May 29
June to August Donation Drive
Once again, we've had move RR to a new host. Our old host had a limit of 100 gigabytes per month, and the new provider has four times this capacity. Amazingly, in 1995, our first web provider had a traffic limit of around 200 megs.
I have completely lost track of how many times we've had to move Rapture Ready's main site. We seem to have the unfortunate luck of signing up with web host providers that fail to expand their service plan.
A tech guy who manages our data bases couldn't believe we were using anywhere near 100 gigs each month-- but we are. What makes RR such a bandwidth hog is all the content we feed to the world. Our commitment to provide the public with free
information is what drives our traffic.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how we are slowly becoming the top search result in a number of key topics. Because so much bad information is on the net, it's very important for us to continue building up the site with useful information. As long
as the Lord tarries, we have an opportunity to reach a larger audience.
You may have noticed that there has been a design and location change to the RR News page. At one time, the news page was on
Raptureready.com, but the high traffic load it put on one of the previous providers forced us to move it to the tribulation.ws mirror site. Now that
we have the extra bandwidth to handle the additional hits, the news page is back on RR.
We've begun adding short video files to the site. You'll find one example of these videos on the "Dave Reagan" section. After several false starts, Terry and I finally figured out how to produce web-friendly videos. The biggest problem was getting the
files down to a reasonable size. A basic three-minute mpeg file would be 400 megs in size. By converting them to a streaming format, I was able to reduce their size all the way down to one to Five megs.
Last week, I received a letter from a gentleman who has been supporting the site for the last couple of years. He told me he would not be able to continue to support the RR ministry because the Lord was calling him to the mission field. As I read his letter,
I realized the man was making a very wise move. After being an investor in the Kingdom of God through RR, he was upgrading his eternal retirement plan by going into business for himself.
Most Christians would view themselves as unqualified or unwilling to become a traveling missionary. Because there are so many distractions in this life, it's very difficult for the average believer to become involved in an evangelistic endeavor. Rapture
Ready has few competitors on the web because few Christians have the time to put together a site of this scale.
If you doubt you will ever go into business for yourself, the least you can do is invest in a cause like Rapture Ready. Everyone who helps produce articles for the site, helps maintain the message board and the news page, or contributes financially to
the site will someday share in the reward generated by our labor.
The most important decision a person can make is to find salvation in Jesus Christ. Once a person becomes a believer, it should be a top priority to become involved in the propagation of the gospel. If you thought it was important enough to dedicate your life to Christ, you should be equally supportive of efforts to convince others to make the same decision.
An easy way to support RR is with an automatic monthly donation. The PayPal subscription service and allotments set up through a bank are convenient ways to send funds to the site. If you're interested in signing up, you can find the link on
the Donation Depot page. Donations can also be sent to our PO Box at:
Rapture Ready Min.
PO Box 125
Bellevue, NE 68005
-- Todd
Israel’s Protector
America has served as midwife and protector of the modern state of Israel since before that nation’s birth on May 14-15, 1948. This is, in my view, and in the views of a number of those who watch such things from a Bible prophecy perspective, a primary reason America was raised up in the first place. The physical protection of Israel in its modern incarnation, and the capability to disseminate the gospel, literally, throughout the whole world, make the United States a unique and particularly blessed national entity in the annals of history.
U.S. influence and power continue to keep the Islamic wolves at bay while they surround and circle the tiny nation, wanting to devour it, thus to be rid of it. But the Israeli “prey” isn’t an easy one. It is, in actuality, more powerful than any of its individual antagonistic neighbors. The nuclear option makes this so. It is, in effect, its own best protector in this late era of human history, with America an ally that has promised to jump in, if needed, thus adding great deterrence to any other entity attacking.
Its most aggressive enemy –in rhetoric, at least—is Iran, the large neighbor to its north that comprises much of the land mass that made up Persia in ancient days. That Israel needs to be ever aware of its protection, there can be no doubt. The daily headline news makes the necessity quite clear.
One such report makes the case in point.
TEHRAN (AFX) - Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasted Wednesday that the Islamic republic had mastered the entire nuclear fuel cycle and that it would give an "historic slap" to any attacker…(Forex News Update, 05/24/06 08:33 a.m.)
The Iranian president has made it plain who he considers the greatest threat to attack Iran in a number of speeches in recent days:
1) the U.S., and 2) Israel.
Ahmadinejad said, “…But if they do the slightest damage to the Iranian people, if they commit the slightest aggression, they will receive an historic slap…" …(Forex News Update, 05/24/06 08:33 a.m.)
Iran’s nuclear threat might or might not be immediate. But, the threat of nuclear conflict is always front and center in concern to the civilized world. The U.S. president weighed in this week, giving assurances to the new Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert.
In a joint press conference following their Tuesday White House meeting, Bush said that "Israel is a close friend and ally of the United States, and in the event of any attack on Israel, the United States will come to Israel's aid. The United States is strongly committed, and I'm strongly committed, to the security of Israel as a vibrant, Jewish state." (Bush vows to protect Israel from Iran, Jerusalem Post International , May. 25, 2006 0:12).
America, therefore, seems a faithful ally to Israel. There is nothing in the history between the two nations to imply that that relationship would change. Even in the –in my view, wishy-washy—Carter and Clinton administrations, and with the sometimes extremely obtuse and politically correct U.S. State Department, the tie remained strong. Israel seems almost invulnerable from the standpoint of having the nuclear strength and resolve to protect its nationhood. The deterrence to such a future attack appears to be overwhelming to any potential enemy, or group of enemies. Such an attack would almost certainly initiate nuclear retaliation, to the extent needed to repulse the assault.
Yet, Bible prophecy makes it clear that such an attack is on the horizon of the future. And prophecies involved make it equally clear there will be no nation that will come to Israel’s defense.
We have gone over Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 many times, about the attack from the north called the war of Gog-Magog. The most relevant thought for our purposes in this commentary is that there will be no human protection for Israel, if we view the description literally –and we do. The U.S. –even Israel itself--will be incapable of protecting the Jewish State. God’s Word says about the leader called Gog who will lead the forces –including Persia (modern Iran)-- that will storm toward Israel:
And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD (Ezek. 38: 22-23).
Israel has but one protector in the truest sense. He has been its protector from the very first promises He made to Abraham, then to Isaac and Jacob. When He defends them in this satanically inspired assault, many will no doubt be called to salvation and will recognize that God is Israel’s only security. He is the only security for you and me, as well!
--Terry
