Jan 22
Donation Drive January to March
In my many years of military service, I've known many people who decided to retire from active duty to go into full-time
ministry work. The time has now come for me to join this eternal labor force. As of December 26, 2006, I've fully dedicated
myself to working for the cause of Christ.
The U.S. Air Force has been my main source of income for the past 20 years, but it has not been my main occupation. Rapture
Ready has always been my main priority. While I would work 40 hours a week at Offutt Air Force Base, I spent all my evenings, weekends,
holidays, leaves, and any other down time working on the site. What has really changed is me quitting my part-time
job.
Having reached the 20-year retirement mark, I will now draw half of my military pay--that is, until the government runs out
of money. From here on out, I'll depend on the site for some portion of my living expenses. As much time as I
spend on the site, it's doubtful that I'll ever make the equivalent of minimum wage.
A bigger financial concern is the extra funds we'll be using to develop the site. Because of the lack of time
on my part, I have had to let several projects simmer on the back burner. Now that I'm free to work with web designers, we can
move forward on this backlog.
I've already hired Bradley, a local freelance expert on webpage development, to help with one big project. Many of the sites'
pages have the old RR stripe format. Because computers with large screens cannot properly display the old format, we need to
move them over to the new design. Bradley has already finished the FAQ and most of the Photorama pages.
The ability to reach large numbers of people at such a low cost is why I've decided dedicate myself to an internet ministry.
I think it is actually superior to any other form of media. Christian books and TV programs are more highly respected, but they don't
have the reach of that provided by the internet. Our little site has a monthly base of about 180,000 people. Most writers are
lucky if they sell more than 10,000 copies of their books. Even most Christian satellite television networks are hard-pressed to reach numbers greater than
100,000.
Another thing about most books and TV programs is that while they are available to the public for only a limited length of time, webpages have no shelf-life. Some RR articles written a decade ago still draw more than 2,000 hits each month.
Over time, they have built huge numbers in readership.
I've never had a stronger conviction that something major is about to happen in the Middle East. We have no guarantee that 2007
will be the magic year, but plenty of warning signs seem to indicate Israel is soon going to regain its title as the
"burdensome stone." Of course, if the bombs start flying, the media and the public will flock to Rapture Ready.
I keep pressing ahead because I realize I have only a set amount of time to be able to work on the site. The whole
structure of the end times requires us to plan ahead. I'm sure if the Gog war kicked off, the Temple was rebuilt, and the
Antichrist declared himself to be God, the funds would come pouring in. As believers, we need to be mindful that the rapture
doesn't allow us to use prophetic events as a wake-up call for our involvement in evangelism. Because we may not be here
tomorrow, I ask you to help us reach out to the lost today.
Please note that the mailing address for the site has now changed. The post office in downtown Bellevue, NE, will likely close
in the next couple of years, so I decided to move to a new post office to give people plenty of time to make the switch. Because
Omaha's PO boxes are eights digits long, I decided to use the three-digit ones offered by the city's Boys Town facility.
Rapture Ready Min.
PO Box 185
Boys Town, Ne 68010
Another way to contribute to Rapture Ready is through a Paypal account. The service provides a very easy way to send
automatic payments to the site. If you're interested in signing up, you can find the link on the
Donation Depot page.
--- Todd
2007 Off to an Ominous Start
Signs in the sun, moon, and stars; the seas and waves roaring; distress and perplexity of nations; Israel a burdensome stone and cup of trembling to the world--the year 2007, indeed, seems to have launched Planet Earth into perilous times.
My good friend and colleague, J. Michael Hile (Mike), has done an interesting study on cycles of history. Researching the generations of man has been a particular area of analysis for Mike over the years, leading him to produce Timeline 2000--a book that presents some fascinating facts on the generations as juxtaposed against biblical records of mankind.
His new research effort reveals some intriguing things about the 490-year cycles he has discovered, with years ending in the number 7 at the heart of the study. We are, according to Mike’s research, apparently at the end of one such cycle. Mike Hile, and certainly Rapture Ready, do not set dates, or make any sort of predictions of a prophetic nature in any sense whatsoever. As the author of the 490-year cycle study states: “…It should be emphasized that these findings in no way suggest or imply that anything prophetic will happen this year, next year, or at any time in the future. Only God knows the future.”
Hile’s charts are, however, something I believe the prophecy student or anyone interested in studying history in greater depth might want to look at in attempting to understand how things involving mankind are moving toward consummation.Certainly, when looking at the way things are shaping up, the year 2007 seems pivotal.
One area of my interest as of late has been the UFO phenomenon that has stepped up in reported sightings since the 1947 Roswell incident, and even earlier in 1947 when “flying saucer”-like discs were seen soaring over mountains in Washington State. I have related before in Nearing Midnight articles that I believe such phenomena were prophesied by Jesus In Luke chapter 17, in which He foretold that things would again be like in the days of Noah,as the time of His return to earth draws near.
One disturbing thing going on during the antediluvian time was the “Sons of God” visiting the planet. This created order was, I’m convinced, the fallen angels who followed Lucifer in the rebellion against the Creator. Jude 6-7 tells of them and their fate.
Jesus prophesied that the end of history just before His return would be marked by signs in the sun, moon, and stars. He said that people’s hearts would fail for things they see coming upon the earth. While sightings of UFOs haven’t yet reached the levels that cause hearts to fail, the year 2007 has already produced signs in the heavens that are at the very least disconcerting to many. The other-worldly craft hovering over O’Hare Airport near Chicago recently–reported by numerous observers that were credible as witnesses--came to light early in this first month of the new year. And, now, another sighting by a credible witness, a former F-16 pilot quite familiar with what is and isn’t earthly aircraft, recorded sighting UFOs near his home in western Arkansas.
I continue to believe these manifestations of other worlds visiting earth will proliferate, the nearer we get to Christ’s Second Coming. The visitors are, however, I’m convinced, not extraterrestrial, but interdimensional in character. They are the minions of Satan. The year 2007 is off to a startling beginning in that regard. The seas and waves are roaring as we begin 2007.
This, according to many prophecy scholars, has two basic meanings:
1) The "seas" represent the peoples of the world being extremely restless --even in chaos.
2) These are actual, literal, physical seas and waves roaring, as the very geophysical elements cry out to be noticed.
With the wars and rumors of war on the world scene at present, can there be any argument that the seas of people are in tumult? Equally so, can it be argued against, that the geophysical elements, the literal ocean, and land storm systems have fired up the meteorological radars during the start of the new year? Strange things, weather-wise, are happening in places unfamiliar to such harsh weather phenomena; for example, record-breaking snowfall has blanketed places like Los Angeles, and tornadic windstorms have hammered places like northern Europe, where 25 were killed by weather-related means within the past few days of this writing.
Jesus said the nations will be in great perplexity when the time of His Second Coming nears. This seems to indicate that the nations will be almost rudderless. They will be floundering on those wild metaphorical seas that will be roaring. Leaders of our time are searching in every world nook and cranny, trying to find a course that will provide direction upon which they can set their ships of state to sail.
The nuclear sword of Damocles hangs over us all, while world diplomats search for ways to keep the atomic genie from getting out of the bottle for the second time in the war-making sense. The nation Israel in 2007 sits in the heart of its ancient, God-given land, with Jerusalem and the Temple Mount at the center of the three millennia-long controversy that threatens to release that genie. Zechariah’s prophecy is shaping up in a major way. Israel is already, in this new year, a “cup of trembling” and a “burdensome stone” to the whole world.
Fears of North Korea’s atomic threat pale in comparison to the threat of that tiny nation, Israel, possessed of great nuclear power, threatened by the Islamic crazies that hold sway over many millions of its blood-vowed enemies.
Ancient Persia – foretold by Ezekiel the prophet to be part of a destructive military storm that will invade toward Israel in the latter day—in its modern incarnation, has a leader whose prime reason for existence, according to his ideology and theology, seems to be to get rid of Israel and to kill every Jew in the Middle East, if not the world. In 2007, we face the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who believes if he can just start World War III, thus bringing on Armageddon, the 12th Imam –Islam’s Messiah—will be joined by Jesus in bringing Allah’s perfect world upon earth.
But take heart, the REAL Jesus is coming! This all means that the intensity and frequency of the birth pangs Jesus predicted are with us, and growing ever stronger in their convulsing end-time swells. The end of this very troubled age is at hand seems to be the message we are getting as 2007 begins.
--Terry
