Signs that We are in the END TIMES!

[Brother Jeff]

Prophetic Signs that we are in the End Times

 

From http://contenderministries.org/prophecy/endtimes.php:

 

I find it interesting to keep up with Christian apologetics. What amazes me is that so many people are ignorant and gullible enough to believe this easily debunkable bullshit. - Brother Jeff

The Bible gives many examples of signs that should warn us of the coming end of the age. Six such signs are given by Jesus, two characteristics are given by Paul, and eleven other occurrences are given by the prophets to occur prior to or soon after the end of the age. While we are also told we will not know the time of the End, God obviously wanted us to know when that time was getting closer. As the Christian church is increasingly drawn into the interfaith movement, and as more and more churches go into isolation, preparing to sleep through the growing attacks on their faith, perhaps God knew it would take a few signs to wake us up and remind us that we have work to do.

 

Unfortunately, many Christians take the verses that tell us we won't know the time of His coming to mean they should ignore any and all scripture that might warn us of this time of tribulation. Others have fallen into the trap of fearing being labeled a "conspiracy theorist" should they display an interest in the Biblical prophecies about our future on Earth. My philosophy is simple. God included it in the Bible and, since God is all knowing, we should trust that it is something we should know and study along with the rest of His Word.

 

It is increasingly obvious that the time of our Lord's coming is drawing near. Prophecy is being fulfilled daily, and at a faster pace than ever before. Whether you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, or believe Christians will be witness to the full tribulation, wrath, and final judgments, matters not. The beginning of birth pains and the signs of the times should have the same effect on all of us. It should motivate us to save as many souls as we can in the time that we have left. The Great Commission tells us to be disciples to all nations, bringing the message of salvation through Christ to all people. If the Church is raptured before the tribulation, it is important that we leave behind an explanation for the trials and judgments those left behind will face. How else will they recognize the deception of the anti-Christ and seek instead the truth of the Bible? If we are to endure the tribulation along side them, we will need to be prepared to not only share the message of salvation, but share with them the reasons for God's judgment and hold it up as further proof of their need to be saved.

 

Below is a study of the prophetic signs God gave us as a warning of the approaching end of the age. Many of them are being fulfilled now and many will be fulfilled in the near future. I would encourage you to study prophecy, know what is coming and be prepared to share it with others.

 

SIX SIGNS GIVEN BY JESUS TO INDICATE HIS COMING AND THE END OF THE AGE

 

In Matthew24:3 Jesus was asked, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus told his apostles to look for the following signs prior to his second coming and the end of the age.

 

 

 

1. FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS

 

Matthew 24:5 "For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and will mislead many."

 

Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."

 

In the last several years many have claimed to be the Messiah. Jim Jones and David Koresh are examples of these false christs as well as countless others who are not as newsworthy. These false prophets are a prelude to the ultimate false christ, the antichrist. Many New Age groups, some even NGO's working for the United Nations, are anxiously awaiting the antichrist, preparing the way for his acceptance as the head of the hierarchy of gods and the one who will usher in world peace.

 

2. WARS

 

Matthew 24:6 "And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."

 

 

 

Rumors of wars in all areas of the world now occur frequently thanks to instant media coverage and the availability of a multitude of 24-hour news sources.

 

 

 

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

 

 

 

More people have been killed in warfare in this century than at any other time in history. As the death toll rises in the Middle East, more and more countries work feverishly to develop devastating weapons of mass destruction. Add to that the expanding threat of terrorism and unpredictable dictators such as Saddam Hussein, and the potential for the outbreak of war exists in nations, kingdoms and places across the globe.

 

3. FAMINES

 

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

 

 

 

As white, Christian farmers are driven out of Zimbabwe in increasing numbers, and foreigners move in to replace life-sustaining crops with poppies that now supply 25% of the worlds drugs, famine spreads across the African continent. The undernourished are not limited to Africa, however. A large portion of the worlds 5 billion people suffers from a shortage of food.

 

4. EARTHQUAKES

 

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

 

 

 

The number and intensity of earthquakes this century is at a level higher than any other time in history. A staggering number of seismic events occur around the world daily. The earthquake seismic monitor IRIS shows all major earthquakes for the last year. Indicated by yellow and red circles, the seismic events of the last 15 days provides strong evidence of the fulfillment of Matthew 24:7 in our day. By contrast, in the years from 1890 to 1900 there was only one major earthquake in the world.

 

5. TRIBULATIONS

 

Matthew 24:8-9 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name."

 

 

 

Christians are under attack throughout the world today. In the United States Christians still enjoy freedom to worship God without suffering much more than ridicule, hatred, or discrimination at work and school. However in many other countries such as China, Sudan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Russia, and many Muslim nations, Christian suffer much greater persecution and often times death for their faith. During the tribulation this suffering will be worldwide and will continue even to the point of martyrdom. These first 5 signs will increase in intensity and severity as the tribulation approaches, much like the birth pangs or contractions of a pregnant woman worsen as the delivery time approaches.

 

6. THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

 

Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."

 

 

 

This prophecy has already been fulfilled through television, radio, missionaries, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and the internet. People all over the world now hear the message of Christ from missionaries who have the means to travel the globe, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our own homes, churches and offices.

 

 

 

TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF THE END OF THE AGE FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL

 

1. GODLESSNESS IN THE LAST DAYS

 

II Timothy 3:1-5,7 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

 

 

 

For anyone who has watched television, read a newspaper, lost a retirement to corporate greed and corruption, or just walked outside their front door, it is obvious this prophecy has been fulfilled by our generation. Our leaders are often corrupt; our cities are filled with crime, brutality, and neon signs proclaiming our sinful, godless nature. The New Age Movement brings in increasing numbers of mystics who claim to be the enlightened ones. They are some of the most educated and influential people in our societies, and yet the most lacking in real truth.

 

2. APOSTASY (FALLING AWAY FROM THE FAITH)

 

I Timothy 4:1-3 "But the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth."

 

Churches today are becoming more and more ecumenical, embracing the New Age interfaith agenda, and denying Christ as the only way to salvation. Giving in to the politically correct media and a corrupt society, they have embrace homosexuality as an acceptable alternate lifestyle and preach tolerance and compromise in place of God's truth for the salvation of the world. The environmentalist movement within the New Age movement lures them into a worship of mother earth, belief in past lives, reincarnation, and Karma while demonizing all those who would eat the meat God gave us as nourishment for our bodies.

 

ELEVEN FULFILLMENTS OF BIBLE PROPHECY REQUIRED FOR THE END OF THE AGE

 

1. EXISTENCE OF A 200,000,000 MAN ARMY IN THE EAST

 

Revelation 9:16 "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them."

 

 

 

An army of that size had never existed until China's army reached that number in the 1960's.

 

2. REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY)

 

Daniel 2:32-33 "The head of the statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."

 

 

 

Daniel 2:40-43 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have the toughness of iron, and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

 

 

 

The fourth kingdom of iron is the Roman empire according to Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The two legs are the division of the Roman empire into an eastern portion called the Byzantine empire which ended in the 1400's and a western portion based in Rome which ended in the 400's. The nations of Europe since the Roman empire dissolved have never adhered or formed one empire but continue as separate nations, however, the European Union now has 15 Member States and is preparing for the accession of 13 eastern and southern European countries.

 

3. RETURN OF THE ONE PURE LANGUAGE, HEBREW, TO ISRAEL

 

Zephaniah 3:9 "For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."

 

 

 

Prior to the restoration of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was a dead language. Now Hebrew is spoken throughout Israel.

 

4. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, RESTORATION OF TEMPLE WORSHIP AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN JERUSALEM

 

For several end time prophecies to be fulfilled, the temple will have to be rebuilt.

 

 

 

Revelation 11:2 "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the oly city for forty-two months."

 

 

 

Daniel 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolation, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

 

 

 

Daniel 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary."

 

 

 

Some archeologists believe that the temple mount is actually 340 feet south of the Dome of the Rock site, putting the Dome of the Rock within the Court of the Gentiles. This may be the court outside the temple that is left out.

 

 

 

There are many groups already working on preparations for the new temple. The blueprints are already done, the temple garments have been made, and there have already been attempts to lay the cornerstone of the temple. The only thing standing in the way of the construction of the new temple is Islam's third holiest site, the Dome of the Rock and government support for such an undertaking. Some possible scenarios for the rebuilding of the temple are as follows:

 

 

 

1. The persuasion and performing of miracles by the Antichrist and False Prophet convinces the Islamic world to approve the rebuilding.

 

 

 

2. The United Nations will negotiate the rebuilding of the temple following a war with the armies from the North (Russia and Islamic forces). This assumes that the war with the armies from the North is not the battle of Armageddon as some feel and that this attack occurs before the rapture or tribulation period begins. The supernatural destruction of the Russian army and Islamic forces will cause an outpouring of Christian worship and zeal amongst the Jewish people who will reconstruct the temple.

 

 

 

3. It is determined that the site of the first two temples is actually south of the Dome of the Rock, and the court of the gentiles (Dome of the Rock) will be left out of the 3rd temple.

 

 

 

A group in Israel called the Temple Mount Faithful have obtained most of the clothing, instruments and other equipment required for temple worship and are actively preparing for the laying of the third temple's cornerstone.

 

5. APPEARANCE OF THE RED HEIFER AFTER 2000 YEARS

 

Numbers 19:2-7 "This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. "You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. "Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. "The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening."

 

 

 

A red heifer will be required to be used in the process of purification described in the book of Numbers. In May 1997 the first Red Heifer was born in 2000 years. Another red Heifer was born in Israel in March of 2002.

 

6. INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL

 

Daniel 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

 

 

 

Billy Graham was quoted as saying, "ninety percent of all the engineers and scientists who have ever lived are alive today." Air travel, space travel, DNA research and human cloning are all examples of the rapid increase in knowledge in our generation.

 

7. RETURN OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL

 

Zephaniah 3:10-11 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings. In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain."

 

 

 

In 1984, Operation Moses saw the airlift of 15,000 Jews who had already fled to refugee camps in Sudan to escape starvation. In 1991, Operation Solomon flew 20,000 Jews to Israel from Ethiopia itself. A further airlift began in June of 1999, aimed at transporting the last 3,000 members of the Quara Jewish community from northeastern Ethiopia to Israel.

 

8. THE RISE OF RUSSIA

 

Ezekiel 38:2,4,8 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them."

 

 

 

In order for some end time events to occur Russia will have to be a strong nation with a strong military.

 

9. RETURN OF RUSSIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL

 

Jeremiah 23:7-8 "Therefore behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them. Then they will live on their own soil."

 

 

 

In the 1970's and 1980's there was a mass exodus of Russian Jews out of Communist Russia. In 1999 the Associated Press reported a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, bringing the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel since the early 1990's.

 

10. TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MARK OF THE BEAST

 

Revelation 13:16-17 "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name."

 

 

 

On May 10, three members of a family in Florida became the first people to receive the biochip implant. Each device, made of silicon and called a VeriChip, is a small radio transmitter about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. It transmits a unique personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet of a special receiver unit. VeriChip's maker describes it as "a miniaturized, implantable, radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, emergency and healthcare applications."

 

 

 

Is the biochip the mark of the beast to be used by the antichrist? We can't really know. What is significant is that people are being softened to the idea of a mark or an implant as a means of maintaining security, providing medical information, and regulating a more interdependent world. As attitudes change, fears subside, and people are convinced of the need for such a mark, the true mark of the beast will be easily introduced to the world by the antichrist.

 

11. PLANS FOR THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT

 

The United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO's, and other agencies are preliminary steps to the formation of a one world government. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world government headed by the antichrist. The increasing terrorist threat and the middle east conflict will only speed up the formation of this governing body as fear and promises of better security make more people willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance.

 

12. INSTANT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WORLD

 

Revelation 11:3, 7-10 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth."

 

 

 

Television and the 24-hour news networks make it possible for people around the world to see the dead prophets and rejoice at their deaths.

 

 

 

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

 

 

 

Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place."

[NimbusBirdMgp]

  How else will they recognize the deception of the anti-Christ and seek instead the truth of the Bible?

 

I find this Trojin. Actually how will anyone recognize the deceptions of a cults Pro-Christ and the deceptions that are in the Bible?

 

SIX SIGNS GIVEN BY JESUS TO INDICATE HIS COMING AND THE END OF THE AGE

 

In Matthew24:3 Jesus was asked, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"  Jesus told his apostles to look for  the following signs prior to his second coming and the end of the age.

 

 

 

1.  FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS

 

    Matthew 24:5 "For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and will mislead many."

 

    Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."

 

The Christian Religions and other Religions are all claiming such things. Atheistism doesn't claim anything. Atheistism is not accepting all this crap. Also if the real God doesn't prove itself, then how does one know which is the real Christ?

 

2.  WARS

 

    Matthew 24:6 "And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."

 

   

 

    Rumors of wars in all areas of the world now occur frequently thanks to instant media coverage and the availability of a multitude of 24-hour news sources.

 

   

 

    Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

 

   

 

    More people have been killed in warfare in this century than at any other time in history.  As the death toll rises in the Middle East, more and more countries work feverishly to develop devastating weapons of mass destruction.  Add to that the expanding threat of terrorism and unpredictable dictators such as Saddam Hussein, and the potential for the outbreak of war exists in nations, kingdoms and places across the globe.

 

I see someone fulfilling this. George Bush. The Christian coalation is doing the very thing describing the Anti-Christ.

 

3.  FAMINES

 

    Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

 

Here I have to be half cynical ... I've notice there being female faminine for me and there has been an increase for orgasims in my life.

[Brother Jeff]

This kind of stuff does disturb me.  If anything has the power to trigger me back into christianity, it is end-times stuff.  I haven't completely reconciled with it.

Yeah, same here. The End Times stuff bothers me because I too haven't completely reconciled with it, yet at the same time intellectually and rationally I recognize it as BS. I know what you mean, Sister M!

[♦ ficino ♦]

Here, maybe if we can find things like this it will help.  This is from the Zoroaster religion a religion around way before Judaism and thousands of years before Christianity...

 

... not to the tee like Christianity but notice the judgement stuff........pretty darn familiar, isn't it?

 

Wow, I'm amazed at how similar, Thankful. Someone posted some stuff from the Zend Avesta recently on another thread- was it you?

 

When i get the chance I think I'll look into this.

 

I wonder whether Shiism as a form of Islam took root in Iran so easily because they already had the mindset of apocalypticism from their Zoroastrian past.

 

As to end times - Jesus' and Paul's prophecies of an imminent return of Christ within the lifetimes of those who knew Jesus were not fulfilled. Recall how the epistles of John and II Peter are obliged to fudge this and talk about how the Lord is not slow as humans count slowness, etc. etc. - in other words, people were already seeing the end-times prophecies as bogus in the early 2nd century, so new epistles were cooked up to explain away the huge non-event.

 

Another way to look at it: suppose we were all living in, say, 999 A.D. How freaked out would we be with wars and rumors of wars and disasters of all kinds? It's the human condition.

 

I think the real problem, as Chef reminds us, is ecological. Our species has the capacity to wreck the biosphere.

[SerpentIntheMidst]

This kind of stuff does disturb me.  If anything has the power to trigger me back into christianity, it is end-times stuff.  I haven't completely reconciled with it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

same here...fortunately it's not true(at least i hope it isn't cause there is no way i'm going back even if it means eternal damnation)

[SerpentIntheMidst]

and if it somehow (defying all logic, reason and truth) it happens at least i'll be in good company i.e John Lennon,Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, Shakespeare, Einstein, Buddha, Gene Roddenberry, Chris Farley, Kurt Cobain, this Forum and most of my good friends etc. the list goes on

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

Personally, I think this whole Rapture thing has caused more harm than good.

 

-The fundies' hatrid of the UN and other similar organizations because it might lead to an evil one world government has helped to damage attempts for global peace and understanding.

 

-This crap has also been a big factor for the turmoil in the Middle East. It's sad that there are people willing to money and lives just to fofill a stupid prophecy.

 

-There are people who waste their lives worrying about something that may never happen. The world is not as bad as they make it, it's just the assholes who make it Hell.

 

-Or those who think that they can ignore the problems of the world and\or do whatever they want just because "the Rapture is coming." *cough*Ronald Regan*cough*

 

-Do you know how many innocent trees have been killed to make those stupid Left Behind books?

[Guest JP1283]

As for the earthquakes, this is straight from the USGS website.

 

Q: Why are we having so many earthquakes? Has earthquake activity been increasing? Does this mean a big one is going to hit? OR We haven't had any earthquakes in a long time; does this mean that the pressure is building up and there will be a big one?

 

A: Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant throughout this century and, according to our records, have actually seemed to decrease in recent years. A partial explanation may lie in the fact that in the last twenty years, we have definitely had an increase in the number of earthquakes we have been able to locate each year. This is because of the tremendous increase in the number of seismograph stations in the world and the many improvements in global communications. In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the world; today, there are more that 4,000 stations and the data now comes in rapidly from these stations by telex, computer and satellite. This increase in the number of stations and the more timely receipt of data has allowed us and other seismological centers to locate many small earthquakes which were undetected in earlier years, and we are able to locate earthquakes more rapidly. The NEIC now locates about 12,000 to 14,000 earthquakes each year or approximately 35 per day. Also, because of the improvements in communications and the increased interest in natural disasters, the public now learns about more earthquakes. According to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 18 major earthquakes (7.0 - 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year. However, let's take a look at what has happened in the past 32 years, from 1969 through 2001, so far. Our records show that 1992, and 1995-1997 were the only years that we have reached or exceeded the long-term average number of major earthquakes since 1971. In 1970 and in 1971 we had 20 and 19 major earthquakes, respectively, but in other years the total was in many cases well below the 18 per year which we may expect based on the long-term average.

 

A temporal increase in earthquake activity does not mean that a large earthquake is about to happen. Similarly, quiescence, or the lack of seismicity, does not mean a large earthquake is going to happen.

[TruthWarrior]

It doesnt scare me as much as it would had I been fresh out of a pentacostal church. Towards the end of my life as a christian I believed more in preterism. Preterism is where all or some of that "end times" prophecy was all fulfilled during christ's time and the 70ad fall of Jerusalem. The preterists really rip the futurists (those that believe in future end times) a new one. From them I realized how silly the rapture doctrine was. I stopped worrying so much and started just living life. That was great relief even as a christian back then.

 

Studying preterism now might do good for you folks that might still be fearful. Even from a nonbelievers perspective, you can see how nearly all of Revelation seems to be specifically based around the politics and events of that time.

 

Worked for me at least.

[qadeshet]

Jesus was a Sun god, not Son of god. He never existed. Since there was no first coming, there will be no second coming, no end time, no tribulation. We humans have the capability to bring about our own extinction, or to create a paradise here on Earth. It's our choice.

[Vigile]

6. THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

 

Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."

 

 

 

This prophecy has already been fulfilled through television, radio, missionaries, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and the internet. People all over the world now hear the message of Christ from missionaries who have the means to travel the globe, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our own homes, churches and offices.

 

And the only truly fertile soil that seed found was in America!

 

It's hilarious that xtians don't see that if it's truth, it will find footing in equal measures throughout the world. Instead, it has only truly taken root in "evil, godless" America and Canada to a lesser extent. Examine xtianity in England for example. It is merely a liberal shell of what exists in the evangelical bible belt of the Midwest. We were laughing at the god-fearin' missionary I met the other day who is over here trying to install the fear of god in these atheistic alcoholics here in Russia. He has less chance of converting more than one of them into bible thumpers than he has of leaving his wife for one of the 20yo Russian beauties that must tempt his will on a daily basis.

[Vigile]

and if it somehow (defying all logic, reason and truth)   it happens at least i'll be in good company i.e John Lennon,Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, Shakespeare, Einstein, Buddha, Gene Roddenberry, Chris Farley, Kurt Cobain, this Forum and most of my good friends etc. the list goes on

 

And as I pointed out in my response to the article, the entire rest of the world. Good company indeed.

[LadyFeline]

True.  The Christians may usher in the doom they fear.

 

But they don't fear it. That's the really, truly scary thing about it. They look forward to it, anticipate it... Fear hardly factors into it, unless you're including "ph34r taht my f4m1ly wont go 2 h34v3n wit meOMG!!1!1!"

[narcissist]

I remember back when I was a JW back around '91. I was talking with a JW friend of mine who was convinced that Armageddon was coming within 5 years of our conversation.

 

Now, nearly 10 years later than ETA, We're still waiting...

 

Like Brother Jeff said, "easily debunkable bullshit."

[Guest Dragonblade]

Fuck the returning Savior and the white horse he's coming in on. I would love to personally nail the motherfucker to the cross myself this time around.

[Amethyst]

Yeah, same here. The End Times stuff bothers me because I too haven't completely reconciled with it, yet at the same time intellectually and rationally I recognize it as BS. I know what you mean, Sister M!

 

The main reason this bothers me is because it might end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some terrorist group is bound to try to fulfill it eventually.

[DaveL]

Ewww...That 'Contender Ministeries' is one serious whacked up website...

[duderonomy]

Bro Jeff,

 

The first paragraph or two of this article you quoted was so full of circular logic and bad theology that I could preach for a couple of hours against it without repeating myself or reading any further... with scripture proof texts included for the Bible Believers.

 

I used to absorb this kind of crap, but once I 'continued in His word', I knew the truth, and the truth set me free.

 

 

As for the self-fullfilling part, I wouldn't worry too much about it guys. It's the Muslim Fundies that keep blowing things up and trying to start WW3. Christians just show up Sunday mornings at church for the three points and a prayer, and afterwards scatter to the four winds until next week (with the possible exception of those abortion clinic bombers).

 

I mean really, if most of the Christian churches think that the end is at the door, when God will rain down fire and brimstone, and almost everything will be destroyed, and that soon God will fold up the Earth as one doth a garment, and that the temple will fall in such a way that 'not one stone will be left' upon the other...I mean if they REALLY believe that...then why the Building Fund????

 

Have you ever seen a Christian church without a Building Fund? Oughta tell ya sumpin'.

 

 

As for preterism, I agree that that is the most logical explanation for 'prophecy' in the N.T.... all the more when you consider that a lot of the N.T. was written after 70 A.D. That goes double for the Revelation of Saint John the Divine (90 A.D. ish).

 

Sorry all if I ramble on...

So much crap; so little time, and all.

 

Duder

[spamandham]

May 1997 the first Red Heifer

 

...and we know there hasn't been one in 2000 years because of the international red heifer registry that has existed the whole time.

 

The idea that Jews would restart the animal sacrifice business is brand new, and all of the sudden we have a miraculous red heifer born. Could it be that no-one cared about the occasional red heifer until red heifer mania hit the streets? Naw.

 

ps, Glory!

[Guest aexapo]

This kind of stuff does disturb me.  If anything has the power to trigger me back into christianity, it is end-times stuff.  I haven't completely reconciled with it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

How it works is that they take the metaphorical vagueness of Revelations and "fill in the blanks" to how they see fit, or how they want to scare people that night. And, these "prophets" all fill them in differently, and often have to change their sermonettes once a world events occur that make an old "revelation" impossible.

 

I remember the European Union being heralded as the 12-headed dragon or serpant, or what ever that beast was supposed to be . . . and that "prophetic revelation" worked really well until the EU admitted their 13th member. I believe they now have over 20 (or will have when pending members are admitted).

 

Two of the most INFAMOUS scriptures (and I don't remember where they are) used to mark the "end times" are those where one says the end is near when you hear about "wars and rumours of wars," while another says "when they cry peace."

 

Well, which would it be? Peace or war? Well, apparently, they need ALL possiblities to keep the flock scared and loose with the wallet.

[Guest aexapo]

Prophetic Signs that we are in the End Times

Many New Age groups, some even NGO's working for the United Nations, are anxiously awaiting the antichrist, preparing the way for his acceptance as the head of the hierarchy of gods and the one who will usher in world peace.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Actually, guys -- this one is true! I just came back from a secret meeting in New York, and the only people that were invited to attend were New Agers, members of UN NGO's, God-haters, backsliders, disrespecters of parents, Hollywood movie stars, and the ACLU. Moammar Quadafi was the keynote speaker, and the way he and Koffi Annan were chatting, I think they have somethin' going on, if you know what I'm saying!

 

We were able to teleconference with Saddam about the necessary steps to stop the rapture of the Church. Through a medium at a seance in the UN General Assembly Hall (okay, yes, it WAS Shirley McClain), Madlyn Murray O'Hair revealed to us the identity of the Anti-Christ. But, I'm not allowed to talk about that.

 

Someone musta snitched about the meeting, though . . . or these Christians wouldn't know about it. Argghhh!!! Foiled again!

 

I guess I should read "the back of the book."

[spamandham]

Actually, guys -- this one is true!  I just came back from a secret meeting in New York, and the only people that were invited to attend were New Agers, members of UN NGO's, God-haters, backsliders, disrespecters of parents, Hollywood movie stars, and the ACLU. 

...

We were able to teleconference with Saddam about the necessary steps to stop the rapture of the Church.  Through a medium at a seance in the UN General Assembly Hall (okay, yes, it WAS Shirley McClain), Madlyn Murray O'Hair revealed to us the identity of the Anti-Christ.  But, I'm not allowed to talk about that.

 

Someone musta snitched about the meeting, though . . . or these Christians wouldn't know about it.  Argghhh!!!  Foiled again!

 

 

I got a good chuckle from this. You know, there are people who would actually believe what you wrote. We usually call them creationists.

[Guest aexapo]

 

I got a good chuckle from this.  You know, there are people who would actually believe what you wrote.  We usually call them creationists.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Maybe we should make our own spoof site: the Secret Society of Satan's Soldiers. Of course, everything would be posted publicly, the "secret plans" to subvert the returning King. I wonder how long it would take before it was quoted verbatum over pulpits?

 

 

SSSS