The Rapture From The Ground Up

The Pre-Tribulational Rapture theory of the end times is the most prevalent and well-known end time scenario of the Bible. It is well entrenched and established in most fundamental churches. The Pre-Tribulational Rapture has been popularized by the Left Behind book and movie series. However, consider the following: What if the blessed hope was not a promise of the Rapture? What if the wrath the Church was not appointed to had nothing to do with the Tribulation? What if the Rapture is not and cannot be an imminent event? What if the Antichrist will not and cannot rule over the entire world? What if the Church is not missing during any portion of the book of Revelation? What if the falling away in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is only a reference to the end time apostasy of the Church predicted by Jesus? What if only unbelievers enter into the Millennial Kingdom? What if Enoch is no more a representation of a Pre-Tribulational Rapture than Elijah is a representation of a Post-Tribulational Rapture? What if the time at which both the Rapture and the Second Coming will occur is unknown? What if Jesus, Paul, and Daniel presented the exact same end-time scenario? What if a literal interpretation of Scripture reveals a Post-Tribulational Rapture? In a detailed and thorough analysis of Scripture, The Rapture: From the Ground Up explores these and many more questions related to the end-time events surrounding the Rapture in a step-by-step approach. This eschatological study is unsurpassed in detail for the knowledgeable Bible student and yet remains basic, simple, and straightforward for the novice. Using a literal interpretation of Scripture, the Post-Tribulational Rapture is the undeniable result of such a diligent and literal study of Gods Word.

“A highly personal, richly informed and culturally wide-ranging meditation on the loss of meaning in our times and on pathways to rediscovering it.” —Gabor Maté, MD, author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction A neuroanthropologist maps out a revolutionary new practice—Hedonic Engineering—that combines the best of neuroscience and optimal psychology. It’s an intensive program of breathing, movement, and sexuality that mends trauma, heightens inspiration and tightens connections—helping us wake up, grow up, and show up for a world that needs us all. This is a book about a big idea. And the idea is this: Slowly over the past few decades, and now suddenly, all at once, we’re suffering from a collapse in Meaning. Fundamentalism and nihilism are filling that vacuum, with consequences that affect us all. In a world that needs us at our best, diseases of despair, tribalism, and disaster fatigue are leaving us at our worst. It’s vital that we regain control of the stories we’re telling because they are shaping the future we’re creating. To do that, we have to remember our deepest inspiration, heal our pain and apathy, and connect to each other like never before. If we can do that, we’ve got a shot at solving the big problems we face. And if we can’t? Well, the dustbin of history has swallowed civilizations older and fancier than ours. This book is divided into three parts. The first, Choose Your Own Apocalypse, takes a look at our current Meaning Crisis--where we are today, why it’s so hard to make sense of the world, what might be coming next, and what to do about it. It also makes a case that many of our efforts to cope, whether anxiety and denial, or tribalism and identity politics, are likely making things worse. The middle section, The Alchemist Cookbook, applies the creative firm IDEO’s design thinking to the Meaning Crisis. This is where the book gets hands on--taking a look at the strongest evolutionary drivers that can bring about inspiration, healing, and connection. From breathing, to movement, sexuality, music, and substances--these are the everyday tools to help us wake up, grow up, and show up. AKA--how to blow yourself sky high with household materials. And the best part? They’re accessible, by anyone anywhere, no middleman required. Transcendence democratized. The final third of the book, Ethical Cult Building, focuses on the tricky nature of putting these kinds of experiences into gear and into culture—because, anytime in the past when we’ve figured out combinations of peak states and deep healing, we’ve almost always ended up with problematic culty communities. Playing with fire has left a lot of people burned. This section lays out a roadmap for sparking a thousand fires around the world--each one unique and tailored to the needs and values of its participants. Think of it as an open-source toolkit for building ethical culture. In Recapture the Rapture, we’re taking radical research out of the extremes and applying it to the mainstream--to the broader social problem of healing, believing, and belonging. It’s providing answers to the questions we face: how to replace blind faith with direct experience, how to move from broken to whole, and how to cure isolation with connection. Said even more plainly, it shows us how to revitalize our bodies, boost our creativity, rekindle our relationships, and answer once and for all the questions of why we are here and what do we do now? In a world that needs the best of us from the rest of us, this is a book that shows us how to get it done.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

A collection of one-hundred articles which appeared in rural newspapers in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois over a period of three years. The ongoing, syndicated column,"Ask Pastor Adrienne(TM)," provides a forum for readers to query a member of clergy without being judged, interrogated or embarrassed by their standing (or non-standing) on the Christian landscape. Readers asked questions and were answered by Pastor Adrienne in general, biblical terms. The book is an archive of diverse topics regarding the American culture of Christianity as experienced by the public.

The rapture--or the belief that Jesus' living followers will, at some point, join him forever while others do not--is an important but contested doctrine among evangelicals. Scholars generally hold one of three perspectives on the timing and circumstances of the rapture, all of which are presented in this important volume of the Counterpoints series, Three Views on the Rapture: Alan D. Hultberg (PhD, Trinity International University and professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology) explains the Pre-Wrath view. Craig Blaising (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary and president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) defends the Pre-Tribulation view. Douglas Moo (PhD, University of St. Andrews and professor of New Testament at Wheaton College) sets forth the Post-Tribulation view. Each author provides a substantive explanation of his position, which is critiqued by the other two authors. A thorough introduction gives a historical overview of the doctrine of the rapture and its effects on the church. The interactive and fair-minded format of the Counterpoints series allows readers to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each view and draw informed, personal conclusions.

In Brenda Peterson's unusual memoir, fundamentalism meets deep ecology. The author's childhood in the high Sierra with her forest ranger father led her to embrace the entire natural world, while her Southern Baptist relatives prepared eagerly and busily to leave this world. Peterson survived fierce "sword drill" competitions demanding total recall of the Scriptures and awkward dinner table questions ("Will Rapture take the cat, too?") only to find that environmentalists with prophecies of doom can also be Endtimers. Peterson paints such a hilarious, loving portrait of each world that the reader, too, may want to be Left Behind.

In this the final prequel to the blockbuster series, the story features the Rapture three-quarters of the way through the book and then follows characters such as Irene and Raymie (and others) up to heaven, where they are able to see events in the Tribulation from heaven’s perspective. The story alternates between events on earth immediately after the Rapture (covering lots of things the authors wished they could have covered in the original volumes) and characters in heaven and how they view the chaotic events on earth.

At the turn of this century, Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins published their famous Left Behind series, with the underlying plot that Jesus would abruptly appear in the sky and “rapture” (catch away) His church just prior to the worldwide “Tribulation.” Throughout this seven-year period of Tribulation, the main characters who are “left behind” find themselves in a survival struggle under the hideous rule of the Antichrist, as they earnestly await another appearance of Jesus at the end of the Tribulation – clinging to the hope that they will get another chance to be saved. This fictitious story is based on the predominant prophetic teachings that have been widely accepted as orthodoxy among many non-Catholic denominations. But just how accurate are these conclusions when measured up to the Word of God? What does the Bible really say about the Rapture and the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? In Except the Lord Build the House, author Norm Eberly constructs a doctrinal house from the ground up, using the literal renderings of various passages from the Bible as a foundation. Throughout its pages, the reader is urged not to apply “mystical interpretations” to Biblical prophecies, but rather to simply read the Word of God at face value in order to arrive at sound, logical conclusions. Later in the book, numerous prophetic interpretations are introduced for the reader to ponder – but only after a firm foundation that is based on the literal wordings of the Holy Scriptures has been established. Written for scholars, students, and novice Bible readers alike, and with over 100 colorful charts and illustrations, this book offers a fresh approach to the study of Biblical prophecies for the endtime and presents a bold challenge to the status-quo of popular Evangelical teachings concerning the Rapture and the Lord’s imminent return.