Who is this Joker?

No, this picture does not belong on the Antichrist page, nor did my photo scanner suffer a major malfunction. The picture is of me, Todd Strandberg, your roving rapture reporter.

After having a number of people repeatedly ask me the same old who, what, where, when, and why questions about my web page, I thought it would be a good idea if I put together a "Who I Am" page.

Above All Things

What is the most important decision you can make in your life? What to do with Jesus Christ's free gift of eternal life.
In the early 80's I spent several months searching for the elusive gift called eternal salvation. I had prayed the sinners prayer several times, and because I still felt the same, I figured God and Todd had somehow failed to make that final connection.
My fixation on the idea that I needed to experience some sort of supernatural transformation kept me searching in vain. When people asked me about when I had become a Christian, I'd honestly answer, "Well, not yet," to their surprise.
The breakthrough came on the night of Aug 11, 1983 at a country church located in the back roads of northwest Iowa. It was there I discovered I had been a knucklehead for not realizing how simple the process was--You confess Jesus as your savior and you believe His blood is able to wash away your sins.
Because of its pure simplicity, the thief on the cross has to be my favorite conversion story. One of the two thieves who was crucified with Jesus first acknowledged he was in big trouble by saying to his fellow malefactor, "We receive the due reward." He then affirms Jesus' sinless state by proclaiming, "This man has done nothing amiss;" and finally he asks Jesus, "Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." (Luke 23:41-42)

Know Your Rapture Ready History

I don't know of anyone who watches more news, reads more news articles, or browses more news related web pages than yours truly.
The earliest indication I can recall that made it known I had a strong interest in world news was when I attended elementary school. We used to receive a weekly magazine that featured current events that were tailored for young readers. I was very fascinated with the international content of those magazine articles.
When I was in Jr. high school, the History instructor would hold a class competition to test our knowledge of current events every Friday. I would answer just about every question, and it amazed me how little my fellow classmates knew about the most basic news story of the day.
During the early ‘80’s, my interest in current events started to expand into prophecy. There was no particular person or incident that sparked my interest in Bible prophecy; I just came to the realization that if the events outlined in the Bible were going to someday take precedence over every other occurrence in our lives, it would be wise of me to take note of them now.
The Rapture Index got its start when I noticed how wide-ranging different prophecy commentators' observations were regarding the signs of the times. The Index was designed to provide standardization for the most watched prophetic signs, and also a way to determine if end time trends were occurring.
In 1987 I bought my first computer, and one of the first things I worked on was a listing of some 45 prophetic precursors that will likely become active ahead of Jesus Christ's return for His Church. The computer was an Apple II clone made by the Franklin Computer Company.
In 1989 I purchased a 286 PC, and I had to switch all my Basic files over to DOS. The following year I discovered the Internet when I signed up with a local bulletin board service. At that time, several Omaha BBS's were part of a nation-wide newsgroup network. It was in the Newsgroup's religious section where I first started publishing my rapture index updates.
In 1991 I started using the nation-wide on-line service, Delphi, which gave me two outlets for publishing my comments relating to prophecy. Because the two systems were in two different formats, I decided to discontinue posting on the BBS, once it became too much to handle.
Sometime during 1991, I upgraded my computer to a Packard-Bell 486. Two years later I was the proud owner of a generic brand Pentium 60.
In late September of 1995, the web came into bloom, so I made the switch to the Internet service provider, Novia. That is, after trying: CompuServe, Prodigy, AOL, Genie, and another local Internet provider. It took me two weeks to figure out the HTML coding. On Oct 9th the Rapture Index was up and running.
On 17 Aug 97, this web page was renamed Rapture Ready. The main reason for the change was the fact that the word "index" fails to show up on most Internet word searches.
In March of 1999 I purchased the dot-com name “Rapture Ready.” The decision was forced on me. Because I had not yet registered the site's name, people started asking me if they could use my domain name. After coughing up 40 bucks to buy the dot-com name from Network Solutions, I found a web hosting service called 11Net that became the home of RaptureReady.com.
When I got back from an Icelandic tour of duty in Dec of 1999, I discovered the 266 MHz Gateway 2000, which I had bought in 1997, failed to survived the trip home. I then purchased a 533 MHz computer made by Hewlett-Packard.
In May 2000, I started the Message Board. There was a false start with a crappy service called Beseen, then Mark Neumann pointed me to Ezboard.com, which, for what it provides, has been an incredibly reliable service.
In October 2000, RaptureReady.com was getting so much traffic that it became necessary to move to a better web hosting service with a larger bandwidth. I found westhost.com to be a great host for what was still my secondary site. Novia.net continued to reign as my king of web traffic. During the month of Feb 2001, RaptureReady.com started getting more hits than the Novia.net site.
On March 28, 2001, Raptureme.com was created to provide for more bandwidth. After I switched to a cable modem, I decided to cancel my account with Novia. That action made raptureme.com the number two site.

Rapture Ready's Goals
I don't have any lofty goals for this web site. I look at myself as one voice among many. Right now, there are only a few prophecy-related web sites that provide regular news updates. I foresee when there will be several major prophetic ministries that are based primarily on the web. Today, books, radio, and television programs are the principal source of mass media information, but soon the web will be taking over this role.
Because of my lack of any great writing ability, I see myself as only playing a supportive role in the mission to advance the teachings of the pre-trib rapture, the soon return of Jesus Christ, and the coming destruction of this current world system.
The primary reason I started posting my two cents on the web was because I noticed that a number of cults and people with different views on prophecy were setting up shop on the web with only a few voices of opposition to counter them.
I don't think I will ever go too far with this page. I'm looking for those folks who will soon arise and establish more successful Internet ministries. I am always looking to impart my ideas about prophecy to the minds of others more capable than me. By doing so, I will be advancing my thoughts on prophecy to a greater audience than I would have ever been capable of reaching myself.
At the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, if our works are what we bring to the banquet table, some great men of God will be blessed enough to bring the main course, some the breads and vegetables, and other the salads and desserts. I’d like to be blessed enough to be able to bring the salt and pepper.
I guess the most important thing to keep in mind is that it's better to be one of those Christians who at least brings something to the marriage supper, than to be one who shows up empty handed.

| Rapture Ready Home Page | The Rapture Index | Nearing Midnight|