Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 24’

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2010 Pew Research Poll: 41% of Americans think Jesus Christ will return before 2050

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

The Pew Research Center released a poll last week which asked Americans their beliefs about what the next forty years may be like: 

“These are among the findings of a new survey of attitudes and expectations about the future, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Smithsonian magazine in conjunction with the magazine’s 40th anniversary (see “40 Things You Need to Know about the Next 40 Years”). The survey, conducted by landline and cell phones April 21-26 among 1,546 adults, was informed by a 1999 survey on the future that explored many of the same topics (see “Optimism Reigns, Technology Plays Key Role,” October 24, 1999).”

The questions covered a myriad of subjects such as Science, Technology, Environment, America, Economy, Social Trends, War, Terrorism, and Global Trends. The article (Public Sees a Future Full of Promise and Peril Life in 2050: Amazing Science, Familiar Threats) also asked Americans about Apocalyptic scenarios: 

“The public sees the next 40 years as a time of violent conflict, both globally and in the United States. Fully 58% see another world war as definite or probable over the next 40 years. Nearly as many (53%) expect the United States to face a terrorist attack with nuclear weapons…

On a very different subject, the public is divided over whether Jesus Christ will return to earth by 2050. About four-in-ten (41%) expect Jesus Christ to return while slightly more (46%) say this will definitely or probably not happen. Opinions about the return of Jesus Christ are little changed from 1999 when 44% said it would definitely or probably happen.

Most Americans do not expect the adoption of a single global currency in the next 40 years. And while the survey finds that the public sees many potential dangers looming in the decades ahead, there is not widespread concern about the possibility that an asteroid will collide with earth. Fewer than one-third (31%) say an asteroid will definitely or probably hit earth, which is unchanged from 1999.” (Section 3: War, Terrorism and Global Trends)

My first response to this report is a biblical one:

“36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

With that understanding, Jesus did give signs to His followers to look for leading up to His return. Although we won’t know the day or hour I believe the Holy Spirit will stir Christian believers’ hearts as that day approaches. Just before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection He reproved the Jews of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel for not knowing and recognizing the signs of His (the Messiah’s) coming or visitation to them:

“41 And when [Jesus] was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)

There were many prophecies in the Old Testament that spoke of the coming of the “suffering” Messiah. However, the Jewish religious leaders focused on the prophecies that spoke of a “conquering and victorious” Messiah. Thus, as a nation Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus was justified in reproving Israel because they ignored God prophesied plan for humankind’s redemption.

Likewise, God has given many prophecies that speak of Jesus the Messiah’s second coming. He gave these to His followers for a reason as the apostle Paul wrote, “12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:12-13) Paul also wrote concerning the End-Times, “17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thessalonians 4:17-18) Christians are to look for the appearing of Jesus and to find comfort and hope in the fulfillment of End-Times prophecies. As I wrote in my previous blog article (As it was in the days of Noah and Lot…) God makes a distinction between believers and unbelievers. Believers will be looking for Jesus’ coming while the world will scoff at and be blinded to the prophetical signs.

As to the date of 2050 I cannot say whether Jesus will return before then. I do find the rebirth of the nation Israel to be prophetically significant. The Jews’ return to the land could only have happened by the will of God. Therefore, I don’t believe that God is going to let hundreds or thousands of years go by before He judges the earth and Jesus returns to set up His kingdom. That is why believers need to keep looking for the signs that God gave so that we won’t miss the “signs of the times” of Jesus’ approaching second “visitation”.

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As it was in the days of Noah and Lot…

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

(June 20, 2010) “22 And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 “They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. 24 “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:22-30)

Jesus declared that the days leading up to His coming will be like it was in the days of Noah and Lot. It seems He was telling the disciples they would not see His coming but that when it does happen it will come unexpectedly. The apostle Paul echoes this statement in his letter to the Christians at Thessaloniki, “2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (I Thessalonians 5:2-3)

However, this does not seem to harmonize with what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24:

“33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:33-39)

“All these things” in verse 33 of this passage refers to the previous verses of chapter 24 where Jesus had just finished giving His disciples signs to look for leading up to His return. If Jesus told His followers there would be signs leading up to His second coming how then would it be unexpected? I believe the answer to this apparent discrepancy lies in the distinction the Bible makes between believers and unbelievers. In the same passage in Thessalonians mentioned above Paul delineates this difference:

“1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (I Thessalonians 5:1-11)

It comes down to a matter of belief versus unbelief. Paul wrote, “3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:3) The disciple John also contrasts those who believe in Jesus with those who don’t, “1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him…5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?…10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (I John 5:1,5,10-13) Those who believe are “children of the light” and will look for the signs that Jesus’ return is approaching. Those who don’t believe will reject the truth of God’s prophetic word and scoff at it, “3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (II Peter 3:3-7) Peter says that some unbelievers are willingly ignorant of the truth of God’s word. It seems that other unbelievers will be blinded to the prophetic signs of the end:

“1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Therefore, the coming of Jesus and the judgments of God will come unexpectedly to the world as it did in Noah and Lot’s day because the world will be blinded since they rejected the truth of God’s word. The apostle Peter alluded to this when he wrote, “5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an exsample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” ( II Peter 2:5-9) It seems that Noah preached the coming judgment of God but the world didn’t believe him.

Jesus’ mention of Noah and Lot in conjunction with the End-Times begs the question “Why did God judge the world in Noah’s case and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s case?” The Bible answers both of these questions. The flood judgment came because:

“5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7)

The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah occurred because:

“20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know…1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. 3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 18:20-21,19:1-5)

“49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

“7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude vs.7)

In the case of the flood, God judged the world because it was filled with wickedness and was obsessed with committing evil continually. God judged Sodom and Gomorrah because of pride, gluttony, laziness, oppression of the poor, and the abominable sin of homosexuality.

The prophet Jeremiah declared, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Humans have always sinned against the Lord throughout history. Why didn’t God judge every generation of humanity that has ever existed? The Bible makes it clear that God is longsuffering and merciful to His creation. However, when He determines that a situation’s cup of sin is full then He brings down His wrath. Before the flood wickedness in the earth was “great”. Sodom’s sin was “very grievous” to God. He told Abraham that his descendants would not inhabit the land of Canaan/Israel right away because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:16). Therefore His final judgment of the world will not occur until the world’s cup of wickedness is full. The question is how close are we to reaching the breaking point?

The world’s pride, like Sodom’s, is evident by its rejection of the truth of God’s word. Unrepentant sexual sin in general and homosexual sin in particular is rampant around the earth. Globalization is leading humanity away from reliance on God and more reliance on the world to govern itself. Killing of the unborn and oppression of the poor is widespread. And the world is beginning to curse the nation of Israel. In a prophetic reference concerning Israel (i.e. Abraham’s descendants) God made a promise, “3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.” (Genesis 12:3) As I stated above, it would seem that God could have judged the world at any point in its history but its cup of wickedness never crossed God’s judgment threshold. However, it may be that we are either approaching or living in the “Days of Noah and Lot.” Only our Father in heaven knows.

Jesus gave another indication as to the timing of God, “14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14) With modern technology and globalization the preaching of the Gospel has been widespread throughout the earth. How many more people need to hear the Gospel before this prophecy is fulfilled? Only our Father in heaven knows.

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Is it all falling apart? (even if it is God is stll in control)

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

(June 18, 2010)  The subtitle of my blog is What in the world is going on? Looking at news events occurring around the world I think an even more appropriate question is, Is it all falling apart? In my lifetime (52 years) I have seen dramatic changes in socioeconomic, cultural, and technological spheres of human existence. Although the modern era may have begun during the European Renaissance, culturally in the areas of intellectual and artistic pursuits and politically through revolutions, I believe current modernity grew out of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. Prior to that time human life moved at a much slower pace. Travel was powered by horse or sailing ship. Although the printing press had been around since the 15th Century communication still traveled only as fast as the horse or ship could carry it. With the advent of the 20th Century human innovation had made great strides in improving the human condition. The breadth of human existence had been dramatically changed in the areas of medicine and health, working and manufacturing, travel, education, and communication. Of course technological advancement also led to greater destruction in warfare. In the Nuclear Age humanity is capable of destroying the earth for the first time in human history. The prophet Daniel may have spoken of this development, “1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Daniel 12:1-4) It is possible that verse four of this passage could refer to human’s increased abilities to travel (“to and fro”) around the world (both physically and communicatively) and that knowledge would increase to a point where technology would be man’s final attempt to replace the God of the universe with the god of human intellect.

I came across two news items that have related themes concerning mankind’s future. The first item concerned an Australian scientist who declared that humanity will be extinct in one hundred years because of global warming (Our own extinction is forecast, but he’s going by dead reckoning). The second article dealt with the possibility of a cosmic apocalyptic event destroying the world (The end of the world as we know it). Although both articles approach their subjects in a somewhat lighthearted fashion, they do raise the more serious point of how long can the human race continue to exist in a seemingly and rapidly deteriorating sequence of events.

Many economies of the world are either struggling (Europe, America) or may be adversely affected because of the economic globalization that has taken place in the last few decades.  Rogue states such as North Korea and Iran threaten the stability of the world with nuclear ambitions or realities. Likewise, Islamic terrorism will continue to plague the world. The Internet has made information and communication, both good and evil, easily accessible to a majority of the earth’s inhabitants. Dehumanization of the weakest among us exists in the abortion movement, human trafficking, and religious oppression of women and children.

From an Americentric point of view, the “United” States of America is more divided than at any time since the Civil War. I believe the polarization that  exists  in America today is actually worse than the divisions that existed during the War between the States. Those divisions were based on an immoral economic system that used the enslavement of black Americans as its foundation. Current divisions are based on religious, political, and social ideologies.  Wars may be fought over any one of these reasons but religious ideology is usually not changed by outside influences. Thus, polarization based on religious belief will remain because such belief comes from the core of a human being.

Globally, economic hardship is turning some country’s citizens against their own governments. Many countries are becoming divided over immigration and Islamic influence within their borders. Christianity’s influence has diminished greatly in many parts of the world where it once flourished. Political correctness trumps the idea of right and wrong as decreed by God. The world is united in one area. It is becoming increasingly unified in its opposition to Israel.

On a more local level, I heard a sheriff from a southern Ohio county whose budget is being reduced express the dilemma that many law enforcement agencies in America and around the world are facing as the economies of the world  continue in a downward spiral. He said he was going to have to release prisoners, reduce law enforcement staffing,  and that district attorneys are going to have to choose which cases to prosecute in light of manpower shortages. It is worth noting that one of the signs Jesus declared would occur during the End-Times was, “12 Because lawlessness is increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12) If the economy doesn’t recover sufficiently, these types of problems are going to keep surfacing. People have lost their jobs and homes. Our current government wants the people to look to it to solve their problems. However, a government’s resources is based on the amount of taxes it collects from its citizens. Once that source has dried up the people will have no earthly place to turn to for help. During the last national economic crisis President Franklin Roosevelt told the American people that the only thing they have to fear is fear itself. Fear is a powerful motivator. Ironically, it took a World War to alleviate the fear of America. Conversely, it was the same type of fear that led Germans to hail Adolph Hitler as their savior. In the future I believe that the world’s fear will lead it to hail another man as their messiah. This man will be worse than all the other dictators who came before him.

The Bible makes it clear that things will only get worse for the world before the second coming of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” (II Timothy 3:1-5) Jesus Himself stated there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilences, false religious leaders. Paul wrote, “2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (I Thessalonians 5:2-3) They will experience this false peace and safety only after they have given into their fears and looked to the Antichrist instead of Jesus Christ to save them.

In any event, technology and globalization appears to be leading humanity back to its primal goal of replacing worship of God with worship  of humanity which occurred at the beginning of history at the Tower of Babel:

“1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1-4)

Humans wanted to make a name for themselves and reject the name of God. God intervened with His judgment and scattered humanity across the earth. Likewise, during the End-Times God will intervene one final time when He judges the earth for unifying around the Antichrist and his mentor the Devil.

The Good News for those whose hope is in Jesus Christ is that no matter what happens now or in the future, the world is not falling apart:

“15 [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)

Jesus Christ is holding the entire universe together. Christians have nothing to fear but unbelief itself.

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Mayan prophecy is not Biblical prophecy (nor is Nostradamus etc.)

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

(June 13, 2010) My last post dealt with increased solar activity and attempts by some to link it to Mayan Prophecy. There seems to be a diverse opinion on the meaning and nature of the Mayan Prophecy. The Mayans observed several calendrical cycles for their various social, agricultural, commercial and administrative endeavors and each of which had a religious element in or religious aspect to them. One of the calendars, the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, is the one that pertains to the Mayan Prophecy. This Long Count calendar constitutes a period of time consisting of 5125 years. The current Great Cycle of the Long Count will conclude on December 21, 2012. What happens after that seems to be open to conjecture. Beginning in the 1960s some Mayan researchers suggested that some type of apocalyptic event would occur at that time. Since then others have stated their belief that a new age of enlightenment will come upon mankind and the earth. Some believe that there will be some form of Milky Way galactic alignment on the Winter solstice (December 21) of 2012. As I pointed out in my last post, Hollywood has taken the Armageddon approach to 2012 and this is the idea which seems to have taken root in popular American culture. Therefore, I am interested in seeing how the months and weeks leading up to December 21, 2012 play out. The media hype may surpass that which occurred prior to the Y2k scare of 1999. I have read that modern-day Mayans themselves attach no import to the Mayan Prophecy. I believe they have the correct approach to this “event”.

From a Christian perspective I think it is possible that on December 22, 2012 people will use the failure of the falsely perceived Mayan prophecy to disparage Biblical End-Times prophecy. The two are completely unrelated. Bible prophecy concerning the first coming of God’s Messiah was 100% accurate. So too will Biblical prophecy concerning the Messiah’s second coming be 100% accurate. I’m not talking about my or other prophecy commentators’ interpretation of End-Times prophecy coming true but the Biblical events themselves will happen however they develop. People should not look to Nostradamus, New Age prophecies, psychics, oracles, or any other form of prophetic avenues to see what the future holds. The Devil has a general, if not specific, knowledge of God’s plans for the future (“Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.” - Revelation 12:12). I believe he has used and will continue to use false prophets of the world in order to diminish the efficacy of God’s prophetic word. Some have accused Dispensationalist Christians of detracting from the primacy of preaching the Gospel in favor of stressing End-Times prophecy.

Should Christians talk about the End-Times?

I wrote an article on my website titled Should Christians talk about the End-Times?. In this article I answered this question:

[beginning of my article] “There are Christians who do not agree with me that the End-Times should be discussed as a topic of the Christian faith. I do not mean to single out any one leader as holding this position because there are other Christian leaders who subscribe to this belief. However, I believe that one pastor’s point of view is representative of some of these other leaders. In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren broaches the issue of End-times prophecy:

“Today there’s a growing interest in the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. When will it happen? Just before Jesus ascended to heaven the disciples asked him this same question, and his response was quite revealing. He said, ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’“ [He footnotes Acts 1:7-8] “When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission in the world. He said in essence, ‘The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I’ve given you. Focus on that!’ Speculating on the exact timing of Christ’s return is futile, because Jesus said, ‘No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ [He footnotes Matthew 24:36] Since Jesus said he didn’t know the day or hour, why should you try to figure it out? What we do know for sure is this: Jesus will not return until everyone God wants to hear the Good News has heard it. Jesus said, ‘The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.’ [He footnotes Matthew 24:14] If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.” ["The Purpose Driven Life", by Rick Warren, pp. 285-286, Zondervan]

Pastor Warren’s application of the quote of Jesus just before His ascension into heaven is somewhat in error. He is correct in that God’s mission for the first disciples was to spread the gospel throughout the world. That mission continues to this day for the followers of Jesus Christ. However, is Pastor Warren’s contention that Christians should not discuss the End-Times consistent with the rest of the New Testament?

I find it ironic that the two scripture passages he quotes to support his belief come from chapter twenty-four of the gospel of Matthew. That entire chapter is about the second coming of Jesus and the events that lead up to it. It starts with the disciples asking Jesus the very question concerning the End-Times. In His response, did Jesus tell His disciples that it was “none of their business”?

“1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to shew Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before.” (Matthew 24:1-25)

Why did Jesus tell the disciples what the signs of the end would be if He didn’t want them to discuss it? Why did the Holy Spirit inspire Matthew to include this chapter in his gospel if He didn’t want future generations to know about the End-Times? The answer is that God does want His followers to know what is going to happen at the end for at least two reasons. One is that Christians are to find hope and comfort in the return of the Lord. The second is that Christians are to warn humanity that one day God is going to judge the world and its inhabitants.

The First Century Christians in the Church of Thessalonica, Greece, were concerned that their dead brethren would miss the second coming of Jesus. The apostle Paul responded to their fears in one of the first letters he ever wrote:

“13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Paul is describing an End-Times event that Christians call the Rapture. In verse 13 he expressly tells the believers, that unlike unbelievers, Christians have hope. He tells them to “sorrow not, even as others which have no hope“. In verse 18 Paul tells Christians to “comfort one another with these words“. Here Christians are told to take hope and comfort in these End-Times events. It doesn’t mean the Thessalonians were to ignore spreading the gospel and meeting the needs of others. As a matter of fact, the verses preceding this passage tell the believers how they are to live their lives:

“1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His holy Spirit. 9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)

In another letter Paul told a fellow Christian leader that believers were to look for the return of Jesus Christ:

“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:11-13)

Again, the verses immediately preceding this passage instruct believers on how to live their lives in a Christian manner. However, Paul stated that they were to look for the second coming, not ignore it, because it would give them hope.” [end of my article]

In the Book of Revelation Jesus told His servant John to write down the things he saw. Why? Because like the rest of the prophecies of the Bible future generations of Believers were to learn what God had done through fulfilled prophecy and what He will do in the future leading to Jesus’ second coming and the events that occur afterward. In Isaiah chapter 46 God states, “9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” Why would God declare the end if He didn’t want humans to know what was going to take place in the future? The answer is that God does want us to study prophecy since He stresses that it is one proof that He is God. At the same time He also wants us to preach and live the gospel until all the world has heard it.

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come”

Jesus Himself said His followers were to “42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:42,44) We cannot know the day or hour of Jesus’ return but we can look for signs that it may be close. The apostle Paul wrote,“1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (I Thessalonians 5:1-6) Therefore, as “children of God’s light” we should watch for the signs of His second coming. What are some of the signs to look for?

I believe one of the most important signs has already come to pass: The formation of the modern state of Israel. Several End-Times events revolve around the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. That was not possible until the Jews returned to the land in 1948. Since then the Jews have made all the utensils, priestly garments, and items to be used in the Temple services (see The Temple Institute website). Also the Antichrist is going to enter the rebuilt Temple and show or declare Himself God.

I believe the signs Jesus said to watch for would happen after Israel’s rebirth. One of these signs was to look for the rise of false messiahs. Some believe that a leader will come to prominence in Europe. Walid Shoebat thinks the Antichrist will come out of Turkey and that Turkey plays a large role in events leading up to the battle of Armageddon. It is interesting that Israeli authorities allowed the Turkish flag to be displayed on the Temple Mount last week. If Mr. Shoebat is correct then watching news events (like Turkish-led flotilla incident two weeks ago) that involve Turkey and Israel might prove revealing.

Revelation chapter 13 indicates there will be a global economy, global government, and global religion. Obviously the groundwork for globalization in each of these areas has occurred in our lifetimes with the advent of the computer/information age.

We need to keep an eye on Israel to see how isolated it becomes from the rest of the world. If its staunchest ally America turns its back on Israel (as seems to be happening) then that would clear the way for the Gog/Magog invasion prophesied by Ezekiel to take place. Zechariah chapter 12 states that at the end the entire world will come against Israel.

Some think the Rapture will occur before any of these signs occur. They maintain the Day of the Lord begins with the Rapture and there are no more signs that have to take place before that event. However, there is an interesting prophecy in the last book of the Old Testament that garners little attention or discussion in prophecy circles, “5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6) Because the Jews of Jesus’ time knew this prophecy they were questioning the fact that the prophet Elijah was to come before the Messiah appeared. (Jews to this day set out a cup of wine for Elijah during the Passover Seder hoping he will come through the door and usher in the Messianic Age). Jesus responded to the Jews’ question saying, “’11 Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17 :11-13) Notice that Jesus said Elijah came (in the form of John the Baptist) but also that he is coming in order to restore all things. Clearly the second reference speaks of the End-Times when the Messiah comes and restores the Kingdom (Acts 1:6-8). Thus, it is possible that either the prophet Elijah himself (since he never died) or someone who, like John the Baptist, comes in the form of Elijah before the Day of the Lord. The question is when does the Day of the Lord begin. If at the beginning of the Tribulation Period then his appearance may be next on God’s prophetic calendar.

I believe with the formation of Israel we are living in very interesting times. As Christians we need to look to God’s word for what His plans are for the future of the world. The world will continue to look outside the Bible for the answers concerning future events but they will be deceived as Jesus warned would happen. As children of God’s light Christians need to keep their eyes on Jesus, preach and live the Gospel, and warn others of the wrath to come either in this life or the next one.

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Whale off Israel’s coast, Jonah and End-Times animal behavior

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

(IMMRAC)(May 13, 2010) A grey whale was spotted off the coast of Israel. (Scientists stunned as grey whale sighted off Israel ) According to this article, “The whale, which was first sighted off Herzliya in central Israel on Saturday, is believed to have travelled thousands of miles from the north Pacific after losing its way in search of food. ‘It’s an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the most important whale sightings ever,’ said Dr Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center which identified the creature. A population of grey whales once inhabited the north Atlantic but became extinct in the 17th or 18th centuries and has not been seen there since. The remaining colonies live in the western and eastern sectors of the north Pacific.”

Of course the most famous “great fish” incident occurred when a whale or some other large sea creature swallowed and then vomited the prophet Jonah onto the shores of Israel:

“15 So they look up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. 17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights…10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” (Jonah 1:15-17,2:10)

God had wanted Jonah to pronounce His coming judgment upon the Assyrian capital Nineveh unless they repented. Jonah hated the Assyrians because of the way they treated Israel and the Jews. Therefore, he did not want the Ninevites to repent because he knew God was merciful and would not judge them if they did repent. God had a great fish swallow Jonah in order to get Jonah’s attention and ultimately his obedience. After leaving the fish Jonah did preach God’s judgment to the Ninevites and they repented and God mercifully spared them.

The article cited above indicates this is a very bizarre incident which caused the whale to end up in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Israel. It reminds me that during the Tribulation Period God’s judgment will also change animals’ behavior towards human beings. God chose to show the End-Times to His servant John. What John saw was a series of judgments that were going to come upon the earth. The first series constituted seven seals of a scroll which after each one is opened a judgment occurs. The opening of the Third Seal leads to famines (it indicates that food will cost a days wages because of shortages caused by famine) which Jesus confirmed as one of the apocalyptic signs in chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew:

“6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:6)

Next John sees the Fourth Seal judgment begin:

“7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:7-8)

Jesus again confirms the End-Times revelations which John observed:

“7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places. 8 all this is but the beginning of the labor pains.” (Matthew 24:7-8)

Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and wars are going to devastate the earth and its natural processes. Scarcity of food will cause even the animals to start attacking and killing humans. For the most part animals are afraid of human beings as their behavior illustrates whenever they encounter people. However, because of God’s judgments upon the world, animals’ behavior will change as John witnessed, “to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” Billions of Humans will die during the Tribulation Period including many deaths caused by animal attacks. Tragically as Jesus declares, “this is but the beginning of the labor pains” that the earth and its inhabitants will endure.

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“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke”

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

(April 24, 2010) Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope launch. In commemoration of that event NASA released this photo:


“Mystic Mountain”
Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

This extraordinary display of God’s creation brings to mind a prophecy from the Book of Joel:

 ”1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand…27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and My people shall never be ashamed. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”  (Joel 2:1,30-32)

 The apostle Peter applied this passage in Joel to God’s pouring out His Holy Spirit on the disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). Although Peter’s Spirit-filled application of these verses did apply to that day it is clear from the context of the entire passage in Joel that the Day of Pentecost was only a partial fulfillment of this prophecy. Some might say that these prophetic verses which refer to the “wonders in heaven” could have spiritual connotations and therefore were fulfilled at that time.  For example, Jesus declared that He saw Satan fall like lightning when the disciples preached the kingdom of God throughout Israel (Luke 17:1-18).  However, God declares that there will also be signs on the earth which did not happen on Pentecost. The New Testament harmonizes with the eschatological interpretation of this passage in Joel:

 ”21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  (Matthew 24:21-31)

“12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains.”  (Revelation 6:12-15)

Although the glory of God can be seen in His creation as the photo above reveals, one day there will be other wonders in the heavens that will reveal the righteous judgment of God: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be”. (Matthew 24:21)

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Earthquakes; Global Tax & Money; Government Monitoring; Islamic Ire; Doomsday Clock

Monday, March 1st, 2010

(March 1, 2010) In the wake of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, MSNBC has an article on the increase of earthquakes around the world. (Big quake question: Are they getting worse?) The author writes, “One scientist, however, says that relative to the time period from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, Earth has been more active over the past 15 years or so.” He quotes a geophysicist as saying, “We still do not know the reason for this yet. Could simply be the natural temporal variation of the stress field in the earth’s lithosphere.” (The lithosphere is the outer solid part of the Earth.)” Jesus gave signs to His disciples to look for when the end is near, “3 As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age?’ 4 And Jesus answered them, ‘Take heed that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the labor pains.” (Matthew 24:3-8) Leading into the End-Times Jesus said that false religious leaders, wars, famines, and earthquakes would increase in various places. He likened these events to labor pains which means they will become increasingly more painful and occur closer and closer together. The recent earthquake activity may be a precursor to what Jesus says will happen before the end.

Global Economy

The Prime Minister of England said that a global tax is near. (Global bank tax near, says Brown) The article states, “Gordon Brown said on Wednesday the world’s leading economies were close to agreeing a global bank tax, amid hopes in Downing Street that a deal can be concluded at the G20 summit in Canada in June.”  U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses a global tax on stock trades and other financial transactions. (Pelosi Endorses ‘Global’ Tax on Stocks, Bonds, and other Financial Transactions)

In a related story the International Monetary Fund proposed a new global reserve currency. (Head of IMF Proposes New Reserve Currency) The article states, “the head of the International Monetary Fund, suggested Friday that the organization one day might be called upon to provide countries with a global reserve currency that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar.”

The London Telegraph Newspaper economics commentator, Edmund Conway, recently wrote a column titled “I’m Dreaming of a Cashless Christmas” in which he said “This is a bold statement to make: currency has been an integral part of our world, in one way or another, since 3,000BC. But the simple fact is that we can survive without it. In fact, abolishing notes and coins could make the world and its economies far less dysfunctional.” (I’m Dreaming of a Cashless Christmas)  Some of the comments that followed his article brought up the issues of the “Mark of the Beast” and the “New World Order”. This caused Mr. Conway to write a followup article: (The New World Disorder) “A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column about the possibility that at some point in the future we may abandon cash in favour of electronic payments. I expected to receive a pretty healthy dose of criticism for what was a pretty radical suggestion; what I hadn’t expected was the direction in which that criticism would soon flow. Within a few comments, I was being accused of being part of a vast global conspiracy to create a New World Order (NWO, I gather one should shorten it to) in which the absence of cash would be a key factor. Well, to be more precise, the end of hard currency would also coincide with the introduction of a world government, a world currency and so on – you get the general idea.” He goes on to say he is not part of any conspiracy to “replace national governments with an international super-authority, though I’m flattered some of our readers believe I would ever be considered by the authorities to be worth involving in such an enterprise.”  However, Mr. Conway makes an observation about possible collusion amongst the world’s governments that I believe overlooks the bigger picture:

“And yet rumours of an NWO are still more pervasive than ever before. Why? In part, because members of governments around the world do talk to each other a lot, most often in open and usually well-reported fora (ie the IMF, UN, EC, Davos, the G7 and G20 etc). The whole premise of many of these multilateral meetings is precisely in order to forge a more internationalist style of politics where every country’s leadership thinks not merely of their own voters but also of the interests of overseas nations when they create policy. But this push is less an attempt to create an NWO than it is to avert the opposite – the threat of war. Remember – these institutions were set up in the wake of the Second World War, when politicians were trying to pull every lever they could to ensure there wouldn’t be a third war. So the conspiracy theorists are right: there is a push towards international government – but to suggest they could overreach each nation’s individual national interests is really endowing them with far more capability than they have…

Throughout my time covering economics and politics for a number of newspapers, I have come over time to the conclusion not that there is a carefully orchestrated global plan being masterminded by leading politicians (be it to create a NWO or, in some other way, to dupe people out of their liberty or prosperity) but that the politicians and policymakers have less of a clue about what to do than the rest of us. It’s been obvious every step of the way through this financial crisis – and that to me is actually rather scarier than the idea of a conspiracy. Are these people, who have stumbled their way from one disaster to another, really capable of engineering a global conspiracy, overturning peoples’ deep local tribalism? Not a chance.”

I agree with Mr. Conway that the politicians of the world are incapable of uniting the earth under one “flag”. However, the Bible declares that one man, unlike any other human who has ever lived, will by demonic power unify a large part of the earth’s governments under his administration:  “4 And they worshipped the dragon [the Devil] which gave power unto the beast [the Antichrist] and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:4-8)

Whether or not these economic policies take place, it is just another indicator of the technological state of the world which allows for the global monitoring of financial transactions and the unification of the global economy. The Bible declares in the last days that some type of global economic system will be in place and run by the Antichrist and his government. “16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:16-18)

Government Monitoring

There have been some recent news stories (just like the global economic  monitoring that is now technologically possible) about government monitoring in other areas of citizen’s lives. In Australia, the government has monitored Australian’s waste usage with microchips placed in their trash cans. (Spy chips hidden in 2.5 MILLION dustbins)  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency said they may use a software technology called Einstein to monitor Internet communications on private networks in order to combat cyber attacks. (Feds weigh expansion of Internet monitoring)  Neither of these stories necessarily impute a sinister motive on the part of these governments in using the technology available. The point is that the technology is available for the first time in history to closely monitor the habits and behaviors of human beings. One day an evil government will use this techonology for its own evil designs. 

Islamic Wrath

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has called for Jihad against the country of Switzerland because of that country’s ban on the building of Islamic minarets. (Kadhafi calls for jihad against Switzerland over minaret ban) Kadhafi stated, “It is against unbelieving and apostate Switzerland that jihad ought to be proclaimed by all means…Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism.” This is not the isolated rambling of a rogue dictator as Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leaders, and Saudi Arabian Wahhabism have illustrated over and over again. The one world religious system spoken of in Revelation ch. 13 may refer to Islam’s attempt to convert the rest of the world to their faith and laws.

Doomsday Clock; Supernova

The Doomsday Clock, an invention of scientists originally used to illustrate how close the world is to nuclear devastation and now includes climate devastation, was set back recently because of the policies of President Obama. (Doomsday clock is moved one minute further AWAY from fateful midnight… thanks to Obama)   This article reports, “The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947, two years after the U.S dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan in World War II. It was originally set at seven minutes to midnight. It has been altered 19 times since then by the Bulletin’s scientific board. The latest recorded time was two minutes to midnight in 1953 as the Cold War heated up between the U.S and Soviet Union.” I find it ironic that this clock was created in 1947 because in November of that year the United Nations voted to create the nation of Israel. The next year on May 14, 1948 the nation of Israel was born. This event started the real Doomsday clock. God laid out a timeframe in the Book of Ezekiel:

“1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 37:1-11)

In 1948 I believe that God raised the Jews from their “graves” and returned them to the land of Israel as a dry, secular nation. The next stage in the process involves putting sinews or muscles on the nation of Israel. This is mere speculation on my part but it may be that the powerful Israeli military may be a partial fulfillment of this part of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Muscles are an indicator of the strength of a body and the Israeli army has been an indicator of the strength of the Jews’ will to survive and live. 

The next phase of the dry bones vision stated that the nation of Israel would have flesh and skin put on it. The Bible does not speak highly of human flesh. It uses “flesh” as a metaphor for our sinful natures, which try to please God by good works or rebel against Him by evil works. I believe it is possible that when the Jews rebuild the third or Tribulation Temple, this will fulfill the flesh stage of their rebirth as a nation. They will believe they are honoring God with their new Temple and sacrifices yet the Antichrist will actually be using them for his purposes. 

This brings us to the final stage of the dry bones vision. God declared that He will put His breath or Spirit in the nation of Israel and they will be His people and He will be their God. This will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The prophet Zechariah spoke of this event: 

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10) 

This passage is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ when the whole world will look on Him whom they pierced. God at that time will pour out His Spirit upon Israel and they will receive God’s Servant Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

The last part of this vision of Ezekiel’s declares that God’s Servant will be King over the Jews and the land of Israel. Again, this refers to the Messianic Kingdom over which Jesus will reign.

Thus, I believe the real Doomsday Clock began ticking with the creation of the modern state of Israel.

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Posted in Archives 2010, Global monitoring, Governmental monitoring, Israel and Ezekiel, Revelation, Revelation 13 666, Revelation 13 Antichrist | No Comments »

This Generation: Womb to the Zoom (Rapture) or Tomb?

Thursday, November 26th, 2009
The Rapture

The Rapture

(November 26, 2009) The most controversial End-Times event is the Rapture. The controversy involves two main issues. The first is when will the Rapture take place in relation to other prophesied End-Times events.

The Tribulation Period

Both Jesus and and the prophet Daniel spoke of a future time of horror coming upon the earth and its inhabitants:

“21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” - Matthew 24:21-22

“1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” – Daniel 12:1

Some have stated that these two prophecies refer to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D. However, if the Holy Spirit was referring to that event then both prophecies would have been rendered inaccurate. The key phrases in these two passages speak of this future trouble as having never occurred at any time in history. That is not true for the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Six hundred years earlier the Babylonians destroyed the first Jewish Temple and took the Jewish nation captive. One could probably make a case for the two World Wars in the Twentieth Century as being the worst destruction and devastation in human history (aside from the Flood). Thus the time of trouble or Tribulation Period as Christians refer to it is yet future and will be unlike and other time in history.

The timing of the Rapture revolves around the Tribulation Period which will last seven years. It will occur just prior to the Tribulation or sometime during the seven years or at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus returns to the earth to judge the nations and set up His Millennial kingdom. Those who hold to a particular viewpoint on this issue usually are very passionate for their position and can quote scripture to support their belief. Because of this I don’t know when the Rapture will occur, only that it will occur because the apostle Paul prophesied it would in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. If it was clear when the Rapture would take place there wouldn’t be the divisiveness among Christians concerning this issue. These same Christians would agree that a person is saved only through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ. They would agree that Jesus was born of a virgin. They would agree that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins. They would agree that God raised Jesus from the dead. They would agree that Jesus ascended back into heaven. Why would they agree? Because God’s word is absolutely clear on these issues. Why don’t they agree on the timing of the Rapture? Because the Bible is not clear when it will take place. The fact that there is disagreement on this issue is proof that the Bible is not clear on the subject. (For further discussion on the timing of the Rapture please see Ch. 8 – The Rapture Mystery from my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times )

Here is a video from a church that believes in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture:

The Rapture, this Generation?

The second issue concerns when will the Rapture take place in God’s plan for humanity (and thereby all the End-Times prophesied events). There have been attempts by people in recent history to specify a date for the Rapture (contrary to Jesus’ statement that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” - Matthew 24:36). I remember one example that occurred in 1988. Edgar C. Whisenant published a booklet titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Obviously the Rapture did not occur that year or any other year in history. One day the Rapture will occur. The apostle Paul declared in his letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Greece:

“13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

He elaborated on the Rapture teaching in his letter to the Christians in Corinth, Greece:

“51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

In the first passage Paul was answering the Thessalonian Christians’ fear that they had missed the return of Jesus. He goes on to tell them that Jesus will descend from heaven and call His children to come up to Him in the air. The words “caught up” are translated from the Greek verb harpazo which means to seize suddenly or snatch away. The implication (as alluded to in the Corinthian passage which states this will occur in the twinkling of an eye) is that believers will be snatched up to Jesus (as in zoom up) in the air. When a Latin version of the Bible was created the word harpazo was translated into the Latin word from which we get the English word rapture.

Jesus’ disciples asked Him what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the age. He responded by giving them signs to look for in Matthew ch. 24 and said, “33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” – Matthew 24:33-34 Thus, the generation that see the prophetic signs that Jesus gave will be the generation that experiences the Rapture.

Is the current generation the one that will see the End-Times come to pass? The Bible gives other prophecies concerning the End-Times. One of them declares that God will return the Jews to the land of Israel (Ezekiel ch. 37-39; Amos 9 – For further discussion on this subject please see ch. 18 – God’s Timepiece:Israel from my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times). Another one states that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (Daniel 9; Matthew 24; 2 Thessalonians 2 – For further discussion on this subject please see my article 2 Thessalonians 2:4 – A Literal Third Temple). Both of these prophecies involve End-Times events. The fact that God returned the Jews (see my article Does the land of Israel belong to the Jews) in 1948 and that they have recreated the utensils and priestly garments that are to be used in Temple worship services indicate that God is not far off from implementing His End-Times plans. Globalization of economies and communications further suggest that the eschatological prophecies could be fulfilled in this current generation. However, only God knows when it will happen and wants His followers to keep living their lives for Him and watching for the signs that He said would occur at the end of the age. Whether we see the tomb or experience the zoom we are to keep our eyes on the Lord and keep “13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” (Titus 2:13-15)

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Posted in Archives 2009, Biblical prophecies | 3 Comments »

Biblical prophecy will be fulfilled and the Third Jewish Temple will be built in Jerusalem

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

westernwallangle(November 1, 2009) I received the following article in an email newsletter that I subscribe to from a Jewish organization based in Jerusalem:

1) Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem by Moshe Kempinski

“Ever since the Day of Atonement the Temple Mount has again become a flashpoint of contention between Israel and the world. The Muslims have raised frantic calls throughout the Islamic world for them to come and protect their mosques from the Jewish heinous attempts to make Jerusalem Jewish. The Aqsa Foundation warned of new attempts by ‘extremist Jews’ to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque this week to commemorate what the Jews call the ‘Rambam ascent to the temple mount.’ The Foundation said that it views with concern calls by extremist Jewish organizations to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque under various pretexts. These calls come according to the agency after Muslim worshipers foiled attempts in the past by ‘extremist Jewish groups’ to desecrate the Aqsa mosque during Jewish holidays by praying on the mount (Heaven forefend).

The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour called on the Security Council to condemn Israel for its ‘aggressive actions’ at Temple Mount. In a letter to the assembly Mansour writes, ‘Israel engaged in violence, provocation, and incitement which threaten to increase mounting tension and harm regional stability.’ Jewish groups walking on the Temple Mount and some even mouthing silent prayers, it seems, constituted ‘violence provocation and incitement.’

If it wasn’t so ominous it would be humorous.

The Temple Mount is the holiest location in the universe according to Jewish understanding. It was from there that the world expanded into its present form, and it was there where Hashem gathered the earth used to create man. The Torah tells us that HaShem chose to rest His Divine Presence, in that location and two Jewish Temples, called the House of G-d, were built there . According to the prophecies of the Bible, the Third Temple will also be located here, and will eventually be the eternal House of Prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 1:2-3; Ezekiel . 37:26-28; 40-48;Micah . 4:1-2; Haggai. 2:7-9;and Zechariah 6:12-15; 14:20)

The world, though, and especially the Muslim world have yet to learn to digest, cope and accept that reality.”

As the above excerpt states the modern Jews have every intention of rebuilding the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The first Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in 960 B.C. on the area now known as the Temple Mount. The Babylonians destroyed it in 586 B.C. A second Temple was built in 515 B.C. and renovated by King Herod beginning circa 20 B.C. The Romans destroyed this Temple in 70 A.D. during the Jewish revolt. There are several prophecies in the Bible that indicate a third Jewish Temple will be built in Jerusalem. Please see my article 2 Thessalonians 2:4 – A Literal Third Temple for a discussion of the relevant prophetic passages. What is astonishing is that the Jews as a nation ceased to exist after a second Jewish revolt in 135 A.D. yet 1800 years later they once again reside in Israel as a Jewish nation. Until 1948 there was no reason for a Jewish temple to be built. Neither Christians nor Muslims needed a temple to worship. The Jews however do need a Temple in order to reinstate the sacrificial system God ordained in the Law. Now that the Jews have returned to the land they are in a position to build the Temple. As you can see from the following CBN (Christian Broacasting Network) video the Jews have completed their preparations for the Third Temple:

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The major obstacle for the Jews rebuilding their Temple is the presence of the Muslim shrine The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. Recent events illustrate the volatile nature of the situation between the Jews and Arabs and the Temple Mount (Violent clashes erupt at Jerusalem’s holiest site). Some have stated that violence is the only answer in settling this issue (Mashaal: Fate of Jerusalem will be determined by confrontation, not talks). From a biblical viewpoint, how this situation is resolved is a matter of some prophetic speculation. Some believe the Antichrist will be able to persuade the Muslims to allow the Jews to build their Temple. Others think that somehow the Temple will be built alongside the Dome of the Rock. Another prophetic possibility revolves around the future invasion of Israel by the surrounding Muslim nations and their alliances (see my article The Coming Invasion of Israel). The Book of Ezekiel declares that God will destroy the invading armies. This could leave Muslims demoralized with Allah or totally defeated so they could not resist the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.

However this event comes about it will happen at some point in the future. The fact that the Jews are ready for the Temple to be erected and that they are back in the land for the first time in nearly two millennia is prophetically illuminating. Only God knows when all these things will take place.

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Posted in Archives 2009, Biblical prophecies, Israel | No Comments »

World ending in 2012 according to ancient Mayans and others?

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

2012(October 13, 2009)  Between the History Channel, Jack Van Impe, Hollywood, and the Media one could get the idea that something cataclysmic is going to occur in December of 2012. Two days ago the Drudge Report linked to an article titled “2012 isn’t the end of the world, Mayans insist”. The article states,

 “Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly “running out” on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it’s not the end of the world.

Or is it?

Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. “I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff.”

It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood’s “2012″ opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.

At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the “Curious? Ask an Astronomer” Web site, says people are scared.

“It’s too bad that we’re getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they’re too young to die,” Martin said. “We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn’t live to see them grow up.”

Chile Pixtun, a Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas.

A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.

But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes “predictions” from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: “Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?”

Hollywood has a movie coming out in November of this year called 2012. The trailer reveals all types of catastrophes that might take place in that year:

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The God who created the world has revealed His plans for the End-Times in His word, the Bible. He states, “9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)  Only God can say when future events will take place. Jesus said concerning His return, “36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)  Jesus said this after giving signs to His followers to watch for so that they would “know that [the end] is near, even at the doors.” (Matthew 24:33)  But of the day and hour (and therefore the year) no one knows. Not the Mayans nor Nostradamus nor astrologers nor cult leaders nor any human being or angel knows the exact time of Jesus’ return.

Even End-Times evangelist Jack Van Impe seems to be caught up in the hype surrounding this Mayan “prophecy”:

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One of the points of contention I have with Dr. Van Impe is that he declares the Bible says the world is never going to end. To support this he references Isaiah 45:17, “17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end” and Ephesians 3:21, “21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”  These two passages are from the King James Version of the Bible. However, the other major translations render the phrase “world without end” as “to ages everlasting” (NIV), “to all eternity” (NASB), “to all eternity” (ESV), “forever and ever” (New King James) etc. The Bible makes it clear that there is going to be a new earth and that the old earth is going to pass away, “10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” (II Peter 3:10-11)  In the Book of Revelation John says, “1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1)

The world is going to end one day but that is at least seven years away because of the biblical prophecies which  declare seven years of trouble are coming upon the earth in the form of God’s judgments. In describing this future time of apocalyptic events Jesus said, “21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22) 

The world will not end in 2012 but the time of tribulation could start at any time from here on out.

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Posted in Archives 2009, Armageddon, Biblical prophecies | No Comments »

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