The Rapture of the church of Jesus Christ is is drawing near. How will it be?

a reply to: GoShredAK

Is there a place in the Biblical Heaven that is more forest and nature oriented or is it all Golden Glory?

Because while I respect your excitement (hope you have fun!) I'd feel kind of out of place in such an environment.

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
a reply to: GoShredAK

Is there a place in the Biblical Heaven that is more forest and nature oriented or is it all Golden Glory?

Because while I respect your excitement (hope you have fun!) I'd feel kind of out of place in such an environment.

Yes there sure will be. I wouldn't mind spending time out there every now and then either

I bet the hikes and camping trips and deep nature excursions will be out of this world!

a reply to: GoShredAK

Rock and Roll!

Maybe we'll cross paths one day!

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
a reply to: GoShredAK

Rock and Roll!

Maybe we'll cross paths one day!

Amen to that

a reply to: GoShredAK

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.“

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

Is there a place in the Biblical Heaven that is more forest and nature oriented or is it all Golden Glory?

I certainly hope so! Because those streets of gold don't impress me... I want soft wet grass to walk on and maybe a little cabin tucked away somewhere quiet so I can spend eternity being who I am. I can praise God while lying in a hammock under a pecan tree, lol.

I'll probably get exiled to some place like that anyway... I plan on spending the first several millennium asking questions... "how did you do that?" "What was this for?" lol.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: GoShredAK
I am so ready for my Lord and Savior to come save me and whisp me away to heaven where I can join the heavenly ranks and serve the most high God.

...

I love my Lord Jesus and I will worship him

Jesus made it clear that some forms of worship are not acceptable to God. He spoke of “false prophets,” comparing them to a tree that produces worthless fruit and “gets cut down and thrown into the fire.” He also said: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens.”​—Matthew 7:15-22.

Jesus, in fact, said regarding some who would claim to follow him: “I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:23) Further, when speaking to the religious leaders of his day, Jesus applied to them God’s words to apostate Israel: “It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach as doctrines commands of men.”​—Mark 7:6, 7.

One such doctrine is Christendom's doctrine of the rapture, regarding which there is much misinformation being taught or spread.

Rapture (Reasoning From the Scriptures)

Definition: The belief that faithful Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth, suddenly taken out of the world, to be united with the Lord “in the air.” The word “rapture” is understood by some persons, but not by all, to be the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The word “rapture” does not occur in the inspired Scriptures.

A more detailed view of the varied views of the rapture in comparison with what the Bible is actually talking about at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is available here:

Will You Be Caught Away to Heaven?

a reply to: TheRedneck

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake."

The Biblical description of the Holy CIty sounds more like a gated community to me than anything else.

Fine to visit and see friends and loved ones, but not someplace I'd feel at home per se.

I always viewed Heaven as being Infinite, the Entire Cosmos, multiple habitable planets.

(Now I'm sounding Mormon, LOL)

I mean, the Holy CIty is fine for folks who are into that sort of thing, but I definitely love refecting on the beauty and meditations of Natural areas and the endless bright night skies.

America is kind of an expression of my ideal Heaven, all it's varied Mountains, Prairies, Wetlands, Dry Regions, Small Towns, National Parks, Cities, etc.

A little bit of almost everything on one continent.

Maybe it will be Heaven on Earth?

originally posted by: ToneDeaf
Expect Disappointment

No rapture, no mercy, no forgiveness

Only if the human race changes it's ways, repents . . . then
"disclose of these things (including the hidden ark) and the
glory of the Lord and the cloud will be seen"
Have they found the hidden Ark yet ?
2 Maccabees 2:5-8
www.biblegateway.com...

it's not at the temple.

jeremiah took the arc and tea tephi to ireland. freepages.rootsweb.com...[/ur l]

cairn T. is a good place to start looking for it.www.knowth.com...

the doomsday scroll was written by the essenes, sons of the light. when they escaped from Jerusalem when the romans trashed the city.
they went to Masada and wrote the dead sea scrolls until the romans showed up again.

herod had a pretty nice place.

some say the scroll foretold their own doom and the romans were the catalyst.

[url=https://www.knowth.com/loughcrew.htm]https://www.knowth.com/loughcrew.htm

are we talking about judgement day because Jesus said no one knows the day or hour it will come, except the Father.

we're not here for a long time, just a good time.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

No wants, green pastures, still waters... yeah, sounds like heaven to me!

TheRedneck

originally posted by: whereislogic

A more detailed view of the varied views of the rapture in comparison with what the Bible is actually talking about at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is available here:

Will You Be Caught Away to Heaven?

You link to the Jehovah's witness. Did you know that the Jehovah's witness do not believe Jesus physically rose from the dead ?

a reply to: Ove38

The topic of the thread is Christendom's doctrine of the rapture. Anyway, just quickly...

The Bible says that Jesus “was put to death in the flesh but made alive [resurrected] in the spirit.”​—1 Peter 3:​18; Acts 13:34; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 5:​16.

Jesus’ own words showed that he would not be resurrected with his flesh-and-blood body. He said that he would give his “flesh in behalf of the life of the world,” as a ransom for mankind. (John 6:​51; Matthew 20:28) If he had taken back his flesh when he was resurrected, he would have canceled that ransom sacrifice. This could not have happened, though, for the Bible says that he sacrificed his flesh and blood “once for all time.”—Hebrews 9:​11, 12.

If Jesus was raised up with a spirit body, how could his disciples see him?

- Spirit creatures can take on human form. For example, angels who did this in the past even ate and drank with humans. (Genesis 18:​1-8; 19:​1-3) However, they still were spirit creatures and could leave the physical realm.​—Judges 13:15-​21.

- After his resurrection, Jesus also assumed human form temporarily, just as angels had previously done. As a spirit creature, though, he was able to appear and disappear suddenly. (Luke 24:31; John 20:19, 26) The fleshly bodies that he materialized were not identical from one appearance to the next. Thus, even Jesus’ close friends recognized him only by what he said or did.​—Luke 24:30, 31, 35; John 20:14-​16; 21:​6, 7.

- When Jesus appeared to the apostle Thomas, he took on a body with wound marks. He did this to bolster Thomas’ faith, since Thomas doubted that Jesus had been raised up.​—John 20:24-​29.

originally posted by: whereislogic
If Jesus was raised up with a spirit body, how could his disciples see him?

- Spirit creatures can take on human form. For example, angels who did this in the past even ate and drank with humans. (Genesis 18:​1-8; 19:​1-3) However, they still were spirit creatures and could leave the physical realm.​—Judges 13:15-​21.

- After his resurrection, Jesus also assumed human form temporarily, just as angels had previously done. As a spirit creature, though, he was able to appear and disappear suddenly. (Luke 24:31; John 20:19, 26) The fleshly bodies that he materialized were not identical from one appearance to the next. Thus, even Jesus’ close friends recognized him only by what he said or did.​—Luke 24:30, 31, 35; John 20:14-​16; 21:​6, 7.

- When Jesus appeared to the apostle Thomas, he took on a body with wound marks. He did this to bolster Thomas’ faith, since Thomas doubted that Jesus had been raised up.​—John 20:24-​29..

No, he came to them in the body that had been crucified and resurrected, he was not a spirit.

Luke 24: 36-43 "As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them."

John 20:24-27 "But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hands into His side, I will never believe. And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them, the doors having been shut. Jesus comes, and He stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you." Then He says to Thomas, "Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing."

a reply to: Ove38

It's not really registering very well is it? I already saw your earlier quotation of Luke 24, and the reminder that "spirit creatures can take on human form", i.e. "flesh and bones" (as described at Luke 24), and the related points in my comment, were already a response to that.

John 20:24-29 was already explained as well. Your preferred interpretation does not fit with John 6:​51, Matthew 20:28 and Hebrews 9:​11, 12. And it contradicts what the Bible says concerning the fact that Jesus “was put to death in the flesh but made alive [resurrected] in the spirit.”​—1 Peter 3:​18; Acts 13:34; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 5:​16. When one understands that Jesus took on human form on these occasions (Luke 24 and John 20), just as spirit creatures (angels) had done before (Genesis 18:​1-8; 19:​1-3), it not only fits with what is stated at John 6:​51 and Matthew 20:28 and the other mentioned texts, but also explains why he was able to appear and disappear suddenly (Luke 24:31; John 20:19, 26) and why Jesus’ close friends recognized him only by what he said or did, because the fleshly bodies that he materialized were not identical from one appearance to the next.​—Luke 24:30, 31, 35; John 20:14-​16; 21:​6, 7.

This understanding fits into the larger context of the Scriptures regarding these events. Your preferred interpretation (according to what you were taught) requires further elaborate interpretations to 'explain away' why it supposedly doesn't contradict John 6:51; Matthew 20:28; Hebrews 9:​11, 12; 1 Peter 3:​18; Acts 13:34; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 5:​16. Which you didn't address.

I hope it isn't just sitting around for eternity listening to elevator music.

originally posted by: whereislogic
This understanding fits into the larger context of the Scriptures regarding these events. Your preferred interpretation (according to what you were taught) requires further elaborate interpretations to 'explain away' why it supposedly doesn't contradict John 6:51; Matthew 20:28; Hebrews 9:​11, 12; 1 Peter 3:​18; Acts 13:34; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 5:​16. Which you didn't address.

The idea that Jesus is a spirit (pneuma) and not a human (anthrōpos) is a gnostic idea.

1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man (anthrōpos) Christ Jesus"

1 Peter 3:​18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit

corresponds to

Romans 8:11 "And if the Spirit of the One having raised up Jesus out from the dead dwells in you, the One having raised up Christ Jesus out from the dead also will give life to your mortal bodies, on account of His Spirit dwelling in you."


John 6:51 "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"

corresponds to

Matthew 26:26 "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

Acts 13:34 "God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay."

corresponds to

1 Corinthians 15:42 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in decay; it is raised in immortality."


Hebrews 9:​11, 12 "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."

confirms that Jesus entered the Most Holy Place (Heaven) with his body and blood.

2 Corinthians 5:​16"From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way." (New Revised Standard Version)

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
a reply to: GoShredAK

Is there a place in the Biblical Heaven that is more forest and nature oriented or is it all Golden Glory?

Because while I respect your excitement (hope you have fun!) I'd feel kind of out of place in such an environment.

technically we will be spending eternity on earth.
remember, in the Revelation, John saw 'a new heaven and a new earth' created. God will rule in heaven and we will be on earth. a redone, perfect earth.

btw, Jesus ate some fish after His resurrection, so He definitely had a body.
and visions of heaven mention a throne, and One Who sat on the throne. So God does have a physical form.

It is really disheartening though that most spiritual teachers nowadays are continually destroying the Truth about the Harvest.

Have been exposed to many protestant churches, and I saw something that truly reflected the whole of religions of the world.

People do not seek God because they know the Truth, but because they think they are Right.

Truth is different from being Right.

People do not know the true Gospel of Jesus. The teachings of Buddha. Even those of Muslims, most of them are no longer in Submission with Allah.


I wonder, will people even see it?

This is why...