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Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians - Podcast Index
Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians, Part 4: The Rapture of the Saints?
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Submitted by William Finck on Fri, 05/06/2016 - 22:05
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So far in our presentations of Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians we have seen Paul express to his readers that their acceptance and conduct in the Gospel of Christ was itself an assurance that they were indeed the elect of God. We took that opportunity to discuss some of the history establishing that these Thessalonians, like the other recipients of Paul's epistles, had descended from the Israelites of the Old Testament. Then where Paul had discussed the persecutions which the Christians of both Judaea and Thessalonika as well as the other Christian assemblies had undergone, we took an opportunity to demonstrate that the historicity of the early persecutions of Christians, in the days of Claudius and Nero, was an established historical fact.
Following that, we took the opportunity to demonstrate how Paul's advice to the Thessalonians which he gives in chapters 3 and 4 of the epistle represented the core of something which in another context we may call Positive Christianity. Doing this, we demonstrated that Paul's exhortations in Christ had certainly represented ideas which are fully amenable to the preservation of our race and of our White Christian nations. Doing this we also hope to have demonstrated that the things which Paul had advised were things which only Jews, who are the eternal enemies of Christ, could possibly oppose. Therefore by opposing true Christianity one is actually taking sides with the devil, and by attacking true Christians one is doing the handiwork of the Jews, something which the pagans of the first centuries of the Christian era had also done.
[I did make one minor error in my presentation last week, which I have since corrected. Just finishing presentations of the prison epistles of Philippians, Ephesians and Colossians I must have forgotten my place, and at one point made a comment which imagined Paul to be in Rome here. But here in his writing of Thessalonians Paul is in Corinth, and would not be in Rome for several years. So I apologize for the error.]
Now in the middle of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we are up to the point in Paul's epistle which contains the famous so-called Rapture passage, which is really a rather enigmatic description by Paul of some of the things that Christians can expect of the Second Advent of Christ. And in reality it has nothing to do with any so-called Rapture, as we hope to demonstrate. First, however, we will address some of the claims of the Rapture cult adherents themselves, and refute them as well.
From what we understand, not all of the mainstream denominational sects of Churchianity actually believe in a rapture. But many of them do, and some of those which do are among the largest and most popular of the denominational sects. Rapture beliefs take various forms, such as a pre-tribulation rapture, a post-tribulation rapture, and even a so-called secret rapture. Several decades ago there was published a series of 16 popular novels, which was generally known as the Left Behind series. All together these novels sold over 65 million copies, and were probably read much more avidly than the Bible itself. This series also spawned an industry of sequels by other writers, several movies, and at least one series of video games. Written under the guise of Christianity these novels and the associated media which they encouraged are themselves fully characteristic of Mystery Babylon, and are a part of the problem rather than helping anyone to understand the ultimate solution.
We are not going to discuss the many different views of the so-called Rapture, mainly because we are certain from our own study of Scripture that there is absolutely so such thing as a Rapture. So, since none of the beliefs in a Rapture have any merit, there is no point in discussing any of them in particular. And because of the prevailing views of such a Rapture, we must say that it is difficult to discuss them without also addressing the folly of what we would call Futurism, where instead we must hold to the correct historicist view of the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture. In fact, in all of their confusion over the Rapture, many Rapture proponents even imagine that there are two Second Comings, because they cannot reconcile their imagined Rapture with the coming of Christ for the destruction of the wicked.
In several of his writings, including his Watchman's Teaching Letter #131 for March of 2009, our dear friend Clifton Emahiser explained that John Nelson Darby, an influential 19th century Christian Writer of the so-called Plymouth Brethren, was generally given credit for the modern concepts of both Futurism and the pre-tribulation Rapture. But Clifton also went on to show that Futurism existed before that, as that method of prophetic interpretation was found in the writings of the somewhat earlier Jesuit priest Emmanuel Lacunza. But more recently, we have also shown that some of the ideas used by those in support of Futurism also appeared in various prophetic interpretations made by the early Christian writers called the Ante-Nicene Fathers. However while they saw a period of tribulation by an Antichrist in their own future, they certainly did not develop some of the heresies manifest in the later Futurism of Darby and the modern evangelicals.
Some of the advocates of a pre-tribulation rapture also claim to have found support for such a belief in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, particularly in the writings of the 2nd century bishop Irenaeus and the 3rd century Cyprian. But an examination of the passages which they cite from those writers demonstrate that once their context is fully understood, they certainly do not support any so-called Rapture. They also cite a work which presumably belonged to the Nicene-era 4th century writer, Ephraim the Syrian. However an examination of that work shows it to be spurious, from a later collection of writing attributed to a so-called "Pseudo-Ephraim", and neither does it support their rapture. So we shall begin by disassembling the claims of these dissemblers.
First we shall discuss the passage from Irenaeus which the Rapture enthusiasts misuse in order to support their position:
From Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 5 chapter 29, speaking of the Antichrist:
In the previous books I have set forth the causes for which God permitted these things to be made, and have pointed out that all such have been created for the benefit of that human nature which is saved, ripening for immortality that which is [possessed] of its own free will and its own power, and preparing and rendering it more adapted for eternal subjection to God. And therefore the creation is suited to [the wants of] man; for man was not made for its sake, but creation for the sake of man. Those nations however, who did not of themselves raise up their eyes unto heaven, nor returned thanks to their Maker, nor wished to behold the light of truth, but who were like blind mice concealed in the depths of ignorance, the word justly reckons "as waste water from a sink, and as the turning-weight of a balance—in fact, as nothing;" so far useful and serviceable to the just, as stubble conduces towards the growth of the wheat, and its straw, by means of combustion, serves for working gold. And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, "There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be." For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption.
The Rapture enthusiasts usually only quote the end of this passage, and where Irenaeus says "caught up", they find support for their pre-tribulation Rapture. But that is not necessarily the case. Here in this passage Irenaeus also writes of "the last contest of the righteous", which the righteous would obviously avoid if they were somehow to be raptured away. Did Irenaeus really mean that the Church would be taken into heaven? Or did he mean that the Church – meaning the body of Christ since there is no Roman Catholic Church or any other organized denomination in the 2nd century – would be "caught up" by being lifted out of the mean position in which it was to be found? The answer is in the very next chapter, but the Rapture enthusiasts evidently do not read that far:
From Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 5 chapter 30, speaking of the second beast in the Revelation of Jesus Christ:
But he [meaning Christ, through John] indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: the name, however, is suppressed, because it is not worthy of being proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been declared by Him, he (Antichrist) might perhaps continue for a long period. But now as "he was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and goes into perdition,"as one who has no existence; so neither has his name been declared, for the name of that which does not exist is not proclaimed. But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
So Irenaeus envisioned a kingdom for the righteous on earth, not in heaven, with Christ coming from the clouds to destroy the wicked and bring in that kingdom, in that manner fulfilling the promise to Abraham. The people taking part in the Kingdom would not come from the clouds of heaven, but from the east and the west. Therefore the passage from that same work which immediately precedes this one cannot be used to promote a pre-tribulation rapture as Irenaeus must have had something very different in mind when he used the words translated as "caught up". Especially since this confrontation of the Antichrist is described as the "last contest of the righteous" in that same place. [Strike One for the Rapture.]
The next passage which the Rapture enthusiasts misuse is from Cyprian, from his treatise titled On the Mortality. But the part of the passage they employ is very small, usually only where it says "Lo, the world is changing and passing away, and witnesses to its ruin not now by its age, but by the end of things. And do you not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an earlier departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent?" Quoting those few sentences to advance their Rapture hypothesis, we have seen writers who even neglect to give the name of the treatise from which it comes. Rather, they focus only on the words "do you not congratulate yourself, that by an earlier departure you are taken away", but he really speaks of their death. Cyprian is speaking of being taken away by mortality, and not by some magic Rapture. So here we shall prove the context of Cyprian's statement by citing a fuller portion of the work:
From Cyprian, Treatise 7, On the Mortality, chapters 24 and 25:
24. It is for him to wish to remain long in the world whom the world delights, whom this life, flattering and deceiving, invites by the enticements of earthly pleasure. Again, since the world hates the Christian, why do you love that which hates you? and why do you not rather follow Christ, who both redeemed you and loves you? John in his epistle cries and says, exhorting that we should not follow carnal desires and love the world. "Love not the world," says he, "neither the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but of the lust of the world. And the world shall pass away, and the lust thereof; but he who doeth the will of God abideth for ever, even as God abideth for ever." Rather, beloved brethren, with a sound mind, with a firm faith, with a robust virtue, let us be prepared for the whole will of God: laying aside the fear of death, let us think on the immortality which follows. By this let us show ourselves to be what we believe, that we do not grieve over the departure of those dear to us, and that when the day of our summons shall arrive, we come without delay and without resistance to the Lord when He Himself calls us.
25. And this, as it ought always to be done by God's servants, much more ought to be done now—now that the world is collapsing and is oppressed with the tempests of mischievous ills; in order that we who see that terrible things have begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible. If in your dwelling the walls were shaking with age, the roofs above you were trembling, and the house, now worn out and wearied, were threatening an immediate destruction to its structure crumbling with age, would you not with all speed depart? If, when you were on a voyage, an angry and raging tempest, by the waves violently aroused, foretold the coming shipwreck, would you not quickly seek the harbour? Lo, the world is changing and passing away, and witnesses to its ruin not now by its age, but by the end of things. And do you not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an earlier departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent?
Writing in the time of the decline of the Roman empire, which Irenaeus also properly imagined Daniel to have prophesied, Cyprian in his own time saw that "now ... the world is collapsing", and spoke of the fear of death, rather than any Rapture, which took men in an early departure. The departure of which Cyprian speaks is likened to an aging and crumbling dwelling, in a metaphor of the aging process of men. So this passage in Cyprian does not support any imagined version of the so-called Rapture. In fact, elsewhere Cyprian had taught precisely the opposite:
From Cyprian, in his Epistle 55, To the People of Thibaris, an exhortation to martyrdom, where he clearly refutes the so-called rapture in his description of the battles which Christians are to face:
1. Cyprian to the people abiding at Thibaris, greeting. I had indeed thought, beloved brethren, and prayerfully desired-if the state of things and the condition of the times permitted, in conformity with what you frequently desired—myself to come to you; and being present with you, then to strengthen the brotherhood with such moderate powers of exhortation as I possess. But since I am detained by such urgent affairs, that I have not the power to travel far from this place, and to be long absent from the people over whom by divine mercy I am placed, I have written in the meantime this letter, to be to you in my stead. For as, by the condescension of the Lord instructing me, I am very often instigated and warned, I ought to bring unto your conscience also the anxiety of my warning. For you ought to know and to believe, and hold it for certain, that the day of affliction has begun to hang over our heads, and the end of the world and the time of Antichrist to draw near, so that we must all stand prepared for the battle; nor consider anything but the glory of life eternal, and the crown of the confession of the Lord; and not regard those things which are coming as being such as were those which have passed away. A severer and a fiercer fight is now threatening, for which the soldiers of Christ ought to prepare themselves with uncorrupted faith and robust courage, considering that they drink the cup of Christ's blood daily [in reference to Christian communion with one's brethren], for the reason that they themselves also may be able to shed their blood for Christ [to die for their brethren]. [This is certainly the same as the "last contest of the righteous" spoken of by Irenaeus.] For this is to wish to be found with Christ, to imitate that which Christ both taught and did, according to the Apostle John, who said, "He that saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." Moreover, the blessed Apostle Paul exhorts and teaches, saying, "We are God's children; but if children, then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."
2. Which things must all now be considered by us, that no one may desire anything from the world that is now dying, but may follow Christ, who both lives for ever, and quickens His servants, who are established in the faith of His name. For there comes the time, beloved brethren, which our Lord long ago foretold and taught us was approaching, saying, "The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things they will do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them." Nor let any one wonder that we are harassed with constant persecutions, and continually tried with increasing afflictions, when the Lord before predicted that these things would happen in the last times, and has instructed us for the warfare by the teaching and exhortation of His words. Peter also, His apostle, has taught that persecutions occur for the sake of our being proved, and that we also should, by the example of righteous men who have gone before us, be joined to the love of God by death and sufferings. For he wrote in his epistle, and said, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is thing happened unto you; but as often as ye partake in Christ's sufferings, rejoice in all things, that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached in the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the name of the majesty and power of the Lord resteth on you, which indeed on their part is blasphemed, but on our part is glorified." Now the apostles taught us those things which they themselves also learnt from the Lord's precepts and the heavenly commands, the Lord Himself thus strengthening us, and saying, "There is no man that hath left house, or land, or parents, or brethren, or sisters, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive sevenfold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." And again He says, "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and shall separate you from their company, and shall cast you out, and shall reproach your name as evil for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold your reward is great in heaven."
These writings of Irenaeus and Cyprian show that they were not escapists, who believed that Christians would be raptured away in order to avoid the trials of this world. Rather, speaking of the "last contest of the righteous", as we saw in Irenaeus, or here of Christians who "must all stand prepared for the battle", they believed that Christians would fight, and would ultimately be victorious over the forces of evil in the world.
So Cyprian, imagining the end of the age with the inevitable collapse of Rome, as Irenaeus also had imagined, taught Christians to stand and fight, to be tried in the fires, and to die for Christ as Irenaeus also envisioned the "last contest of the righteous". [Strike Two for the Rapture.] Cyprian did not teach that Christians would avoid all such things with some sort of pre-tribulation rapture, and the Rapture enthusiasts who abuse a single passage from Cyprian's writings to advance their agenda are nothing less than dishonest liars. Just like they pick-and-choose passages from Scripture to support their hare-brained and evil agendas, they pick-and-choose similar passages from early Christian writers, which are also obviously taken out-of-context and misused. [For an example of such dishonest Rapture enthusiasts, see the article at the website beginningandend.com titled What Did Ancient Church Fathers Believe About The Rapture?, which is only one source making such claims.]
There is one other presumably ancient writing which the Rapture enthusiasts use to uphold their claims, and that is a treatise called On The Last Times attributed to the 4th century Christian writer Ephraim (or sometimes Ephrem or even Ephraem) the Syrian, who is also known as Ephraim of Nisibis and who was one of the most respected writers of early Syrian Christianity. The passage in question is purported to say: "For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." But once again the Rapture enthusiasts who quote this passage fail to make a full disclosure. Many of them fail to admit that it is widely held that this work does not belong to Ephraim the Syrian at all, but was actually one example of a plethora of later literature which is known to have been forged and rather purposely attributed to the popular writer. While the dating of this piece of Pseudo-Ephraim literature varies from the fourth to the sixth centuries, it is reasonable that it was written before the Islamic conquest of Syria. However not even the passage in question explicitly supports the Rapture as it is imagined by the Rapture enthusiasts. In the end, since we have fully discredited their claims in reference to the other citations they make from Irenaeus and Cyprian, this is all which they have left to cling to.
But they do not even have this. The passage from Pseudo-Ephraim which seems to support their Rapture theory comes from a translation of a Latin manuscript. The corresponding passage from the Syrian manuscript which has been translated by John C. Reeves at the University of North Carolina reads quite differently, and it says: "Pronouncing the good fortune of the deceased Who had avoided the calamity: 'Blessed are you for you were borne away (to the grave) And hence you escaped from the afflictions!" This is the same thing that Irenaeus and Cyprian were addressing, and which Paul addressed in his epistles in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and 1 Corinthians chapter 15: those who would die before the time o fhte end and the return of Christ. Paul said that they would not be behind those who lived until the end, and here the early Christian writers actually say the are blessed, for not having to suffer through to the end. But this has nothing to do with any rapture.
Then later in that same treatise, where we readily find that it does not support a Rapture at all, we read: "In his Gospel when He said: 'Those days will be shortened For the sake of the elect and the saints.' And when he has harassed the whole of creation, (When) the Son of Destruction (has bent it) to his will, Enoch and Elijah will be sent That they might persuade the Evil One. With a gentle question The saints will come before him, In order to expose the Son of Destruction Before the assemblies surrounding him: 'If you are indeed God, Tell us what we ask of you: Where is the place that you have hidden The elders Elijah and Enoch?' The Evil One will respond and say To the saints at that time: 'When I wish (it), they are in the height(s), Or again should I choose, they are within the sea; For I have authority over habitations, Since there is no other god apart from me And I can make anything On earth (and) also in heaven!'"
While we do not agree with the postulations of Pseudo-Ephraim concerning the Two Witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 and the presumed Antichrist, its writer clearly made a depiction of the saints being on earth at the time of the end simultaneous with the rule of an imagined antichrist, or Evil One. That supports the Syriac version of the manuscript over the Latin version which the Rapture cult advances to fit its agenda, in relation to departure in death enabling one to avoid the trials of life. So in the end we see that the Rapture enthusiasts do not have any support from any early Christian writers for their hare-brained and anti-Scriptural teachings. [The Rapture has just struck out. And the bullpen of early Christians who may be taken out-of-context in order to continue the game is empty.] Indeed, the first promoter of a pre-tribulation Rapture may well be the popular John Nelson Darby, who seems to have simply invented it, although there are competing claims for slightly earlier churchmen.
Other early and notable Christian writers present ideas in their prophetic interpretations which refute the concept of a Rapture, such as Lactantius in The Divine Institutes, Book 7, and Victorinus in his commentary on the Apocalypse for chapters 6 and 7. We may expand on this presentation in the near future, to present a fuller refutation of the claims of the Rapture cult.
For now, however, we shall commence with our presentation of Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians, and an exposition of the Scripture most commonly abused by Rapture enthusiasts to advance their ridiculous claims. This next section of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 is the only passage they have in order to support those claims, outside of minor support which they claim is found in part of 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the opening verses of John chapter 14, and perhaps the warnings of Christ in Matthew chapter 24 where He said "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left", which are repeated in Luke chapter 17. But none of these passages actually describe any presumed Rapture.
Here it must also be noted, that Paul of Tarsus is actually making addenda to his epistle, where he is answering certain questions that the Thessalonians themselves had asked, which is evident where he began chapter 4 by saying "So for what remains, brethren," and encouraging them and counseling them on their earthly walk in Christ. Paul counseled them to avoid certain sins, to work with their hands, and to be self-sufficient, having need of no one and walking decently compared with "those outside".
Now here he changes the subject to discuss those who are already deceased, of whom the Thessalonians must have also been concerned, and he describes their fate at the promised Second Advent of the Christ:
13 Now we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are falling asleep [D and the MT have "those having fallen asleep"; the text follows א, A, and B], in order that you would not be grieved, and just as the rest who have no expectation.
By mentioning "the rest who have no expectation", where the Greek word ἐλπίς may have also been translated as hope, Paul is referring to any of the scattered children of Israel who had not had the opportunity of hearing the Gospel of Christ. The Thessalonians must have been concerned that there own dead kindred, not having had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, would not be preserved in Christ. This concern obviously comes from an ancient misunderstanding of the admonition to believe in Jesus and be saved, as we may read in Luke chapter 8 where Christ says of certain seed in the parable of the sower that "12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." Sadly, this misunderstanding of those words persists unto this very day.
Here Paul is reassuring the Thessalonians that all of the dead in Christ shall arise, whether or not they had heard the Gospel during their lifetimes. Preservation of the Adamic spirit and preservation in this life are two different subjects which Christians often confound. For instance, in Acts chapter 16, there is the jailer who sees the miraculous events surrounding the apostles, and he asks them "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Then we read: "31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." So if the jailer himself believes in Jesus, how can that assure the salvation of his house, meaning the people of his household? Because this salvation is not a reference to salvation of the spirit, something of which the jailer being a Roman pagan had no concept when he asked the original question. Rather, when a man follows Christ, he keeps His commandments, and keeping His commandments he departs from the ways of the sinful world, which is an assurance that he will not be destroyed in the judgment of God when it comes upon the world. The man being head of the household, has the authority to force the other members of his house to keep God's law as well, and thus assure their preservation in this world. That is the salvation referenced in these verses.
However for the life to come, there is a greater assurance, and Paul himself had said in Romans chapter 11 that "30 Even as you were at one time disobedient to Yahweh, but now are shown mercy [speaking to scattered and alienated Israelites] due to their disobedience [speaking of the remnant Israelites in Judaea]; 31 in that manner these also are now in opposition to your mercy, so that they may have mercy shown to them. 32 Therefore Yahweh has enclosed all in disobedience, that He may show mercy to all." So the mercy of Yahweh God is dispensed upon the children of Israel whether they believe Jesus or not. That is how Paul says in Romans chapter 4 that "the promise is to be certain to all of the offspring". As the Scripture says in Isaiah chapter 45, "17 Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end." Then it also says "25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."
This is the salvation of which Paul speaks here in 1 Thessalonians: salvation of the Spirit through which participation in the Resurrection of the dead is both possible and promised. In that manner this passage relates to what Paul would later write in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 where he says: "51 Behold I tell you a mystery, we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed. 52 In an instant, in a dart of an eye, with the last trumpet; for it shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 This decay wants to be clothed in incorruptibility, and this mortal to be clothed in immortality. 54 And when this decay shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then the word that has been written shall come to pass: 'Death has been swallowed in victory.' 55 'Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?'"
In this manner Paul continues:
14 For if we believe that Yahshua had died and rose up, in this manner Yahweh also through Yahshua will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.
And here we may see when the real Rapture happens: which is when we as individuals die and part from our physical bodies. It is for that reason Paul wrote that he was willing "to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and earlier in that same chapter he said, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." It is they, the dead, who shall appear with Christ as He returns.
Resurrection is not through the physical body, as so many Roman Catholics and other relatively superstitious people believe. As Paul had explained a little earlier in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: "42 In this way also is the restoration of the dead. It is sown in decay, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in honor. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual. 45 And just as it is written, "The first man Adam came into a living soul," the last Adam into a life producing Spirit. 46 But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural, then the spiritual: 47 the first man from out of earth, of soil; the second man from out of heaven. 48 As he of soil, such as those also who are of soil; and as He in heaven, such as those also who are in heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of that of soil, we shall also bear the likeness of that of heaven."
Christ brings the dead with Him when He returns, who are ostensibly of the heavenly bodies which Paul describes. This is the last trumpet where "the dead shall be raised incorruptible", as Paul had also described it in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is found also in Jude, where the apostle quotes from the writings of Enoch and says "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints." So how can the proponents of the Rapture cult assert that the living are going to be taken up into the heavens to see Jesus there? The error of this assertion is especially manifest when we see in Jude exactly what will happen when "the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints", where it then says "15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." This does not sound like a party in heaven. Rather, it sounds like the Marriage Supper of the Lamb here on earth, just as it is described in Revelation chapter 19. Those in Christ still on earth take part in that judgment as well, as it says in Micah 4, "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion", and as Paul had told the Corinthians in his second epistle to them, "And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."The third witness establishing this fact is Revelation 18:6, where after the children of Israel are called to come out of Mystery Babylon which is fallen, they are also told to "6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." Now, how could these things be fulfilled, if the children of God are off in space? But rather, God is coming here to earth, as Jesus Christ. This is what Irenaeus had perceived as the "last contest of the righteous", for which Cyprian said Christians "must all stand prepared for the battle".
However Paul's message here is one of encouragement, so he delays any reference to the coming vengeance until later in the epistle, in chapter 5, while here he continues by saying:
15 For this we say to you by word of the Prince: that we, the living, those left remaining until the coming of the Prince, no way would come before those who have fallen asleep;
Or in other words, those Christians who have heard the Gospel are no better than all of the dead children of God who had not heard the Gospel while they lived in this world. So Paul told them here not to grieve over those who had died without this Christian expectation. Likewise he spoke of the dead who had not heard the gospel, again in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: "19 If only in this life have we had hope in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all mankind. 20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who are sleeping. 21 Indeed since death is through a man, restoration of the dead is also through a man. 22 Just as in Adam all die, then in that manner in Christ all shall be produced alive. 23 But each in his own order: the first fruit, Christ; then those of the Anointed at His arrival. 24 Then the consummation, when He should hand over the kingdom to Yahweh who is also the Father; when He shall abolish all rule and all license and power. 25 Indeed it is necessary for Him to reign, until He should place all of the enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy abolished is death, 27 therefore 'all are subjected under His feet.' Now until it may be said that it is evident that all things have been subjected, (because outside of the subjecting of all things to Himself 28 and until all things are in subjection to Him,) then also the Son Himself will be subjected in the subjecting of all things to Himself, in order that Yahweh may be all things among all. 29 Otherwise what else would they who are immersing themselves on behalf of the dead be doing, if the dead are not raised at all? [And then Paul asks in surprise, knowing the futility of it:] Why are they even immersed on behalf of them?" Ostensibly, the Corinthians thought they had to be baptized on behalf of the dead, having the same concern for their dead kindred who had not heard the Gospel of Christ that the Thessalonians must have displayed in order to merit Paul's answers here. Baptism on behalf of the dead is certainly not necessary, since the assurance is sound regardless of the actions of men. Paul continues to describe this resurrection:
16 because the Prince Himself with a command, by a chief messenger's voice and with a trumpet of Yahweh shall descend from heaven, and those dead among the number of the Anointed [or literally the dead "in Christ"] shall rise up first.
The word ἀρχάγγελος (Strong's # 743) is literally "chief messenger", but typically transliterated as "archangel"; the word appears elsewhere in the New Testament only in Jude verse 9.
As Paul had written in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: "22 Just as in Adam all die, then in that manner in Christ all shall be produced alive. 23 But each in his own order: the first fruit, Christ; then those of the Anointed at His arrival." So we read here that the "dead among the number of the Anointed shall rise up first."
Evidently one does not have to hear the Gospel and believe in Jesus in this life in order to be saved, because here it is clearly stated that all of those who died even without ever hearing the Gospel shall be resurrected and shall not have any disadvantage compared to Christians who did hear the Gospel, as Paul says that "those left remaining until the coming of the Prince, no way would come before those who have fallen asleep". Paul said this in reference to those who are dear to the Thessalonians but who were already dead at the time when the Thessalonians themselves had only just received the Gospel.
The admonitions to believe in Jesus and be saved had no bearing on the promise of eternal life. Rather, one reason which such admonitions were made was because believing Jesus means keeping His commandments, which in turn keeps one safe from the consequences of the sins of the world. But they were also made because such a belief was an assurance that one was one of the sheep, and not one of the wolves which could not be saved, so long as one lived consistently with the belief. For that reason Paul had said in reference to the Gospel, once again in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." The Gospel message was meant to separate the wheat from the tares. So wherever we see those exhortations to the faith in Scripture, they must be understood in their own historical context, and not in the presumptuous context which is asserted by modern evangelicals.
Paul continues to describe the advent of the Christ and the resurrection of the dead, and he adds as his conclusion:
17 Then we, the living who are remaining, at once with them shall be carried off in clouds for a meeting with the Prince in air, and in that manner always with the Prince we shall be. 18 So encourage one another with these words.
And here Paul uses several metaphors of which the meanings may be argued, however we shall see that we do not have to interpret this passage as if it describes some sort of rapture. In fact, interpreting this passage to support a rapture defies many other Scriptures which refute the concept of a rapture. Furthermore, where Paul uses the same metaphors elsewhere, those passages also deny the validity of such an interpretation here.
First we shall examine the phrase "carried off in clouds". The word rendered as "carried off" is a form of the verb ἀρπάζω (Strong's # 726), where the King James Version has "caught up". But the word means merely "to snatch away, carry off … to seize hastily, snatch up", according to Liddell & Scott, and by itself it does not bear any indication of ascending to anywhere, as it is interpreted.
The Greek phrase ἐν νεφέλαις (νεφέλη, Strong's # 3507) is literally "in clouds", but there is no definite article indicating that Paul meant particular clouds, as the clouds, or the clouds of heaven in the sky. Rather, the word may metaphorically mean "in throngs", referring to clouds of people, as Paul had used the related root word νέφος in Hebrews 12:1, referring to a "great cloud of witnesses". Both νέφος and νεφέλη were used metaphorically to describe clouds of death, tears, sorrow, sleep, battle, and even blood. Therefore the reference to clouds here does not necessarily refer to clouds in the sky, in reference to any supernatural act. Rather, Paul could just as easily and much more naturally be describing a rapid movement of great numbers of people.
Next we must examine the phrase "in air", εἰς ἀέρα (ἀήρ, Strong's # 109), and again the definite article is missing, but using this term alone refutes the notion that Paul refers to the heavens. By itself, the phrase εἰς ἀέρα is most literally "into air", but only in English does it suggest a supernatural act on the surface of the phrase. Paul was well acquainted with Greek literature, which is demonstrated often in his epistles where he quotes or takes allusions from classical Greek writers (i.e. Titus 1:12; Acts 17:28, 1 Corinthians 15:33). To the Greeks, the atmosphere was divided into three layers: ἀήρ was the lowest layer, the air around us, and was opposed to the αἰθήρ ("ether"), which was the upper atmosphere or "sky", above which was οὐρανός (3772), or the "heaven", or more properly in our modern dialect, the outer atmosphere or even what we call "space". The word αἰθήρ does not appear in the New Testament. But the word ἀήρ is used by Paul elsewhere in Ephesians 2:2, and in 1 Corinthians 9:26 and 14:9. The word also appears in Acts 22:23, and in Revelation 9:2 and 16:17. Nowhere in the New Testament does the use of the word insist that it refers to the upper atmosphere of the planet. Wherever the reference is clear, it refers only to the air around us.
Every time in the New Testament we see the phrase "birds of the air" or "fowls of the air" the Greek word for air is οὐρανός, which is usually translated as heaven. So if the supposed "meeting with the Prince in air" referred to the place of the clouds in the sky, one would think that Paul would have used that same word which was used of the place of the birds of the sky, which is οὐρανός, rather than using the word for the air around us. For another example, where Paul had described a man who may have been out of his body, in the spiritual realm, that man was taken up into the third οὐρανός, or heaven, not into the air.
Where Paul used the same term for air in Ephesians 2:2 as he does here in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, we probably find the best insight into Paul's purpose for using the word. There in Ephesians it is certain that Paul used the term for air to describe the physical world as opposed to the spiritual world, both of which were equally real in Paul's rather enlightened perspective. Both Christ and Paul had referred to the enemies of Christ as the prince or princes of this world. In the Revelation we learn that the devil and his angels were cast out of heaven, and that there place was no longer found in heaven. Then in the Gospel the devil said to Christ that "All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it", referring to "all the kingdoms of the world" (Luke 4:5-6). Clearly, the devil and his angels are the princes of this world referred to in the Gospel. As the apostle John had warned in the closing verses of his first epistle, "19, We know that we are from of God and the whole Society lies in the power of the Evil One."
Then in Ephesians chapter 2 Paul wrote concerning the past sins of his readers, who were also among the descendants of the ancient children of Israel, and he said to them "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience". So here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, in verse 10, Paul had admonished his readers to "await His Son from the heavens," referring to the second advent of Christ, and here he informs them that they will meet with Christ "in the air", which is a reference to this physical world. Heaven is the realm of the birds of the sky, and the air is the realm of man, the lowest atmosphere in the cosmology of the Greeks.
So with this it should be entirely evident that 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 does not describe a rapture of any sort. Rather, the promise of resurrection is a return to this physical world. As Yahweh said in Ezekiel chapter 37: "19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the nations shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore."
The setting of the tabernacle, or sanctuary, among the gathered children of Israel is precisely what Paul of Tarsus is describing in poetic terms here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. But the tabernacle is Christ Himself, as we learned in the Gospel in John chapter 2: "19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body."
The Rapture theology attempts to set at nought the Word of God, for instance, as Christ instructed His disciples to pray that things be "on earth as they are in heaven". So the rapture theology also makes God Himself impotent in the world. God has to give up on His Creation, only to rescue certain people from the wicked. Neither can it answer why the wicked are wicked. Therefore in rapture theology, God is a failure. However true Christians should know that God is no failure, and that ultimately they shall indeed have salvation – here on earth. That happens when the wicked are removed from the earth.
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MENTOR, OHIO | CardinalCommerce, the world-leader in enabling remote commerce (internet, mobile, etc.), and Visa has recently announced the integration of V.me by Visa, enabling Cardinal's thousands of merchant customers the ability to add V.me through their existing relationships with Cardinal.
V.me by Visa provides merchants with the secure, hassle-free, checkout experience that merchants and customers demand. The payment method is now live with the Scentiments.com standard eCommerce and mCommerce sites and is also now available to all CardinalCommerce enabled merchants. "Providing a single, cross-channel solution is necessary with today's shoppers moving fluidly between devices when making purchases whenever and wherever they'd like," said Howard Wyner, Chief Executive Officer, Scentiments.
The inclusion of V.me in Cardinal's flagship platform, Cardinal Centinel®, allows eCommerce merchants the ability to accept the payment product with little to no disruption to their backend payment processes. "Our Centinel platform offers merchants streamlined integration to all alternative payment and checkout methods, authentication and a variety of other payment services" said Tim Sherwin, Executive Vice President/Co-Founder, CardinalCommerce. "Supporting V.me is a natural extension of our mission to normalize payments through a single integration with little to no effort or time on the part of our customers. Cardinal's existing Centinel merchants can leverage the framework already in place to easily add V.me to their desktop, mobile, or tablet checkout environment."
V.me simplifies the payment experience for customers, allowing them to checkout with a username and password. "We feel that V.me meets the growing needs of our customers and will help convert our ever growing tablet and mobile device shoppers," said Wyner. "It complements our existing payment solutions and shows our customers that we are growing and changing with them." Customers can store Visa and other payment card accounts and shipping addresses in their V.me account. In just a few clicks, consumers can confirm their payment details and complete their checkout without ever leaving the merchant's environment. "To us it's all about the customer experience. When hearing about the simplicity and security of V.Me we looked to Cardinal to help integrate because they also host our mobile website and being an existing Centinel customer made it a seamless and integration free experience," said Wyner.
"The entire checkout process stays on the merchant's page with minimal steps to maximize conversion when using V.me," said Jennifer Schulz (@Jen_Schulz), Global Head of eCommerce, Visa Inc. "V.me frees online shoppers from having to repeatedly enter account number, and bill-to/ship-to information when making a purchase online. We believe shopping online should be simple, secure, and personal, and V.me delivers on that promise." In addition to offering users a simplified checkout experience, V.me account holders can set personalized transaction alerts based on spending thresholds and other criteria on enrolled Visa accounts.
CardinalCommerce has been a pioneer in the remote payments industry since 1999 and is a branded global leader in enabling authenticated payment transactions in the electronic commerce and remote commerce markets.
Cardinal's SaaS software platforms for merchants, banks, processors and transaction supply chain providers create friction-free interoperability among otherwise disparate and incompatible operating systems. Cardinal's platforms enable technology-neutral authentication across a wide range of applications. The Company's proprietary, patented solutions easily facilitate the addition of new technology for remote distribution channels through a single connection. This allows merchants to securely accept payments from the entire financial transaction ecosystem.
The universe of payments spans from traditional credit and debit card brands like MasterCard and Visa, to established and emerging alternative payment brands like PayPal™, Green Dot®, and Alipay. In accommodating this growing number of payment brands and methods, and these technology and authentication approaches within legacy infrastructure, Cardinal's platforms serve as universal switches, supporting virtually all merchant platforms, wallets, processing systems and authentication methodologies.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks-VisaNet - that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com.


text:
€12 mln to boost Eastern Partnership territorial co-operation
EU earmarked €12,5 mln to boost territorial co-operation within the Eastern Partnership initiative.
The cooperation will be built upon the experience of the EU's cohesion policy, in which the European Union encourages its member states to work together and learn from each other through joint programmes, projects and networks. Such a policy, inter alia, paves the way for addressing common challenges member states are facing, boosts mobility and facilitates people-to-people contacts, improving living conditions of people on both sides of a border.
In this regard, the Eastern Partnership Territorial Co-operation programme (EaPTC) is expected to become one of the building blocks which will provide the basis for strong cross-border and territorial co-operation of the countries involved. Moreover, since three out of six programme's participating counties – Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – have signed their association agreements with the EU, the programme's launch conference, which took place on July 4th in Tbilisi, laid a solid basis for a new level of co-operation between EaP members.
"The EaP conference on territorial co-operation takes place in the new political context," Mariam Rakviashvili, Georgia's Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, says. She expects this programme will play a positive role in further development of territorial co-operation of the countries involved.
In order to bear fruit, however, the programme should build on the experience of previous EU's regional initiatives, Rakviashvili says.
Although it is for the first time that the EU-backed progamme does not envisage the engagement of the EU member state, it will, nevertheless, follow the best European practices. "The programme's nature and principles are quite similar to those the EU is committed to in its regional policies," Oleksiy Sekarev, EaPTC programme Team Leader, says.
And Ukraine is well-experienced in participating in different programmes of regional and territorial co-operation, Oksana Reiter, a representative of the EU Directorate of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, assures. "We are co-operating within the regional initiatives with Poland, Belarus, the countries of Black Sea basin, just to name a few," she says. Also Ukraine is actively participating in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Reiter adds.
Moreover, cross-border co-operation is one of the integral parts of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine. Therefore by participating in this programme, Ukraine contributes to the implementation of recently signed deal, Reiter says.
The launching conference on Eastern Partnership Territorial Co-operation programme was held on 4th July in Tbilisi. For the fist time the representatives of central and regional authorities, civil society organizations and independent experts from six Eastern Partnership countries gathered together to give start to the territorial co-operation grant programme. The event provided an opportunity to have a comprehensive look at the programme's objectives and perspectives, as well as discuss possible challenges the participants may face.
The main objective of the EaPTC is to create favorable environment for territorial co-operation programmes along the borders of Armenia-Georgia, Azerbaijan-Georgia, Belarus-Ukraine and Moldova-Ukraine with due regard to specifics of each border area. The programme is also aimed at enhancing the capacity of local and regional state and non-state actors to jointly develop and implement cross-border projects.
From Ukrainian side, the following regions are taking part in the programme: Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia and Odesa.
From now on border regions may enjoy an opportunity to get EU funds for joint projects. The budget of the EaPTC is €12,5 million; it is split among four programmes as follows: Armenia-Georgia €1,35 million, Azerbaijan-Georgia €1,35 million, Belarus-Ukraine €3,3 million, Moldova-Ukraine €3,3 million.
More information: http://www.eaptc.eu/
For more details, please, contact: Tetiana Derevyankina, EaPTC Programme Communication Expert, Tatiana.derevyankina@eaptc.eu
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opinion / Columns
No Free Lunch
Economic growth for all
By: Cielito F. Habito - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:33 PM June 25, 2012
News of the economy's first quarter growth of 6.4 percent was widely welcomed when it was announced recently, especially because hardly anyone expected it to be that high. It was also the fastest growth in Asia next only to China. Then came the news from Forbes Asia last week that the 40 richest Filipinos, led by mall tycoon Henry Sy, saw their collective wealth rise $13 billion over the past year to $47.4 billion, a 37.8-percent jump.
Meanwhile, our gross domestic product (GDP)—or total income earned domestically—went up by P732 billion, or $17 billion, in 2011. Thus, the increased wealth of our richest 40 individuals alone is already equivalent to the bulk—76.5 percent, or more than three-fourths—of the country's overall increase in income last year! For comparison, the wealth of the 40 richest people in Japan rose by $10.7 billion, a mere 2.8 percent of the economy-wide increase in income (GDP) of $381 billion. Closer to home, Thailand's 40 richest increased their fortunes by $9 billion to $45 billion (a 25-percent increase), with the rise equivalent to 33.7 percent or one-third of their overall income growth. Malaysia's top 40 got richer by $2.3 billion (to $64.4 billion), a 3.7-percent rise (a measly one-tenth of the rate at which our own billionaires' fortunes grew). This is equivalent to a mere 5.6 percent of the total increase in the Malaysians' incomes in 2011.
These comparisons tell us there is something glaringly peculiar about the Philippine economy, at least in our part of the world. It further confirms what many of us have been lamenting time and again: that we have an "oligarchic" economy where the bulk of the nation's wealth and income is in the hands of a few. Hence, it should be no surprise that an otherwise impressive 6.4-percent growth in the economy did not get ordinary Filipinos jumping for joy. The Social Weather Stations' self-rated poverty data actually showed the number of poor Filipino families rising by 2 million (from 9.1 to 11.1 million), or 10 percentage points from 45 last December to 55 percent. Whatever brisk growth the Philippine economy enjoyed in the first quarter seems to have failed to translate to a better life for those who needed such improvement most.
Don't get me wrong: I do not mean to fault or blame those fabulously rich Filipinos in the Forbes list. I surmise that for most of them, their great wealth and its continued growth must be attributable to years of hard work and/or superior business acumen; a number of them in fact literally rose from rags to riches. (This is not to dispel the likelihood that some were probably helped along by political connections, exploitative business practices, or what economists generally call rent-seeking behavior.) Nor am I heaping blame on the government, particularly of President Aquino, whose crusade against corruption has lately been translating to an undeniable surge in business confidence. If our economic growth has not been a "rising tide that lifts all boats," it is because of a long economic history replete with misdirected policies, weak institutions, and misguided or ill-motivated public servants. Consequently, opportunities in our society are far more lopsided than appears to have been the case in most of our Asian neighbors. Hence, far too many Filipinos have ended up not even having a "boat" to be lifted in.
With our 40 richest families apparently accounting for the bulk of the growth in our national income, the Philippines has become a poster case for the now common call among development institutions for "inclusive growth." How do we avoid growth that enriches the few, but excludes the many? How do we pursue growth that actually benefits the poor, rather than merely trickling down to them?
One thing to me is clear: We need to start with good governance. In an analysis I did in my sabbatical research at the Asian Development Bank Institute a few years ago, I examined the factors that influenced the rate at which economic growth had been accompanied by poverty reduction across Asian countries. Quality of governance (measured using the World Governance Indicators of the World Bank) came out to be the strongest determinant. Also significant was the level of public spending on education, health and housing, which reflects on the priorities of government, hence quality of governance as well. In the face of heckles and valid criticisms on the progress of President Aquino's "no wang-wang" policy and call for "daang matuwid," few would deny that palpable gains are being made in his crusade for good governance. He must sustain the momentum and accelerate the pace of achievement as a basic prerequisite if we are to achieve more inclusive growth.
Given that, other imperatives should more easily fall into place: vigorous promotion and development of small and medium enterprises; a competition policy that equalizes business and economic opportunities; and effective asset reform focused on leveling people's access to opportunities to enrich their human, natural, physical, social and financial capital. Space prevents me from elaborating further, but many of my past articles have dealt on how these ought to be done.
Losing steam?
Small business travails
'Kasali lahat sa walang iwanan'
But government alone cannot deliver inclusive growth. Our 40 richest and all those among us who are well-endowed must do their part in making broad-based growth come about. There are various ways they can do so, and surely, the same brains that helped them grow their fortunes could guide them on how. But more than brains, it takes a lot of heart as well—and one hopes that they are rich in this too.
Do mothers matter?
TAGS: `inclusive growth', economic growth, featured column, Good Governance, level playing field, oligarchy


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A passion for programming
With an interest for computers, sophomore Brett Weiland is a self-taught programmer.
Weiland displays some of his computer parts in his workplace on Nov. 26. He has a radio receiver, raspberry pi, Arduino and his computer in Linux mode.
Photo courtesy Brett Weiland
Feature Friday, Anna Levine
As just a sophomore at BVNW, Brett Weiland is completely self-taught when it comes to programming and hosting his own website. He said he has always had this passion for software and programming but draws inspiration from his birth dad.
"As a kid I always thought what he did was so cool," Weiland said. "That's what kind of got me into circuitry and programming. It's kind of evolved from there, where I would make up my own little dreams of what I could do on the computer and cool things that I could make."
Josh Moser is Weiland's birth dad, who said he worked at Caterpillar for ten years on Segfaults. A segmentation fault is an error sent to a computer to intentionally crash a certain program in order to avoid the computer from writing additional instructions for its operating system.
It was from this experience at CAT and wanting to foster a technical side in his son that Moser said he promoted a relationship with computers.
"I was always trying to indulge a technical side because I think that's important," Moser said. "I wasn't sure he was gonna get a lot of outlets for it otherwise."
Using this interest for computers, Weiland started making robots with his birth dad, and has since evolved to him now hosting his own server. But in other parts of his free time, Weiland said he legally hacks into his own computers.
And Moser is not the only one who is impressed with Weiland's skills too. Weiland's foster mother, Julie Weiland, said she enjoys watching him grow and learn new things all on his own.
"I told him, 'Brett, your work ethic is better than any kid I know,'" Julie said. "You are doing all these other things that are completely challenging and you're learning and growing and developing.'"
Aside from watching her son expand his passion, Julie said Weiland being around to help with technology problems is a great bonus.
"Our whole family is constantly asking him for help, and he is so great at helping," Julie said. "But I'm sure it's frustrating as well because we're asking him to do the simplest of problem-solving."
And Weiland's parents are able to help him too, through encouragement, support and frequent trips to Micro Center. Julie said Weiland will sometimes put things into her Amazon cart that she has no idea about what they do, but is always willing to help him with whatever he needs.
But more than anything, Julie said Weiland's family enjoys watching him experiment and grow.
"His dad and I are just super proud of him," Julie said. "We just think he's amazing. What he's able to do at such a young age and how his passion drives him to do more and more, it's just fun to watch."
The boys basketball team is going to make school history and win their third straight state championship.
Despite 2018 woes, varsity football has a bright future
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Players Headquarters: How Minecraft has changed gaming entirely
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Players Headquarters: Why the new God of War is a breath of fresh air to the franchise
Swartz on sports: Examining BVNW basketball's biggest question marks entering this season


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Q: accessing view from AsyncTask fails when view changed I'm building a module to capture screen shots of the application(rootview) while the user is using the app. I'm basically trying to create a video recording of the application usage. I decided to take the screenshots from AsyncTask since I can't block the main thread while I'm taking the screenshots. Here is the code I have so far
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
    Button record = (Button) findViewById(R.id.record);

    final View content = findViewById(R.id.record).getRootView();
    content.setDrawingCacheEnabled(true);
    record.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            mtask = (CaptureSnap) new CaptureSnap(content,getApplicationContext()).execute();
        }
    });

}

code in AsyncTask to take the screenshot
private Bitmap getScreen(int index){
    View content = view.findViewById(R.id.record).getRootView();
    try{
    if(content != null){
        Log.i(TAG, "taking screenshot "+index);
        Bitmap bitmap = content.getDrawingCache();
        return bitmap;
    }else
        return null;
    }catch(NullPointerException e){
        Log.e(TAG, "Error for screenshot "+index);
        return null;
    }
}

@Override
protected String doInBackground(String... arg0) {
    while(indicator == 0){
        try{
            Bitmap screenshot = getScreen(0);
            Thread.sleep(100);
        }catch(Exception e){
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

This code works fine unless I try to use the application while the screenshots being taken. I get the below error
    06-18 13:44:26.132: W/System.err(14096): android.view.ViewRootImpl$CalledFromWrongThreadException: Only the original thread that created a view hierarchy can touch its views.
06-18 13:44:26.164: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewRootImpl.checkThread(ViewRootImpl.java:4888)
06-18 13:44:26.164: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewRootImpl.invalidateChildInParent(ViewRootImpl.java:975)
06-18 13:44:26.164: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.invalidateChild(ViewGroup.java:4125)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.invalidate(View.java:10578)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.invalidate(View.java:10533)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.widget.AbsListView.draw(AbsListView.java:4261)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.draw(View.java:13710)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:2988)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:2858)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.draw(View.java:13708)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:2988)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:2858)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.draw(View.java:13829)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.widget.FrameLayout.draw(FrameLayout.java:467)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.draw(View.java:13710)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:2988)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:2858)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.draw(View.java:13708)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:2988)
06-18 13:44:26.171: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:2858)
06-18 13:44:26.179: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.draw(View.java:13829)
06-18 13:44:26.179: W/System.err(14096):    at android.widget.FrameLayout.draw(FrameLayout.java:467)
06-18 13:44:26.179: W/System.err(14096):    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.draw(PhoneWindow.java:2458)
06-18 13:44:26.187: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.buildDrawingCache(View.java:13087)
06-18 13:44:26.187: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.getDrawingCache(View.java:12875)
06-18 13:44:26.187: W/System.err(14096):    at android.view.View.getDrawingCache(View.java:12840)
06-18 13:44:26.187: W/System.err(14096):    at com.example.recordit.CaptureSnap.getScreen(CaptureSnap.java:158)

Can someone assist me with this?

A: You need to call that from the UI thread, using a Handler to post the result back so that the UI thread can run it there instead

A: My problem is solved when I replaced AsyncTask with Handler. I created a CountDownTimer in the Acitivity which will post messages to handler which in turn takes the screenshots and serializes them to a file. Later on I use the files to encode them in to a video recording using JCodec. Thanks for the help.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Buy this book with Java Web Services Architecture (The Morgan Kaufman... by James McGovern, et al today!
from the Foreword by Simon Phipps, Chief Technology Evangelist, Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Average Customer Review: based on 39 reviews.
I am new to web services, and purchased this book based on the good reviews it has received. I was quite disappointed in this book, which is both repetitive, drawn-out and shallow in its coverage of web services. Although the book covers most aspects of web service development using JWSDP, as a result almost nothing is covered in great detail, and the book's 700+ pages ultimately provide a dreary drawn-out overview of web services better found elsewhere.
I am now using Apache Axis to create web services, trying to figure out how to create stateful web services. Axis is barely covered by the book, and I cannot find any mention of how to implement stateful web services. As a result, the book stays on the shelf collecting dust, while I google around the Internet for answers.
The cover of this book says, "Timely. Practical. Reliable." and that is a good description of the book. It covers the current state of Java APIs for web services, it gives plenty of well thought out examples, and it provides enough information to actually make the alphabet soup of acronyms understandable. The book starts with an introduction to web services. The next section covers web services architecture and the standard technologies of SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI. Interoperability with non-Java applications is demonstrated with a .NET example. The book is written by three Sun employees so it does tend to be a bit Sun-centric as the next sections shows. The Java Web Services Developers Pack (JWSDP) is given plenty of coverage. JAXP, JAXB, JAXM, JAX-RPC, JAXR, may be just acronyms when you get this book but after reading the six chapters covering the JWSDP they will be technologies that you understand. A case study wraps up the six chapters putting the whole thing together. The book ends with a chapter on security and a look at Sun ONE. The book is full of examples demonstrating how to use each of these technologies. When you read a line such as, "The real fun is understanding how the EncryptDecrypt class works," you know you are dealing with authors who love code. For developing Java web services you will be hard pressed to find a better book than this one.
I bought this, hoping to be able to use it on a web services project I'm doing.
I find it's completely out of date. Both Sun's JWSDP and Apache Axis have moved on since this was written, and you'll get better information from their websites than you'll get from this book.
Don't be fooled from the good reviews this book has gotten. this book is the WRONG choice for anyone willing to LEARN about web services in Java. It is merely a boring, dry, wordy, repetive, confusing (and confused) compilation of web-services related topics.
The authours might be good programmers maybe, but as they are clearly very poor technical authors.. their writing style is boring, excessively wordy and abstruse.
Not clear and concise enough to be useful as a reference and absolutely terrible as a tutorial.
The preface tells how the idea of writing this book came form one of the authors who, sitting in a pub with the others was the the only one who wasn't drinking. I have some advice for this guy: start drinking.
Better read the specifications than this book. It is merely a compilation. No attempt has been made to illustrate a single concept. Some times, I wonder whether the authors understood something at all or just wrote the book out of passion to write a book, since there is NO value addition to your understanding. Not worth even a buck.
This book is okay as a starting-point in learning Java web services. It attempts to cover a wide range of topics but fails to expand on some subtleties crucial to the understanding of these topics. One obvious example of this is the distinction between document-literal binding style and document-based web services. The book touchs on both concepts but stops right there without any explanations on how these concepts are related or not related, what are the implications of choosing a binding-style from the perspective of a web services developer or an admin, whether the choice of a binding-style determines the programming model, the API set, etc.
The authors tend to be loose from time to time with their use of terminologies and concepts. Admittedly, part of this is due to the state of the art of web services itself. That being said, some of the comments in the book are quite confusing and misleading. One example is found on page 454 of the book "JAX-RPC is also a best-fit solution over JAXM ... where high performance ... are defined as the key requirements." This is simply contrary to the common wisdom that loosely-coupled messaging applications usually out-perform their tightly-coupled RPC style counterparts when "performance" is defined as the system throughput. RPC style apps may offer a more predictable response time at the cost of inferior throughput. However, this point was never expanded on with any further information. Similar comments can be found throughout the book.
The writing style of the book is quite verbose and repetitive. Quite often the same point can be found twice or more in one paragraph.
With its shortcomings, the book is still a decent introduction to web services. However, I would recommend supplementing with other online sources. There are many wonderful technical articals on SUN's blueprint site, IBM and Oracle's developer communities.
A list by Prasad Reddy "Prasad"


text:
What is Russell Brunson's Net Worth? [PLUS His Top 5 Business Lessons]
By Brady Cook
Russell Brunson has a net worth of over $40 million.
And by the time you're reading this article, it'll probably be even higher.
That's because there are few entrepreneurs who have the passion for online business growth and development as Russell Brunson.
As we'll get into, Brunson surrounds himself with high-achievers and business professionals from all walks of life. His passions expand beyond just growing businesses. He also helps others to make their own impact in the world.
This service mindset has made Russell Brunson extremely wealthy, and yet he retains the same type of drive he had as a broke college student.
But where did all this success come from?
Keep reading because we've got the answers.
Who is Russell Brunson?
How Did Russell Brunson Get His Start?
How Does Russell Brunson Build His Wealth Today?
Top 5 Business Lessons
Start With the Offer
Warm Up Your Leads
Study Your Market
Shortcuts are Lucrative
Make Yourself Replaceable
Do You Have the Patience to Build?
Most digital marketers know Russell Brunson from his work at ClickFunnels. And while the concept of "funnels" and "lead magnets" are so ubiquitous with today's online marketing landscape, it may surprise people to learn that ClickFunnels only started in 2014.
We have a complete ClickFunnels review if you'd like to learn more about it.
But that one company doesn't define Russell Brunson, or his approach to life. In fact, there are 2 areas that he focused on with the same type of intensity that he tackled business: Wrestling and God.
Although Brunson now lives in Boise, Idaho, his early life was spent in Utah. By the end of high school, he was the top ranked wrestler in the state, and came in second in the country at nationals.
When he left college, he was still one of the top 10 wrestlers in the entire country.
Brunson is also a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In addition to his marketing podcast, he also hosts the Book of Mormon Challenge podcast, where he discusses his own journey with faith.
And if you follow him on social media, you'll see that in addition to his focus on athletics and his church, he is also a devoted family man.
Like most serial entrepreneurs, Russell Brunson became a multi-millionaire through a plethora of different ways.
He'll argue that his obsessions with marketing started when he was young, sorting through junk mail campaigns and watching the advertisements on TV (instead of actual programming).
His first foray into any kind of business venture though started in college.
With his brother, Brunson learned how to make a screen projector, which he sold to his classmates for $40 (the parts cost him $10).
He eventually was busted for pamphleting cars, but the experience taught him a life-changing lesson: It can be more lucrative to teach people how to make a sale, rather than trying to sell directly to them.
This was the idea behind his next business: a DVD entitled "How to Make a Potato Gun."
The concept may have seemed silly at the time (and today), but it — along with a few other products he created — made him a millionaire before he graduated college.
These days, Russell Brunson has moved on from the days of potato guns and DIY screen projectors. He now helps thousands of everyday entrepreneurs start and build their own businesses.
As the founder of the "Two Comma Club," he makes a substantial portion of his income from private consulting and coaching, but there's no doubt that his main income driver is ClickFunnels.
It's almost inconceivable to think about how fast ClickFunnels has grown. What started as an idea in Brunson's head as early as 2010, eventually led to a beta launch in 2014, and later, a $100 million valuation just 5 years later in 2019.
That's an astounding growth for a company that seemed to have a lot of stops and starts in their short life.
Even though Brunson is the one most famously associated with Click Funnels, he doesn't actually own most of the company.
Personally, he owns 27%, along with 2 other co-founders (including Todd Dickerson) who each own 27% as well. Brunson's original company, Dotcom Secrets, owns another 19%, bringing Brunson's share to around 46% total.
If you want to become a ClickFunnels user, it'll cost you anywhere from $100-$300 a month.
That's not the only way ClickFunnels makes money, though. There are several training programs and masterminds available too if you're more interested in growing your marketing skills.
At the time of this writing, ClickFunnels is valued at close to $360 million. Since there are no outside investors or venture capitalists to deal with, if Click Funnels ever sold, Brunson's net worth would skyrocket even higher.
At the time of this writing, Russell Brunson has 8 books published under his name.
All of them center around internet marketing: Dotcom Secrets, Traffic Secrets, and Funnel Hackers Cookbook, among others. Most of them also have multiple translations, and appear in hardback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.
As a contributor, Brunson has collaborated with other business experts on nearly a dozen other books, also business related.
All told, Brunson claims to have sold nearly half a million books. Even though book sales don't contribute an enormous percentage of his net worth, they can create additional opportunities.
Once you become a recognized expert in your field, conferences and speaking engagements begin to open up.
Russell Brunson is about as big a name in the online marketing field as you can find. For that reason, Russell Brunson commands nearly $200,000 per engagement.
If you think that his speaking fee is the only way Russell Brunson profits off of his live appearances, think again.
Though most of his speeches center on marketing, Brunson once used a single 90-minute speech to generate $3.2 million in sales. That's a cool $35,500 per minute.
Not every speech is that profitable, but it does show the unique opportunities you can create for yourself once you become an authority in your niche.
With over 20 years of experience in marketing (most of it in the internet marketing space), Russell Brunson has a lot to offer. Here are some of his most valuable lessons he shares in his speeches and books.
In a Marketing Secrets podcast from 2017, Russell Brunson explained that the way he creates products is by beginning with the copy.
A lot of people create the product first. I remember when I first learned copywriting, they told me that before I create the product, write the sales letter. Otherwise, you're going to be like, "Oh my product doesn't do that or that." And your sales letter gets worse and worse. Instead write the sales letter first and write all the promises you want and say how do I make my product fulfill these promises.
For most people, this is a backwards approach; after all, how can you know what to write if you don't even know what you're selling?
According to Brunson, this approach not only creates a more compelling copy, but a more compelling product.
By making promises he knows his audience wants, he is duty-bound to fulfill those promises in the product. It's like rolling market research and pre-sales into one.
Moreover, it also lets him know which products are resonating with his audience. Why plunk down thousands of dollars into a widget that nobody wants? In this case, he promises, and the market reacts — good or bad.
Quick caveat: This is not carte blanche to make empty promises. If you fail to deliver, your reputation and that of your business will crater. Be ready to deliver on whatever your audience demands.
As you can imagine from a guy whose name is synonymous with online funnels, Brunson is a big fan of the customer journey.
And what Russell Brunson knows better than most is that those customers need to be warmed up over time, not sold to automatically.
How Brunson "warms up" his audience is not too different from the way most people approach it, just on a bigger scale.
He emphasizes the necessity of having an email list; which makes sense, considering email marketing has one of the highest ROIs of any marketing channel.
Brunson is also active on social media, posting inspirational quotes to build his brand and inspire others (and if you're interested in this kind of thing at all, don't miss these find your tribe quotes). By being active where his audience is, he "pre-frames" them to accept his offer when the time comes to sell.
One area that Brunson puts a lot of hard work into is paid advertisements. By at least 1 estimate, Click Funnels spends nearly $70,000 a day on advertisements, though that number may change quite a bit.
As Brunson's mentor Dan Kennedy put it, "The business that can spend the most to acquire a customer wins."
Once you've got your leads generated, it makes sense to continue to warm them up via paid and organic channels. This may take a lot of hard work, but it's one of the many reasons Russell Brunson's net worth is so high.
Russell Brunson is fanatical about testing. Click Funnels is constantly encouraging its users to challenge which copy or creative is best, and then retest again to be sure.
Then test a thousand more times. Then keep testing.
That's because Brunson understands the value of not only understanding who your market is, but understanding how they're changing.
Some of this comes from the fact that ClickFunnels has been bootstrapped from the beginning. Because they didn't take on venture capital — which he calls "cheating" — Brunson knows that every dollar counts.
And if you believe that those who can spend the most will win, then the less you waste, the more you can spend efficiently.
It's somewhat jarring to hear Russell Brunson speak. Though his net worth is well past most entrepreneurs, he still acts like someone with a chip on his shoulder. He knows that his audience is primarily business owners who want to achieve his success, so he positions himself as their ally…and then sells to them.
As Brunson found out early in his career, people will pay quite a bit of money to have someone else teach them a skill.
Whether that skill is building your own potato gun or crafting the perfect sales funnel, there is a lot of money to be made in helping people save time and energy.
That doesn't mean that every entrepreneur needs to create a course, but it does mean that you should focus on time as a primary asset.
Why spend years learning how to create a sales funnel, when you can pay $100 a month to have it (kinda) done for you? That's the message he preaches, and it's made him a boatload of cash in the process.
What kind of mentorships or education can you provide your audience? By serving your audience's needs directly, you'll build up credibility when it comes time to sell your services. And you'll be way more successful than you would have otherwise.
Some entrepreneurs really struggle with the ego part of running your own business. Still locked into an "I must do everything" complex, they fail to realize the value of having other high performers nearby.
One look at Russell Brunson's business, and you'll see a who's who of A-list business stars in their own right (along with friends like Tony Robbins).
Brunson chooses to surround himself with people who could replace him at the drop of a hat — not to keep them from competing, but to push him to be better.
It's also allowed him to spend more time on passion projects. Brunson is active with a number of different charities, including Village Impact and Operation Underground Railroad.
At the end of the day, one of the most impressive things is not Russell Brunson's net worth, but his focus on priorities. He keeps business where it belongs, and his personal life where it belongs. That's the type of work-life balance that we all crave.
As entrepreneurs, especially those in the digital marketing space, it's easy to think that everyone is an overnight success. That's not Russell Brunson's story, and it doesn't have to be yours, either.
Remember, his first business was in 2004, and it was nearly 13 years before he became the multi-millionaire that so many of us know today.
Does that path describe you? Maybe it will only take 1 great idea to make your fortune, but without the patience and priorities to match, it'll be nearly impossible to capitalize on it.
Brady is a self-proclaimed efficiency freak with a passion for SEO. Name a side hustle, and he's probably done it: kindle books, Amazon FBA, affiliate sites, even dog walking.
When he's not writing content for digital marketing blogs, he's either hanging out with his family, reading, or on some off-road trail in Texas somewhere in his Bronco.
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