Post by Rob W. Case on May 21, 2011 3:23:46 GMT -6
Until recently, I have never heard of Harold Camping, but by now millions of Americans have heard of him because of his outrageous claim that he knows when the event exclusively known by Christians as the rapture of the church will occur. Camping is an 89 year old entrepreneur who runs a Christian radio network. Within the past several months, Mr. Camping has waged a vigorous campaign claiming that the rapture of the church will occur at 6:00pm on May 21st, 2011. Such a claim is extremely frustrating because it is, in a way, Satanic in nature. I will explain that more later on in this piece.
But first, what is the rapture?
Here is at least one of the verses that are key to this concept.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (New International Version)
16 For 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. 17 After 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.
The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapto which means “to seize, to carry off.” What’s interesting about this, is that it parallels with what Jesus talked about when he said that when he comes for his own, he will come LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT (Matthew 24:43-44, Revelation 3:3). A thief (a burglar) seizes things, and he carries off. The main reason for the rapture is to take his people out of the world (those who have personally accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior) before it is judged, just as was done in the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Since God judges the hearts and minds instead of outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7, Luke 16:15) and if all those hearts and minds can come up with is all evil all the time, as it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37 in conjunction with Genesis 6:5-6) and Lott (hence the Sodom and Gomorrah comparison), then God is going to take his own away and test those who remain.
The Problem of Setting Dates:
People have set dates all throughout history as to when they believed that Jesus Christ would return. Click on the link below for a comprehensive list.
www.raptureme.com/rr-date-setters.html
This is where we tread into Satanic territory. To effectively be Satanic is to simply be adversarial to God and what He says. After all, Satan means adversary, and although the fallen angel Lucifer is God’s chief adversary, many individuals act as adversaries to God themselves by proclaiming that they and their opinions are above what God says. There is a stark difference between stating a theory, and dogmatically declaring that something will happen that God says nobody can know for sure and pinpoint exactly when. Case in point: In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says that nobody will know the day or the hour when he will come for his people.
"No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don't know. Only the Father knows.
So when Harold Camping is saying that the rapture will take place on May 21st, 2011 at 6:00pm he is confidently claiming that he knows what the Father knows, and that his knowledge is thus superior to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the angels in Heaven. What’s even more fascinating is that he may not even realize, or have the slightest awareness that this is what he is actually doing, which makes him susceptive to a delusional spirit that causes him to confidently declare such a bold claim. After all, as is recorded in 1 Samuel 16:7b, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” And since the condition of a man’s heart leads a person to make the decisions he makes, those decisions either attract or repel what God has planned (in a collective way) within the arena of personal conduct, culture, politics, and so forth.
So When Will Jesus Christ Return?
God tests the hearts, minds, and motives of individuals. When millions upon millions of people collectively follow the influence of this world’s system (which in all its vanity is adversarial to God, his design, and his purpose for our lives), they will condone what God condemns, work to annihilate what God has established (like Israel), and work to eradicate any influence that works in truth to eradicate the lies that has been propagated to secure the power structure of said system. Our actions determine God’s next move, yet he is always gracious, merciful, and open to giving the world another chance. And if we decide to align ourselves with Him (by receiving Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior) and work in accordance with His will, the ever so rapid momentum of the direction we are heading will have the potential to, at least be restrained from its ever ambitious pace towards descent. If this does not occur, and when God Himself sees that all of those who He knows have received Christ as their savior and that there is indeed no more hope for anyone else doing so, the way things stand at that point, then he will make his next move, call His people out from among this world, send the remainder a powerful delusion, and then judge the world in conjunction with which force they decide to put their faith and trust in. And since we are not all knowing, we are unable to know every heart and every mind, what choices they all will make, and where they all are destined to go. We are incapable (in our state of limitations) to put God in a box to a methodology or system that we established ourselves, period.
But first, what is the rapture?
Here is at least one of the verses that are key to this concept.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (New International Version)
16 For 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. 17 After 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.
The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapto which means “to seize, to carry off.” What’s interesting about this, is that it parallels with what Jesus talked about when he said that when he comes for his own, he will come LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT (Matthew 24:43-44, Revelation 3:3). A thief (a burglar) seizes things, and he carries off. The main reason for the rapture is to take his people out of the world (those who have personally accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior) before it is judged, just as was done in the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Since God judges the hearts and minds instead of outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7, Luke 16:15) and if all those hearts and minds can come up with is all evil all the time, as it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37 in conjunction with Genesis 6:5-6) and Lott (hence the Sodom and Gomorrah comparison), then God is going to take his own away and test those who remain.
The Problem of Setting Dates:
People have set dates all throughout history as to when they believed that Jesus Christ would return. Click on the link below for a comprehensive list.
www.raptureme.com/rr-date-setters.html
This is where we tread into Satanic territory. To effectively be Satanic is to simply be adversarial to God and what He says. After all, Satan means adversary, and although the fallen angel Lucifer is God’s chief adversary, many individuals act as adversaries to God themselves by proclaiming that they and their opinions are above what God says. There is a stark difference between stating a theory, and dogmatically declaring that something will happen that God says nobody can know for sure and pinpoint exactly when. Case in point: In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says that nobody will know the day or the hour when he will come for his people.
"No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don't know. Only the Father knows.
So when Harold Camping is saying that the rapture will take place on May 21st, 2011 at 6:00pm he is confidently claiming that he knows what the Father knows, and that his knowledge is thus superior to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the angels in Heaven. What’s even more fascinating is that he may not even realize, or have the slightest awareness that this is what he is actually doing, which makes him susceptive to a delusional spirit that causes him to confidently declare such a bold claim. After all, as is recorded in 1 Samuel 16:7b, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” And since the condition of a man’s heart leads a person to make the decisions he makes, those decisions either attract or repel what God has planned (in a collective way) within the arena of personal conduct, culture, politics, and so forth.
So When Will Jesus Christ Return?
God tests the hearts, minds, and motives of individuals. When millions upon millions of people collectively follow the influence of this world’s system (which in all its vanity is adversarial to God, his design, and his purpose for our lives), they will condone what God condemns, work to annihilate what God has established (like Israel), and work to eradicate any influence that works in truth to eradicate the lies that has been propagated to secure the power structure of said system. Our actions determine God’s next move, yet he is always gracious, merciful, and open to giving the world another chance. And if we decide to align ourselves with Him (by receiving Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior) and work in accordance with His will, the ever so rapid momentum of the direction we are heading will have the potential to, at least be restrained from its ever ambitious pace towards descent. If this does not occur, and when God Himself sees that all of those who He knows have received Christ as their savior and that there is indeed no more hope for anyone else doing so, the way things stand at that point, then he will make his next move, call His people out from among this world, send the remainder a powerful delusion, and then judge the world in conjunction with which force they decide to put their faith and trust in. And since we are not all knowing, we are unable to know every heart and every mind, what choices they all will make, and where they all are destined to go. We are incapable (in our state of limitations) to put God in a box to a methodology or system that we established ourselves, period.