Denny,

I'm not going to have an "intelligent debate" with you, but I am going to respond to your initial e-mail on a point-by-point basis. I'll first give what you said in blue, my response to it is in black. Here we go.....

“The rapture will be the best thing that ever happened in this world.  All of the believers are to be sucked up to heaven, so they get to have their heaven, and we (non-believers) can have ours right here on Earth. ”

The Rapture will be a disaster of unprecedented magnitude where the world is concerned as it will mark the beginning of the Tribulation Period - seven years of literal hell on the earth.

“With crazy fundamentalists finally purged from the Earth, peace will finally come.”

Crazy fundamentalists? In spite of the fact all the prophecies of the Bible are unfolding as predicted in Scripture, right before our eyes no less, it's an indication that those who believe in a literal interpretation of the Word of God are crazy? What an odd rationale!

Will peace come to the earth upon our departure? Yes, but only momentarily. The Rapture will precede the rise of the Antichrist, who will confirm a covenant of peace seven years in length in the Middle East between Israel and its enemies. His arrival on the world stage is seen in Revelation 6:1-2:

Revelation 6:1-2: And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Peace at last! The hero of secular mankind is symbolized as the rider of the white horse, but what follows will be anything but peace! The second horseman, the rider of the red horse, is symbolic of global conflict erupting.

1Thessalonians 5:3: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Revelation 6:3-4: And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

“With any luck, the heaven-bound believers will never come back to again bother the world with their silly superstitions and illogical advice.”

If you're hoping for that, Denny, you're out of luck! The believers who left at the Rapture will most certainly be back!

Jude 1:14: And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Revelation 19:11-16: And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Silly superstitions? Illogical advice? Friend, you are treading on dangerous ground when you mock the Word of God as superstition and illogical advice, particularly where end times prophecy is concerned.

Revelation 22:19: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

My advice to you is that you ask for forgiveness for mocking those of faith who uphold the prophecies of the book of Revelation as literal truth, and, indeed, all Bible prophecy while calling prophecy "silly superstition." In fact, I highly recommend it!

“They will never again poke their heads into the political process and war will surely be avoided.  With greedy faith-based charities off the map, real progress will finally be made toward feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, and quenching those who thirst.  Every man, woman and child will have a place to stay in the abandoned homes of believers everywhere and homelessness will be a thing of the past.”

War will explode in the absence of the Church on the earth as shown above!

Faith-based charities are greedy? Aren't charity and greed contradictive terms? I think so, although I'm not suggesting that a faith-based charity has never done anything wrong. If memory serves me correctly, the secular world's version of charity is far more often corrupt. Take the UN's oil-for-food program, for example. In the Tribulation Period, the worst of the worst will be on the earth, which leaves me to wonder why you'd think things would get better.

You do realize that all the "abandoned homes of believers" is going to destroy the global economy, right? Homelessness will not be a thing of the past!

“IF christians like you spent more time trying to apply the teachings of Jesus instead of running around screaming about the falling sky, the problems that exist today (and bring you to the conclusion that the Rapture is coming) wouldn't be nearly as bad.”

Who are you to suggest that Christians like me aren't trying to apply the teachings of Jesus, not only on matters related to end times prophecy but others as well? Like all human beings, I and others longing for the return of Jesus Christ to take place can walk and chew gum at the same time. It isn't like we're all living in bomb shelters either!

As for the "falling sky" remark, no one who understands Bible prophecy believes the sky is falling! Quite to the contrary! What we're seeing in the world around us is evidence that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God! By His prophecies holding steadfast and true, we know He is alive, on the throne, and in control!

What believers know is going to "fall" isn't the sky but God's judgment on a world that has forgotten Him! That would be why I am reaching out to a lost and dying world, calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Those who receive THAT truth and come to faith in Christ will, someday at least, never hunger or thirst again. Neither will they shed tears.

“Drop your gaze Earthward and focus on some real issues and stop crying about the boogieman under the bed.  If end times are near, it's because of people who believe too much.  If you read this far, thank you for your time. ”

Each and every day believers go about their lives as everyone else does. We are neither timid nor scared where the "boogieman under the bed" is concerned. We understand fully that our future is safe and secure as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

We're told to be sober and vigilant concerning the "boogieman" (Satan) in 1st Peter 5:8: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" As such, we try and keep an eye on his activities that we might act to counter them through faith, prayer and physical action! That's what Christ's Church - the light of the world - is supposed to be doing! Suppressing darkness!

Lastly, the end times aren't nearing because people believe too much! The end times are coming because people believe too little. Way too little!

“Yours in Christ

Denny Rose”

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Denny, I don't know what you're "in" but your e-mail to me isn't demonstrative of one being "in Christ." You can't mock the Word of God as silly superstition on one hand and claim to be a Christian on the other so I presume your signature was mockery. If not, something is dreadfully wrong in your life spiritually and you need to sort it out. The sooner, the better. You will be in my prayers in relation to that.

One final thought: You said that if the Rapture should happen, the joke would clearly be on you. That doesn't have to be the case, Denny. There's absolutely nothing keeping you from leaving at the Rapture yourself, unless you are unwilling to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Think about what I've told you in this e-mail; go back as far as you like in the commentaries I've written and conduct an "intelligent debate" with yourself. The more familiar you become with Bible prophecy in comparison to events taking place in the world around us, the more likely it is you'll see that there is no chance that all that's presently taking place in the world around us is mere coincidence.

If, in the end, you remain unconvinced that the return of Jesus Christ is drawing near and want to ignore the facts on the ground, at least you will have gained some insight into the way "crazy fundamentalists" like me think. And I will have been given the opportunity to show you the way to Jesus!

Sincerely,

Mike Mickey