پرونده برای هوشیاری
There is a school of Biblical teaching that firmly believes that the prophetic no longer operates in the modern world, that God does not do signs and wonders like He did in the times written about in the Bible and during the times of the apostles. I will start here and say that I firmly disagree. And for evidence, I give reference to the scriptures.
Acts 2:17
"’In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."
Why should we be vigilant?
There are extremes to everything. There are people who are obsessed with end time events and when they occur, and engage in over speculation. However, Jesus also tells us to watch the signs.
Matthew 24:42
Matthew 25:13
Nothing Jesus says is without reason, down to the smallest word. When Jesus says "watch",
We are to follow ALL Jesus's commands, including the ones stated in the Parable of the Virgins, where we are told to keep oil in our lamps. Just because we don't know the exact hour Jesus will return doesn't mean He doesn't make it absolutely clear that there will be certain signs, and accelerations, and events preceding His return that signals that it is close, just like the leaves on a fig tree signify that it is close to bearing fruit.
Luke 21:25-28
"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Genesis 1:14
"And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years"
Evidence for the Rapture
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed."
As with anything among the church, people take things to extremes. Some people are so obsessed with the Rapture that they forget about the work the Church still has to do on the Earth before these things come to pass, and spend every single day and waking hour obsessing about current events and speculating on them. Others perhaps believe
Revelation is the only book with a blessing at the beginning of it. Yet it is not taught in many modern day churches, because it can be potentially divisive, or politically incorrect, and that perhaps much of the words of Revelation are still shrouded in mystery. Much of the modern day church has, in some way or form fallen to the same issues of the Pharisees of Jesus' day. For the Pharisees and Saducees themselves believed in God, and Jesus could've just piggybacked or changed their system from within, why did He come to dismantle their entire religious system as they knew it? The Bible does have a grace message, yes, but the Bible is also a very serious book, talking about very serious consequences, and that includes consequences for those pastors that have shied away from teaching Revelation for a myriad of reasons that essentially boils down to "this is not politically correct".
"my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. 'Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children." - Hosea 4:6
Last time I checked, Revelation is an established book of the Bible. It was put in there for a reason and again, it is the ONLY book with a blessing at the beginning. Why do modern day pastors spend so much time on the other books of the Bible, including the Gospels, and ignore Revelation in their teachings entirely? I have been in the past to several churches that do exactly that. We can go through years of sermons without a single teaching on Revelation. And yet, Revelation is so important that it was placed last of the books of the Bible, it talks specifically about events YET TO COME. This is a direct message to any pastors who are reading this: "is God's will more important, or your own will to teach a politically correct message more important? How long will you ignore a huge portion of God's Word just so (in your mind) you are viewed in more favor by the world?