Are we living in the Biblical End times?

[Castle]

I guess you've never heard of striking a balance.

Well sure I have. How often do human beings actually do that really? Lets see, there's television and some very good fictional books I've read recently. Then there's the current crop of world leaders we can depend on to strike a balance. Now there's the fiction.

-Castle

 

[invest07]

questerr
"Don't you think the Renaissance with its rampant rape, murder, torture, pillaging, and pointless religious warfare would have made a better time?"
The problem with this time period is that there was no state of Israel. Israel as a sovereign nation is a requirement for the End Times.
The renasisance was no piece of cake but the time period just prior may have been worse.

 

[Questerr]

...

questerr
"Don't you think the Renaissance with its rampant rape, murder, torture, pillaging, and pointless religious warfare would have made a better time?"
The problem with this time period is that there was no state of Israel. Israel as a sovereign nation is a requirement for the End Times.
The renasisance was no piece of cake but the time period just prior may have been worse.

Doesn't the prophecy also require Israel to rebuild the Temple again? I don't see the Israelis doing that anytime soon, especially since modern Jewish tradition has lost the need for a Temple.

 

[9sublime]

I just read over this and saw you called us all God deniers.

I prefer to think of you as someone who denies gaps in his knowledge about what happens after death, but each to their own eh?

 

[r0beph]

Doesn't the prophecy also require Israel to rebuild the Temple again? I don't see the Israelis doing that anytime soon, especially since modern Jewish tradition has lost the need for a Temple.

Yeah but then they'd have to tear down the 'Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah', which would likely put even the peaceful muslims into kill mode. The site where the temple once stood is the supposed location of the 'even ha shetiya' or foundation stone of the jewish religion, this is where the ark of the covenent was said to have been when the first temple still stood. It's also supposed this is where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he'd sacrifice his son. (This rock has a hole that drains into a cavern with no exit, called the well of souls, and they think this is where the blood would drain away during religious sacrifices.) To muslims, who control it now, with the temple Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock) This was where Mohammad was said to have arisen into heaven. They say that the rock contains the hoof print of Mohammad's horse from where it propelled him up.

Either way, this area is obviously extraordinarily important to both religions. Destroying the Dome, which has been there since the late 600s, would not only be destroying one of the oldest buildings still standing and in use for the same purpose as it was originally built for, but this would piss off the muslims more than anyone has likely ever seen.

 

[Mare Tranquillity]

Every generation since the time of Jesus has believed that they lived in the end times. Since the Bible is nothing but an eclectic collection of stories and myths from earlier religions and traditions it really has no predictive power. Of course you can point to things and claim that they are the fulfillment of some prediction in the Bible--people have been doing that for 2000 years. The Disciples believed that Jesus was coming back within THEIR lifetimes.

If Jesus has the sense God gave grapefruit, He won't come back at all--would you come back after what happened last time?

 

[invest07]

The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!"
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"
4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart[a] of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages,[c] and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"
8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6: 1-8

These words were penned during the 1st century AD by John who was in prison on the island of Patmos for refusing to acknowledge the man Ceasar as God. Bible scholars agree these words were written for later generations. The images invoked by these words are startlingly apropos in today’s unsettled world climate.

The first horsemen is a conqueror with a bow and no arrows. His goal is world conquest but without bloodshed. He must achieve this world conquest politically. The UN comes to mind. The UN has been a haven for all the petty thugs and dictators of the world as it gives them legitimacy. Could one extremely wealthy person (or a confederation of individuals) use subterfuge and political influence to effectively control the UN?

The second horseman represents war. My guess is the first horsemen is only partly successful politically and resorts to war to achieve his means. This may by civil war or war among rival warlords (such as is now happening in Beirut and Darfur). It might be war between Hamas and other rival Palestinian groups. It might be a war of agression between nations. (Remember the actions of Germany and Japan in the 1930’s and the actions of Saddam Hussein in the 1990’s).

The end result of the first and second horsemen is inflation and shortages of critical commodities. It will cost a days’ work to pay for a days’ food, leaving nothing left to pay the mortgage or utility bill. And the very wealthy (the oil and wine) will be spared by buying their way out and using their influence. Gas costing $3.00+ a gallon is only the beginning.

And the 4th horsemen is the scariest. Death by disease, malnutrition, famine and by war. One fourth of the earth’s present population is 1.5 billion humans. Dead as a result of the first 3 horsemen.

You may chose to dismiss the relevance of the Bible. You may chose to laugh at this imagery and dismiss the prophecy in Revelation. But when you understand how current world events fit into Biblical prophecy, you may, just may, rethink your dismissal of the Bible as myth and legend.

 

[invest07]

The rebuilding of the temple.

“Shalom and welcome to the official website of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. The Temple Institute is dedicated to every aspect of the concept of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, and the central role it fulfilled, and will once again fulfill, in the spiritual wellbeing of both Israel and all the nations of the world. The Institute's work touches upon the history of the Holy Temple's past, an understanding of the present day, and the Divine promise of Israel's future. The scope of these activities includes education, research, and development. The Temple Institute's ultimate goal is to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, in accord with the Biblical commandments.”
http://www.templeinstitute.org/main.htm

This is from the opening page of a web site dedicated to rebuilding Solomon’s Temple. The money for this venture has already been raised. The implements used by priests during Solomon’s time have already been fabricated precisely as described in the Bible. The red heifer has already been located and his genetic line has now been established.. People have already been trained and raised in strict accordance with Levitical laws. The original architecture has been studied and blueprints are now in existence to recreate Solomon’s Temple as close to the original as possible.

The Jews of the world are ready at this very moment to rebuild Solomon’s Temple. If the opportunity presented itself, they sould break ground tomorrow. They are only waiting for the political opportunity to proceed.

At the present time, world events and attitudes in the Islamic world are not favorable for the Temple to be rebuilt. But the Jews are patient. They waited over 2500 years for their own nation. And now they are waiting for the opportunity to rebuild the Temple. And they know that the world will be changing dramatically during End Times.

 

[palerider]

Castle, I dont see us nearly as close to an end game than we were throughout the cold war. A terrorist group having a nuke, getting it to the US and detonating it undetected is really is a long shot. A really long shot. Despite what the Bush administration would have us believe.

How do you figure? We know that quite a few suitcase nukes are AWOL from the old soviet union. Is it far fetched to believe that they can be bought if you know the right people or have the right agenda?

Considering that our borders are like a sieve, how difficult exactly do you believe it would be to get one into the country?

Explain the long shot theory?

 

[invest07]

Honey Bee Colony Collapse

“Colony Collapse Disorder has affected at least half of all US commercial honeybee colonies. Honeybees pollinate more that $15 billion in crops each year in the US.

Beekeepers from 35 states have been forced to stand back and watch as entire hives of bees rapidly diminish in both strength and number—with some reporting 30% to 90% losses. Called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), these losses threaten a $14.6 billion dollar industry that pollinates one-third of the United States food supply. Similar losses have been reported in Canada, a number of nations in Europe and New Zealand.

Inspecting the abdomens of infected honeybees found not just one pathogen, but nearly every disease, bacteria and virus that has infected bees over the previous century. Their immune systems were compromised”
Source: Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and extension Consortium

So what do dying bees and End Times have in common? I think there may be a direct correlation with the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”.

Each of the plagues that afflicted Egypt circa 1450 BC was from the natural world. Frogs, locust, darkness. And the End Time events have an definite relation to the Egyptian plagues. Many End Times prophecies are repeats of the Egyptian plagues. So why are our honeybees just now susceptible to this combination of diseases? There is no record of similar bee losses at any other time in recorded history.

Why do so many people die of cancer today when few had ever heard of cancer during the 1800’s and prior? How did AIDS so suddenly appear during the 1970’s? AIDS seemingly came from nowhere and is now the leading cause of death in some countries.

Is it really a coincidence that our planet’s climate is changing now? Is it also a coincidence that the Earth's magnetic field is diminishing in strength? Is it also a coincidence that volcanic and seismic activity have been on the increase since 1900? Is it also a coincidence that the "wobble" of the earth's axis is increasing? Is it also a coincidence that the Sun's solar output has been on the increase for over 2 decades? Is it possible that the affect of these natural events on human history were foretold thousands of years ago? The inevitable result of all of these natural trends is to create an environment on Earth that is conducive to many of the conditions described by John in Revelation.

Why are so many diseases now resistant to treatment? Why is smallpox still around? Didn’t the UN/WHO proclaim smallpox as eradicated during the 1980’s?

Pesticides and medicine have been wildly successful in killing harmful bugs and disease. But are we now paying the price as Natural Selection weeds out the easy to kill and leaves only the toughest and most resilient to survive?

How do we feed 6 billion people without fertilizer and pesticides? Is it even possible? How do we provide medical service to 6 billion humans without using even more medicine? Are we cutting out own throats every time we take an antibiotic? Sure we kill the disease inside our body today but are we the instruments of breeding still stronger bugs and diseases for the future?

Is our success with medicines and pesticides only short lived? Have we relieved present suffering only to have created a bigger problem in the future?

If bees are dying in record numbers, then many important food crops are not being adequately pollinated. Bee colonies used to be a common sight in Florida orange groves. But that may change. Without adequate pollination, the output per acre will diminish. And citrus from Florida and California and Texas will not be so plentiful. And other crops pollinated by bees will be affected. Corn, wheat, vegetables, cane, apples, berries, peaches, peanuts, almonds, ad infinitum.

Do we have a food crisis just on the horizon? Many knowledgeable writers today are alluding to this possibility. If gasoline can be scarce, why not food? The price of many foods is higher this year and this trend is expected to continue in the near future.

I’m not 100% sure any of this is a sure sign of the Biblical End Times. No one is 100% sure and no one can be. But a lot of the stuff happening in the world today seems to be falling into a pattern that was prophecied over 2,000 years ago.

Coincidence? Maybe.

But the more current events that fall into the pattern of Biblical Prophecy, the less likely a coincidence becomes.

 

[Mare Tranquillity]

How do you figure? We know that quite a few suitcase nukes are AWOL from the old soviet union. Is it far fetched to believe that they can be bought if you know the right people or have the right agenda?

Considering that our borders are like a sieve, how difficult exactly do you believe it would be to get one into the country?

Explain the long shot theory?

Suitcase nukes are an urban myth, even the US doesn't have any that small. Nice to see you posting again, Pale, have a nice sabbatical?

 

[numinus]

Suitcase nukes are an urban myth, even the US doesn't have any that small. Nice to see you posting again, Pale, have a nice sabbatical?

What makes a nuke so big is its delivery system, not the warhead. If you are going to lug it in a back pack, it wouldn't be that big, now, would it?

 

[Mare Tranquillity]

What makes a nuke so big is its delivery system, not the warhead. If you are going to lug it in a back pack, it wouldn't be that big, now, would it?

One cannot prove a negative, I cannot prove that they do NOT exist, so I guess the onus falls on the people who claim they do exist to prove their point.

I suppose that you are arguing for the sake of it and really have no interest in suitcase nukes at all. Please feel free to continue calling me names on this thread too, it does SO MUCH to enhance your intellectual image.

 

[numinus]

One cannot prove a negative, I cannot prove that they do NOT exist, so I guess the onus falls on the people who claim they do exist to prove their point.

I suppose that you are arguing for the sake of it and really have no interest in suitcase nukes at all. Please feel free to continue calling me names on this thread too, it does SO MUCH to enhance your intellectual image.

Suitcase nukes are perfectly feasible and is the reason for so many nuclear weapons protocols in place. As for name-calling, I believe you know so much more about that than I do. It seems that you would call anyone a bigot simply by disagreeing with you.

 

[Mare Tranquillity]

Suitcase nukes are perfectly feasible and is the reason for so many nuclear weapons protocols in place. As for name-calling, I believe you know so much more about that than I do. It seems that you would call anyone a bigot simply by disagreeing with you.

No, only the ones calling for the implementation of bigoted policies, you know, like legal discrimination with no logical basis except religious dogma.