Originally Posted by Retrotia
AJ,
John wasn't just given a vision of heaven in Rev 4. He was in heaven. Rev4-After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."
The verse does say that he was "in the Spirit" so whether he was literally in heaven or in was there in a spiritual sense is yet unclear to me. However the point I was trying to make is that this verse says nothing about Christians being in heaven during the tribulation. You had stated earlier that Rev. 4 and 5 proved that they were.
And I have to correct myself about the Beast not showing up till Rev13. No, Rev.6-the 1st seal-the rider leading the pack on the white horse(deceiving) is the Anti-Christ.(bent on conquering.)
The beast is (until I see evidence to the contrary) the New World Order and it IS bent on conquering the world. It is currently working diligently to dismantle all Christian institutions. It strives to remove all references to Christ from the public domain. The prevailing and underlying philosophy of the New World Order is secular humanism coupled with the false theory of evolution which are diametrically opposed to the tenets of Christianity. Therefore, we agree that the beast system is anti-Christ in its philosophy and wants world control but that doesn't mean that Christians won't be present during their future reign of terror. It's happening as we speak and we are still here.
You think the mark & the Trib. is just about not being able to buy & sell without the mark?
I never once said that. Not once. You are reading things into my words. I said that just because a person is present during the period of time when people are accepting the mark of the beast doesn't mean that everyone present will accept the mark of the beast. The beast will attempt to see to it that everyone accepts the mark; however, not everyone will. Revelation 16:2, "And the first (angel) went and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." Revelation 16:6, "For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." According to the above verses, those with the mark are punished for the shedding of the blood of the saints. Therefore, those who accepted the mark persecute those who did not.
You can read about the End of Days by John Hagee.
I've heard John Hagee preach. I really like the fiery delivery of his message but can't accept his conclusions. He teaches a "rapture of the saints" theory which simply isn't taught in the Bible. It might appear that it's there if you twist a little here and tweak a little there but I prefer the straight forward Word of God. No twisting or tweaking will do.
I wasn't expecting that the extra baptism in the Holy Spirit would make any difference than when I r'cd Christ. But I have noticed how the gifts of the H.S. have given the word of knowledge, and word of wisdom, etc. to me and others when needed.
Repentence followed by baptism will do wonders for a person's soul.
All I can say is that if you believe that Jesus bought and paid for us to believe & be with him-then once we do believe & worship Him here now, that God would appoint us to wrath,especially now that we have the Holy Spirit?
His wrath will not be appointed to the saints but to those who worship the beast. The saints will be present but not affected by His wrath. The tribulation isn't a punishment for the faithful in Christ but a cleansing of an unclean earth filled with evil men.
There's a little faith for you there.
I'll take your word for that.
BTW- Forgiven asked about the 1,000 yrs. Any thoughts?
I'll start looking for my notes on that subject. I'm trying to cover an awful lot in a short time. I'm answering a bunch of questions sent to me by my niece as I'm anwering these posts. I haven't read so much Bible in such a short time for years. It's a good thing.