It should be clear from the context of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 that Paul is addressing a concern that the Thessalonian church had regarding the coming of Jesus for the second time. There were some in this small church that felt that perhaps the Rapture had already taken place. This being the case, they questioned what had happened to their departed loved ones. Where were they and when would they be resurrected?

  • The Return of Jesus and the Appearance of Antichrist

    The Return of Jesus and the Appearance of Antichrist

    For many who study Bible Prophecy, the return of Jesus Christ is the most interesting aspect of that study. To imagine that millions of Christians could be scattered all over the world, and in a single instant be translated together into the outer atmosphere of the earth, to meet the Lord, is amazing.

    1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

    What will the social and political climate of earth’s people be like when Jesus returns? What conditions will be necessary for Jesus to remove His church from the earth, and the introduction of the antichrist on the world scene?

  • World Financial Markets in Collapse, Preparations for the Antichrist

    World Financial Markets in Collapse, Preparations for the Antichrist

    On Wednesday, the United States stock market plummeted 389 point, or a 3.2% drop in value, after recent news of Europe’s financial crisis was announced. Italy, one of the largest economies in Europe, is also experiencing major debt problems, adding to the list of other European nations in major financial difficulties.

    According to experts, Italy has a public debt of over 2.5 Trillion, or 120 percent of their Gross Domestic Product. There is wide spread fear that Italy will also not be able to meet their financial commitments. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already experienced similar financial problems, thought their economies are much smaller.

    Italy is a major player in the European economy because so many different banks hold’s their debt, and because their debt level is so high. All of the combined abilities of banks in Europe, do not have the capacity to bail out Italy from her debt pinnacle , making for a frightening scenario in the future.

  • A Chronological List of Events For the Last Days

    A Chronological List of Events For the Last Days

    This is the second in a four-part series on the Last Days. In this study we will look at a Chronology of the events from the present time in history, up to the end of time here on the earth, as described in the Bible

    Two of the most asked questions from those who are interested in Bible Prophecy, are

    “What is going to happen next in the world?”

    “What does the Bible have to say about the events of the Last Days?”

    Jesus said that the entire scope of all Prophecy in the last days, is centered around the nation of Israel. For almost 2,000 years the Jews were scattered all over the face of the earth. Being without a land of their own, they had lost their national identity and their homeland.

    While Israel was without their own country, the Prophet Ezekiel wrote of a time in the last days when God would draw the Jews from all over the face of the earth, and place them back to their own land again.

    Ezekiel 37:21-22 “Then say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land…

    The promise of restoration by the Lord, is that once the Jews are back in their own land again, they will be protected by the Lord and dwell there permanently. Once they are in their land, in the last days, the Lord will allow Israel to rebuilt their Temple again and re-institute the temple sacrifice.

    Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.

    Israel is often referred to as being like a “fig tree” in the old testament:

    Hosea 9:10 “I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.

    Jesus said that when we see the fig tree once again blossom and put forth leaves, that we know that summer is near. This is a poetic play on words that was understood by the Jews to mean that when Israel became a nation again,back in their own land, that the Lord’s return was near.

  • Battle For the World: Shi’a Versus Sunni

    Battle For the World: Shi’a Versus Sunni

    A few days ago, shephard Smith of Fox News made the comment: “The whole world is falling down around us…”
    Shepherd made this comment after having reported on the Muslim uprising’s that have recently began in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Two normally quiet and peaceful nations, now thrust into the same battles over leadership that Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Jordan, Algeria, Sudan, and Somalia are experiencing.

    These are Muslim against Muslim revolutions. For most non-Mulsim’s we don’t have a clue what are they really fighting over?

    The major news channels report that these people are in revolt because of dictatorial governments in these Arab nations that oppress and impinge the civil liberties of their people. The truth is that the cause of these uprising’s is much more sinister.

    Amongst the Muslim people, there are two groups that have apposing ideas about how their religion should be led.

    Islam originated with the prophet Muhammad. When he died, a division began with two groups called the Shi’a and the Sunni.

    Sunni Muslims hold the position that leadership for Muslims should come from the most capable.

    Shi’a Muslims hold the position that leadership for Muslims should come from the Prophet Muhammad’s own family.

  • Waiting For the Tribulation to Accept Jesus

    Waiting For the Tribulation to Accept Jesus

    Many times over the course of the past 35 years, I have heard comments from some that have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they would wait to accept Jesus until they saw the beginning of the Tribulation Period.

    If the Rapture is true, and if Jesus is Lord and Savor, their thought is that when the antichrist appears on the scene at the beginning of the seven year Tribulation, then they will be ready to bow their heart to Jesus.

    What always struck me a strange was the fact that the very reason for accepting Jesus now was due to the fact that He is so wonderful. Why would anyone put off something that would bring them such amazing Joy? For me, knowing and loving Jesus has been the best part of the entirety of my life. I could not imagine living the past four decades without having Jesus as the center of my life.

    What is missing in the thought patterns of many people who take this view, is the idea that “if I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior then I will be missing out on the most fun that life has to offer”. I have to laugh when I hear comments like these because in actuality, the most fun that a person can have in this short life is when they are in a vital and living relationship with Jesus. There is nothing in the world that is more satisfying than looking back on nearly 40 years and remembering how many times the Lord has blessed your life.

    In every critical and live changing moment of my life, when I needed help, provision, love or direction, Jesus has never failed to do for me what I could not do for myself. The abiding joy and deep serenity that I have experienced as a result of knowing Jesus personally, is the most valuable part of my entire life.

    These things being true, I cannot imagine why anyone would want to wait to see if the antichrist really does appear at the beginning of the Tribulation Period, before they would surrender their life to Jesus Christ.

  • When You See Jerusalem Surrounded…

    When You See Jerusalem Surrounded…

    I was thinking about the events of the past week regarding the revolution in Egypt and the reorganization of Jordan by King Abdullah. The radical elements inside these two countries want to do in Egypt and Jordan what they have already done in many of the nations of the Middle East. To bring radical Islam as the director of their government and religious institutions.

    While reading Luke chapter 21, I was struck by the words that Jesus spoke as He as teaching about the last days just prior to His return.

    Luke 21:20-22 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”

    “When we see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that it’s destruction is near…”

    I opened up a map of the middle east on my Macbook and looked at Israel. All around this tiny nation, barely the size of the state of New Jersey, were many large and powerful Arab nations.

    For the past 30 years, there have been just three of these nations that have stood with Israel and resisted internal and external pressure to transform their countries into governments led by radical Islamic leadership. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have helped make the security of Israel possible and have remained allies of the United States.

    Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have remained free of radical Islam for nearly three decades and have maintained a friendly status quo with Israel. With the events of the past week concerning Egypt’s attempted ouster of their leadership, largely supported by the radical elements of Islam, and the King of Jordan firing his entire cabinet to replace them with more moderate members, two of the thee three walls of protection for Israel are near the point of collapse.

  • The New Computer ‘Mark of the Beast’

    The New Computer ‘Mark of the Beast’

    Coming soon to your computer: “The Mark of the Beast?”

    President Obama is making plans to create and Internet identity for American. Howard Schmidt, the White House coordinator for Cybersecurity said “It’s “the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government” to centralize efforts toward creating an “identity ecosystem” for the Internet”

    This new department of the Obama administration will be first to address the issue of Internet identity, even before the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland security.

    Obama’s new “National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace” will be drafted and released by this summer. Schmidt said: “We are not talking about a national ID card,” Locke said at the Stanford event. “We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.”

    It is possible that a Smart Card or some type of Digital Signature Certificate will be issued to willing participants that will identify a person during financial transactions or other Internet business.

    The Government promises that no centralized database will be kept of the information voluntarily given by those who sign up for the new digital signature. As if the government has ever kept any of your personal information private.

    Whatever the new Digital Signature becomes, it is for certain that this type of technology will be a part of the new world order brought by the one referred to in the Bible as “The Beast”.

  • The Link Between Socialism and Evolution

    The Link Between Socialism and Evolution

    It is interesting that many of the first pioneers of Marxist philosophy were very interested in Evolution. Karl Marx himself wrote to and received correspondence from Charles Darwin. Marx’s interest in Evolution came from his desire to try and link his own theories of how societies evolve from materialistic and scientific foundations, with that of Darwin’s theory of Evolution.

    One of the men to whom Marx often relied on for information was Friedrich Engels. As with Marx, Engels believed that the major changes in society happened in sudden spurts, in response to the material conditions of society. Engels was interested in linking these societal changes with Darwin’s Evolutionary theory on the beginning of life.

    One of Marx’s ideas was that small quantitative increases in the intensity of some condition or situation could suddenly produce a qualitative or revolutionary change (1)

    He theorized that in any capitalistic society, gradually over time workers would become more and more unhappy in their pay and work environment. At some point these workers might rebel against the system they were under. This rebellion would necessitate a completely new way of organizing the system they were under and ultimately change to a more socialistic society.

    In the same way, Darwin believed that in a system where chemicals are constantly evolving and changing, at some point they would take a leap forward and produce a new system that would eventually lead to life.

    Marx believed that man’s social problems were solved by a purely materialistic solution just as Darwin believed that man originated from a purely materialistic beginning.

  • The Great Tribulation and Limited Time

    The Great Tribulation and Limited Time

    If a person hears about the need to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior before the seven year Tribulation begins and yet rejects Him, it appears that this person will not find it possible to receive the Lord when the antichrist arrives.

    The arrival of the antichrist will be with great power and amazing supernatural wonders that will deceive most people on the earth. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 describes the fact that “Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved”, these who have rejected Jesus, will have no desire to turn to Jesus during the reign of the antichrist.

    It is the gentle convincing work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life, as He witnesses to our spirit of our need for Jesus, that compels a person to repent and turn to Jesus.

    It appears that during the seven years of the Tribulation, those who rejected Jesus before the Tribulation begins will not have the benefit of the Holy Spirit speaking to their hearts, as 2 Thessalonians declares:

    “Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

  • Is the Doctrine of the Rapture Taught in the Bible?

    Is the Doctrine of the Rapture Taught in the Bible?

    Many years ago while teaching a home bible study, one of those who attended handed me a book that promised to dispel the whole doctrine of the Rapture. One of the major claims that the book made was that the doctrine of the Rapture was not being taught to the early Christian church. The claim of this book was that since the early church was not teaching the doctrine of the Rapture, it must not be true.

    As the years have passed, through the scholarly work of several men of God, we know today that the Rapture and the Tribulation were being taught in the early church as far back as the first century.

    A recent translation of the writings of Ephraem the Syrian from 373 A.D. have shed new insights into what the early church was teaching the members of their congregations concerning the Rapture of the Church.

    In 1994 Grant Jeffrey discovered a few ancient manuscripts written by Ephraem the Syrian and insured that they were correctly translated into modern English. The translation of these manuscripts was accomplished by Professor Cameron Rhoades of Tyndale Theological seminary.

  • Daniel Chapter 7 and the Book of Revelation

    Daniel Chapter 7 and the Book of Revelation

    The four world-wide kingdoms that Daniel saw in his night visions began with the Babylonians from 605-538 B.C. Nearly 700 years later, John would be given a virtually identical vision of these same events in the Book of Revelation.

    The four beasts than Daniel saw; A Lion, A Bear, A Leopard, and a Dreadful Beast beyond earthly description, were a Prophetic view of the four kingdoms that would dominate the world over the course of human history.

    The Lion represented King Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonians.

    The Bear representing King Cyrus of the Medo-Persian Empire.

    The Leopard representing Alexander the Great who conquored the know world when he was just 32 years old.

    The Dreadful and Terrible Beast coming in “The Last Days” from a revival of the old Roman Empire led by the one called the “Beast” or “The Antichrist”.

    It is important to remember that these first three kingdoms described in the Book of Daniel, were predicted hundreds of years before they actually occurred in history. The accuracy of these prophecies in the Book of Daniel are so precise that skeptics have often stated that they must have been written after the events actually took place. They contend that any prediction with the detail that Daniel describes, would be impossible to predict before hand.

    Therein is the point that we who study the Bible have been making all along. The Bible is the handwriting of God. His words and thoughts, recorded by “holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”. The most convincing proof that the Bible is the Word of God is that of the 2,500 plus prophecies in the scriptures, over 2,000 of these have already been literally fulfilled exactly as they were predicted, without a single error.

  • Abortion, America In Prophecy, Gay Marriage, Homosexuality, Increasing Sin, New World Order, Obama Watch

    Posted on November 3rd, 2010

    Written by B.P.U Contributor

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    All Great Civilizations Die From Moral Decay

    All Great Civilizations Die From Moral Decay

    As I have looked back across the ruins and landmarks of antiquity, I have been stunned by the parallels between those societies and our own. For most of us the destruction of Carthage, the rise of the Greek city-states, and the Fall of Rome are mere ghosts of the past, history lessons long forgotten. And such things as the capture of Constantinople, the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the kingdoms of France and Spain, and the slow withering decline of the British Empire are much less clear and less memorable. Most of us do not remember much from our history lessons about the French Enlightenment or, for that matter, the issues that led to the American Revolution. But this is the legitimate background of our own place in history, it is vital that we reconsider the nature of life in those earlier times. For within those eras and movements are the seeds of the troubles we face today.

  • Signs of the Last Days: 4 Trillion in World Debt

    Signs of the Last Days: 4 Trillion in World Debt

    One of the events that will precede the coming of the world ruler known as the ‘antichrist’ in the Bible, is a need for world-wide leadership in economic affairs. There will be such a catastrophic climate present just before the antichrist comes on the scene, that the world will welcome his plan of rescue to save the world markets.

    Banks in Europe and the United States have recently revealed that the world-wide debt is in excess of 4 Trillion Dollars. Today on the national news channels it was revealed that during the past 12 months the national debt has risen by 1.6 trillion dollars. Within just a short time, the economy of the United States of America will be bankrupt and we will have greater debt than we can pay interest on.

    As the financial markets in the United States fail, so also will those financial markets in Europe and Asia. Within the next year a global crisis will overtake our world and necessitate a rescue.

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