26 Sept
Third Quarter Fund Drive
Once again it's time to reflect back on the accomplishments we've achieved at Rapture Ready and to plan ahead for what remains of 2005. A casual glance at the New Articles section will reveal we have been very productive. I have an endless number of other people to thank for providing large and small inputs into the site.
John Funk and Lynette Schaefer deserve special praise for being so prolific in producing helpful articles. The RR news posters and message board admin team are living examples of what it means be faithful servants of the Lord.
We've also received several new articles from gifted writers around the world. I've received resources from every continent but Antarctica - lazy penguins! One gentleman from the Philippines wrote an article on the pre-trib rapture that was so well-written, it took me a few days to verify that he actually penned it himself.
I'm very proud of what we've achieved with the Other Languages section. Both the Spanish and French rosters have more than tripled in size. We even have added a few more articles to the Germany section.
Another big accomplishment was the addition of over 100 new articles to the Thomas Ice collection. I hired a freelance editor to translate Mr. Ice's articles into a flat html format.
We have also started advertising the site through search ads. What spurred this decision was the realization that the majority of the people who regularly visit RR are already believers in Christ. I knew we were in trouble when the majority of my emails were turning out to be praise mail.
The daily cost for the ads is around $60 per day. Having to shell out $1,800 each month to promote the site does seem expensive, especially since we're not selling anything. However, we are provided something of far greater value. If the site doesn't lead people to the Lord now, they will vividly remember the domain address when the big event transpires.
My plans for Rapture Ready extend several years. We are trying to figure out what other language would be beneficial to add to the site. I still have several new time lines to add to the section by the same name.
Because the process of building up the site is very time consuming, I know the rapture, some day, will cut my work short. The knowledge that life is a one-time shot is the reason I work long hours on this venture.
Most people would classify the act of supporting a Christian ministry under the heading of "doing something for others." In helping any Christian cause, you are also doing something for yourself. The people who email articles to me or send a check or Pay pal donation to Rapture Ready are actually contributing to their own heavenly accounts.
The Lord promised a mansion for all his faithful servants, and I firmly believe we are responsible for supplying the building material for our own heavenly home. I have a two-bedroom home here in Nebraska that temporarily keeps me safe from the elements. My true home is in place where wild fires, floods, and termites cannot reach.
There are days when I absolutely do not feel like working on this site. When I find myself slipping, I just remember that God will someday ask, "Todd, what have you done for my Kingdom?" At that moment, it will be in my best interest to have made all the necessary preparations down here on earth.
Rapture Ready is all about Christians banding together for the simple purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. Some people contribute great amounts to the site, and others do the best they can. The result is a resource that people around the world can turn to. Because time is rapidly running out, we need your help to reach as many people as possible.
One of the best ways to support RR is with some type of automatic monthly donation. The Pay Pal subscription service and allotments set up through a bank are convenient ways to send funds to the site. If you're interested in signing up, you can find the link on the Donation Depot page. Donations can also be sent to our PO Box at: Rapture Ready Min.; PO Box
125; Bellevue, NE 68005.
-- Todd
Will We See Christ's Return?
We know from the Scriptures that the first generation began with Adam and Eve. Noah was the tenth generation. Which generation do we represent? And, which generation of people was Christ talking about that would see His return when He said: "…This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Mt 24:34)? The answer to this elusive, 2000-year-old question may be closer than we think, if the many prophecies we see converging on the horizon continue their march towards fulfillment in the 21st century.
The Generation of His Coming
Perhaps the most intriguing and controversial prophetic Scripture passage found in the Bible is contained in the Olivet Discourse. This dynamic "end times" message by Jesus, contained in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21, describes major events that will impact the Jewish people just before the Lord returns to set up His Kingdom.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory…Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. -Matthew 24:30-36
This remarkable prophecy of future events, given by Jesus on Mount Olivet after leaving the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, was in response to three questions from His disciples: "When shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world" (Mt 24:3)? The generation that will be living on the earth when Christ returns is alluded to in this discourse. The belief that the generation Jesus was talking about was the generation that passed away in 70 A.D. does not fit within the context of a literal return of Christ back to earth, as described in the Scriptures preceding and following the parable of the fig tree. Two questions one might raise about this unique generation and other generations described in the Bible are: 1) How long is a generation? and 2) Which generation was Christ talking about?
The Generation Question
One of the most perplexing and sought-after answers among students of Bible prophecy is the length of a generation. There is much disagreement among both secular and religious writers concerning the length of a generation. Is the length of a generation 40 years? When Israel became a nation in 1948, some believed that Israel's birth date marked the beginning of the generation that would see all the events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. This theory was based upon the generation alluded to in the parable of the fig tree, in which the fig tree was symbolic of the nation Israel. (For a more detailed study of the fig tree in Biblical history, see Judg 9:8-15; Jer 24:1-10; Lk 13:6-9; Mt 21:17-21; Mk 11:11-14, 20-21; Lk 19:41-44; Rom 11:1,2,25-27; Isa 66:8; Mt 24:32-51; Mk 13:28-37; Lk 21:29-36; and Rev 6:13.)
When 40 years passed in 1988 without fulfillment of any of the events surrounding the Second Coming of Christ, the 40-year generation theory fell into disrepute. Either 1948 was not the starting date for the generation described in the fig tree parable, or a generation must be longer than 40 years, according to the theory. Additional arguments put forth claimed that 1967, the year Jerusalem was captured, or some other future date could be the birth of the generation that would see the return of Christ.
Some proponents of the "end times" generation theory questioned whether 40 years was actually the length of a generation today. Is there any evidence to suggest that the length of a generation is longer than 40 years? A few sources hold that a generation is now 20 to 30 years in length (but this better represents a generation "gap"). Other opinions range from 40 to 100 years. Just how long is a generation today? Is there an answer to the generation question?
The Longevity of Mankind
A generation, as described in the Bible, begins at conception and ends at death (Gen 17:6-9; Ps 22:30; Jer 1:4,5; Act 13:36; Josh 24:29-31). The length of a generation is not an arbitrary period of time that occurs within the life span of an individual or group of people. Joshua's age at the time of death, 110 years (including 9 months gestation), was the length of the generation he represented. Some of his generation died before him and some after him. Consequently, the average life span of a group of people living at about the same time constitutes the length of that generation.
The length of a generation has not always been constant since the days of Adam and Eve. Before the Biblical flood, the average life span of man was over 900 years. Today, if a person lives to be a hundred years old, it is a special occasion in which the person is accorded celebrity status. In order to understand how long a generation is today, it will be helpful to know what the length of a generation was before the Flood and what happened to the life span of man immediately following the Flood. Has man's life span increased, decreased or stayed the same down through the centuries?
The average length of a generation was about 930 years for those living before the Flood but decreased to around 120 years by the time Moses crossed the Red Sea and ended his 40-year sojourn in the wilderness of Sinai. Since there are not very many 120-year-old individuals walking around today, it is apparent that the average life span is no longer 120 years. Eli, a High Priest and Judge of Israel whose life bridged the 13th and 12th centuries B.C., died at the age of 98 years (1 Sam 4:15). According to the Scriptures, he was considered to be a "very old" person at the time of his death (1 Sam 2:22).
Which Generation was Christ Talking About?
With Israel back in their land after almost 2000 years of dispersion (the Diaspora) and other end time prophecies coming into focus, the Jewish people now living in Israel could very well be the generation Christ was talking about. Luke's version of the fig tree parable, which mentions the fig tree (Israel) and all the trees (nations of the world-see Judg 9:8-20; Dan 4:26; Ps 2:1-12; Mt 25:31,32), states:
And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. -Luke 21:29-33
If the length of David's generation, Christ's generation, and the average life span of those living today in Israel is between 70 and 80 years (a 3000-year span), it would be reasonable to conclude that the generation Christ was talking about in the parable of the fig tree will also be 70 to 80 years in length. If the fig tree in this parable represents the nation of Israel, as many prophetic scholars believe, and the generation that is described has a life span of 70 to 80 years, then recent events such as the rebirth of Israel as a nation (Isa 66:8), the Jerusalem controversy in the "end times" (Zech 12:1-3), preparations for rebuilding the Jewish Temple (Rev 11:1,2), and the ongoing negotiations for a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians (Dan 9:27) are strong indicators that the generation Christ was talking about has already been born, and the return of Jesus Christ to establish His reign for a thousand years is close at hand.
The Most Significant End Time Prophecy
The "end time" events described in the Olivet Discourse and the book of Revelation could not take place without Israel back in their land. Israel's return to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the 20th century is the most important event that signals the soon return of Jesus Christ.
...I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime...And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. -II Samuel 7:10-16
Israel's rebirth as a nation has also served as a catalyst for other "end time" prophecies that are beginning to converge on the world scene (Dan 2:42-22; Ezek 38-39). The Apostle Paul told us "...that in the last days perilous times shall come" (2 Tim 3:1-7). Jesus said there would be a time of worldwide conflict and wars that would be "the beginning of sorrows" (Mt 24:8). Christ said, "except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved…" (Mk 13:20).
The ability of man to destroy all flesh on the earth became a real possibility for the first time in the history of the world during the second half of the 20th century with the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The 21st century will witness an unprecedented increase in surveillance and eavesdropping as the global government "big brother" system wraps its tentacles around every aspect of human life, while promising "peace and security" to those who relinquish their freedoms (Rev 13:16-18; 1Thess 5: 3).
Christians who take the Bible seriously should be actively watching the prophetic shadows that are appearing in today's headlines. And as we entertain the possibility that we may be the generation Jesus was talking about in the fig tree parable nearly 2000 years ago, we are admonished by the Scriptures to watch and be prepared (Mt 24: 37-51).
As stated clearly by Jesus in Matthew and Mark, no man knows the day or the hour of his coming, but the Father only. The same Jesus, however, was very angry with the Pharisees and Scribes for not discerning "the signs of the times" (Mt 16:3) and not knowing the "time of their visitation" (Lk 19:44).
One day there will be a generation of Christians that will escape the grip of death and be ushered into Heaven, the "final frontier" for believers (1 Thess 4:13-5:11). The generation that is "left behind" will face the ruthless tyranny of a global dictatorship (Rev 13:11-18). The world stage is now being set for the closing act of this dispensation, and the climax of world history (Christ's return) is drawing near. As God's children, we may very well be the generation that is chosen to "escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (Lk 21:34-36). That possibility is certainly worth pondering!
- by J. Michael Hile
