You probably have heard this week that we only have until May 21^st to be on this earth because thats when according to Herold Camping, a retired civil engineer when the rapture will take place

he also said millions will die on that day because of Gods judgment and then the entire world will end in Oct., he said he studied all the dates in scripture and this is when the earth is over

how do we know that the rapture is about to occur?

What are the signs that we are to look for?

& could this Mr Camping be correct?

Apparently theres a small group of followers who believe what he says is true & they are traveling across the country trying to warn people that we’re finished

get your house in order, we’re out of here!!

one of his followers a Miss Exley said, if she is still here on May 22^nd, then she wasn’t saved and she’ll have to perish with everyone else

I thought it was pretty sad, to know the world is going to end & not be sure if you’ll escape or not, apparently her salvation is based on some shakey theology

can we be sure we will be with the Lord if the world was to end?

The bible that I have, the one that God wrote said that our salvation can be sure, if we will receive Jesus Christ as our Savior

so are we about to be raptured? Mr Campings prognosis, seems to have flaws

Matt: 24: 36

although we will know that this day is drawing near, because every year that passes we are drawing close to that day, but, we don’t know the day or hour

someone trying to pinpoint the day of the rapture is nothing new, on Oct 22, 1844 a Mr Williams predicted when the rapture would happen

but when it didn’t happen, it became known as the day of disappointment

which started the 7^th day adventist movement

there have been others who have sold everything and sat on a mountain, after it didn’t happen, they sheepishly came down feeling rather foolish

2^nd no where in scripture does it say that millions will die when the rapture occurs, but rather that men will be blinded to the truth & will worship the false Christ

3^rd the earth cannot be completely destroyed in 5 months because the bible says that after the rapture, those who are left behind will endure 7 yrs of tribulation

so how do we know that we are drawing closer to the rapture?

Matt. 24:4

this warning that Jesus said himself is for everyone from then until the rapture does happen

there has been an enormous amount of deception since the time of Christ & has increased 100 fold with the invention of new technology

Peter also warned that false teachers were among us & would bring destruction & thats why its imperative that we all know what our bible teaches

you can turn your T.V. On to all of those religious stations & you can enjoy all the deception that your heart can handle

it is actually easy to be deceived because Satan makes his lies so tasty, easy to swallow, easy to believe because it makes sense

I’ll show you how easy it is to deceive you

Matt. 28:19-20

says here that we are to go to all nations teaching them to be Baptized in the trinity of God that he commanded and he’ll be with you always

thats how you get into heaven, by being baptized, so therefore we need to baptize you after your born to insure your place in heaven in case you die early

sounds good doesn’t it!

& it sounded so good that the Catholic & reform religions were born, deceiving millions

understand this: with one verse you can build a religion

but with the full context of scripture, you can build a relationship

Matt 24:5

As we get closer to the rapture, we will see an increase of those who claim to be Christ

in – 19^th century there were 4 who claimed to be Christ, John Thom, Arnold Palmer (not the golfer) Bahaullah, a shiite, & Bill Davies

in – 20^th century there was 23 known ones, people like George Roux, Earnest Norman, Jim Jones, & David Koresh

it is indeed increasing, just as scripture says it will

vs:6

this of course is not the sign that the rapture is about to happen, because there has been major wars throughout history

it says here that we will hear about wars & rumors of war but its not the end, we will never solve the problem of war

this is put here to remind us that there will not be peace until the prince of peace returns

so we are to watch out for deceivers & anti-Christ

vs:7-8

again these are characteristic of the age we live in, these things have been with us forever

in other words, Jesus is telling us, when we see these things happen, don’t go sell everything & sit on a mountain

but he is saying these things will intensify as we approach – rapture, they are – beginning of sorrows

so when do we really have to get ready for when the rapture will occur?

Somewhere between vs:8 & 9

the bible divides people up into 3 categories, the Jews, Gentiles & the church

today God is calling both Jew & Gentile to compose the church & it is this third group that will be raptured just before the tribulation

vs:9

it says here that we will be delivered up to be afflicted & killed, this is talking about the tribulation period

rev. 3:10

those who are saved will not go into the tribulation, we are kept from that hour

now I know what your thinking,

go back to Matt 24; 8-9

what signs are there then that we are to look for so we know the rapture is about to happen?

There are none, no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels, so some man named Harold camping doesn’t either

the rapture can occur in one minute or in a thousand yrs

so who is he speaking to n vs;9?

Remember I said the bible divides us up into 3 categories Jews, Gentiles & the church

• church is gone, we’re in heaven, leaving 2 groups, God is going to bring judgment on the unbelieving Gentiles& he is going to turn his attention once again to his people the Jews

we have seen anti-semitism on the rise, but it will be poured out on them during the tribulation as never before

& they will do everything including going against each other in an attempt to survive

there are many things that will take place during – tribulation that we can apply to our day

vs; 10-12

people get offended today about everything, its alright to abort your baby according to this worlds thinking

but don’t you dare feed your child sweets or happy meals, thats offensive

don’t put up a nativity scene, or a tree or the ten commandments in a public area its offensive

& remember to only lie to each other, because the truth offends, I learned that from politicians

we see iniquity going through the roof, its as if man is inventing new sin, they’ve tired of all the old ones

we see love growing cold, love is just for the moment, men & women jump from bed to bed trying to find love, but its not there, its grown cold

so there are many principles that will be indicative of the tribulation period, but is already in play for today

during the 7 yr tribulation according to Revelation, man will be almost completely wiped out, except for Israel

matt. 24: 22

• elect here is Israel, because the other elect who is the church is gone & God doesn’t allow this period to go past 7 yrs otherwise no one would survive

so the bible is clear that we won’t know when the rapture will happen, but he does however give us a hint of what the characteristic of that generation will be

Matt 24: 37-39

if we were to go back to Genesis, we would see that the days of Noah were characterized by a generation of gross immorality

every thought & imagination was evil continually

• Lord said his coming back will be during a time like this

he said they were eating & drinking & giving in marriage, nothing wrong with that, right?

Except they were not doing these things for the glory of God, they were living as though God didn’t exist

According to some scholars, these marriages were homosexual, because in Gen. 9 Ham saw the nakedness of his father

this angered God, he had destroyed the earth because of this sin & other evils that they had committed & he was not going to allow it to begin again

Ham must have been influenced by the evil that men had committed before the flood & God brought down harsh judgment on Ham

but, are we seeing men whose thoughts & imaginations are continually evil?

Are we seeing man acting as though God doesn’t exist & even pass laws that reflect that?

Are we seeing homosexuality becoming a worldwide accepted practice?

43-45

Lord is saying since we don’t know when the rapture will occur, BE READY

46-51

this is a great principle here, you & I ought to be living our lives in the light of the fact that our Lord is returning & we will stand in his presence

it doesn’t matter if he comes in 1 day or in a hundred yrs. How should you be living your life right now?

What will Jesus find, if he was to show up today?

Someone who would shout for joy at his appearing

or someone who would scream in embarrassment?

We need to live as though Jesus is walking toward us right now