9th - A Revelaton Concerning Revelation

This week, I'd simply like to share with you a huge revelation that my dad and I had Friday night.  It began as just a family gathering to read a passage of the Bible, but my dad chose 1st Thessalonians 4, which set off an intensive study sesh to get to the bottom of the question: "When will Christians be raptured in relation to the great tribulation?"

Go grab your Bible, and come figure out this question with me through the Holy Spirit's power.  Please, please, please spend the time to read these passages thoroughly so you can really understand what I'm getting at -- don't just blindly accept what I'm saying, or discredit it because you believe something else. :)

First, read 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Continue on through chapter 5, verses 1-3.

Next, we need to read Matthew 24:3-21 and 29-33.

And lastly, we get to the connective tissue, the meat of the issue: Revelation 6:12-17, 7:9, 13-17.

Now let's dig into what these passages mean.

Take another look at the second passage we read, Matthew 24:29, the "key clue":

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

Now look at the passage in Revelation 6:12-13a:

"I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth..."

The sun darkened, moon darkened in a different way, and stars falling to earth -- the passages match up exactly!!!  The events are even listed in the same order.  And there are so many other similarities which I don't have time to discuss (but you should look into!).  From these explicit similarities, we can know that Jesus is speaking of the same event as that 6th seal.

Now GET THIS.  The SIXTH SEAL.  That is part way into the tribulation!  Why do you think people have different views regarding when Christians will be raptured?  Because there is evidence for both sides, pre-trib and post-trib.  The funny thing is, I firmly believe the truth is neither.

We will be raptured after the 6th seal and before the 7th (when God pours out his full wrath on the earth).

Look again at what happens in Revelation 7:9,13-17:

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count...standing before the throne and before the Lamb... And [one of the elders] said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation..."

"These things" being the events of the 6th seal -- so where do you think that great multitude who came out of the great tribulation came from???  Just where Jesus says in Matthew 24:31:

"And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."

Are you comprehending this?  It's so hard to explain it accurately.  I hope at least this makes sense to you: that the rapture will occur DIRECTLY AFTER THE 6TH SEAL OF REVELATION IS OPENED.  This means we will endure the first 6 seals, if we are alive then.  Yes, we will go through part of the tribulation, HOWEVER, we won't go through ALL of it, or any of the Great Tribulation.  This is because God does not pour out his wrath on His children.  Just as He showed when He dealt with Sodom and Gomorrah, He won't destroy a city containing even one righteous person.  We will deal with tribulation, but we WILL NOT FACE GOD'S WRATH.

So, what does this mean for us Christians, as we look towards the impending great tribulation?

We will face the first 6 seals (read Revelation 6 to look at these in detail): the reveal of the antichrist, war, famine, death, persecution of Christians, and natural terrors.  After these things, and only after these things, will we Christians be caught up to the Lord in the air.  But our rapture isn't the same event as the 2nd coming of Christ!  Christ's second coming doesn't occur until the Battle of Armageddon, which you can read about in Revelation 19:11 onward.

I'll just end with 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17.  Take heart in these words, and look forward to the day when we are united with Christ -- it is close!

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."

VIDEO - Week Eight Update

This is my first time doing a video like this, so don't judge me too harshly. ;D I hope you enjoy hearing about my life "in person." ;)

After 7 Weeks... Fall Break & Cosplay

This week, almost halfway through the semester, us Liberty peeps got to enjoy a 4-day fall break, which was quite pleasant.

My favorite part of the break was sleeping in for a few extra hours each morning.  And being able to linger over breakfast -- that always feels so luxurious to me.  Did I ever tell you breakfast is my favorite meal of the day?  It is.  It really is.  Whenever I can take the time for a big ol', 500+ calorie breakfast, I just feel amazing the whole day.  No coffee necessary.

That's another thing -- did I ever tell you I don't do coffee?  Partly because it's not recommended for us Paleo people, but mostly because I just hate the idea of it.  Fake energy that you have to drink every day in order to feel alive is not my idea of a good thing.  Oh, and don't even get me started on our country's obsession with Starbucks...

loki's pretentious-teenager eyeroll

So, basically, I'm so "hipster" that I'm above the whole coffee thing. ;)

Back to fall break.  Besides sleeping in and eating big breakfasts, I went on a marvelous thrifting adventure.  I came home with a pair of adorable, nicely used Vera Wang booties for $3 (so much win), and...........*drumroll*........... a pant suit.  Yes, a suit.  Why?

yes i know i use this gif too much but it's perf

THAT'S RIGHT, GUYS.  Fem 10th doctor cosplay, coming up.  Someday.  Not sure when.  Possibly halloween..?  Not sure yet.  BUT I have the suit (which just needs some slight fitting alterations done to the coat), I have the screwdriver (eheheh), so now I just need a pair of white Converse, the flowery tie, and possibly an awesome tan trench (if I can ever find one for a decent price). ;D

Awwhhh all this talk is making me remember how much I miss cosplay... agonizing over accuracy and designs and accessories and all that good stuff.  See, if I had the time, I'd love to make a costume more like this, but, like I said, TIME and motivation, so I don't think I'll be able to pull that off.  Which makes me sad.

OH I JUST REMEMBERED STAR WARS.  What am I going to do for The Force Awakens premiere???????  I need to get started on a costume... I've only got 2 months.  And those 2 months are going to be busy with college shtuff.  I don't even know what I want to make yet.  Either a sweet jedi costume, or maybe Rey's costume... I'd love to make Kylo Ren's outfit, but I don't think I'm quite up to it... aghhhhh too many options! ;D

So, looks like it's time to do some costume planning... see y'all next week. ;)

Snowflex (where I snowboard) at sunset.

Content in the 6th Week

Guys, I'm really content right now.

cap looks the way i feel after 6 weeks of college

This past week has been wonderful.  I couldn't say why... I can't really pin point any one particular event that "made my week."  I suppose it was just all the little things put together that made it special.

First of all, I completed two large-ish projects, and was very happy with how they turned out. The first was a 5 page paper for FACS 222 (sewing class), a reflective paper on a modesty book. Definitely not a difficult assignment, but I still really enjoyed working on the paper, and it ended up being quite solid.  I was pleased.  Maaaaajor creds to God for helping me with that...

*happy sigh*

The second assignment was a group presentation for CINE 101 (film class), on "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."  We basically got to discuss and dissect the movie for an hour.  Now, if you know me at all, you know I do this sort of thing regardless, so it was great fun.  God definitely gave me peace and guided my words, because it went much better than it should have... ;)

Another little thing that helped make this week a good one, was a snowboarding sesh with my older sister and a friend from our #Fails2Rails snowboarding group.  For the first hour, we just snowboarded and chatted, and for the second hour we got a Snowflex instructor to give us a lesson!!  It was seriously the coolest thing.  And we're going to have another lesson on Monday. :D

eeeeppp!!!

Then, yesterday, we had an absolutely hilarious guest speaker for Convocation: the one and only, Tim Hawkins.  If you haven't heard of him before, go look him up on youtube.  If you have heard of him before, you'll understand why I was literally crying during that hour.  Best. convo. yet. That guy... hysterical.  My abs hurt today from laughing so hard... xD

oh sry there go my feels

Now I really must get back to working on a paper for PHIL 201 (philosophy)... it's a tricky little one-page thing that I'm kinda freaked out about.  It's an honors class, so it's been seriously challenging.  Thankfully, the professor is great -- but also a tough grader.  Prayers, anyone? Thanks so much.  Love y'all to death. ^_^  Oh btw -- Fall break is coming up!  Who's excited??? *me me me*

YAAAAAAAA