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The coming end times: Questions


joi

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"The engine off a Jet plane or a big chunk of blue ice could crash through your roof and squish you flat".

That was funny, but oh so true. And it emphasizes why we as believers, must always be ready.

But I was thinking about how the Gospel has to be preached to the whole world, as a condition for when Jesus return is near. Some folks may not like what I'm going to say because preaching the Gospel is a great vocation (if you can get it). Lot's of Christians love to be handed money in local churches, and then go off to some Pacific isle and preach. Could be fun. Well, I think the great commission has been fulfilled. I think with TV, satellite TV, and the Internet the whole world has heard of Jesus. From what I hear Islam is now the fastest growing religion, whereas once it was Christianity. What went wrong?

Well, IMHO what went wrong is the people who are Christians have failed to live it. We haven't proven it's something to want to be. There is so much false Christianity kicking around, that people laugh at us. Even preachers give in to their carnal desires, and I mean like all too often. And scoffers ask why us believers can't do the things Jesus said we'd be able to do. One reason is to do such things one must be living almost sin free. If even at least our preachers were doing that, we'd get more converts. Real converts, who have a fire within them burning for God. But since even the average preacher isn't on fire for God, how are we to expect the converts to be on fire for God.

I live in 1 of the disaster zones created by Sandy. There were lots of people who gave up new clothes, and many people who'd set up a corner to give out free hot food and even some basic necessities items. Good hearted people. But when I'd say "I thank God for you", they'd almost blush. But I did thank God for them. I had expected to see church groups doing that, but I didn't, save for 1. I saw one group that wore shirts that said Preachers or some word pertaining to God. I saw them at 1 couple's house who had 5 feet of water in their house. These people were almost all from a Southern Baptist congregation. They came up here to help people clean out their homes, and prepare the house for rebuilding. At the end of their workday, 1 of them read some scripture, and lead the group in a simple prayer. That was Great. But I only saw 1 group like that and they weren't from around here. I expected to see many groups like that. So except for me and a few others like me, no one was explaining how this storm was an early warning sign that God is not happy with us, as a whole. Last night I was talking with 1 man who said it was an act of Mother Nature. I told him Mother Nature is God. But I don't know if I got through to him.

I know this isn't the end of the disasters. I believe that if America would take a lesson from Nineveh, and change our ways, there might not be anymore disasters like this. Because for me, it's still not over, and there are many more people who lost more than me, and it's not over for them neither.

I just want people to realize this disaster came upon us because we don't obey God. Amen

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I believe that this meets the requirement of the Gospel being preached to the entire world: Revelation 14:6-7 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (NKJV) "........and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14

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thanks Parker, I was just about to start looking that up....

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Gary:

I'm still siding with the beginning of the end being some time in the next 4 months.

Well, that is going to be pretty quick Gary. Time to knock the dust off my bible. e-sword has spoiled me.

Jesus Is Lord.

My hope is that I am wrong and can leave the end times debate open for others. I absolutely refuse to get sucked into reorganizing my thoughts once that which I believe to be true does not come to pass. It would simply mean that I am not being led of God and need to quit following diverse thoughts about the coming end of the age. If I am right, then God help us all. We shall know by Mid May.

Peace and Love in Christ.

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The Bible says to always be ready because Jesus will come for His church at a time when we least expect. God controls time and events.

Also, this man hinges his whole theory on a belief that there will not be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

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The Bible says to always be ready because Jesus will come for His church at a time when we least expect. God controls time and events.

Also, this man hinges his whole theory on a belief that there will not be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Yes,I agree.The Bible does say to always be ready.I am ready and waiting :biggrin2:

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what i am going to leave is what i have been reading

Jesus and the apostles exhort us to actively "watch"! We need to understand all that they meant and the wide-ranging implications. Our survival and salvation could depend on that understanding and action!

Watch means to stay wide awake

When the New Testament commands us to "watch," it is usually the translation of one of two Greek words ( gregoreuo and agrupneo ), which have similar meanings—to "stay awake" and to "be sleepless." They are usually meant in the metaphorical and spiritual sense—to be vigilant and on guard, fully awake, aware, alert and intently focused—with several applications and implications.

In Matthew 26:37-40

, the meaning of "watch" is primarily physical. Jesus was chiding the disciples for not remaining awake during the hour preceding His arrest.

But what Jesus next said to Peter had a deeper, spiritual meaning: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing [i.e., intentions are good], but the flesh [mere human willpower] is weak'" (Matthew 26:41

It is spiritual watching coupled with prayer that gives one the strength to survive temptations and difficult situations.

We need knowledge of end-time prophecy

To know where to focus our attention, we particularly need to know the Bible prophecies of the end time, especially the prophecies surrounding the second coming of Christ.

We are to "eagerly wait for" Christ's return, not just passively wait around (Hebrews 9:28

). Jesus was emphatic that His followers should hope for His return, expect His return and pray for His return! In addition, our enthusiastic anticipation and excitement will intensify as we see more and more world events fulfilling Bible prophecies—especially those that point to the increasing nearness of Christ's return.

Note the watching, waiting, anticipation and preparedness in the following passage: "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait fortheir master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching " (Luke 12:35-36

Jesus concluded His message by saying, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (verse 40).

Much later, Jesus echoed that point: "Behold, I am coming as a thief [meaning suddenly and unexpectedly ]. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame" (Revelation 16:15

). Wearing garments, especially white raiment, symbolizes a good spiritual condition (Revelation 3:1-5

, 18). We must not be caught undressed—unprepared.

Christ's all-important end-time prophecy

Jesus gave a crucial end-time prophecy shortly before His crucifixion, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. It's valuable to study this prophecy often.

Jesus' disciples wanted to know what to watch for. "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3

Significantly, the very first thing that Jesus responded with was a somber warning of what to watch out for: "Take heed that no one deceives you" (verse 4). Sadly, many aredeceived. Many who call themselves Christians are deceived into thinking that Christ will not literally return to the earth, even though He repeatedly promised He would, or that He will return in some manner different from what He told us.

In the rest of the chapter, Jesus answers their questions by revealing the future key trends and conditions for which it would be critically important to watch.

Jesus then urged His disciples to "watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into" (verses 42-43).

After Jesus' resurrection, He again said, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority" (Acts 1:7

). However, in spite of Jesus' statements, countless people have foolishly tried to predict the time of His second coming. It is because we don't know the timing that we must keep watching.

Continuing in Matthew 24, Jesus said, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (verse 44) Watching reminds us and motivates us toremain ready. That's the main idea!

Shortly after, Jesus warns of the temptation to think, "My master is staying away a long time" (verse 48, New International Version). When a person thinks he has more than enough time to get ready, he is seriously tempted to let down spiritually (see verses 49-51).

The parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-13

) emphasizes staying spiritually prepared and ready. Keeping one's lamp filled with oil represents staying close to God and staying filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus concluded the parable by saying, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (verse 13).

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  • 2 months later...

Please note:

I am not endorsing this website:

http://www.bible-codes.org/old-prophecy_5c-Yeshua-codes.htm

but there is discussion there on the length of a generation,

also note the generation does not always denote the length of time representing the time between parentage to grand parentage, or even a length of time at all:

lex.gif

genea: race, family, generation

Original Word: γενεά, ᾶς, ἡ

Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine

Transliteration: genea

Phonetic Spelling: (ghen-eh-ah')

Short Definition: a generation

Definition: a generation; if repeated twice or with another time word, practically indicates infinity of time.

more detail hear: http://biblesuite.com/greek/1074.htm

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JTC, your posts are awesome. And I agree 100%. I am reading the bible front to back for the first time, and am just now into Nehemiah. It is very evident to me that when the people repent, God shows his loving mercy on them, and it saddens me deeply to realize that this is not likely in the state the world's in. It makes me want to drive down the streets with a bullhorn. I understand you wanting to make people understand that these are prophecies coming true. These are signs. And yet if you do warn people that way, they will act like you are the 'crazy woman' from the the movie 'The Mist'. She didn't have much love in her personality but even if you do they will treat you as such. I can't remember the verse from scripture but it talks of "satans deep secrets" I think it is in 1 John. I agree that people cannot figure these things out. Truthfully I think it makes God laugh. All he is doing here on this planet is for his glory, as it should be. Satan challenged him and soon we will all know the Lord, whether we call ourselves unbelievers or not. All this time, all these things taking place are for him to receive what's rightfully due to him from us humans. There is a Paul Washer sermon, where he says "God tells the mountains to come up and they do, he tells the oceans where to stop and they do, he tells the flowers when to bloom and when to wither and they do, he tells the trees when to bud and they do, he tells the leaves when to fall and they do, he tells the lions when to hunt and they do, he tells the eagles when to fly and they do, he tells the horses when to run and they do, he tells the sun when to come up and when to go down and it does, he tells the clouds when to rain and they do, he tells the stars to shine and they do, and then he tells us humans to come to him and what do we say? NO! " It is unbelievable really. And deeply deeply saddening and maddening.

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"Us true believers better stay ready for God to get here anytime." Amen!

I agree for you might not see that big dump truck coming down the road the next time you pull away from a stop sign....... Jesus coming or not, we don't really know past the nest heart beat. The engine off a Jet plane or a big chunk of blue ice could crash through your roof and squish you flat.

So true.....think of the man that was sleeping in his bed and was swallowed up by the earth! We are guaranteed nothing.

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