Last Daze

It's not a salvation issue. It's a sanctification one.

Tend to agree, but expanded a bit according to scripture: But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming. 1 Cor 15:23 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal 5:24 I don't think its all "born again" believers either. Only those who meet the above criteria set forth in Galatians will be raised and gathered. It's a qualitative measure, one that God will judge. Certainly those who are martyred for refusing the mark and image qualify.

This is a really good point. Sometimes people become too invested in their pet beliefs to ever admit that they're wrong, even when its obvious they are. It's a cautionary tale, and all the "prophetic authorities" would do well to heed it.

Short answer . . . yes.

Agree. The time of great tribulation affects both believers and unbelievers although in different ways. The believers will experience the persecution associated with refusing the mark and the image. Those deceived into receiving the mark and worshiping the image will experience the seven plagues as long as they refuse to repent.

For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matt 24:27 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. Rev 1:7 The man of sin will perform amazing signs and wonders, claim to be God and deceive the world into worshiping him. If anyone makes such a claim and you didn't see him come with the clouds like lightning from the east to the west then rest assured that he's a liar.

That can be found in the book of Assumptions. It's written between the lines. It helps to use a mirror and turn the book upside down.

The beast and his 10 horns destroy the harlot. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. Rev 17:16 Have you considered the dual nature of "Babylon"? There are two Babylons that are destroyed in Rev 17 & 18. One is the harlot, apostate Israel, which leads to the rise of the man of sin. The other comes later at Christ's return and is Satan's kingdom. One takes place in an hour when the 10 horns receive authority as kings. The other takes place in a day, the day of the Lord, at His return.

It's important to realize that Babylon is primarily spiritual. It is the effect of Satan's kingdom on the human race. It started in the Garden of Eden and will continue until the return of Christ. Along the way, it manifests itself in different ways in the natural realm, the city and tower of Babel being its namesake. In the last days, it is pictured as a harlot, the symbolism most often used of apostate Israel. Apostate Israel in these last days resides primarily in western culture. The beast and his ten horns bring down the harlot according to Rev 17. The rest of the world is wising up to the harlot's monkey business and are being guided by the beast and his horns to being about her demise. It will be a multi-faceted takedown led by Russia and China. And, yes, there will be an economic aspect to it.

I like to refer to this passage: Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses." Matthew 23:1-2 to point out that that "taking his seat" can be used as a metaphor for "assuming the authority of."

And when it comes to "holy city" there's this: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Hebrews 12:22-23 Contrasted with Babylon, the city of spiritual wickedness. The events of the end times, regardless of how one interprets them, will separate the wicked from the righteous. The wicked will be destroyed and the righteous will inherit the earth.

Truth is the first casualty in any war.

No.

Maybe he's referencing what they're doing in the Ukraine. We all know who's pulling the strings there.

Trump's chance to "cross the Rubicon" passed years ago. The people who own him don't want America great again. That's a ruse and a false hope. The MAGA movement is a controlled burn. America will die on her bed from internal strife and corruption. It should become obvious before the year's out. What takes her place is yet to be seen.

And this: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

From Paul: No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 2 Thess 2:3-4 I think people refer to this one guy as the antichrist. I prefer "man of sin" or "son of perdition" as is stated in the text.

Yours is one way to look at it but if you equate Christ's first coming with the stone striking the feet of iron and clay then you have to explain how all the previous kingdoms were crushed at that time and how not a trace of any of them remained . . . when traces have remained. The only thing that makes sense to me is to look at the four angelic princes behind the earthly kingdoms. They came out in succession beginning with Babylon and ending with Rome. During the course of the gospel going out to the nations, these four princes were in the abyss unable to exert any influence on earth. After the gospel was preached around the world and the first seal was opened, all four princes were released to play their part in setting the stage for the man of sin. The feet of iron and clay is the manifestation of their efforts. Don't get hung up on there being 4 and only 4 kingdoms. The legs of iron, and the feet of iron and clay, are seen as one kingdom because the same prince is responsible for both. It may appear as two earthly kingdoms separated by a couple thousand years or so but the origin for both is the same.

The kingdom of God did come with Christ at His first advent. I don't think the prophecy of the stone hitting the feet of iron and clay is a reference to His first advent though. You continued watching until a stone was broken off without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces all at the same time, and they were like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. Daniel 2:34-35 Notice that all of the components of the statue were crushed to pieces all at the same time when the stone hit the statue, and there was not a trace of them found. That didn't happen at His first coming. Based on other passages, I think it's reasonable to assume that the angelic prince of the 4th kingdom was cast into the abyss during the first century and was released at the opening at the first seal, along with the princes of the other kingdoms represented by the statue. The feet of iron and clay represent the scope of the man of sin's authority which is every people, nation, tribe and tongue. In governmental terms, you could say the U.N. is a kind of model. The iron represents remnants of the Roman empire which still exist and clay is everyone else.

End-time. Traces are still found of Babylon, Persia, Greece, etc. (v35). Understanding the spiritual nature of these earthly kingdoms helps to make sense of this prophecy, and others.

That passage from Revelation 17 jibes with Daniel 10 and shows the dual nature of earthly kingdoms, spiritual and natural. The mountains speak to the supernatural aspect, or as Daniel puts it, the princes of those kingdoms. They result in the office of king that exercises earthly dominion. The heads of the dragon represent the power, throne, and great authority Satan exercised through these kingdoms, spiritually and naturally.

We know from Daniel 10 that these kingdoms have evil angel overlords. The prince of Persia spawned the earthly kingdom of Persia, and likewise the prince of Greece. Both of these princes are referenced in Daniel 10. By extension, it's reasonable to assume that Rome had its prince too. It might be worth considering that the fourth prince, whose first manifestation was Rome, brought us the feed of iron and clay after his release from the abyss. Four evil angel princes yielding five earthly kingdoms.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 - This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. John was told in Revelation 1:19 - Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. Using the sequence that Jesus established in Matthew 24, the seven churches represents preaching the gospel to the whole world. After that, the scroll with seven seals brings about the end.

True. That's why Jesus said the following in Matthew 24:25 - Behold, I have told you in advance. And He repeatedly exhorts His followers to be ready and alert. People may classify His first coming as being somewhat hidden, but there's nothing hidden about His second coming for those who walk in the Light.

Don't all translations include some interpretation?