"Holy Cow Batman, We're Still Alive!"

[righteousdude2]

...we have made it past the Mayan calendar thingamabob, so what's next? The tribulation and rapture [both of which we can all count on for sure]. These two events are not hyperbole, myths, fantasy or scare tactics; "Just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts!"

A clerk at Staples helped me fax a letter to my insurance carried today, and while we waited for the fax, I stated to her that I had heard from a friend in New Zealand, and he mentioned that it was now after midnight, Saturday morning, and he was still alive.

She nervously said, "Wow, that is a good thing?" However, I told her that we were still not out of the woods, as a local radio station had pinned pointed the time of the end of the world for 4:38 PST. She looked up at the clock and noted that "We still had five minutes?"

She was actually nervous, so I told her as a pastor, I firmly believed the Mayan stuff was nothing more than a myth, noting that the Scripture clearly stated that "No man would know the day or the hour!" She actually appreciated hearing this, and while we stood there talking, we observed together, the clock ticking over from 4:38 to 4:39 PST.

We both took a collective breath; her for the fact that this day reached 4:39 PST, and myself for the fact that my FAX had finally gone through. :laugh:

 

[saturneptune]

Paul,
We have lived long enough to have heard several of these dates. Perhaps this is the longest lasting one. They are announced, they come and they go. The only thing amazing to me about the situation is the fact that supposedly intelligent, educated people actually give a second thought to the reality that it might happen. The example you used was excellent. That person down deep thought there was a possibility.

When the Rapture and/or the Return of the Lord occurs, which is a certainty, there will be no announced date. FOX news will not be there to cover the event. The thing is, those focused on these mythical events are in the mindset of a physical event. When we talk about the Rapture or the New Heaven and Earth, we are talking about an encounter with the Lord and a spiritual realm. The ones who read weekly sensational news magazines to get their jollies are so shallow. This cannot even compare to the experience of being with the Lord for eternity. That is sort of why those who take things like the Mayan date seriously almost remind one of a barbarian or someone who believes in fairy tales.

The older I get, the more I am convinced I am going to die just like everyone in the past and go into the presence of the Lord. I used to actually think I would see the Rapture in my lifetime.

 

[righteousdude2]

Good Point...

. I used to actually think I would see the Rapture in my lifetime.

...I still have hopes, but I think it is quite possible my rapture is my personal homecoming.

The first time I had to have surgery, I was nervous, but one thing stood out more than anything else about that experience.

I remember going out [as I counted from 99 to 98 and 97], and waking up! When I awoke, I looked at my doctor and wanted to ask him if there were a problem, and the surgery was postponed. However, as I started to speak, my throat clamped down in pain, and I realized the tonsils had been removed, as planned.

What was so outstanding in my mind [then and now] about the entire event was that it seemed like I had merely closed my eyes in a blinking fashion, while, in fact, several hours had passed.

If that is what happens when we die and go to Jesus, who knows? Maybe we'll pass through thousands of years in time [kind of like a spiritual "warp speed" mode] and wake up in His presence with no recollection of time. That means we could possibly go to the grave, and the rapture could be literally thousands of years away, but when the trumpets blow, it will seem like we barely closed our eyes and were called before Him, with no recollection of the time that had, in fact, passed us by in real time.

Just thinking out loud, of course, but who knows. We could be headed for the grave, to sleep, only to wake up renewed and in a beautiful, forever spiritual body. And like my surgery experience, not realize the amount of time that actually [in the eyes and minds of those still alive] passed us by.

Shalom!

 

[saturneptune]

...I still have hopes, but I think it is quite possible my rapture is my personal homecoming.

Shalom!

Dont get me wrong, I hope you are right!!!