Interesting Thread

<< Matthew Wooller said... This question raises (for me at least) the whole issue of the rapture. Proof for the existence of god? I think that would pretty much do it for me... According to the myth, people will vanish, the dead will rise and head off to heaven -- and we will most likely be under the control of a Jewish, homosexual world leader... Let us not forget that we will also get a red moon and a black sun - a huge meteor will burn one third of grass and trees -- 200 million horse like creatures will run rampant - oh, and fresh water will become blood. Tell you what, if all that bunk comes to pass -- I will have another think about this god thing, I can't promise anything, even then, but I will certainly have another think. Really, water turned to blood and horse like creatures -- golly. >>

Matthew, you may have been watching too many Hollywood movies, or the Discovery Channel, or maybe reading stuff on weird websites, or eating too much cheese before you go to bed (that can cause bad dreams).

I would suggest that you take a deep breath, then read the Bible with a humble heart, praying that God would show you what is prophetically symbolic and what is literal. If you don't do that, you will end up with the nightmare that you have just related. The Bible is a book filled with symbolism--from Ezekiel’s wheels, to the dreams of Joseph and Daniel, to the Book of Revelation, and course, many of the words of Jesus. Again, some things are literal, and some are symbolic.

When Jesus said that He was “the Door,” He didn’t mean a door with literal hinges that swung back and forth. He is the entry to Heaven (see also John 14:6). When He said that His flesh was meat and we were to eat it, He wasn’t speaking of cannibalism. We spiritually “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” When He held the cup of wine and said “This is My blood” and told us to drink it, He wasn’t speaking of His literal blood (He couldn’t have, because His blood was still running through His veins).

Wine is often used as being symbolic of blood--turning the water into wine at the Cana wedding, and water being turned into blood with the plagues of Egypt. All these have hidden and wonderful meanings behind them for those who are willing to dig a little. If you think about it, things that we value in life usually have to be searched out--gold doesn’t lie on top of the ground. You have to search for it. It’s the same with silver, diamonds, pearls, etc., and it’s the same with Bible gems. You have to dig a little to find the riches.

As much as I would like to be, I am not a prophecy expert or even a prophecy buff. I don’t get too deeply into it, because so many people end up with weird and strange scenarios, and what’s more they all think that have it right. I prefer to put my time into trying to reach people like you with the Gospel. Your salvation is infinitely more important to me than my eschatological interpretation.