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Book recommendation: In The Footsteps of Faith

Posted on February 17, 2015 by elizabethprata

I was given a gift certificate to Amazon.com, and one of the books I purchased is In the Footsteps of Faith, by John F. MacArthur. The book blurb says,

“By highlighting the defining moments of their lives and discussing the impact of their responses to tough times and to God, John MacArthur unveils lessons of faith and servanthood from beloved men and women of the Bible.”

In the Footsteps of Faith examines the lives of several men and women of the bible. * Noah * Abraham * Moses * Rahab * Hannah * Jonah * Mary * John the Baptist * Peter * Paul * Lydia * Timothy * Epaphroditus * Jesus

I’ve read the first two ‘faith bios’, (Noah, Abraham) and I enjoy the book very much. I recommend it highly. I don’t like marking my books with pen or highlighting, so I use a colored transparent post-it kind of arrow to stick on the paragraph or sentence I want to return to. Just in the first two bios I have a ton of sticky arrows poking out of the book. It makes the book look like a porcupine. But there are so many gems to mark, …like this:

We base our present lives and future destinies on invisible realities. It has always been that way for followers of God.

Faith in Him is the only means God has ever provided for people to be justified. Faith is never the ground for justification, the death of Christ is. Faith is simply the channel through which God applies His saving grace.

Anyone who trusts in physical circumcision, or any other such work or ceremony, in order to be made right with God places himself under the law’s impossible demands and voids Christ’s sacrificial death on his behalf.

When faith does weaken, it is often because we allow doubt to cloud and undermine it.

Of course these read better in context. The point is, what a blessing to have a storm day when it’s quiet, with no power and thus no internet distractions, to read an edifying book and ponder the majesty and mysteries of Christ and His followers who went before us.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

coptic, copts, martyr, orthodox

Copts are not Christians

Posted on February 17, 2015August 8, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

What the terror group ISIS is doing is undoubtedly evil. No person, village, or region should have to suffer the tortures and terrors perpetrated upon them like the Islamic ISIS maniacs have done. I want to say, and this will likely be unpopular, but the 21 Egyptian Coptics that were beheaded recently were not Christian. Copts are not Christian. They are not martyrs for the faith, they will not be resurrected to a glorified body in heaven, and Revelation 20:4 does not apply to them.

Copts have popes, believe verbal confession to priests is necessary for the forgiveness of sins, worship icons and idols, are highly sacramental and ritualistic, pray to dead “saints” asking for their intercession of the living, believe in apostolic succession (from John Mark), have a works based theology of salvation, and more. Orthodox Coptics are a split-off from Roman Catholicism. Again, Coptics are not Christians.

There is an outline of what Copts believe here.

What happened to the 21 Egyptian men on the beach is horrific, but please stand on the Gospel and remember that Copts are an unreached people group needing evangelism, not veneration as brother martyrs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Visual Theology: Chris Powers & Full of Eyes

Posted on February 17, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Chris Powers is doing magnificent work. I’ve written about him before, here

Chris explains that his website, Full of Eyes, exists,

to see, savor, and sing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, using pixel, ink, and word. I hope to do this through Christ-exalting, Biblically-submitted, heart-haunting videos about the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son and Image of God.
With the continued help of various song artists, and the support of the Body of Christ, my plan is to make these videos and resources available for free to the global Church.

Chris does a fantastic job of bringing visual theology to life. In addition to wonderful videos, tract cards, and other artistic representations, Chris has been hard at work developing curricula to supplement each of his videos.

For his startling video “It’s Not Enough“, about sin and idolatry, Chris developed a study guide for small groups. It is available in Spanish as well. The study guide is free, as all his work is free to use for the glory of Christ. More study guides will be coming along as h transitions to working on his animations full time.

Here is his caption for the piece below.

Christ alone gives us unshakable peace because HE HIMSELF is our peace (Eph. 2:14). In this picture you can see all the world’s promises of peace shattering like teetering towers of stone in the face of a tidal wave…and even though the Christian is certainly buffeted by troubles (John 16:33), in the face-to-face fellowship we have with Christ, there is untouchable peace… we all grow in the knowledge of Christ, our Peace!”

Below is his sketch

Please visit Chris’s website, order his tract cards (I did and they’re wonderful), listen to the music & animated videos, and if you feel led, support him monetarily through Patreon or Gaius.

We definitely want to support and encourage the next generation coming up, and Chris is one of the good guys, doing Kingdom work in faith and humility.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Further Reading

Tim Challies and Visual Theology

Vyrso Visual Verse of the Day

John Bunyan, the first visual theologian, Mappe Shewing Order and Causes of Salvation

death, encouragement, lazarus, resurrection

O death, where is your victory?

Posted on February 15, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I don’t understand all that God does, or why. We understand some, because He revealed it to us in His word and through His Son.

But death…when a friend or loved one dies, it’s so sad. Even Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. He wept even knowing He would raise Him.

But what a spectacular event!

The Death of Lazarus

1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (John 11:1-6)

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (John 11:17-21).

Jesus Raises Lazarus

Giotto: Raising of Lazarus

38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:38-44).

How beautiful is the glorification of the Father through His Son. And, His words echo in a spiritual truth- ‘death, let him go.’ Jesus is Master over death. He let us go! What a day it will be when Jesus says finally to satan, let go all my people, and satan is cast into the Lake of Fire.

Death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?

50 shades of grey, marriage, mommy porn, porn

Many links on the subject of rejecting 50 Shades of Grey, AND edifying links about Christian marriage

Posted on February 14, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Today marks the debut of the movie 50 Shades of Grey. it is based on the book of the same name. The book and movie (as well as its origination texts, the Twilight series of vampire romances) has sparked concern and outrage from evangelical Christians. Here is a roundup of some of the best write-ups regarding this film and the damage it causes, and what interest in its subject means for our culture.

By Men

Dr. Al Mohler
Fifty Shades of Shame — The Evolution of Pornography

Life Site News
The real reason 50 Shades is so wildly popular

Matt Walsh
To the women of America: 4 reasons to hate 50 Shades of Grey

Landon Chapman
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and the Annihilation of Christian Women’s Innocence

Christianity Today
Is There Anything Redeeming in the ’50 Shades’ Trilogy?

John Kennedy, Assemblies of God News
Christian Leaders Warn Against Fifty Shades Movie

From Fight the New Drug, Aimed at a readership of young women and men, their “mission is to raise awareness on the harmful effects of pornography through creative mediums.”
5 Things ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Teaches About Sex

Tim Challies, article includes links to other articles, book recommendations on the subject of porn, and addresses the cultural phenomenon of 50 Shades
10 Articles on Pornography

By Women

DebbieLynne Kespert
50 Shades to Avoid
50 Shades, 40 Days And None Of The Above

Elizabeth Prata
Why Christian women are drawn to 50 Shades of Grey

Sola Sisters
Fifty Shades of Grey? It’s Really Just Black and White

Becky Thompson
Christian Women and Christian Grey

Secular

Daily Beast
More ‘50 Shades’ Ticket Preorders Have Happened in Mississippi Than Anywhere Else

Fox News
50 shades of abuse? New movie sending wrong message to women

Christian Marriage

GotQuestions
What Constitutes Marriage According to the Bible?

Grace To You essay
What can my spouse and I do to build a strong marriage?

Grace To You article
Marriage As It Was Meant to Be

Truth For Life, Alistair Begg sermon series
God’s Pattern for Marriage

doubt, IF:Gathering, rob bell, satan, schemes, skeptic

Sincere doubt versus dishonest skepticism

Posted on February 14, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ —Matthew 4:3

Did satan not know Jesus is the Son of God? Of course satan knew. We see that he and his demons knew this in Luke 4:41,

And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

And we see that the demons knew that Jesus is the Son of God in Mark 5:7,

And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”

And James 2:19 says even the demons believe, and shudder!

Throughout scripture we read that satan knows full well who Jesus is. So why would satan begin his temptation by saying, “IF you are the Son of God…”?

Because he wanted to get Jesus to doubt. Ergo, satan’s is a deceptive skepticism.

Satan himself has no doubt whatsoever that Jesus is the Son of God. However, satan’s issue is that he thinks he can beat Jesus in a contest of wills. Satan believes he can usurp Jesus from His position as King of KINGS and Lord of LORDS. We know satan knows that God is highest, and we read satan’s conviction that God won’t be God on his throne forever, that satan himself will usurp Him. These are the five “I wills” of satan in Isaiah 14:13-15. Satan doesn’t doubt a thing.

Satan isn’t skeptical of God’s existence nor is satan skeptical of who God is. Satan’s scheme is to get US to doubt.

Scripture warns us repeatedly about deception-

fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock… (Acts 20:29)

We picture a fierce wolf with fur standing up and fangs bared. But that is how they are inwardly. If we saw the fierceness in the wolf, we would know he was a wolf. What we see in false teachers is a pleasant demeanor, smiles, apparently helpful and meek. A Joel Osteen, not a Hulk Hogan. The false ones are disguised.

false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13)

What they bring, however, is philosophy and empty deceit (Colossians 2:8)

Their disguise and pleasant demeanor hides a purposeful destruction-

false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1).

We see the philosophy and empty deceit in the tactic satan used with Christ, “IF you are the Son of God…”

Sowing doubt is an age-old tactic of satan, and why not? It works. However there has been a shift from false sowers who sow doubt about God’s word, (like Rob Bell) to those who claim to be Christian but sow doubt about God’s existence. (Like the IF:Gathering). It is a significant shift.

Ten years ago Rob Bell made headlines. He was a self-proclaimed ‘Evangelical’ who sowed doubt about the inerrancy of scripture as God’s perfect word. Bell was the perfect ‘Hath God said?’ guy. His method was to ask questions under the guise of sincerely seeking truth but what he was doing was actually sowing doubt and using dishonest skepticism to do it. The following are actual Rob Bell questions from his book Velvet Elvis-

What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and…

“But what if, as you study the origin of the word ‘virgin’ you discover that the word ‘virgin’ in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word ‘virgin’ could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being ‘born of a virgin’ also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?”

And these questions are from his book doubting the existence of hell, Love Wins,

What if heaven is open to all, rather than a select few?

What if hell doesn’t exist at all?

The women of the IF:Gathering, a subject on which I’ve written a three-part series, questions the existence of God. No, these women are not atheists. They are not Wiccans believing in goddess power. They claim to be Christians, and claim to study God’s word, IF He exists, that is. This screen shot is from the latest bible study:

Doubt in a believer happens occasionally. Doubting one’s salvation temporarily is natural. Doubting an interpretation of a doctrine is all right. Doubting that Jesus is the Christ was something even John the Baptist pondered. John the Baptist didn’t doubt the scriptures’ promise that Messiah will come. He doubted for a moment that Jesus was the promised Messiah that had arrived. There is a difference.

No, this is the ignoble doubt of God’s existence. Ignoble because God has shown Himself to all people and those who fail to accept His existence are suppressing that truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-19)

There is nothing noble about that. It is satan’s assault on our own faith and the baseline truth it rests on: God is One and there is no other. He is real. Believers don’t doubt God’s existence. If you doubt He is real, you’re not a believer. It is not a faith question, then, but a problem of deliberate suppression of the truth that brings wrath.

Believers are held responsible even for sincere or temporary doubts. Elderly Zechariah was rendered mute because of the doubt he voiced when the angel foretold that he and Elizabeth would bear a son. (Luke 1:18-20). And Zechariah was just doubting a one-time prophecy, not God’s existence entirely.

Jesus rebukes us for our doubts, even when they are honest, sincere, and soul-searching. Either harshly as in Matthew 14:31 to Peter, or gently, as in John 20:27-29 to Thomas.

We are told that when we ask for wisdom,

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)

We must not doubt. (Mark 11:23, James 5:15, 1 John 5:14-16).

Dishonest skepticism is not doubt. Don’t confuse the two. Dishonest skepticism emanates from a false worker of iniquity. It is a satanic tactic designed to get you to doubt what you know and thus diminish your faith. Learn the difference and avoid any person, teacher, or organization that institutionalizes either skepticism or doubt.

aurora, creator, creator of the universe, ISS

Sunrise meets Aurora, ISS video astounds

Posted on February 11, 2015 by elizabethprata

Quartz reported,

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station shot a video in the past week that shows the aurora borealis, or northern lights, glimmering green on the horizon as it meets the sunrise over earth. It lasts for just fifteen incredible seconds.

The footage is shot over the eastern seaboard of the US, from the Outer Banks, to Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod and then up over Maine to Nova Scotia. You can clearly see the bump of the Outer Banks at the beginning, Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the curling arm of the Cape all the way to Provincetown and then swoops up to the Canadian Maritimes.

The LORD God is an incredible God. Nothing that will happen today has not already been sifted through His hands and ordained. Seeing this beauty from a high-above perspective makes us once again laud and honor our God- the Creator of it all.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-51)

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-18)

50 shades of grey, gender war, genesis, perversion

Why Christian women are drawn to 50 Shades of Grey

Posted on February 10, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

In Genesis 2:18 God made woman so as to be a helper for the man. It is in the very DNA of woman to want to help, to submit. She will want her husband.

John MacArthur writes that after the Fall,

“women continue to be naturally drawn and necessarily drawn to husbands and to children as the source of their fulfillment and their joy, even though they know that those are the realms in which there is the potential of the greatest pain and sorrow. [referring to Genesis 3:16a] They’re still drawn there, almost inexorably because that’s the way God made them. (source)

Though woman will want her husband, the Fall caused woman to be cursed with a rebellious nature against his authority, which in turn would cause men to want to rule harshly over them. (Genesis 3:16b).

MacArthur again,

In her sin Eve took the lead. She acted independently. She spurned her husband’s authority. She was going to go out on her own and call her own shot, as it were, act on her own behalf. She took the lead, she led the man into sin, usurping his role, acting independently of him in the temptation, overturning the divine order. … All of a sudden man is changed and becomes a selfish and dominating monarch. The subordination of women was always God’s plan but in a lovely and enjoyable harmony of perfect fulfillment of mutual wills delighting in God and in each other. … Your desire shall be for your husband.” Now let’s talk about the word “desire.” What does it mean? It is of Arabic root meaning to seek control. (source)

On the other hand, verse 16, the end, “And he shall rule over you.” Let’s look at the word “rule” for a minute, mashal. It means to dominate, to reign, literally means to install in office. The idea is as the woman seeks to overthrow the rank, as the woman seeks to twist the divine order, as the woman seeks to master her husband, seek control over him, he dominates her. (source)

Satan perverts everything he touches.

Fifthly, Satan is a perverter. It’s amazing that Satan has gotten a hold of every good thing that God has ever made and perverted it. He perverts everything. God made fruit for us to drink of, and Satan perverted it into alcoholism. God made sex for us to enjoy, he perverts it into something filthy and adulterous. He is in the business of perverting everything that God has made good. (source)

50 Shades of Grey is a book about dominance and submission. It is adult porn related to the seamier sadistic elements of the aforesaid ‘things satan perverts.’ The book and movie are not romance and nothing about the storyline of either are in any way acceptable for mental or emotional consumption.

However, the unsaved, secular woman will gravitate to the notion of dominance and submission because of the biblical mandates of having been created to be a helpmeet and wanting her husband. That old 1970s original feminist slogan, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle” is not true. Women need men and men need women. But because satan is a perverter, he will pervert the woman’s innate need to submit and he will twist the man’s innate need to lead. The result is a book like 50 Shades of Grey.

But what of Christian women? Surely they know to stay away from pornography and perversion like this? Any person even casually committed to reading the bible will know that this is a perversion of marital relationships … right?

Not always. Christian women have the same need as secular women to be led and to be a helpmeet, and Christian men have the same need to lead as non-Christian men. The wonderful thing about it is that Christians have the biblical blueprint and the Holy Spirit in us to illuminate the blueprint to our minds. We know what we should do, but once again, satan is a perverter. He will grab the carnality in us and twist it. Women innately want to submit and will do so if they meet a dominating man. Alternately, if they cannot submit, some will follow their curse and lead, eventually dominating.

Many Christian women are falling for feminism, and with the poor examples that abound of women who step out of their role as helpmeet – and are not rebuked for it. Then as each generation comes along they entrench further into it. Sin takes hold. Women innately want to submit and will do so if they meet a dominating man. Satan will twist that into BDSM and 50 Shades. Alternately, if they do not submit, some will follow their curse and satan will urge them to lead, eventually dominating, becoming ministry feminists. Either way, satan wins, because the Christian woman’s witness has been tarnished

Christian men likewise have allowed satan to twist any unaddressed sinful carnality in them, and they have abdicated their role as leader and done one of two things. Either they have abdicated their role entirely and simply do not lead, or they have grabbed on to their role a little too hard and they rule with an iron fist. We see evidence of this in the Covering Theology movement, rampant excommunications in the vein of Mark Driscoll and pastors like him, Pharisaical Pastors acting as tyrants operating outside the realm of accountability, and more. When some husbands “rule”, they dominate, as in sado-masochistic domination.

50 Shades of Grey touches upon man and woman’s most innate, intimate, unmet needs. This is true whether a person is a Christian or not.

Not that you don’t already know this, but the entire structure of the BDSM movement with all its rules, protocols, and standards is simply a satanic twist on Genesis 2 and Genesis 3 and the submission and leading that God put in place. Christian wives or singles who enjoy this book need to be taught Godly submission. To that end we need stronger pastors who stand up to women who want to teach men, or who otherwise want to lead in an unGodly way, and pastors who are actively working to train up elder women to be good examples to the younger women. Men who enjoy this book or are curious about it need to be taught Godly leading. They need strong pastors and courageous brothers to call them to account, to encourage them to be gentle with their wives, and to actively study the bible and to pray.

The holy word is always the antidote for righting our thinking on any topic, especially God’s ordinance of marriage and complementarian relationships.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why the Crusades & Inquisition don’t belong in a discussion of Christianity

Posted on February 9, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

And why it doesn’t matter what Obama said…

The Battle of Ager Sanguinis, medieval miniature

On February 5, 2015 Obama gave an address at the National Prayer Breakfast. He said of people who seek to “hijack religious for their own murderous ends”,

“Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”

There was enormous outcry over Obama’s likening of Christianity to terrorist Muslims. There have been many Op-Ed pieces, reaction articles, and blogs published over it.

Even reformed pastor-blogger Tim Challies linked to Professor of Medieval History Thomas Madden’s piece, in which Madden said both the Crusades and the Inquisition

“were initiated by popes, the unquestioned leaders of Western Christianity.”

Kings and popes. Professor Madden set forth a response placing the Crusades in historical context as part of Christianity. Madden said the first Crusade was called in 1095 by Pope Urban II. Remember, Tim Challies linked to the piece in his daily A La Carte segment.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said Obama’s words were “an unfortunate attempt at a wrongheaded moral comparison,” He continued, “The evil actions that he mentioned were clearly outside the moral parameters of Christianity itself.”

That’s because the evil actions that happened in the Crusades and the Inquisition were not part of Christianity at all. In a CNN interview discussing Obama’s remarks, Russell Moore took issue with Obama’s statement solely on the front of its moral equivalency, saying it was wrong to compare ISIS with Christianity, and it would be the same as if Roosevelt had stood up and said “Pearl Harbor was a day that will live in infamy, except let’s remember we surprised the British at Yorktown too.”

A 19th-century depiction of Galileo before the Holy Office, by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury

All of this is moot. Wrong. Of no consequence. It. does. not. matter. Why? Of the reactions I’ve read from both political leaders and religious leaders, none have stated the obvious. The Crusades and the Inquisition were Catholic events. The Catholic popes started them and Catholics carried them out.

Catholics are not Christians. The First Crusade was Papal response to Muslim aggression, especially the first crusade which sought to retake Jerusalem from Muslim hands. The First Crusade was followed by the Second to the Ninth Crusades. In all cases, the Catholic popes’ thrust was to forcibly defend against Muslim invasion. The Catholic popes have the Inquisition on their hands also.

Catholics follow a false god and their doctrine is not the saving doctrine of Jesus’ Christianity.

Catholic dogma is not of Jesus and is in fact of satan, just as the Muslim dogma is.

The worst comparison Obama made in his speech was not Christianity to ISIS, but Catholicism to Christianity. If people would take issue with THAT, it would really be doing something for the name of Jesus.

prophecy, rapture, second coming

Prophecy is incredible: biblical proof

Posted on February 8, 2015 by elizabethprata

Last June, I wrote a message to “pan tribbers.” I’d written,

But there is an even worse tribulation position than the denial of the rapture, the partial rapture, the post-tribulation rapture. It is the “Pan-Tribulation” position.

It is the position for some reason that irks me the most. You hear it sometimes from Christians, who, when discussing the rapture and last things, and the rapture’s timing, they say, “I’m a pan-tribulationist. Everything will work out in the end. HAR HAR HAR.” They think this is funny. They think this is clever. They even think this is pious.

It isn’t.

Here is more for the people who believe prophecy, especially second coming prophecies, are an afterthought, an unpalatable subject, or a marginal doctrine.

It isn’t.

Prophecy occupies at least one-fifth of the Scriptures if not more.
The second coming of Christ occupies one-third of that one-fifth.
There are over 660 general prophecies. Half of them are concerning Jesus Christ.
Of these 333 prophecies concerning Christ, 109 of them were fulfilled in His first coming.
224 prophecies are yet to be fulfilled in His second coming.
Of the 46 Old Testament prophets, less than ten of them speak of events in Christ’s first coming
36 Old Testament prophets speak of events connected His second coming.
There are a total of 1,527 Old Testament passages referring to the second coming.
1 out of 25 New Testament verses refer directly to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Next to the subject of faith, the subject of the second coming is the most dominant subject in the New Testament.
For every time in the Bible the first coming is mentioned, the second coming is mentioned eight times.
For every time the atonement is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned twice.
The Lord refers to His return 21 times.
And 50 times plus men are exhorted to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ.
All of the prophecies related to His first coming were literal, then if God is consistent all the ones related to His second coming will also be literal.

Source: John MacArthur

Each day that passes is a day closer either to your own death, or a day closer to when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Being ready for His return is critical for life and eternal life. Are you ready?