James 5 verse 16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

I have been praying and asking the Lord to use me in some small way to help with the Hurricane Katrina victims…Last night, I had a dream where there were crowds of homeless and desperate people crowding around me. In my dream, I began an intense prayer of intercession for these people….I woke up with the words “Jesus, Jesus” coming from my lips….I also had tears streaming down my face…The Lord hears and answers our prayers, I cast on him my every care, I know somehow, somewhere, the answer will surely be there…

About the Author

Author of My Walk with the Lord, www.selahbooks.com, various other articles and poems (google or yahoo search my name), preacher, retired US Army

All biblical scholars know that Jesus Christ was Jewish, however I don’t believe this at all because if Jesus was a Jew then why does he have the Mexican name? Jesus pronounced; “Hey Zues” sells more like a Greek god to me. But if Mexicans are a combination of the old Aztec civilization and Mesopotamian Indians mixed with the Spaniards who came later then I just do not see the correlation that Jesus was a Jew at all.

In fact just the other day I was at Burger King and I met Jesus, he was the assistant manager there and although he did not speak very good English I just knew it was him because he had a name tag is that Jesus right on it.

So you see, now I believe in Jesus because I met him and although his crew makes a very sloppy hamburger and does not speak very good English he seems like an okay guy to me. I am not sure if Jesus was an illegal alien, but he might be.

I just do not see why all these people are following a guy that works at Burger King, whose crew did not understand what I was saying when I asked them to hold the catsup and instead put extra catsup on.

It appears to me that this whole Jesus thing is a miscommunication and very bad interpretation. You know I really don’t think Jesus is listening to anybody now that I finally met him, it makes no sense to give your life to Jesus if he can’t even get your order right. Consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

2 Samuel 12: GOD IS NOT HAPPY WITH KING DAVID’S SHENANAGANS

1 “And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.”

Great story here! Enough to make any caring man angry which is exactly what it was intended to do. It is a story about having “one little ewe lamb,” even though she was evidently one “ewe la la” type ewe! But it was his. She belonged to him and was his prize possession. Middle Eastern men possessed their women like farmers possessed cows and sheep, oxen and asses. Not committing adultery in the Ten Commandments was a function of it being wrong to take a man’s property. Coveting was a function of taking a man’s property, animals and oh yes, wife. If he trashed her, you could take her. A married woman was property and all laws punishing her unfaithfulness were designed to prevent not knowing who the father of her children were and associated inheirtance rights of those children. Before DNA testing, there was the fear of stoning to keep a woman having only the children of the one man. It insured a positive DNA test! The one man, however, could enjoy as many wives as he could afford. Stoning kept women honest about who dad was.

5 “And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.”

Doh! David fell right into that trap. He got compassonate toward the little lamb, angry at the man and pronounced judgement on him…actually on himself, for having taking Bathsheba from Uriah and gotten Uriah killed in the process. But now it get’s interesting.

“Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.”

Notice what the issue here is. David killed Uriah and took his wife Bathsheba. This is bad stuff to be sure. But it is not an issue of the rightness or wrongness of having multiple wives. David already had that and evidently, if he needed more houses, power and wives, God would have been more than happy to do that. Just don’t kill a man and take his! The issue seems more one of killing off a great soldier than taking his wife in the process. But no matter. God is saying that if David needed more wives, more women, more variety, all he had to do was ask and “I would have given thee such and such things.” Such and such is almost code for “the women…tee hee.” Guy to guy stuff more than God to guy stuff!

10 “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”

Well David now has to be punished. So he gets “the sword not deparing from his house.” Never mind that the sword was a part of every kings house and war has raged between them all since there were kings. This is really nothing new. It’s not like there was great peace in the land and now it would get nasty. Notice also that God was going to take David’s wives. David had wives a plenty. He could afford them. No one minded and it was rather expected and God never brought it up until he took one from a favorite soldier and got him killed doing it. So God says that his wives would be raped that very day in front of David. No evidence this ever happened, but notice, the poor women pay for David’s “sin” not David. Would have been more real if God said, “now David, today YOU will be raped in front of your people.” But that’s not how it works. The women always pay and get to be the rapee to punish the guy. Notice that David quickly says, “I’m sorry.” and just as guickly, Nathan says, “No problem, we forgive you, we had to say this, you’ll be fine.” See how easy it is for guys? Meanwhile, the ladies are out in the yard getting raped by who knows who and how. I hope this did not really happen.

14 “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. 15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. 24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.”

Well, once again, it’s not David that gets punished, but an innocent baby that never gets to survive David and Bathsheba’s relationship. Maybe it was a girl anyway so easier to let go of. I suppose they were sad, but they graciously accept it, get back to worship and have another cute little boy who goes on to be Solomon, the wisest guy on the planet so they say along with being the most wealthy who has 500 wives and 700 Concubines in his own stable in due time. Maybe a deformed or handicapped child would have taught a better lesson, as that was also the ignorant belief of the day, but not so this time. The Lord ends up loving them all and David gets to be “a man after God’s own heart.” So see it all works out!

It is common to say that they did have these multiple relationships but that it was only allowed because of the hardness of their hearts. Well, who’s in charge here! God seems to give up rather easily when humans won’t go with the program. “Ok, since you don’t want to do it, go ahead. But I don’t like it.” Divorce also was only permitted because the men did it anyway but “from the beginning it was not so.” But actually from the beginning it has always been so.

Marriage in the Old Testament was not the romantic one on one affair that is required to be in our time. In our day, the Church demands that a young couple promise upon pain of eternal judgement and death that they will never change, ever. Then the Church conveniently forgets to mention that from the moment they make their vows, everything else in the universe will begin to change. A little unrealistic.

Even the New Testament says that the Elder must be the husband of one wife, as if other members did have more than one but could not be an elder unless they pared it back to one. But the New Testament, unlike the Old where men have multiple female relationships, is a book where the leading men have little or none. Twelve guys, with no female relationships, save maybe Peter, following one guy around and then celebate guys telling everyone else how to be married, raise kids and enjoy a woman. Makes no sense. There are no male/female relationships in the New Testament of any worth. It’s the unspoken taboo as we see in the reaction to the Da Vinci Code today. The Gospel of Philip indeed describes Mary M. as the “one who was called his companion”, i.e. the companion or wife of Jesus. Jesus “loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on the mouth….The rest of the disciples offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, ‘Why do you love her more than all of us?’…” Jesus is said to have replied, “why does she love me more than you?” You can see why this book did not make the cut! Kissing…….ewwwwwwwwwwwww!

Catholic priests, in time past, were married and even had multiple relationships but that was ended in the Middle Ages by the Church so that any properties amassed by the clergy in their lifetimes would go to the church and not the wife. In time, celebacy was required across the board for Priests, but that was a value added law by the Church and not Biblical in any way. An unmarried Rabbi in Judaism had little credibility and it didn’t happen from what I understand.

The point is that relationships are more fluid in reality than they are in Church or in Bible Land. Men got off rather easily with many perks, while women paid and paid and paid for the sins of the men by having to be raped, thrown out and sent into the desert to teach the man a lesson. Go figure. Taliban Christianity is not much different today.

I was watching a news program not to long ago and a guest was talking about God’s wrath being poured down on the United States because of the moral decay in society. The guest took a very high moral ground not admitting any faults with in themselves, their congregation, or the church in general.

Is God punishing the world? He may be, but who am I to judge the hearts of man. When hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast I don’t think any one thought that God was punishing the people that lived there. On the contrary people all around the world poured out compassion for the victims.

As Al-Qa’ida hi-jacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center buildings in New York (we refer to as 9/11), I don’t think Christians around the world were judging the victims of 9/11.

Yes, our country’s morals have decayed in society. It seems that every one points fingers at this group and that group with the perception that everyone else is to blame. But where does the blame lie? Many blame Hollywood, but if no one supported Hollywood then Hollywood would change. Some might blame the government, but who elects the government representatives? Others might blame the Church, but who is the church?

I believe the answer lies in the heart of the individual. Every person has moral choices to make and their choices effects the lives of others around them. As individuals we can choose to support or not support Hollywood, elect government representatives that have moral convictions, be apart of a church that teaches the Gospel and the love of Christ, and we should examine our own hearts and lives.

I have not found the passage in the bible that says that once I have accepted Jesus Christ that I become the judge of man’s heart. It is not there, but it does say to share the ‘Good News’ and love your neighbor as yourself.

Changing society needs to start in the heart and lives of the individual. Death and destruction happens every day and as Christians we can take comfort that God’s plan is at work in this world. We may not be able to understand or comprehend His ways but His plan is the perfect plan.

C. Dakota is associated with NarrowisthePath.com. C. Dakota is a father and business owner that is dedicated to delivering family friendly Christian resources to internet users. C. Dakota also administers a Christian article directory at http://www.narrowisthepath.com.

Many “Christian Identity” groups (who taint the Israelite origins of the West) claim that most who refer to themselves today as Jews aren’t really Jews but dangerous imposters.

Such misguided souls rely heavily upon two scriptures, taken out of context, to stoke their unwarranted hatred:

“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, but thou art rich and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” (Rev. 2:8-9)

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” (Rev. 3:7-9)

Both messages were given by Messiah through the apostle John to two different Church of God congregations in what today would be modern Turkey. Unlike Jerusalem, the Jews were no major power or threat in either Gentile city.

The Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, who follow the plain truth of the Bible as taught by Herbert W. Armstrong, have always understood such scriptures about imposter Jews to refer to professing Christians who were following the false convert, Samaritan sorcerer Simon Magus:

“Simon had bewitched the people of that country, and they followed him as their leader in the Babylonian mystery religion “from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God” (Acts 8:10)…

[After being rebuked by Peter]…Simon proclaimed himself a Christian apostle, nevertheless, and called the pagan Babylonian mystery religion “Christianity.” He accepted the doctrine of “grace” for the forgiveness of sin (which the pagan religions had never had), but turned grace into license to disobey God (Jude 4). He aspired to turn his pagan religion, under the name “Christianity,” into a universal religion, to gain thereby the political rule of the world.

Simon, the “Pater” (Peter) of his counterfeit religion, did not accomplish this in his lifetime. But succeeding leaders, with the headquarters moved to Rome, did, later, gain political control over the Roman Empire and its medieval successor, called “The Holy Roman Empire.” This empire is in process of again being resurrected in Europe now!” (Mystery of the Ages, Herbert W. Armstrong).

Spiritually speaking, all truly converted Christians are spiritual Jews. Ethnic Jews and physical Israelites who reject Messiah are spiritually Gentiles. Paul explains:

“For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised [Gentile] man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? [a spiritual Jew/Israelite] 27 And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28).

When Yeshua mentioned the “synagogue of Satan,” Yeshua was speaking to the Smyrna and Phildelphia Churches of God in Asia Minor. He was referring to some “synagogue of Satan” opposing them there. He was not referring to Jews as an ethnic group (whom He acknowledged as literal physical descendants of Abraham and so did Paul) or to the Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem.

Again, spiritually speaking, anybody who professes to be a true Christian is claiming to be a spiritual Jew, as Paul spoke of such circumcision of the heart. Therefore, TRADITIONAL CHURCHIANITY CONSTITUTES THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN — cleverly misleading the masses for a Gentilized Jesus, a counterfeit gospel, a different spirit and pagan holidays and ways of the Babylonian Mystery religion — in those days and in these days! (2 Cor. 11:4, Rev. 17:5).

Any literal, physical Israelite or Jew remains such regardless of whether they’re blind to Jesus’ identity at this time, as Paul made reference to his ethnic Jewish brethren and didn’t reject them as such, even though admitting they were enemies of the gospel. Paul didn’t once call them counterfeit Jews or synagogue of Satan or any thing like it. Instead he praised their zeal (having shared it) but said it was “not according to knowledge.” However, Paul, like true Christians, knows in God’s good time the blindness that afflicts ISRAEL (Anglo-Saxons and Northwestern Europeans) and JUDAH will be history.

Some persist in their error and state that the physical Jews in Israel today aren’t Jews in God’s sight any more since they reject the Priest-King of Israel and therefore aren’t worthy to live in the Holy Land, saying God would never give it to them.

Others compound their sin against our Jewish brethren (ethnically, tribally speaking) by refusing to believe that they’re even physical Jews, repeating the lie that they’re all Khazar converts, exaggerating claims made by those who refuse to submit to God’s Word that clearly reveals LEGITIMATE JEWS would again be living in the Promised Land of Israel, exercising sovereignty over Jerusalem, contested by the international community of fools, just before the False Prophet and Beast occupy Jerusalem.

The Bible, the inspired Word of God, calls them Jews and refers to “the cities of Judah” (not occupied “Palestinian” towns) so we should believe the Bible over men who would say otherwise, as I bring out in a Jewish Homeland.

Both Israel and Judah have been blessed because of ABRAHAM’S OBEDIENCE. Our ethnic Israelite folks, mostly professing Christians, were not denied the physical inheritances God unconditionally promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their heirs would inherit — even though we’re acting like Gentiles. Yes, we’re Gentilized Israelites just like our pagan forefathers who rejected God’s holy days for pagan holidays.

Yet God has blessed Joseph primarily, the leader of the Northern Ten Tribes, with the United States and British Commonwealth. Likewise, God has not denied Judah a homeland despite their current serious spiritual condition that — like our Israelite countries — is in desperate need of repentance and healing or we’ll all suffer national destruction, defeat and deportation (Dan. 9:11, Malachi 4:4). God has faithfully given us the blessings He promised Abraham but now their continuance is conditional upon our obedience.

Both counterfeit Christians and jaded Jews must come to NATIONAL REPENTANCE. The Jews have rejected Jesus, blinded by their traditions, and Churchianity has rejected Jesus for their idolatrous traditions, both against the biblical traditions the Jewish apostles have shared with us (Titus 1:16, 1 John 2:4). Such blindness, in large part, was prophesied. But now that God is revealing these things, bringing it to light, exposing the darkness in traditional Judaism and Christianity, we’re to confess and forsake our sins and get back to the biblical basics, back to the Faith once delivered — so help us God — or we’ll go back into national captivity.

The good news is even if we insist upon learning the hard way, going through the “hell” of the Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Two Witnesses will see us through the long night and help us prepare to meet our God, to receive our King: Yeshua the Messiah.

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe’s Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

Prayer is an important aspect of our Christian faith. That’s probably why there are hundreds – or thousands! – of books and articles on the subject of prayer. Many of them address the issue of HOW to pray without covering WHAT to pray… what to say when you pray.

As a pastor, it’s sad to say that my own prayers bore me at times. My lack of imagination causes me to pray the same things over and over…

“Lord… meet their needs. Draw them to you. Forgive them. Open their eyes. Heal them. Touch them.”

While the desire is to see God work – and that’s a good thing – there are times when I yearn for more creative, original thoughts when praying.

Here are three things that I’ve “borrowed” from others whose prayers have touched my heart and reached into my soul. Perhaps they’ll help you as much as they’ve helped me.

• Pray the Scriptures.

There are many beautiful passages in the Scriptures that truly draw our hearts toward God. The Psalms, being poetry and songs, especially seem to invite us to let the words become our own.

Psalm 100 has always been a favorite of mine, perhaps because it was one of the few I memorized as a child. But Psalm 51, Psalm 37 and Psalm 24 have also meant a lot to me in times of need and I have prayed them often.

When looking for other passages, the books of Isaiah, Joshua and John come to mind as offering a number of sample prayers. Then there’s the well-known “Prayer of Jabez” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) and of course, Psalm 23 and the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-12) which are classics.

• Pray a song.

There are many wonderful hymns that are actually prayers. Select your favorites and sing or recite them to the Lord. But don’t neglect newer numbers. Many contemporary songs offer amazing, creative approaches for communing with God.

Bob Carlisle, best known for his hit, “Butterfly Kisses,” has recorded several songs that I’ve personally used as prayers many times. His songs “Use Me” and “Chance I Have to Take” from his debut album had more to do with me accepting God’s call to full-time ministry than anything else in my life at the time. The lyrics of these two songs became, literally, the cries of my heart. And God heard those cries and called me to full-time service for Him.

Be careful what you pray for.

• Read the prayers of others.

Books of Christian poetry often contain prayers. Or you can visit some wonderful Websites with prayers and poems to help you creatively draw near the Father.

While I’m not a member of the Roman Catholic church, I thoroughly enjoy the idea of praying the Apostles’ Creed as many Catholics do. Then there is always the “Serenity Prayer.” You can also visit the following Websites for ideas or search Google for “sample prayers” for many other options.

http://sub.namb.net/helplink/pry-smpl.asp
http://www.prayernetworks.net/resources/samples/
http://www.retirementwithapurpose.com/prayer_samples
http://www.secretsofsuccess.com/resources/sample_prayers.html

There are many other options for praying, including memorized prayers, silent meditations and simple conversations with God. While prayer doesn’t have to contain flowery phrases or uniquely imaginative words, it does help us to put some thought into our prayers so they don’t become simply “sounding brass” or “clanging cymbals” in the ears of our Lord.

Article copyright © 2005 by Darlene Bishop. All rights reserved worldwide.

Darlene “Dee” Bishop is a Nazarene pastor, creative designer and writer. Visit her Website at http://christiansitesolutions.com to see how she can help your church create an affordable Internet presence and develop effective online solutions today.

Lindsey’s Date Setting Flawed

Hal Lindsey believes in a pretribulational rapture. This means that the rapture must occur at least seven years prior to the great tribulation according to his prophetic time-clock. Apparently he did not include this in his calculation for his predicted date was 1988. A more accurate date would have been 1981.

Predictions in the Old Testament

Since the rapture is related to the great tribulation in Lindsey’s view, it could be helpful to examine the biblical prophecies to get an idea of their time parameters.

The great tribulation is predicted in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah it is called the time of Jacob’s trouble. However, Jacob (Israel) would be saved out of it. Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:6).

Daniel’s Time of Trouble.

Daniel calls the great tribulation a time of trouble, the likes of which Israel had never seen nor would ever see again once it happened. “…And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.” (Daniel 12:1)

As in Jeremiah, Daniel likewise foretells that some in Israel would be delivered. However, he sees the event connected to the resurrection of the dead. For he says, And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. (v. 2) Thus for him, the great tribulation culminates in Christ’s return.

Predictions in the New Testament

The great tribulation theme is spoken of by Christ, and also permeates the writings of the apostles. Jesus quoting Daniel applies this event to the time of Jerusalem’s fall by the Romans, (Matthew 24, 3, 21, 34; Luke 21:20-24).

The apostles warned the church that the tribulation would happen in their day to encourage them not to abandon Christianity in the midst of their severe trials and persecution.

First Century Christians Experience and Endure the Great Tribulation

To the Corinthians, Paul wrote of the present distress, 1 Corinthians 7:26. For Paul and his readers, the tribulation was real, present and painful. They knew nothing of a tribulation far removed into the remote future. To them, the “time was short” (v. 29) with the end of the age having come upon them, (10:11).

That tribulation affected social life, in particular, marriage relationships because of the commitment required to remain faithful and the challenges it would bring on new marriages where one spouse might not be as committed to Christianity in view of the suffering. See 1 Corinthians 7:10-16, 26-29).

It was Paul’s constant concern to strengthen and encourage the churches in view of the oncoming tribulation they would experience. “Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)

To this end, Paul exhorted the church at Thessalonica. “That no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know.” (1 Thessalonians 3:3, 4).

The second letter to this church further encouraged them amidst their present, ongoing trials of persecution and suffering that would only be alleviated by Jesus’ return. (2 Thessalonians 1:4-7). They were told to expect it before they all died, (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

John, who wrote Revelation, said he was in the tribulation. (Revelation 1:9). In Lindsey’s pretribulational rapture view, the rapture would have to have to occurred before John wrote. All these events happened in the past. Remember, the tribulation would be unparalleled in Israel’s history. Thus, for Hal Lindsey to predict a modern day rapture would imply a modern day tribulation that would contradict the biblical account. Not only did he miss his prediction but we are now almost 18 years, removed from Lindsey’s magical date.

While Lindsey failed to make good on his failed prophecies which he has not revised even in later editions of his book, he made a fortune on the lies. Maybe his next book could be titled, “Too Late for 1988.”

William Bell, author and speaker on Covenant Eschatology. Visit http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com