is "the end of days" synonymous with "the Rap

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...Jim Bakker, on his television network, is constantly talking about "the end of days/times" as he peddles his assortment of "survival gear and foods"

Are his audience not supposed to consist of people who believe they have been "chosen?" Does Rev. Bakker not have confidence that he, himself will be saved? Is his flock so gullible?

If these are the survivors of mankind, why would they need all of this junk being sold on this network?

http://jimbakkershow.com/lovegifts/survival-items.html

Does sound like he's just fleecing folks for their money. Bye the way... your link to his site will help to boost his Google rankings and bring more gullible people in to him.

Some Christians believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation, so the elect won't have to experience it, and others believe it will come after the Tribulation. Those Christians who believe they and their families will have to live through the Tribulation before being Raptured are the ones who are likely to stockpile food and weapons and such.

That explains it.


On the one hand, since I'm not religious I see no reason to prepare for a religiously themed end times. On the other hand, natural disasters do happen and it's a good idea to be prepared for emergencies. All the items he sells (I foolishly looked and gave him hits ) can be bought cheaper elsewhere. Most are just camping supplies.

As the Centers For Disease Control playfully reminds us, when you realistically prepare for an imaginary emergency, you have also prepared for an actual emergency. So it's not a bad idea to have some of these items on hand.
http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatter ... pocalypse/




Whether you are preparing for a zombie apocalypse, religiously themed end times, or an actual emergency, it's good to have flashlights with batteries and bottled water (for starters) on hand. But just buy them at a local store.

I was tempted to apply for a job with Bakker, but knowing the history I just couldn't do it. To Bakker's credit, he has a rich testimony from falling from excesses, and that's going to appeal to those who feel they've screwed up so bad the whole world has turned it's back on them. That's something I'll never identify with, but Bakker does have the story of being a fast-rising star in Christian evangelism, committing seemingly unpardonable sins, doing prison time, and building a whole new ministry from the ruins. I can't associate with that, but I do have to respect what he's been able to accomplish.

I don't know enough about his theology to make any good judgments, but his history aside he seems like an ok guy.

I had the pleasure of meeting his pianist/music director from the old days, Jim Hammerly. GREAT guy, has some solid jazz/gospel chops. He went to work for Carol Cymbala I believe after the Bakker gig disintegrated. He said that Jim (Bakker) was a great guy to work with. It was Tammy Faye you never knew about. If she was having a bad morning, everyone had a bad morning, and you'd learn to just stay out of her way.

If people are dumb enough to give money to someone with a record like Jim Bakker then too bad for them.
A fool and his money are soon parted.

There are several other sources of survival gear besides Bakker.

I think it will happen before the Trib. But that's only one possible extrpolation from scripture. The Bible doesn't explicitly say, but it seems to me a pre-Trib rapture is the most logical.

I don't think the "last days" of the NT refer to the rapture, trib, or Christ's return to establish the new heaven and earth. I think "last days" began at Pentecost and have continued ever since. The tribulation at the end of time is THE Tribulation of the Bible, but I also think Christians can expect mini-tribulations along the way. There's clear scriptural evidence for that, at least. Christians prepared for living in a world that is hostile to them in the midst of a mini-trib is a smart thing to do. It's a smart thing to do, period, regardless of your faith or lack thereof.

I don't know EXACTLY what it is Bakker is doing here, but on the surface it sounds like a way to evangelize "Preppers". If I had the money for it, I'd get into doomsday prepping as a hobby, purely for the fun of it. The problem of prepping is nobody actually knows what to expect. Prepping for one disaster won't prep you for a different one. A community of preppers would ideally encourage diversity so that when the end finally does come, SOMEONE out there will already have the knowledge and the goods to get the rest of the community up to speed. The stupidest thing I've ever heard was "buy gold." Shoot, in a global economic collapse, rare metals like gold are going to be worthless--particularly if commodities exchanges get wiped out there's nothing to exchange gold for and no cash around to put a cash value on it. No, you'd go into a barter system. You need to protect yourself from thugs, you need a fresh water supply, and you need a food supply. I'm learning to maintain a vegetable garden, and I accidentally created my own hybrids (holy spit you should see what the bees did when they £ucked up my squash and zuchinni from last year! Mega frankenfood, dude!). All I need to do is learn how to properly harvest seed from season to season and purposefully make hybrids, and the last thing I have to figure out is finding a reliable supply of ammonia and NEEM oil extract. Right now I'm suffering from lack of funds for soil additives and glyphosate...but there's always next year...

The biggest issue facing preppers is not survival, but rather the fate of the soul. If selling prep supplies helps minister to those with an active interest in prepping, more power to them. Heck, I knew a crazy Baptist preacher who dropped church business cards off at every single liquor store in town. Most of them ended up in the bottoms of paper bags as the customers left, and from there a few people actually called in asking about alcoholism recovery ministries. I think a prepper ministry is a little off-the-wall, but if it reaches people, who am I to judge?

People should "prep" to some extent but not necessarily for the rapture or total economic collapse. More for the smaller temporary emergencies that crop up like in the wake of a natural disaster or whatever where services are temporarily suspended.

My favorite item is Petzel headlamps.Everyone should have a couple.They are LED so batteries last forever and your hands are free.They are great to read with when there is no power.Ive also got a hand crank/solar radio.Stock up on toilet paper and animal food,canned goods and dry stuff.I've been thru several winter storms where there was no power for weeks,and if you can get out,the stores will be sold out of batteries,coal oil and some food items.
You can't count on FEMA to help you,the last time they were here they handed out food with peanuts that were contaminated with salmonella.Gee,thanks FEMA,now we are sick and can't get to the ER.

That makes more sense. To me, doomsday prepping is a fantasy hobby, a sort of grown-up dungeons and dragons. If you run out of butterbeans in your pantry and you're too lazy to hit Kroger, you can experience a night of family fun by declaring a nuclear holocaust night.

Personally, if I had watermelons in the garden, I'd call a zombie apocalypse night so we could practice our swing with axes and machetes. Can you say "Sledge-O-Matic"? An actual zombie outbreak would be a bummer since you can't eat your victims.

Unless, of course...nevermind...

My experience with melons has been the raccoons get there first. They know the exact time they are ripe,same with the sweet corn.