I am truly sad that we are still here! That said, I am grateful to be waiting not only with believers, but with people who long for His appearance! We are a diverse and motly crew still being in our flesh and blood existance, but as stated, seeing the Holy Spirit shine through each one here is a joy! TR Also would like to point out: In my assertion of a divine disclosure prior to the Rapture, I could have easily claimed that it would be a private occurance!!! Yet my assertion was that every believer would be imparted with divine knowledge, or a universal "word of knowledge"! Again, God is Lord, whether this occurs or not! But this has been viewed by me as but one last gift from the Bridegroom for His bride in this realm! A comforting and loving thought to be sure one would think, but I have been proven overwhelmingly wrong in this assertion! God be praised, and come quickly! TR Let's dive into this TR! I will go first......looking back into scripture let's look at how the Lord has informed His people in the past and see if we can determine whether it is a likely thing for us to get a 1-3-7 day solid forewarning or if we are given all that we are to know beforehand with regards to the timing of the Rapture. We recognize that the Lord talked directly to His prophets in the old testament. This does not happen in our day since Jesus has come and now the Holy Spirit indwells us. We are spoken to in our hearts, not audibly.....although sometimes audible would be nice...."Don't go there or do that" etc :mdrmdr: I digress.. lol In 2 Kings chapter 2 details are given prior to Elijah going to heaven in a whirlwind of chariots and horses of fire. Elijah knew he was going and which day! Elisha also knew that this was about to happen and the day of it, as did the sons of the prophets of Bethel, Jericho, and the sons of the prophets near the Jordan. In each instance that Elijah asked Elisha to stay so that he could go on to the next place, Elisha refused and stayed with him. Each place the sons of the prophets said..."Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? to which Elisha answered "yes, I know, keep silent!" So obviously there were several people who followed the Lord that had knowledge that the Lord was about to take Elijah away, and Elijah and Elisha also knew....more importantly they knew the DAY. Which supports the scripture in the old testament that says "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." Amos 3:7 Now the argument can be made that since Jesus has come and the Holy Spirit is now within the believers that all the words that the Lord speaks to us now are in scripture and written in our hearts. He has also given His revelation to John who wrote was is to come. While we are still servants, we are not prophets. I believe that the Spirit has been speaking to us all of the times we are living in. First to us, the watchmen who have been drawn to watch nearly our whole lives and more recently to the body of believers who have been recognizing that these are the end times that Jesus spoke of. I would love for there to be a 1 or 3 or 7 day heads up that the Rapture was about to happen....it would fuel our boldness to witness to the lost before He comes by agreeing to those around us of what we see and know. I also recall that Jesus said "blessed is he who believes but has not seen." He may intend that for everyone who is in the body of Christ during the age of grace to be won purely on faith alone. If we were given a high sign to warn of the Rapture would that make converts of people who "need" a sign, and are too reluctant to believe with faith alone? They will certainly get a sign when the Rapture happens....and many will believe after that, but will suffer much. Anyway, I have started with a few points and hopefully others will chime in for a lively discussion that TR has brought up :rose: Indeed God's heart of disclosure started in the garden when revealing the wages of sin! Christ was prophesied and promised 4000 yrs beforehand! Israel was told 3 days before crossing the Jordon river into promised land! The list is endless to say the least describing God's heart, character and repeated interactions with man! Pointing out that the Rapture was a mystery until revealed! Yet no one could even acknowledge this fact! But adding to this, more than one person has expressed disdain at the very thought that God's love could so accommodate seeing no need of such a word of knowledge! It is this which had floored me! Not whether I could be right or wrong! Especially against the backdrop of the many mundane and dicey doctrines our forum entertained adinfinitum!!! Never claiming this as a word from the Lord, but simply asked the possibility be considered! All to no avail when repeatedly offered over a span of 8 yrs! Yet every timeline imaginable and every theory was exhaustively entertained! Again, I'm not looking to be right, but perhaps be a blessing bringing forth a comforting thought! Either way, all honor, praise and glory belongs to the Lord! I have shared what has been in my Spirit for over 25 yrs! TR I'll leave this in God's hands, not mine! TR The biggest reason I do not have much to say about this topic is because I really do not want a heads up. I literally don't think I could handle it. I would go loonier than I already am if I knew we only had three days left. I would hyperventilate and probably suffer cardiac arrest due to the overwhelming joy of knowing we are about to be gone and then I'd miss the rapture altogether anyway. And why would anyone listen to my witness any more than they do now if I told them "The Lord has said He is coming back in three days". I know I would write that person off as a loon and I am a lifelong Christian and watcher. I think we will have a sense right before it happens but I really don't want to know three days ahead of time. I just don't think I'd deal with it very well. If I recall, it wasn't long ago that I asked you to go deeper with this subject yet you refused so please stop saying We have the promise - he will come for us (if I go away,…I will come again…and will take you to where I am…); Jesus said it - the simplicity of believing our savior says what he means is in itself a comfort — Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever Heb. 13:8. Just keep watching! It is very exciting to see what Russia is doing — plus the Middle East is going to implode at any moment. :prayer-hands: Sorry to throw joy and optimism in here but I must. 😉 I am glad to be here because it is the Lord's will for me. On this earth, this is the only time to be able to earn eternal rewards. We can add jewels in our crown that we can cast at the feet of Yeshua. The Holy Spirit working through us is ultimately responsible for any rewards we are given. He will be glorified! :yahoo: As for getting a heads up, I'm with Yohanan. Perhaps it would be too much for me or if I knew it was in a week's time, I would probably slack off until the last moment like cramming for an exam the night before. :wacko: I'll just take it day by day. Every day is a gift from God and I am grateful. When eternity comes, I will be eternally grateful. :yahoo: God knows best and I'll trust His plan. :good: Anyway, let us cheer on and encourage each other as we run that race. The finish line is in sight. Hebrews 10:23-25 New King James Version 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Tenderreed, You never fail to be a blessing bringing forth a comforting thought! Many comforting thoughts in fact. You are a great blessing to the whole RITAN family. Never doubt that! 
