I cannot figure out how to "quote" someone, so I just pasted below.. It truly is the end times... the signs are everywhere. Prophecy is happening from Revelation, Daniel, and the gospels. The earth is groaning, and God is trying to get our attention... [wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, tidal waves, etc] Did you know that 100 years ago, there were only a few earthquakes every year.. and now we have hundreds of little ones DAILY?? We have to repent because God will judge this earth, and he is a Holy God, and He can not reside with sin. We can have forgiveness with Jesus.... it is real!!!! And it is truth. He will return... ARE YOU READY??? His heart is that NONE should perish, and that all would come to Him and receive His forgiveness and love Him. But sin must be judged. We [including me] have to repent, and get right with God. Here's what I replied too:: **************************************** Hi all, hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I've been kind of quiet these past few weeks but I've been around. Instead of poking fun at the animal threads, I've just been reading the posts and realizing how sad we humans are. I'm including myself here so don't think I'm pointing fingers at anyone without pointing one at myself too. We humans get so caught up in the unimportant that we forget or ignore what is really important. A few days ago we celebrated the birth of the Savior of the world. The day after His "birthday", a 9.0 earthquake happened and catastophic tsunamis resulted. The death count continues to rise. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42145 Then there is this http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42150 that will result from the deaths. What this has left me with is thinking about the passage in the Bible where Jesus is talking to the disciples about His return. Matthew 24: 3-8 KJV And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows. In the NIV translation, verses 7 & 8 are written, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains." Don't scoff at this, God is giving mankind a warning. Jesus' return is near. All the prophecies have been fulfilled leading up to the rapture of the church which will be the beginning of the 7 year tribulation period. The world is experiencing the early stage of labor now. The Great Tribulation will be when labor is in full force. And the birth will be when Jesus returns to rule the earth, slaying His enemies. Yes, this is meant to scare people. God is WARNING people of the judgment that is coming soon. The tribulation will be a time of judgment and a time of redemption. God will have to use a heavy hand to get some people to turn to Him. He will use "acts of nature" to break people down. He will turn His chosen people around and show them that their Messiah came and that they rejected Him over two thousand years before. He will take 7 years and he will allow a literal Hell on earth to happen as He gives people one final chance to turn to Him before they face eternal damnation. Call me a fool. Call me crazy. I don't care, I didn't write the book, I'm mererly sharing the message. Please read and study for yourselves. The end is near, you need to be ready. http://www.bible-prophecy.com/overview.htm
Not to say I don't believe that there will be an end time, but the earthquakes are not hard to explain. The tektonic plates in the ocean rub against each other as the ocean floor is forced down underneath the continents. Over many years, the pressure of the slide builds up and eventually shifts very quickly resulting in what we call an earthquake. Once the pressure is released, it begins to build again and there are times when these releases of pressure occur more often. This same mechanism also results in volcanoes and their erruptions. I see this as nature in action, not proof of the end time. You cannot prepare for the end of the world by observing world events and using them to interpret the Bible (Matt. 24:4-6). That's my 2 cents!
The Tribulation by Tim LaHaye There is no question this world will yet experience a time of "great tribulation", such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time" as predicted by our Lord (Matt.24:21). In Revelation 3:10, He promised to keep believers from "the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Such a time will have to be worse than anything ever known in human history; far worse than the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70 (1 million casualties), than the Black Plague (9 million killed), than World War 1 (20 million killed), than the devastation of World War II and Hitler's hlocaust (6 million Jews and at least 4 million Christians killed). The Scriptures give more space to describing the coming Tribulation period than to any other prophetic event. The Hebrew prophets mention it 39 times, calling it a "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7), "tribulation" (distress, Deut. 4:30), and many other titles denoting distress. The New Testament calls it "the day of the Lord" (1 Thess. 5:2), "the wrath of God" (Rev. 14:10; 15:1, 7; 16:1), and "the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:16-17). Revelation 6 - 19 describe the events of that Tribulation period, the best description of this terrifying, close-at-hand time that will try the whole world. Daniel, the Hebrew prophet that Jesus quoted most, predicted that troubulous times would last seven years and be started by the signing of a seven-year covenant between Israel and "the prince that shall come" (called elsewhere "antichrist" or "the beast"). Then he predicted this "beast" or governmental ruler would break that covenant in the middle of the Tribulation and desecrate the temple (Dan. 9:26-27). Again, Daniel predicted that when Antichrist arises, he will be empowered by Satan himself with "all power and signs and lying wonders" (2 Thess. 2:9), and will desecrate the temple and set up an image of himself, demanding that the people worship him. There is little doubt as to when this Tribulation occurs or how long it will last. Daniel predicts it will last "one week" (seven years, 9:27). John in Revelation divides it into two periods of three and one-half years each, a total of seven years. During the first three and one-half years more than one-half the world's population dies. During the second half, conditions get even worse after Satan is cast out of heaven and indwells the Antichrist's body and demands the world worship him. Our Lord Jesus predicted this Tribulation would end immediately prior to His return to this earth to set up His earthly kingdom for 1000 years (Matt.24:29, see Dan.9:24). We should never lose sight of the true purpose of that Tribulation period: a divine expression of His mercy and grace. For in that brief seven-year period, at a time when the world's population is at its largest, God will shake the earth in an attempt to lessen man's false sense of security. He will send 144,000 Jewish witnesses filled with the Holy Spirit (Rev. 7; Joel 2:28-32) and other witnesses. God will go to the most extreme measures in all of history during the final days of man's life on earth to bring a massive number of souls to faith in Him so magnitudes of people may enjoy the blessings He has prepared for their eternal future.
Did you Know? Okay, did you know that 100 years ago humans did not have the technology we have today to detect these earthquakes? so can your statement really be valid? no the earth is constantly changing, moving, recycling rock, releasing pressure built up by the tectonic plates moving thus there have always been earthquakes, volcanoes, rift valleys, and so on.
People have been saying this for decades, if not centuries. By the way, how the he!! are you supposed to vote on this?
Humans have been worried/predicting the end times for millenia, far before even Judaism was thought of and certainly before Christianity was a religion. Many cultures have similar prophesies, and the Old Testament prophets were among them. Does this mean that they aren't correct? Not necessarily. But it does mean we should examine things with historical perspective. I don't think the "end times" as discussed in the Revelation to John are here today, but that also doesn't mean we shouldn't endeavor to be Christ-like in our lives. As for all of you who throw around Bibical quotes as "proof" or "evidence", remember that even the devil can quote scripture to suit his purposes.
I'm taking this from the Life Application Study Bible (NIV). I'll quote Scripture and then some of the notes from the scholars who made commentaries on the passages in this Bible. Please excuse any typos, I'm not copying and pasting, I'm copying by typing! 2 Timothy 3:1-5a But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Paul's reference to the "last days" reveals his sense of urgency. The last days began after Jesus' resurrection when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost. The "last days" will continue until Christ's second coming. This means that we are living in the last days. So we should make the most of the time that God has given us. Revelation 22:7, 12-16, 20 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and Morning Star." He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon". Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 22:20 We do not know the day or the hour, but Jesus is coming soon and unexpectedly. This is good news to those who trust him, but a terrible message for those who have rejected him and stand under judgment. Soon means at any moment, and we must be ready for him, always prepared for his return. Would Jesus' sudden appearance catch you off guard? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Revelation 22:21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. Revelation closes human history as Genesis opened it - in paradise. But there is one distinct difference in Revelation - evil is gone forever. Genesis describes Adam and Eve walking and talking with God; Revelation describes people worshiping God face to face. Genesis describes a garden with an evil serpent. Revelation describes a perfect city with no evil. The Garden of Eden was destroyed by sin; but paradise is re-created in the new Jerusalem. The book of Revelation ends with an urgent request: "Come, Lord Jesus." In a world of problems, persecution, evil and immorality, Christ calls us to endure in our faith. Our efforts to better our world are important, but their results cannot compare with the transformation that Jesus will bring when he returns. He alone controls human history, forgives sin, and will re-create the earth and bring lasting peace. Revelation is, above all, a book of hope. It shows that no matter what happens on earth, God is in control. It promises that evil will not last forever. And it depicts the wonderful reward that is waiting for all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
You know, I actually got a good laugh out of that...........glad to know that I am sooo well liked! 8)
Something does not look right about that poll! Not a single no vote and it said I already voted. The only thing I can think of is that I voted that way as a joke because of the Bush Administration. In all seriousness I am an Agnostic Atheist so the 2nd option would be my honest vote.
