Dear Karen Lee,
Thank you so much for the encouragement. The
Lord speaking through my life is certainly my
heart's hope.
When you stated, in your own words, the same
thing that Peter tells us, that the Lord is not slack
concerning His promises, but would like all men to be
saved (hence giving them ample time), it reminded me
of some research I have been meaning to do.
I think that all of us who are so anxious
for the Rapture also realize that every day God
tarries, more souls are won to Christ. I thought
that when these "high-watch Rapture dates" come and
go, (or, for that matter when each day comes and goes)
and leaves us still longing for His coming, that it
might be uplifting to think about how many more
Christians will join us in Heaven, because the Rapture
was not "today."
This is what I found, and I make this caveat
first: one, the figures for the stats do vary
wildly, and secondly, I always remember that only God
knows each man's heart; that some who may be listed in
a church's roll book may not be found in the Lamb's
Book of Life, and some who do not attend "church" may
be a member in good standing of His Church. That said,
I did find that for the last twenty-seven years,
the International Bulletin of Missionary Research
has been publishing an annual "Status of Global
Mission Report." Here is the link, and it
contains other very interesting stats too:
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2011/02/christian-number-crunching
They estimate that about 50,000 NEW
CHRISTIANS COME TO CHRIST EACH DAY ! What a
staggering number! Though
I would love for Him to have come today, at midnight
tonight I can remind myself that because today was not
His chosen timing for the Rapture, an
additional 50,000 people (+/-) are now
Heaven-bound! What a glorious thought!
Those figures equal 350,000 new Christians in
one week! And 1,250,000 in one month! And
during that long wait between mid-Nissan and Tishri,
if one uses the 163-day count between the first day of
Passover and Rosh Hashanah, the number of souls saved
may be over 8 million!
So for all those who long for His soon
appearing, and for those who grow weary in watching
and waiting, and for the many who are suffering
hardships and trials during these perilous times that
are leading to His return, I hope that perhaps it will
help to remember that His delay is someone's eternal
salvation.
Karen Lee - you are so right: What
a kind, loving, merciful and patient God we serve!
An ex-enemy
too,
Day