Freedom In Christ

Let me start by stating openly that I love the Rapture Ready online ministry and thank God that He directed me to it many years ago. That website and community has played a VITAL ROLE in helping me grow in my spiritual walk with the Lord and it is clear to me that God used them to plant seeds in my heart and mind that He would make grow into a full-fledged faith soon after.

So, it is with a bit of a broken heart that I write this today.

I'm not sure what my intention is with this post. I definitely don't want to divide and/or negatively impact the Body of Christ, but I feel I must speak out about something that struck me as quite odd (and disheartening) today.

As you know, yesterday I reported on the Middle East Peace Conference in Venice, Italy and discussed why I felt it was prophetically significant regardless of the actual outcome. The magnitude of what might've been discussed there and possibly agreed to by world leaders, and the potential implications for the Church today is not lost on students of prophecy. Yet, there are some - so-called Christian organizations and communities I might add - who give the impression that this news isn't important. More on that in a moment.

My heart and mind were so heavily burdened with writing that piece that I sat down and wrote it out and didn't stop until I was done. I mention this because it's strange for me to work that way. Typically, I will begin a post and return to it several times over the course of a day, days, and/or week until I feel it is "ready" to be published. I can't explain it, but that's how this has always worked with me for some reason. Not so with yesterday's column. Like I said, it was like I felt as though I needed to report that news now and get it out there ASAP. I still find it strange that myself and the author of Discerning The Times ONLINE! are the only two people that we could find who have reported on that event.


In any case, after posting the story on this blog, I decided to do a brief summary write-up and distribute the link to the post online for others to obtain. I didn't blanket the Internet with it, but instead simply took it to Rapture Ready and figured the large audience there would also spread the word.

You can imagine my surprise when I signed in to their forums today and received the following message from an Administrator:

"Hi, Just a reminder to please read the rules of the board located at the top of the forum. We had to delete your thread on the covenant with many that you started as it was hinting at end times event dates. I also had to delete your links in your signature area. We don't allow advertisements of blogs on the board. Please review the rules and especially notice rule #11 and #15. The rules dealing with blogs, speculating on end times events, etc. thank you."

I just read this note so I'm still a little baffled and upset by it. I mean, this isn't about ME it's about THE LORD and His plan for His people! My only goal was to warn other Brothers and Sisters in Christ to open their eyes and pay attention to things that are going on right under their noses without the spotlight of the mainstream media, and not increase the number of visitors to my site so that I can make money one day off of this online ministry! I recognize that there are people out there who are just the opposite and that they are the reason why these "rules" exist and are in place, but I'm just frustrated over this.

Taking a closer look, you might share in my frustration. The so-called "advertisements of blogs" that this individual referred to consisted of my signature simply reading...


MY WEBSITES:

Look Up Fellowship
www.lookupfellowship.com

Red Letter Lessons
www.redletterlessons.com


Hardly an attempt to call all of one's attention to me and my websites rather than the Lord and the message I was asking them to read and consider.

Taking this person's advice, I also just spent some time looking into the "rules" that they suggested I read for future reference. Now I'm even more confused and upset!


1. "I also had to delete your links in your signature area. We don't allow advertisements of blogs on the board."

From "Signatures, Avatars and Profile Pictures" Section

What are signatures?
'Signatures' contain information that you want to include at the bottom of all your posts. This might include pictures, links to your site(s), quotes, etc.

http://rr-bb.com/faq.php?faq=vb3_user_profile#faq_vb3_signatures_avatars


2. "Please review the rules and especially notice rule #11 and #15. The rules dealing with blogs, speculating on end times events, etc. thank you."

[11] No End Times Date Setting, Date Speculating, Date Framing, Date Suggesting, Date Alerts, or designating specific Peace Treaties or feasts as the main event of the Rapture or Second Coming. No quoting from others on date setting future events such as the fall of Damascus, Gog/Magog, the Rapture, the Second Coming, the Millennium, Peace Covenants, feasts, etc.... or speculations on who will be the Antichrist, False Prophet, or Gog. This includes linking to sites and books that also speculate and throw out dates based upon Blood Moon, Rash Hashanah, and other events. Do not set Date Alerts and speculations that even hint of date setting. We have already heard the "know the season argument".

[14] No posts or links from other message boards, forums, or political and religious blogs on this site or posting messages here on other message boards, forums, or political and religious blogs. The mod team alone reserves the right to post links to responsible blogs when important to the discussion of particular topics. Due to the dynamic and uncensored nature of blogs, the mod team does not have the time to monitor, validate, and approve all blogs on the net. No blogs are to be posted unless they are posted by a member of the mod team.

[15] No promotion of Mid or Post Tribulation, Prewrath, Preterism, or Replacement theology. This board is traditional Pre-Tribulation Rapture, Pre 6 Seals, Pre 70th week, and Pre-Millennial Dispensational in our position of End Times Prophecy. We also believe in a literal 7 year Tribulation period, after the instantaneous Rapture of all regenerated believers in unison, during which God finishes His discipline of Israel and finalizes His judgments on the unbelieving world. We believe that as described in Revelation, that salvation will remain open to people who trust in the Lord Jesus until the Second coming. No promotion of living righteously enough for the rapture, or salvation unattainable after the Rapture. In order to stay within our scriptural position and keep order and peace, all discussions on these topics must follow suit. Our Lord Jesus Christ told us that we won't know the day or hour of His return and to always be ready keeping watch.

http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=2


So, there you have it. These are 3 of the 31 "rules" that visitors must adhere to in order to simply participate in one of the largest prophecy related communities online. I wonder how anyone could possibly maintain compliance on all 31 and still be considered a regular member in good standing because you could never post anything or engage in any type of meaningful, critical discussion since you're always going to be speculating about one thing or another.

I went back an re-read my column and there was no date-setting whatsoever. Sure, I speculated that something sinister could've happened over the weekend in Venice that we have yet to learn about, but my speculation was no different than MANY OF THE OTHER THREADS in their forums - Israel Destroys Damascus, Then Russia Invades; Is this all about ready to explode?; Are We ? Now Seeing The Black Horse; Is the Antichrist A Jew?; Perhaps Today: The Imminent Coming of Christ (signs?); Bush Speech Prophetic?

And that's just the first page of that forum. Sadly, this important news gets yanked from the site within hours and yet any visitor to the Rapture Ready Home Page will be greeted by the following Google Ads Banner and Advertisement on the right hand side of the screen - God's Warning To The World!, which talks about the non-canonical divine prophecies of Saint Faustina who was a nun who claimed she received prophetic information from Jesus Christ Himself as well as seveal other prophetic "visions" of Mary.

Why the double standard? And why are all these other threads allowed to exist and continue, but the one I posted is deemed too inflammatory or in direct violation of the board's rules? Maybe my frustration shouldn't be directed so much at this particular Administrator, but at Satan and the influence he wielded in this case.

I may have lost this battle - for now - but I have freedom in Christ and He will see to it that this message falls directly into the hands of those He wants it to in His own perfect timing. I can trust that, but will continue to speak out on these news items as they happen because even though I know that that war has already been won I also know that there are many people out there who might perish if they aren't reached in time.

Lord, help me bring glory and honor to You. Please forgive me for my anger and frustration towards the people at Rapture Ready and help me to find the right avenues to use to deliver your life-saving message.