I watched a new DVD called 'Joyeux Noel', which is French for Merry Christmas evidently. It's a foreign film about a true event of WWI when German, French, and Scottish soldiers came out of their trenches sporadically along a 70 mile front, and met in no-man's land on Christmas Eve to join together in recognition of Christ's Birthday.

The movie has no cursing in it, but there is one small but mild love scene that could have been left out, so it's PG-13. The French and German speaking is in subtitles, but not the English parts.

Per History, the way it began was on the German side, with a professional opera tenor being sent to the German front trenches to sing Christmas Noel's for the German troops. The Scots in their trenches played their bag-pipes in tune with the singer, and both Scots and French on their sides cheered and applauded. The German tenor then came out of the German trenches to no-man's land to see who was applauding him. The French commander, a lover of music and who recognized the professional tenor's voice, came out of his trench to greet him. Then the commanding Scot officer came out of his trench. After a while, the rest of the men all came out to no'man's land and greeted each other, and agreed to a cease-fire to celebrate Christmas.

The German and French high command got wind of the event afterwards, through their mail censorship programs, and found soldiers on each side exchanging home addresses so they could visit each other after the war. Some of the French soldiers commented in their letters home on how much better the German trenches were, showing they had visited them. The event stumped the high command of each army, and they split up the units after the event, because there were reports each side was reluctant to fire on each other after the event. There were even reports that one side would call over to the enemy to let them know artillery was getting ready to shell them, and so invited them over to shelter in their trenches until the artillery barage was over.

What a powerful witness by our Lord Christ Jesus! Most of the soldiers on both sides didn't know the real reason why they were fighting each other. And the fact they were able to make such a cease-fire agreement showed their true feelings was towards peace and not war.

God bless.

I got to agree with the positive things about Mr. Bush. And I thank God that He gave us a President like Mr. Bush to take care of business like a true leader after the 9/11 event. Radical Islamic terrorism has been on-going long before Mr. Bush got in the White House. The previous administration was very weak in handling that problem. We need to remember that.

What worries me is how much influence over him so-called White House experts weild. But that working concerns me with all our Presidents we've had in my generation. I cannot blame Mr. Bush with all the policies passed I disagree with. We have a Congress and a Senate, many lobbyists, judicial activists who are reinterpreting the law against our Christian heritage, Federal Reserve private bankers controlling our U.S. economy, and so-called foreign policy think-tank experts like the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR) that must all be stirred into the mix of powerful Capitol Hill influences. One man cannot fend off all those influences all the time.

The U.S. media has bashed Christianity, and Mr. Bush and his Faith, as also other faithful ones in his administration, like Attorney General John Ashcroft. The mainstream media machine is primarily a Leftist propaganda operation today, so why should any true American listen to the Leftist media about Mr. Bush? That witness by the guy from Montana would never make it to public via the mainstream Leftist media machine. In short, we are living in a time when we cannot trust that many U.S. news sources.

God bless.

Hello all,

Firstly, I'm a believer on The Saviour Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins by His Blood shed upon His cross.

Paul used the word "gathering" (Greek episunagoge) in 2 Thess.2:1 for the gathering of the saints to Christ at His coming, so that is a valid usage per Scripture also. The idea of gathering to Christ is also used in Genesis 49:10, Matthew 24:31, Matthew 25:32, Ephesians 1:10, and Mark 13:27.

The word Paul used for "caught up" in 1 Thess.4:17 and 2 Cor.12 is indeed Greek 'harpazo', and it means to be siezed or snatched away. The word 'rapture' did come from the Latin translation of the nearest equivalent for 'harpazo'. (Notice I said nearest equivalent.)

What we are to be watching for is the "times and the seasons" our Lord Jesus and His prophets and Apostles gave us per Scritpure, as to Christ's coming. So it doesn't matter how many outside Biblical sources or opinions we refer to on this matter. What matters, is what the written Word says.

We are to be watching for Christ's coming, even though we cannot know the day or hour it will take place. Paul continued his discussion about the rapture or gathering to Christ in the next Thessalonians chapter.

The following Scripture sets the order of Christ's coming with the clouds.

1Thes 5:1-4
1   But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2   For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
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.
4   But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
(KJV)

"The day of the Lord" happens with Christ's coming in the clouds "as a thief in the night". Per Paul, His coming is not to take us by surprise, "as a thief in the night". That event will only overtake those who are in "darkness". Paul says the Thessalonians are not in "darkness", that that day of the Lord should overtake them "as a thief in the night". Paul is saying he has no need to teach them about "the times and the seasons" of Christ's coming, for they already knew them.

2 Pet 3:10
10   But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
(KJV)

In that verse, Peter is putting 3 major events together at the same timing they occur. The "day of the Lord", Christ's coming "as a thief in the night", and "the elements shall melt with fervent heat" all occur together.

That elements melting with fervant heat at Christ's coming with the clouds is something to ponder. The latter part of Hebrews 12 also mentions that event, telling us how God will yet once more shake not the earth only, but heaven also. Hebrews 12 continues to tell us the reason for that great shaking will be to remove the things off of this earth that are made (man's works), so that only the things of God may remain. That's what the elements melting with fervant heat is about. It's about the removing of man's works off this earth.

Can the "great tribulation" happen on earth after that great melting event? Can the Antichrist and his evil works on earth during the tribulation make it through that kind of event? Not even. Since Peter placed that event of the elements melting with Christ coming "as a thief in the night", and "the day of the Lord", what does that show us about the order of our gathering to Christ?

May God bless.