Four days before Jesus died and rose again
He said to His disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye
may be also" (John 14:3). Most of us believe the second coming of
Christ will be in two stages; first, in the air for the rapture of the
church, then when He returns to the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem at the
end of the tribulation period. The Bible gives numerous signs of things
that will happen before the second stage of His return, but there is no
specific sign before the rapture takes place. All we're told is that
"the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8), "the end of all
things is at hand" (I Pet. 4:7), and that "the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night" (2 Pet. 3:10). Probably the best description
of the rapture comes from Paul in I Thess. 4:16-17. Tim LaHaye,
co-author of the Left Behind series, is concerned that more Christians
appear to be looking for the antichrist than are looking for Christ's
return. The Bible plainly says He is returning (Acts 1:11).
Most of the prophecies of the last days relate to Daniel's 70th
week (Dan. 9:27). The book of Revelation identifies that week as the
7-year tribulation that will end "the times of the gentiles" and will
usher in the Millennial Kingdom when the returned Lord will rule the
earth for 1,000 years. There is much controversy over when the
rapture of the church will occur in relation to this Millennial
Kingdom. The five common doctrines being taught are: Pretrib, Midtrib,
Posttrib, Pre-wrath, and Partial Rapture. The following is a brief
look at each of these positions.
Pretribulationism. This view, which I believe is the
correct one, means the church will be raptured before the tribulation
and will not go through the judgments prophesied in the book of
Revelation. Some of the scripture supporting this view are: Rom. 5:9, I
Thess. 1:10 & 5:9, and Rev. 3:10. It's also interesting that the
church is mentioned 19 times in the first 3 chapters of Revelation, but
not once in chapters 4-18 where the tribulation is detailed. Pretribs
believe that's because the church is gone.
Midtribulationism. This is the view that Christ will
rapture the church in the middle of the tribulation. These folks
typically point to the number of passages placing emphasis on the
midpoint of the tribulation, such as Dan. 9:27 and Rev. 13:5. They
believe when I Thess. 5:9 says, "God hath not appointed us to wrath,"
it's talking about the really bad last 3 ½ years of the tribulation.
They also believe the two witnesses in Rev. 11 who are caught up to
heaven are a "type" of the church, raptured midtrib.
Posttribulationism. This view has the church raptured
at the end of the tribulation at the same time Christ physically comes
to earth to defeat the antichrist at Armageddon. Their main scriptures
are Acts 14:22, Rev. 3:10 (also used by pretribs), and Rev. 20:4-6.
The Pre-wrath View divides the tribulation into four
21-month periods. They say since the word wrath does not appear in the
book of Revelation until after the sixth seal judgment, God can wait to
rapture the church until just before the seventh seal and still keep the
church from actually experiencing God's wrath. Ron Rhodes, president
of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries, says, "I see a lot of wrath
in Revelation long before the seventh seal is broken." The pre-wraths
don't cite any other scripture in favor of this opinion.
The Partial Rapture View teaches that only those
believers who are watching and waiting for the Lord's return will be
found worthy to escape the tribulation. They say the "prepared and
expectant" section of the church will be raptured, while the rest will
go through the tribulation. Their scriptural references for this belief
include: Matt. 19:28-30, Luke 9:62, Phil. 3:8-14, Rev. 2:11 &
3:5. This view has the tribulation being used as a kind of purgatory
for those "less-than-worthy" Christians. You have to ignore an awful
lot of scripture about how Christ's death paid for our sin to accept
this view. Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago,
says, 'Everyone in the boat gets to the other side, even though some are
rowing and some seem to just be along for the ride."
A "partial preterist" pastor in Tennessee who believes most of what's
prophesied in Revelation has already happened has said to me, "I assume
you are a futurist, dispensational premillennial, pretrib rapture
person." He left out fundamentalist and literalist, but I told him I
was guilty as charged.
Articles, news and announcements from the members of First Baptist Church of New Carlisle, Ohio
First Baptist Church of New Carlisle, Ohio has a rich and unique history in our community. Since 1955 we've been establishing ourselves as a lighthouse for Jesus Christ in our hometown of New Carlisle, Ohio.
We have Bible Study at 9:15 am and Worship Service at 10:30 am every Sunday. Childcare/nursery provided for all services. Wednesdays we have Prayer Meeting at 7:00 pm and Revive Student Ministries for youth at 7:00 pm
Saturday, March 5, 2016
A Quilter: that would be me! - By Wanda Hess
I have always loved to sew. If it be by
hand or on the sewing machine. I began with the doll clothes which I
sewed by hand. Barbie dolls needed many outfits to satisfy a little
girl. Then I found I could have a unique wardrobe when in high school
and sewed my clothes. During those days when you liked a boy you went
“steady”. A fun thing to do was to wear shirts to match. And yes it was
on! I made our shirts to match or a tie for him and a dress for me to
match. And after marriage and birth of children my sewing went back to
little outfits for the children. Now in my “golden years” I have
found how to quilt. If it be by hand or on the sewing machine.
Recently, I read a book called “Quilts are Forever , A patchwork collection of Inspirational Stories” by Kathy Lamanaousa. It told how persons found comfort in quilts they received from family members or quilting itself. From the very beginning of picking out fabric to deciding on a design to using a needle to make those tiny stitches. Most gave their quilts away and all remembered the warmth they felt in the giving or if they received a quilt.
Perhaps you have been lucky one to receive a quilt. A lot of time goes into making a quilt. Time that a person puts into something for you and stops the time spent on “stuff” for the creator. A person puts a lot of their soul into a quilt. And the person who receives a quilt can see and feel the love expressed in this masterpiece.
Kinda’ like GOD does for us. We each are his masterpiece. One that he spends a lot of time on. He is the potter we are the clay it tells us in Jeremiah Chap.18. Each of us had a life given to us by GOD. We come in all sizes and shapes. We grow from teachings from parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, School teachers, our Pastor, to have the knowledge on what a person should be. Those persons are the patches in our life quilt. While we often have no control over the pieces of fabric GOD gives us, we can decide in to what pattern we stitch that fabric. And knowing GOD personally turns us out to be the masterpiece that he wants. We take all those teachings and sew them together in our quilt of life. But having GOD keeps those golden threads from breaking! Remember we reap what we sew!
Recently, I read a book called “Quilts are Forever , A patchwork collection of Inspirational Stories” by Kathy Lamanaousa. It told how persons found comfort in quilts they received from family members or quilting itself. From the very beginning of picking out fabric to deciding on a design to using a needle to make those tiny stitches. Most gave their quilts away and all remembered the warmth they felt in the giving or if they received a quilt.
Perhaps you have been lucky one to receive a quilt. A lot of time goes into making a quilt. Time that a person puts into something for you and stops the time spent on “stuff” for the creator. A person puts a lot of their soul into a quilt. And the person who receives a quilt can see and feel the love expressed in this masterpiece.
Kinda’ like GOD does for us. We each are his masterpiece. One that he spends a lot of time on. He is the potter we are the clay it tells us in Jeremiah Chap.18. Each of us had a life given to us by GOD. We come in all sizes and shapes. We grow from teachings from parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, School teachers, our Pastor, to have the knowledge on what a person should be. Those persons are the patches in our life quilt. While we often have no control over the pieces of fabric GOD gives us, we can decide in to what pattern we stitch that fabric. And knowing GOD personally turns us out to be the masterpiece that he wants. We take all those teachings and sew them together in our quilt of life. But having GOD keeps those golden threads from breaking! Remember we reap what we sew!
Kitchen Korner - Cookies
These
cookies are just called, COOKIES. At home I refer to them as "Funeral
Cookies." Ken calls them "Jim-Dandies." There's a reason for all three
names. First of all, Agnes Andrew gave me the recipe and she just had
"Cookies" at the top of the recipe card. I call them "Funeral Cookies"
because that's where the recipe came from in the first place. Ken calls
them "Jim-Dandies" because Jim Andrew was the one who got the recipe
from some person at the funeral home. Are you confused yet? I know I
am.
However, Jim and Agnes served these cookies to us one day, along with a bunch of other goodies, and we found them very delightful. Ken bragged and went on so about them until Agnes obviously felt sorry for him and sent a little bag of them home with us, (which Ken devoured in no time).
Nothing doing, but Ken insisted I get the recipe. I did and now I'm sharing it with you. (You can name them whatever you want.) The name "Jim-Dandies" has a good ring to it, don't you think?
COOKIES
1 Butter Pecan Cake Mix
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Oil
1 Cup Craisins (Ocean Spray)
1 Cup Pecans
½ Cup White Chocolate Chips
Drop by spoonful on cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes in a 350° oven.
Please submit a favorite recipe to: Dolly Lawler @ lawlers@windstream.net
However, Jim and Agnes served these cookies to us one day, along with a bunch of other goodies, and we found them very delightful. Ken bragged and went on so about them until Agnes obviously felt sorry for him and sent a little bag of them home with us, (which Ken devoured in no time).
Nothing doing, but Ken insisted I get the recipe. I did and now I'm sharing it with you. (You can name them whatever you want.) The name "Jim-Dandies" has a good ring to it, don't you think?
COOKIES
1 Butter Pecan Cake Mix
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Oil
1 Cup Craisins (Ocean Spray)
1 Cup Pecans
½ Cup White Chocolate Chips
Drop by spoonful on cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes in a 350° oven.
Please submit a favorite recipe to: Dolly Lawler @ lawlers@windstream.net
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