| Question |
I am studying Revelation in my Bible class at church. It seems to me that
we are now living in what most people would call "end times". We are
learning that there will be specific signs at the beginning of the end.
There will be a sequence of End Time Events that must happen before Jesus
comes back to the earth. In Matthew 24:3-14 Jesus talks about the birth
pains that will begin the end. I do see these signs today. Many signs are
in the weird weather that is occurring all over the world. The plane
crashes, boats sinking and many other natural and unnatural disasters that
have happened lately. People have also begun to act in a more depraved way
than before. Murder, child abuse, spousal abuse and many other crimes are
on the rise. Diseases that we thought there were cures for have begun to
come back and we are resistant to the medicines that we have. This is all
foretold in the Bible.
I have also learned that the church age will end with the Rapture. This is
foretold in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation
4:1. Do the Latter Day Saints believe in the Rapture and is it taught in
your church? I used to be a Catholic but when I moved to Texas I changed to
Southern Baptist because they explain the Bible better. My church has put
down your faith as not being a Christian one. I have even heard the
preacher put it and a few other religions down in his sermons. I do not
believe what they say and can find nothing to lead me to believe that it is
not a Christian faith. They put down the Catholic religion too. It seems
to me that if you don't believe exactly what they want you to believe that
you are not a Christian.
Do you see the signs that we are living in End Times?
I also am wondering what you think about all the peace plans being made with
Israel. Israel is being urged by England, the United States and other
nations to give up some of the land that they now occupy. This land was
given to Abraham by God in Genesis 12:1-5 and is very specific in Genesis
15:18. God says that the land was to be Jews land forever (Genesis 13:15)
and an everlasting covenant and an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:7-8).
The Muslims claim the land belongs to Islam because the covenant passed down
through Ishmael and not Isaac. God told Abraham that the covenant would
pass through Isaac (Genesis 21:11-18), his legitimate son and not Ishmael
his illegitimate son. This is why the Jewish race has lasted even though
they have been exiled and persecuted. I feel that the Jews should not give
up any of the land because they do not have God's permission to do so. I
also get the feeling that this issue will be the one that marks the start of
the Second Coming of Christ. What do you think will happen and should the
Jews give up the land that God gave to them and they rightfully own from the
beginning of the Bible?
Thank you,
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| Response |
I find it interesting that there are those who say that we are not Christian, as we claim that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same church that Jesus organized during his ministry here on earth. We claim that his organization, doctrines, ordinances and priesthood authority has now been
restored under his direction in these latter times. We often quote the 14th verse the 24th chapter of Matthew which says, "And this gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
and then shall the end come."
I don't know of any other church that has 60,000 fulltime missionaries in over 165 countries. We worship our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son of God and of the virgin Mary. We know that he taught and set a perfect example of the Father's will and then suffered and died to pay for Adam and Eve's transgression and our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross of Calvary.
He was resurrected on the third day and broke the bands of death,
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." (1 Corinthians 15:21) Because he suffered for our sins, we can be forgiven if we have faith and will repent, be baptized,receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end following him and keeping his commandments.
As far as the the Middle East is concerned, I'm not an expert on that at all. I really don't even know what the geography is exactly that the Lord gave Abraham and was inherited by Jacob, his grandson. We do know from scripture that the final days are going to be characterized by the surrounding of the Jews by their enemies and the Messiah will appear and save them from utter destruction. It seems clear to me that the current events in the world today are pretty evident.
I hope this answers your question.
Thanks for your email,
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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