I am a new member of this forum (can anyone tell me why I am not able to open up the homepage ("Christianity Board Christian Forum) tab?) and I know that you guys have created quite a few threads on the subject of the "Rapture" (being "caught up" to God), but I would like to start a new thread on the "Rapture" done in a little bit different fashion. I am hoping that we can dive into the subject matter with prayer and open-mindedness to such a degree that we can have a civil discourse and ultimately study to show ourselves approved and come to an overall consensus on the subject. I believe it is possible for Christians to learn the answers to all of the doctrines of the Bible, if we trust in the Lord, study to show ourselves approved and pray for answers to all of the questions put before us. Do you guys agree? After all, there are only about 60 or 65 major doctrines in the Bible, so why should we believe that it is not possible for God to enable us to learn 60 things in our lifetime? I believe there is evidence to support (subject matter for a future thread?) that we are living in the last days, and the time in which God promised a Great Christian Revival to sweep the land. A time when it is prophesied that we will do greater things than Jesus did during his 3-year ministry! So if that day is just around the corner and God is going to equip us to do the Greater Things, shouldn't we also believe that God is going to lead us into all truth? Let's see if this system of study will work with one of the most controversial doctrines of the Bible - the "Rapture". For if most of us can come to an agreement on the doctrine of the Bible, then we should be able to come to an agreement on the less controversial subject matters too, right?
How many of you would consider yourself to be biased? I would argue that the vast majority of us are biased (including myself) and that "bias" in of itself is not a bad thing ...it simply indicates that we are using our nuggets ...that we are thinking and making educated decisions based on our thought process! Being biased isn't wrong, but being dogmatic is! If we (including myself) aren't willing to change our biases if the facts dictate change, then we become dogmatic in our beliefs and are no longer open-minded. My charge to everyone is that let's tackle this debate and all other debates keeping this principle in mind. Let's form biases on dogmas but be willing to change our biases on dogma if and when the facts dictate change until we all come into all truth on the scriptures. Is that fair enough?
At this point in time I don't even want to tell anyone my stance on when I believe the "rapture" will take place. I don't want to muddy up those waters at this time. But what I would like to do in this thread is throw out some terms ...some Bible phrases to see if we all agree that these terms coincide with the "rapture" and if we agree, then I will add some more terms and so forth and so on. Once we have a list of terms that the majority agree with in regards to coinciding with the rapture then we should be able to begin to paint a picture of when the rapture will actually take place. In other words, let's begin this study with what we agree upon rather than what we disagree upon! If we can't come to a consensus on the timeline on certain terms, then it makes no sense at all to me for us to enter into deeper waters, does it to you? Many threads start out as a fight on what we disagree about rather than what we agree about. How about we begin this debate with the opposite approach? This might all sound confusing now, but it will hopefully get easier in time, ha, ha.
OK, I'm going to throw out a couple of terms and let's debate whether or not they represent the time of the rapture or not. We don't have to agree that they represent the time of the rapture - for maybe they don't. We all need to prove one way or another whether these terms represent the time of the rapture or not. No matter which side you take, please use scriptures to support your bias (belief system).
OK, let's start with two Biblical phrases:
The Day of Christ
and
The Day of the Lord
Are either one or both of these Biblical days referring to the time of the Rapture? Yes or No? Use scriptures to support your stance.
David Kenderes
thekingdomkeys
P.S. Are we allowed to list our email address in these threads?
How many of you would consider yourself to be biased? I would argue that the vast majority of us are biased (including myself) and that "bias" in of itself is not a bad thing ...it simply indicates that we are using our nuggets ...that we are thinking and making educated decisions based on our thought process! Being biased isn't wrong, but being dogmatic is! If we (including myself) aren't willing to change our biases if the facts dictate change, then we become dogmatic in our beliefs and are no longer open-minded. My charge to everyone is that let's tackle this debate and all other debates keeping this principle in mind. Let's form biases on dogmas but be willing to change our biases on dogma if and when the facts dictate change until we all come into all truth on the scriptures. Is that fair enough?
At this point in time I don't even want to tell anyone my stance on when I believe the "rapture" will take place. I don't want to muddy up those waters at this time. But what I would like to do in this thread is throw out some terms ...some Bible phrases to see if we all agree that these terms coincide with the "rapture" and if we agree, then I will add some more terms and so forth and so on. Once we have a list of terms that the majority agree with in regards to coinciding with the rapture then we should be able to begin to paint a picture of when the rapture will actually take place. In other words, let's begin this study with what we agree upon rather than what we disagree upon! If we can't come to a consensus on the timeline on certain terms, then it makes no sense at all to me for us to enter into deeper waters, does it to you? Many threads start out as a fight on what we disagree about rather than what we agree about. How about we begin this debate with the opposite approach? This might all sound confusing now, but it will hopefully get easier in time, ha, ha.
OK, I'm going to throw out a couple of terms and let's debate whether or not they represent the time of the rapture or not. We don't have to agree that they represent the time of the rapture - for maybe they don't. We all need to prove one way or another whether these terms represent the time of the rapture or not. No matter which side you take, please use scriptures to support your bias (belief system).
OK, let's start with two Biblical phrases:
The Day of Christ
and
The Day of the Lord
Are either one or both of these Biblical days referring to the time of the Rapture? Yes or No? Use scriptures to support your stance.
David Kenderes
thekingdomkeys
P.S. Are we allowed to list our email address in these threads?
