"The End Is Near" - Thus reads a headline in my newspaper, Oct.28, 1992. The article refers to another of those so-called prophecies that men have irresponsibly made for years pertaining to the second coming of Christ, and the end of the age. This one originated in South Korea.

Some interesting, but sad, statements are made. First, police were put on alert to try to prevent suicides or other extreme actions in case their (the believers') ascent to heaven failed to come true. Second, many, the article states, sold property, and quit jobs, in anticipation of "the end." Interestingly, and sadly, the founder is in jail for having defrauded followers of up to $4 million.

The article states the matter further this way: "...members believe God will lift them to heaven in a phenomenon called 'rapture.' They say that will happen amid seven years of war, flood and famine that will annihilate the earth and set the stage for the second coming of Jesus Christ."

In the same article, another account of a prediction is made here in the United States. A 16-year-old leader "is said to have received a revelation that Jesus would come this month (Oct.) for Judgment Day." Much like the one is South Korea, "the group believes the 'saved' will be swooped to heaven in the so-called rapture: all others will be left behind for seven years of tribulation, at which time history will end."

Such bold and blatant speculation as you have just read, dear readers, is characteristic of all false predictions; no Scripture, no Biblical basis given. When will fallible men stop making fools of themselves? So, once more, Oct. 28 and the end of October have come, and gone, and no such things have happened. Yet, people by the thousands believe in such; these same deluded people when taught the Word of God, the Truth, will consider it no more than a fairy tale, a myth.

The word "rapture" is to be found nowhere in the Bible, the pages of Inspiration. Surprisingly perhaps, the idea or concept of a "rapture," as men described it, is to be found nowhere in the Bible, the pages of Inspiration either surely Christ or the Apostles would have mentioned it if it were a reality; surely the prophets would have, too; the truth of the matter is, none of them did!! This alone should tell us something about "the rapture," as men are calling it.

That Christ is coming back, and secretly whisk away, or rapture, some saints to heaven, while leaving others behind, is nowhere found in the Book!! Oh, indeed, Christ is coming again in triumphant glory, let this never be denied; some fair day He will come in the clouds of eternal glory. But, dear reader, when He does, there will be nothing secret about it for "every eye shall see Him" (Rev 1:7). "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess 4:16-17). The meeting will be "in the air," so says Paul - not on the earth, mind you. The Scriptures nowhere teach that He will come again to this earth for anything, including setting up a kingdom in Jerusalem or anywhere else to reign a thousand years. His kingdom has been on earth since the days of the Apostles. Christ proclaimed in Mark 9:1, listen, dear reader: "...Verily I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." In keeping with His promise, the kingdom did just that in Acts 2, and with power as He promised in Acts 1:8. No wonder we read in other places of the kingdom's existence these many years; to wit, "Who (God) hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Col 1:13): "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:28-29). Listen to John, writing nearly 2,000 years ago: "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ..." (Rev 1:9).

In conclusion and summary, the Scriptures nowhere teach men's idea of what they call "the rapture"; they nowhere teach a reign here on earth. he is now on David's throne, one reason why he was resurrected (Acts 2:29-36). He is NOW "Lord of lords and King of kings."

Christians have known better all the time- For some time, too long, sociologists and others, have non-sensically claimed that couples living together before marriage on a trial basis, have a better chance of having a more successful marriage later. This idea became popular during the decades of moral decadence, the 60's and 70's. Christians have known that such is not true for nearly 2,000 years. The Bible calls "1iving together" without marriage fornication. Read I Cor 6:18-20; Gal 5:19; Matt 19:9, to name just a few proof texts.

This summer, the results of a research study came to light. Two professors from the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan, "concluded that couples who live together are less committed to the institution of marriage," and, take notice, please, "cohabiting experiences significantly increase young people's acceptance of divorce." These two professors cite other studies "that found couples who live together before marriage have divorce rates 50 to 100 percent higher than those who don't. Then, this startling statistic: "Census Bureau figures showed that in 1990 there were 2.9 million unmarried couples living together, up 80 percent from 1980. Also in 1990, there were 142 divorced adults for every 1,000 married adults, three times the ratio in 1970."

Yes, Christians have known better all the time!