Are we living in the last days?

Sincerely,
Watching The Time

Dear Watching The Time,

If we were living in the last days… we wouldn’t know it.  The Bible specifically says that the Second Coming of Christ will come like a thief in the night (1 Thess 5:1-2).  Jesus will return when people least expect Him.  The apostle Paul warned all christians to live their lives soberly, so that they would be prepared whenever that great day might come (1 Thess 5:4-8).  Whether Christ returns in your lifetime or whether you die before you go and face the judgment, live your life so that at Christ’s appearing, you shall be saved (Heb 9:27-28).  If you don’t know what the Bible says about salvation, we recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”

Is it wrong for someone to go to Las Vegas?  I mean, is Las Vegas really “Sin City”?  I lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and it’s turning into a sin city.

Sincerely,
Citizen Sorrow

Dear Citizen Sorrow,

It isn’t wrong to travel to Las Vegas, but many of the reasons people go to Las Vegas are sinful.  Gambling and prostitution are two of the biggest draws to Las Vegas, and both are wrong.  Prostitution is clearly condemned in the Scripture (Pr 23:27-28), and gambling is also spoken against (read “Gambling” for further details).  Like righteous Lot living in Sodom and Gomorrah, righteous people can (and do) live in Las Vegas, but they are constantly vexed by the evils they see (2 Pet 2:7).

"God so loved the world..." that He drowned it.  How is that a loving act?

Sincerely,
Flooded With Emotion

Dear Flooded With Emotion,

Because God loved the people of the world – not the physical planet.  The Great Flood of Genesis 7 was an effort to give mankind a second chance.  God took the last righteous people on the planet and saved them from the corruption of a completely wicked generation (Gen 6:5-6).  God saved the eight people of Noah’s family through those floodwaters (1 Pet 3:20).  The rest of that generation was beyond redemption, so God (in His infinite love) saved those who could be salvaged.

Was the gospel preached before the day of pentecost?

Sincerely,
Gospel Guardian

Dear Gospel Guardian,

Jesus lived as a Jew, spoke to Jews, answered Jewish questions, and preached Christianity.  Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom which was to come.  Matt 4:23, Matt 9:35, Matt 11:5, Mk 8:35, Lk 4:18-19, and Lk 7:22 all say that Jesus came preaching the gospel to His kinsmen.  Jesus preached that there was a change coming and that all the world needed to be prepared for it.  Jesus preached the message of a kingdom that was soon to be, the kingdom of Christ that He would buy with His own blood (Acts 20:28).  That kingdom didn’t actually come into the day of Pentecost, but Jesus preached the good news (‘gospel’ means ‘good news’) before that day.

CAN ANYONE PLEASE ANSWER ME THIS: Is there a pre-tribulation rapture?  Before the seven years of tribulation???  I would highly appreciate if you could e-mail me and also post it on here for everyone else.  God bless.

Sincerely,
Rapt Attention

Dear Rapt Attention,

The word ‘rapture’ means ‘caught up’ in Latin.  The term ‘rapture’ is used to describe an event that many think will take place right before the days of tribulation in Revelation.  The problem with this theory is that it is wrong.  There will be a time when all christians will be caught up into the air to be with Christ – the end of time (1 Thess 4:14-18).  The book of Revelation doesn’t describe events in the future; it describes events in the past.  The book of Revelation deals with problems that the church was to “shortly” see come to pass (Rev 1:1).

Furthermore, the tribulation taught by many denominations is based off of a misinterpretation of Matthew chapter twenty-four.  Matt 24 is dealing with the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Jewish temple that would happen in 70 AD.  If we carefully pay attention to the context, Jesus is talking about the Jewish temple’s destruction, not a worldwide trial thousands of years in the future (Matt 24:1-2).  Jesus specifically said that the tribulation would occur within that generation’s lifetime (Matt 24:34).

There will be a day when all the faithful are caught up to meet Christ in the heavens.  The day He returns (Acts 1:11), all mankind will be judged at the same time (Jhn 5:28-29).  In that great day (Jude 1:6), the whole world will be burned up with fire (2 Pet 3:10-12).  There will be no post-tribulation, pre-tribulation, semi-tribulation, etc.; there will only be the great Day of Judgment (2 Pet 3:7, 1 Jn 4:17).