Wars and rumors of wars..........DECLINING?!

[seekeratthesea]

They point is not that we will never reach the point where that prophecy is imminent, the point is only that for right now, we probably aren't there and that all the current day end of the worlders are likely wrong.

And if they are, what is that to you and I?

How does their being wrong effect our walk?

I didn't say it effected OUR walk.

Is your point that people can only talk about things that effect their OWN walk?

I believe that too much unrealistic focus or obsession on end times that probably aren't here anyway distracts from a more normal and wholesome day to day Christian walk. I also believe this end of the world stuff has become nothing more than a cottage industry for certain authors to fatten up their bank accounts, and I know that some Christians wrongfully use prophecy and news headlines to try scaring people into Christianity.

[seekeratthesea]

Then you're wrong because you could even add more and in an historical sense, it would still be a decline, in size, scope and total death counts. War really HAS declined for now. That may change but to spend time seeking out wars or other bad news in order make people think we're in the end times is a pretty morbid thing to do.

There was another guy trying to hustle me into accepting gang wars in Los Angeles as proof of greater number of wars......there quickly comes a point when it becomes obvious that people WANT there to be more war so they can be right about living in the end times. Why not count price wars between gas stations too?

I think that is a deflection. Man is hateful and cruel and he kills. War is everywhere and WAR is morbid! It's not wrong to notice it. You don't have to assign an agenda or a judgment of morbidity to those who see it. Jesus has told us to watch.

I'm not talking about "seeing" it, I'm talking about ignoring the fact that it has actually been declining in recent decades.

[seekeratthesea]

Your walk should be with an urgency that is is your last day on earth. Be it the end times or a dump truck that you don't see coming down the street, it could be your last day on this earth.

End time or not should not change your lifestyle or walk....... but it sure is fun to discuss and look forward to...... and that's not a bad thing either.

No........we don't need to live as if it is our last day on earth because for the overwhelming majority of us, that's not the case. We can walk as good Christians without believing such things.

[Floatingaxe]

Your walk should be with an urgency that is is your last day on earth. Be it the end times or a dump truck that you don't see coming down the street, it could be your last day on this earth.

End time or not should not change your lifestyle or walk....... but it sure is fun to discuss and look forward to...... and that's not a bad thing either.

No........we don't need to live as if it is our last day on earth because for the overwhelming majority of us, that's not the case. We can walk as good Christians without believing such things.

No one knows that it isn't the case that it is one's last day of life on earth.

[Floatingaxe]

Then you're wrong because you could even add more and in an historical sense, it would still be a decline, in size, scope and total death counts. War really HAS declined for now. That may change but to spend time seeking out wars or other bad news in order make people think we're in the end times is a pretty morbid thing to do.

There was another guy trying to hustle me into accepting gang wars in Los Angeles as proof of greater number of wars......there quickly comes a point when it becomes obvious that people WANT there to be more war so they can be right about living in the end times. Why not count price wars between gas stations too?

I think that is a deflection. Man is hateful and cruel and he kills. War is everywhere and WAR is morbid! It's not wrong to notice it. You don't have to assign an agenda or a judgment of morbidity to those who see it. Jesus has told us to watch.

I'm not talking about "seeing" it, I'm talking about ignoring the fact that it has actually been declining in recent decades.

It is not really declining. Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep. Every sin is in escalation. That is a sign. We are not ignoring anything as spiritual ostriches, burying our heads in the sand. Are you suggesting the world is a more peaceful place than before?

[seekeratthesea]

Your walk should be with an urgency that is is your last day on earth. Be it the end times or a dump truck that you don't see coming down the street, it could be your last day on this earth.

End time or not should not change your lifestyle or walk....... but it sure is fun to discuss and look forward to...... and that's not a bad thing either.

No........we don't need to live as if it is our last day on earth because for the overwhelming majority of us, that's not the case. We can walk as good Christians without believing such things.

No one knows that it isn't the case that it is one's last day of life on earth.

I didn't say they did. I said for the overwhelming majority of people, that's not the case. It's also true that you don't need to behave or "walk" as if it's your last day on earth in order to be saved or to be a good Christian. There is no reason for a person to "walk" as if it's their last day on earth.

[seekeratthesea]

Then you're wrong because you could even add more and in an historical sense, it would still be a decline, in size, scope and total death counts. War really HAS declined for now. That may change but to spend time seeking out wars or other bad news in order make people think we're in the end times is a pretty morbid thing to do.

There was another guy trying to hustle me into accepting gang wars in Los Angeles as proof of greater number of wars......there quickly comes a point when it becomes obvious that people WANT there to be more war so they can be right about living in the end times. Why not count price wars between gas stations too?

I think that is a deflection. Man is hateful and cruel and he kills. War is everywhere and WAR is morbid! It's not wrong to notice it. You don't have to assign an agenda or a judgment of morbidity to those who see it. Jesus has told us to watch.

I'm not talking about "seeing" it, I'm talking about ignoring the fact that it has actually been declining in recent decades.

It is not really declining. Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep. Every sin is in escalation. That is a sign. We are not ignoring anything as spiritual ostriches, burying our heads in the sand. Are you suggesting the world is a more peaceful place than before?

No it REALLY is declining. You just have to be open to the idea and look at the real numbers. And hatred and bloodshed is not at my doorstep and I doubt it's at yours either; that's just drama speak. A person in Darfur could easily explain the difference between the reality of "Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep" and the mere statement of it. Most of us never even have to REALLY experience "Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep" and it's wrong and ungrateful to behave as if we do.

And every sin is NOT necessarily an escalation of war or a sign of end times. If it were then the signs of the end times have been here ever since sin was revealed by the law. You're reaching way to hard here. War has been declining since WW II. Disease and starvation are declining. These are things that should be welcomed and it a morbid thing to deny a good reality in preference for a negative perception. That's exactly what satan would have us do.

[Ovedya]

Then you're wrong because you could even add more and in an historical sense, it would still be a decline, in size, scope and total death counts. War really HAS declined for now. That may change but to spend time seeking out wars or other bad news in order make people think we're in the end times is a pretty morbid thing to do.

There was another guy trying to hustle me into accepting gang wars in Los Angeles as proof of greater number of wars......there quickly comes a point when it becomes obvious that people WANT there to be more war so they can be right about living in the end times. Why not count price wars between gas stations too?

I think that is a deflection. Man is hateful and cruel and he kills. War is everywhere and WAR is morbid! It's not wrong to notice it. You don't have to assign an agenda or a judgment of morbidity to those who see it. Jesus has told us to watch.

I'm not talking about "seeing" it, I'm talking about ignoring the fact that it has actually been declining in recent decades.

It is not really declining. Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep. Every sin is in escalation. That is a sign. We are not ignoring anything as spiritual ostriches, burying our heads in the sand. Are you suggesting the world is a more peaceful place than before?

No it REALLY is declining. You just have to be open to the idea and look at the real numbers. And hatred and bloodshed is not at my doorstep and I doubt it's at yours either; that's just drama speak. A person in Darfur could easily explain the difference between the reality of "Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep" and the mere statement of it. Most of us never even have to REALLY experience "Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep" and it's wrong and ungrateful to behave as if we do.

And every sin is NOT necessarily an escalation of war or a sign of end times. If it were then the signs of the end times have been here ever since sin was revealed by the law. You're reaching way to hard here. War has been declining since WW II. Disease and starvation are declining. These are things that should be welcomed and it a morbid thing to deny a good reality in preference for a negative perception. That's exactly what satan would have us do.

Seeker, you are allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security. You are allowing statistics gathered by worldly sources to determine for you what the reality of Scripture is. As believers we are called to live our lives with "eyes wide open" looking for the Lord and discerning the times. If we all lived our lives as if the Lord would never come then He will never come, because the Bride will not have made herself ready. Your concern is that Christians not live in fear of the times. The reality is that we should n't live in fear regardless of the times. The signs of the times should press us more into the Lord and keep us looking up. If we all thought everything was okay, that we have another 200 years ahead of us before the Lord comes, then we would not be gaining Him. We would wait until the last moments; the Bride of Christ would never reach full maturity in life.

In Luke 17 the Lord taught that those in the days of Noah were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage until the last day. It was likewise with Lot, until he left the city. There are two similarities in the examples that the Lord gave. The first is the fact that all were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the last moment of judgment. That signifies to us the stupefying effect of the age ("you will not see it" vs. 22). Those in Noah's day did not listen to Noah's warning, and they even mocked God's way of salvation (Which was the ark). When the angels came to take Lot and his family it says that Lot "lingered." They had to remove Lot and his family from the city by force (Gen. 19:15-16) You remember that Lot was one of God's chosen people, a relative of Abraham. He moved to a place that became absolutely corrupted, even becoming a gatekeeper of Sodom; he became stupefied to the point of actually loving that city, so that he "lingered" in the face of God's judgment. Even Lot's wife serves to us as an example of the stupefying and attractive effect of the world.

The second similarity between Noah and lot is that once both families left those places judgment came. Noah entered into the ark, and upon God's closing it, the flood waters came. Once Lot and his family left Sodom, judgment came. The day of the Lord is swift, and He is looking for Noahs and Lots. Read Luke 17 in this light. In the day of the Lord two will be in the bed and one will be taken, two will be grinding and one will be taken, two will be in the field and one will be taken. The ones that are taken in the day of the Lord are the ones who discern the age and know it for what it is. They are the ones looking up toward the day of the Lord. They are those who love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8; Titus 2:12).

You are absolutely fooling yourself, lulling yourself into a false sense of security, allowing yourself to be stupefied (To be placed in a stupor; a state of little or no sensibility) if you go on in your Christian life ignorant of the signs of His coming.

[Floatingaxe]

Your walk should be with an urgency that is is your last day on earth. Be it the end times or a dump truck that you don't see coming down the street, it could be your last day on this earth.

End time or not should not change your lifestyle or walk....... but it sure is fun to discuss and look forward to...... and that's not a bad thing either.

No........we don't need to live as if it is our last day on earth because for the overwhelming majority of us, that's not the case. We can walk as good Christians without believing such things.

No one knows that it isn't the case that it is one's last day of life on earth.

I didn't say they did. I said for the overwhelming majority of people, that's not the case. It's also true that you don't need to behave or "walk" as if it's your last day on earth in order to be saved or to be a good Christian. There is no reason for a person to "walk" as if it's their last day on earth.

It's a good motivation to keep us on the narrow road!

[Floatingaxe]

Then you're wrong because you could even add more and in an historical sense, it would still be a decline, in size, scope and total death counts. War really HAS declined for now. That may change but to spend time seeking out wars or other bad news in order make people think we're in the end times is a pretty morbid thing to do.

There was another guy trying to hustle me into accepting gang wars in Los Angeles as proof of greater number of wars......there quickly comes a point when it becomes obvious that people WANT there to be more war so they can be right about living in the end times. Why not count price wars between gas stations too?

I think that is a deflection. Man is hateful and cruel and he kills. War is everywhere and WAR is morbid! It's not wrong to notice it. You don't have to assign an agenda or a judgment of morbidity to those who see it. Jesus has told us to watch.

I'm not talking about "seeing" it, I'm talking about ignoring the fact that it has actually been declining in recent decades.

It is not really declining. Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep. Every sin is in escalation. That is a sign. We are not ignoring anything as spiritual ostriches, burying our heads in the sand. Are you suggesting the world is a more peaceful place than before?

No it REALLY is declining. You just have to be open to the idea and look at the real numbers. And hatred and bloodshed is not at my doorstep and I doubt it's at yours either; that's just drama speak. A person in Darfur could easily explain the difference between the reality of "Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep" and the mere statement of it. Most of us never even have to REALLY experience "Hatred and bloodshed is at our very doorstep" and it's wrong and ungrateful to behave as if we do.

And every sin is NOT necessarily an escalation of war or a sign of end times. If it were then the signs of the end times have been here ever since sin was revealed by the law. You're reaching way to hard here. War has been declining since WW II. Disease and starvation are declining. These are things that should be welcomed and it a morbid thing to deny a good reality in preference for a negative perception. That's exactly what satan would have us do.

This generation is even more wicked than the last. They are even open about their sin as if it is all good! You cannot see that? Disease and starvation are not declining. There are more diseases than there were. There is nothing good about the reality that we live in a fallen world that is desperate for Jesus. We know that it is expected to worsen before He comes again. We are looking at the signs even now.

It's almost as if this verse is revealing your mindset:

1 Thessalonians 5:3

When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.