NASA’s orbiter is sending back evidence of massive volcanism, strange impact craters and magnetic tornadoes that funnel plasma directly from the sun to the planet’s surface. We’re seeing a very dynamic planet that has a lot going on today.

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 A NASA-funded study describes how extreme solar eruptions could have severe consequences for communications, power grids and other technology on Earth.

Severe Electrojet Disturbance Scenerio

The National Academy of Sciences in Washington conducted the study. The resulting report provides some of the first clear economic data that effectively quantifies today’s risk of extreme conditions in space driven by magnetic activity on the sun and disturbances in the near-Earth environment. Instances of extreme space weather are rare and are categorized with other natural hazards that have a low frequency but high consequences.

“Obviously, the sun is Earth’s life blood,” said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun’s activity.”

Besides emitting a continuous stream of plasma called the solar wind, the sun periodically releases billions of tons of matter called coronal mass ejections. These immense clouds of material, when directed toward Earth, can cause large magnetic storms in the magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. Such space weather can affect the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems.

Space weather can produce solar storm electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, causing wide-spread blackouts and affecting communication cables that support the Internet. Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles and the dislocation of the Earth’s radiation belts, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning and weather forecasting. Space weather has been recognized as causing problems with new technology since the invention of the telegraph in the 19th century. 

NASA: 2003 Solar Flare

A severe space weather event is likely when an intense flare occurs on the Earth-facing side of the sun. In 2003, this flare (left image) is followed immediately by an enormous interplanetary blast wave (right image) called coronal mass ejection or CME that propagates rapidly away from the sun towards Earth. Depending on severity and nature of the storm, the collision with Earth’s magnetic field called a geomagnetic storm can affect satellites, air travel and power grids. Credit: NASA

 A catastrophic failure of commercial and government infrastructure in space and on the ground can be mitigated through raising public awareness, improving vulnerable infrastructure and developing advanced forecasting capabilities. Without preventive actions or plans, the trend of increased dependency on modern space-weather sensitive assets could make society more vulnerable in the future.

NASA requested the study to assess the potential damage from significant space weather during the next 20 years. National and international experts from industry, government and academia participated in the study. The report documents the possibility of a space weather event that has societal effects and causes damage similar to natural disasters on Earth.

“From a public policy perspective, it is quite significant that we have begun the extremely challenging task of assessing space weather impacts in a quantitative way,” said Daniel Baker, professor and director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Baker chaired the panel that prepared the report.

“Whether it is terrestrial catastrophes or extreme space weather incidents, the results can be devastating to modern societies that depend in a myriad of ways on advanced technological systems,” said Baker. “We were delighted that NASA helped support bringing together dozens of world experts from industry and government to share their experiences and begin planning of improved public policy strategies.” 

NASA: Geomagnetic Storm Image

The geomagnetic storms’ effects can be visualized over the U.S. by showing changes of the electron density in the Earth’s outermost atmospheric layers. The before image shows the ionosphere electron density as high over wide parts of the lower 48 states. The after image shows electrons strongly diminished over the central and northeastern parts of the U.S, and increased over the northwest. Extreme, rapid changes in the ionosphere can inflict strong currents in the power grid that may lead to blackouts. Credit: NASA

The sun is currently near the minimum of its 11-year activity cycle. It is expected that solar storms will increase in frequency and intensity toward the next solar maximum, expected to occur around 2012.

The Heliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington provided funding for the study. The division seeks to understand the sun, its solar processes and the interaction of solar plasma and radiation with Earth, other planets and the universe. Understanding the connections between the sun and its planets will allow better prediction on the impacts of solar activity on humans, technological systems and even the presence of life itself in the universe.

The National Academies are chartered by Congress to provide independent technical and scientific advice to the federal government.

 Source:  Visit NASA.GOV for more information on this article and related topics

 

Fueled by a crop of books, Web sites with countdown clocks, and claims about ancient timekeepers, interest is growing in what some see as the dawn of a new era, and others as an expiration date for Earth: December 21, 2012

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My husband has been gravely concerned about the stock market lately and even more so after the stock market events of today. Apparently his 401(k) has pretty much been torn to shreds, just another wave of the working class chaos going on in America. Getting really old if you ask me, but of course – nobody does.

I don’t know who else was affected by the markets today – but I do know just by my own knowledge of the trickle-down theory – that all Americans are suffering at some level. I have been telling him about this website going on 2 years now. He wasn’t so impressed up until today’s market crash. I, on the other hand, have thought it absolutely mind-boggling since the day I stumbled upon it. They use a special program they developed to harvest keywords used in google, message boards, blogs, groups etc., and then they track them, chart them, study them – day after day, and somehow through this process they have their fingers on the very pulse of mankind, seriously.

This is all perfectly legal – I guess anyone that has actually read one of those privacy agreements understands what I mean. However, to keep it simple for him (since he is not a big user of the internet) I told him that all of the words on the entire internet are free for anybody who wishes to collect them. Bloggers use them all the time to pull interested people to their blogs, spammers use them, web developers use them, advertisers use them, politicians use them…. pretty much everyone that wants to get into your mind and see what you think, uses them. This site just makes that info open to the general public.

Anyway, to keep it short – below is a snippet of this morning’s post. They forecasted the bank/housing crash many many moons ago and have long been talking about the kind of crash that occurred today, as usual – I find their opinion timely and right on target.

(if you enjoy the article – please leave a comment – even if you don’t, I’m open-minded)

I Call it B.S. – The Fix Is In
www.urbansurvival.com

Let’s have a little chat about “Bailout/Stabilization” with the first cup of coffee this morning. The long and short of the discussion ought to begin with “Do we believe in ‘free markets’ or not?” The answer is important because in genuine free markets, banks would be failing by the dozens and the folks who set up a floating craps game based on your regular house payments as a revenue stream beneath it all, would be thrown out of business (and in jail for fraud) and while there would be momentary pain and suffering, the ‘free market’ would do its job and clear out the mis-investment and mal-investment that has characterized serial bubbles since 2000.

If you think that’s a snide reference on my part to the Internet Bubble, Housing Bubble, and now the Housing Bubble Collapse, and now the Banker Bubble, congratulations, you have a pulse, it’s Monday, now get your ass back to work.

With just over a week to go until our “hot date” of October 7th shows up, hot based on the predictive linguistics work of www.halfpasthuman. com, we read this morning how the PowersThatBe are trying to ‘fix’ the outcome of the present ‘bailout debate’ in Washington so as to save the hides of the Bankster Class and do as little as possible for the back-home folks who write the checks.

Not that this is a ‘first time’ kind of event, but the grandeur of this latest scheme to steal from the American public is almost unbelievably large. So large, in fact, that most people won’t look it square in the eye and call it “crime” – although that’s more of less what it is. Until it’s passed by CONgress, then it becomes law. Magic.

While I realize that’s a serious charge to be made, a conversation with my friend The Bond Dude, made it perfectly clear to me that this latest “bailout” is nothing more than the bought-off right wing/conservatives getting one more big pay day from the corporate trough.

For openers, the proposed bailout does about zip – other than make promises which we’ve heard bandied about previously, to the folks who actually go to work trying to hang onto their homes.

“Until these geniuses can actually do something about the underlying causes of the problem, explained The Bond Due, the economy is going to crater and we’ll get to your Bastille Day.”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT www.urbansurvival.com

The world seems to be going so fast in the wrong direction. I don’t know if any of you have ever listened to any of Bishop Jakes sermons – but they are pretty powerful. I work for several different churches and faith based ministries and I can’t tell you how tiring it is to try and figure out what each one truly believes.

Traditional churches are dying. I’m not saying that to be confrontational, I wouldn’t work for so many religious organizations if I didn’t believe that there was something in them worth saving. I’m sure many people would disagree with me very passionately on that issue as well, especially with all of the media exposure regarding different “Churches” in the news right now.

This link to T. D. Jakes sermon (7 Steps to a Turn Around) is about exposure. Exposure is a good thing but we have to remember that “pain is not prejudice”. We can’t judge all of the people within a church based on one or two worshippers that have chosen greed and fleshly desires over Christ. Satan’s mission is to destroy the actual body of Christ – which is made up of many wonderful Christians that exist in all churches, denominations and walks of life.

The persecution of the churches is beginning.
Don’t be so blind that you don’t see what’s coming.
People need to really start feeling what is going on
in their own homes, their schools and their communities.

Call it whatever you want to – but if you are in a church where there is no Spirit – you need to have faith and move on;
and if you are in a church that is being persecuted but full of Spirit – you need to have faith and stand strong;
and if you are in no church at all but know the Lord – you need to have faith and step outside the box;
and whatever you do – remember that the word of God is the supreme authority – NOT the words of man.

Nobody has the power to judge you or what you believe, that will always be between you and God alone.
It’s time to test all spirits and expose them for what they are – as painful as it may be on us all.

People need to step outside the box – get out of the closet – do something – walk the walk – make a difference in whatever walk of life God has placed you – there is a reason!

This is a snippet of a CNN commentary given by TD Jakes on behalf of the Potter’s House.  It just really hit me hard. The oppression of this world is getting heavier each day – we all need as much hope as we can find.

 ”…..Many people can talk the talk of King and his messages, but there are many who choose to focus on walking the walk. We walk the walk……”

“…In light of Alan Greenspan confirming what many of us have already suspected — that we are in the midst of a recession, I would ask all churches as well as the media to help guide and encourage us through the storm of fuel bills, lost homes, lost jobs and the untold effects of this recession.

I see this article as providing a battle cry to churches of all ethnicities and denominations to not allow the perceptions of the few to distract us and prejudice us from the needs of the many.

On behalf of the 30,000 members of our church and the 4,000 volunteers who work in our various programs, not to mention the staff and our countless supporters around the world who love our church and its work, please do not malign our identity or castigate our mission.

In the final analysis of why people attend church or why they select this church over another one, or follow this minister over that minister, the answer is simple; people go to a church where they feel comfortable, where they feel their needs are being met and where they feel that they are getting assistance with the many issues that confront them in these troubled times.”

Lebanese shouting ‘Death to Israel’ get a fright.
Ground opens on Temple Mount. 

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale originated in southern Lebanon shortly after midday Friday as tens of thousands of Lebanese were marching through the streets of Lebanon calling for Israel’s destruction.

The quake was felt throughout Israel, rocking buildings along the coastal plain, but causing no damage or injury.

According to one report, a hole six foot wide opened on the Temple Mount as a result of the seismic event. 

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EARTHQUAKES AND THE BIBLE by Lambert Dolphin  
Article in its entirety located at: http://www.ldolphin.org/quakes.html

Scripture is clear that God fully controls nature, through the rule of certain angels (Heb. 2:5). There are no accidents in His universe. When Jesus died on the cross, the end of his life was punctuated by a severe earthquake on April 11, 32 AD, (Ref 4) following a strange three-hour darkness covering the land,

“…Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matt. 27:50-54)

A second great earthquake occurred on Easter morning according to Matt. 28:2 at the time of the resurrection. Evidently these two earthquakes have not yet been noted in any archaeological site damage thus far excavated.

Another “providential” earthquake recorded in the Bible was the Lord’s means of releasing Paul and Silas from jail in Philippi. The terrified jailer and his family fled for refuge not out of the city, but into the kingdom of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, (Acts 16:11-40).

The giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai was accompanied by a frightening earthquake (Exodus 19:16-18). Earthquakes symbolize judgment not grace—so it is not surprising that great world-wide earthquakes will characterize the end of the age in which we live. This is indicated by the imagery of Rev. 4:5 (the rainbow is the corresponding symbol of grace, Rev. 4:3, Gen. 9:11-17). The writer of Hebrews quoting Haggai 2:6,7 tells us that the coming shaking of creation will affect not only the earth but also the heavenly places and the host of heaven, i.e., the angels,

“See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:25-29)

There can be no doubt (according to the Bible) that severe world-wide earthquakes will break out during the approaching great tribulation period. A major earthquake in the end-time is mentioned in Rev. 6:12, at the opening of the Sixth seal. Since “the sun will be darkened and the full moon become like blood,” and the “stars will fall from heaven” it seems that this earthquake may be associated with some cataclysmic disturbance such as the near approach of some previously undetected object from space. Isaiah predicted this event,

“And men shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. In that day men will cast forth their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.” (Is. 2:19-21, cp. Rev. 6:15-17)

Bible scholars are divided as to the timing of the Northern invasion of Israel. Some see this as occurring prior to the rapture, others place this event in the first half of the tribulation period. Those scholars who prefer to view the coming invasion of Gog and Magog as part of the campaign of Armageddon (also Joel 2, Isaiah 24 and Daniel 11) call attention to the great earthquake described by Ezekiel,

“For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon every kind of terror against Gog, says the Lord GOD; every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples that are with him, torrential rains and hailstones, fire and brimstone. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezek. 38:19-23)

The third group of scholars, just referred to, place this earthquake as identical with one of the events described in Rev. 8:5, 11:19 (comp. Luke 21:25-27) or 16:18. The seven bowls of wrath seem to cascade out of the seventh trumpet, and the seven trumpets out of the seventh seal, therefore these three linked earthquakes of increasing intensity seem to be closely linked or could possibly be a single event (Ref 5). Revelation 16 adds further information about this greatest-of-all earthquakes which follows immediately after the martyrdom of God’s two witnesses on the Temple Mount:

“The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as had never been since men were on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; and great hailstones, heavy as a hundred-weight, dropped on men from heaven, till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.” (Rev. 16:17-21).

Not only is Jerusalem severely shaken at this time but the cities of the nations also. Evidently the topography of Eretz Israel will be drastically altered at this time as well. Islands “flee away” and mountains disappear , apparently around the globe.

Jesus was last seen departing this earth from atop the Mt. of Olives 40 days after the resurrection, promising through two angels to return “in like manner.” A known East-West earthquake fault transects the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem. Tourists today often stand at the very spot overlooking the Temple Mount to the West and the Wilderness of Judea and the Dead Sea to the East. It is there that Jesus, the Lord, will stand in the not-too-distant future to trigger earth’s last terrible earthquake and the dawning of the long-awaited golden age of peace on earth.

“…On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward. And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up, for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD your God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be neither cold nor frost. And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the LORD), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter (Ref 6). And the LORD will become king over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be one and his name one. The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem.” (Zech. 14:2-10)

Haggai’s words quoted in Hebrews 12 were written originally to encourage the remnant of the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon to build the Second Temple. Old timers who remembered the Temple of Solomon were discouraged at their modest capabilities to build a temple worthy of the Lord. In challenging them to continue, Haggai spoke prophetically of two distant, future events. First, the Second Temple (enlarged by Herod) would in fact be visited by the Messiah. Yeshua indeed brought the glory of God into God’s house, a glory much greater than the gold and silver of Solomon. Haggai’s word also looks ahead to a final temple during Messiah’s rule from Jerusalem. The coming of Messiah will be ushered in by a great shaking of all creation:

“For thus says the LORD of hosts; ‘Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, says the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

FOOTNOTES

* I will revise this paragraph shortly in view of the ambiguities in various methods of reporting earthquake magnitudes and the newer standards coming into use. See National Geographic, Vol. 187, No. 4, April 1995.

1. Frank Press and Raymond Siever, Earth,W.H. Freeman Co., San Francisco, 1974. Special thanks also to Geologist Steve Connelly for inputs and suggestions.

2. The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Earthquakes in the Holy Land, documentary video by Prof. Amos Nur, Stanford University. Available from ESI Productions, PO Box 2365, Stanford, CA 94309. For more on the great earthquake in the Days of Uzziah see Gordon Franz, Institute of Holy Land Studies, Jerusalem, and Steve Austin, Institute of Creation Research, San Diego, The “Big One” Hits the Mediterranean: An Archaeological Appraisal of the Earthquake in the Days on King Uzziah. Available from the authors.

3. Sodom and Gomorrah,by Dr. Bryant Wood, video documentary of recent archaeological research. Associates of Biblical Research, PO Box 125, Ephrata, PA 17522. Tar pits in the area are mentioned in Gen. 14:10.

4. See Chuck Missler, The Unexpected King, March 1992 Personal Update. Available from Koinonia House, PO Box D. Couer d’Alene, Idaho 83816-0347.

5. God’s Final Word, Understanding Revelation,Ray C. Stedman, Discovery House, Grand Rapids, 1991, page 341.

6. See also Ezek. 47:1-12 and Joel 3:18.

I’m sure that in our human stupidity we are probably contributing to the heating of the planet in many ways, but for the most part, the dramatic changes in weather and climate are caused by the natural rotation of the earth around its oblong axis. Surely everyone was paying attention in high school science, right? Didn’t your mother ever teach you that you would need that education some day?

The earth rotates around the sun in an elliptical pattern rather than a circular one. When the orbit is highly elliptical, one hemisphere will have hot summers and cold winters; the other hemisphere will have warm summers and cool winters. Many different things affect the motion of the earth as it rotates on its axis. Let’s face the truth here, this is Science 101.

Nutation is a slight irregular motion in the axis of rotation of earth (and other planets in our solar system). The process is slow, but cumulative. If the Earth were a perfect sphere, there would be no precession. Nutation occurs because the tidal forces which cause the precession of the equinoxes vary over time, so that the speed of precession is not constant. This leads to periodic climate changes known as the Milankovitch cycle. The Milankovitch cycle equals about a 1 degree change every 71.6 years. Another disturbance of the Earth’s rotation is called polar motion. Polar motion is influenced by various unpredictable things such as ocean currents, wind systems, and motions in the Earth’s core. Changes in these factors can cause radiation levels to rise all the way to 15% at high latitudes… so in simple terms, the ice plates start melting, the ocean temperatures change, wild weather starts occurring and we all become warmer.

If you study the patterns of earth, it is very simple to understand that over the next 10,000 years, northern hemisphere winters will gradually become longer and northern hemisphere summers will become shorter. The closer we tilt toward the sun, the hotter we get, the further we tilt away, the colder it gets (as in the ice age). This is just the nature of our planet.

In other words…. the earth is only going through its own self-healing process (imagine that) and there is nothing we can do to slow it down or stop it, at least nothing that will make a huge impact as some people imply.

God is in control and always has been!

SO there Al Gore

 

Acts 2:20-21

The sun will be turned darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the end of the world lately. Not the normal doomsday variety, I’m not pre-trib, post-trib or anything complicated. I heard someone once say, we’ll all get it straight on the way up and that philosophy works fine with me. I’ve been thinking more about ‘Am I ready?’. Kind of like the packing check list before a big trip. I know I’m saved so I can cross that one off the list but I’m starting to think that there is more preparation necessary.

I guess it really struck me the other day when my son called me to see the pretty sunset. I was busy, doing something important I’m sure. By the time I made it outside, it was gone. I sat there for a while playing the what-if game. What if the sun didn’t rise tomorrow? What if that was the last sunset I ever had the opportunity to see? Okay, maybe that does seem a bit doomsday but the truth is, that for many people that day it was the last. Of all the promises God has made us, tomorrow isn’t one of them.

My husband works with 345 kilovolts of electricity every day. My children are in public schools. I have four close family relatives with heart disease. I have a sister with MS, a sister with depression and a 20-year old sister that drives in Austin. Am I ready spiritually for the sun to set on these relationships? Did I do all I could to show them my love? Christ’s love? The eternal love of God?

It’s a knuckle-brained world out there and the truth is, I’m not ready. There is so much more to do, so much more to say than just good-bye. Thankfully, for me the sun did rise the next day. God gave me another opportunity and I will be eternally grateful for that. Maybe I didn’t get as much laundry done, or finish the rest of that all-important to-do list but it just didn’t seem so important anymore. I lost one sunset; I don’t intend to lose another.

Galatians 6:10

Therefore, as we have opportunity let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Luke 17:26-37

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

“Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

My husband and I have been steadily working our way through the gospels for quite a while now. As we came across this scripture the other night, I simply had to stop – my mind shut down because I knew there was something I didn’t understand. I have always been taught about the rapture of the church. My mother can’t wait for the coming of the day; there are now all kinds of books and movies guessing how it all might go down; countless preachers share their world-wide views, but me – I prefer to discern these kind of things for myself, using the bible as my guide and the logic and sound judgment that the Lord blessed me with.

To summarize where I’m getting stuck:

“one will be taken and the other left”

This verse alone has been used countless times to explain the rapture, but I think I have a legitimate concern…. Following this lesson from Jesus, the disciples asked:

“Where, Lord?”

So being logical, I think to myself, where what? The only possible answer is – where will they be taken? In any other circumstance, if you ask someone “where”, you are usually looking for something that is missing or lost. 

One woman will be left grinding grain and the other will be taken. Who looks for something that is left?  I have to admit, Jesus’ answer is somewhat vague, but I think we get the gist of the scripture – the one taken will die. So where does that leave the one left behind? If you are following my line of reason, you probably figured out that either Jesus is saying there will be no taking away of the church OR they will be taken away by death. Vultures gather around dead bodies, not spirits or souls. Vultures eat flesh.

Is that the fate of the church – to die and be eaten by vultures?

I don’t know – but the scriptures don’t really paint the rapture quite like society does. As a matter of fact the rapture is not mentioned anywhere in the entire bible.

Makes you wonder doesn’t it?