Showing posts with label Eschatology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eschatology. Show all posts

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Help Wanted: A Witness

In Revelation 11 we read about the Two Witnesses.




I wonder....hmmmm............................................................................

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I wonder if God is accepting applications for one of these 2 positions? I could do this job. I would love the benefits.



The Bible says that if any one tries to stop them when they preach, fire comes out of their mouths and devours that person.



This could come in handy.

“Preacher, we wish you wouldn’t preach past 12 o’clock.” Psssssst.

“Preacher, we can’t find any one to teach the seventh grade boys class.” Psssssst.
“Preacher, what in the world were you thinking preaching on tithing? Talking money and sin from the pulpit is a sure-fired way of running people off.” Psssssst.
“Preacher, I make a motion that we paint the baptistery purple & orange with a Tiger Paw in the front.” Psssssst.
“Preacher, the Constitution and By-law says tha” Psssssst.


Also, the Bible says that they could keep it from raining for as long as they wanted. They could turn the water into blood. And, they could cause plagues to strike the earth as often as they want.


Well, maybe I’d better leave this to the experts. I wouldn’t want to accidently start a swine flu epidemic because I overheard someone gossiping in the church parking lot about a fellow member.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Invisible Rapture

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Harold Camping didn't get it wrong. Don't believe it? Just ask him, he'll tell you. He now says that the end of the world will be October 21, 2011. He claims that the church was “invisibly raptured.” I guess that I must be invisibly writing this blog post. And many of you invisibly reading it.

It’s pretty cool actually. I have wanted to be invisible ever since I read H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man when I was in fifth grade. Well, back THEN I thought it would be cool. You could go the store and not pay. No one would call you fat. You could go to which ever head wasn’t busy. (Yes. I called it a head when I was in fifth grade. Probably since I was five. Navy family, you know.)

Now that I think about it as an adult, though, maybe it’s not so cool. Should I preach Sunday morning? An invisible preacher-- preaching to an invisible crowd? Talk about apoplexy! How would I know how many people showed up? The first thing I do on Sunday morning is count. I do that even before I pray. All preachers count. Trust me. You can spot us at football games trying to count the number of people in the other set of stands. (Ministerially speaking, we were just shy of five hundred and two. We actual had two hundred and five, and that IS less than five hundred after all.) Now; however, thinking about going to the women’s head is just creepy and kind of disturbing.

So, I’ll be glad when Jesus comes back on October 21 and we can be seen again and…huh? What’s that? Oh!?       Jesus came back invisibly!       I see.

Hmph. So much for five hundred in church this Sunday.

Is Barack Obama The Anti-Christ? Mathematical Proof Says “Yes!”

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Is Barack Obama The Anti-Christ? This week President Obama has called for Israel to recede to her pre-1967 borders, effectively giving the Palestinians (Spelled H.A.M.A.S. and I.R.A.N.) control over Jerusalem. Hmm. I have long postulated that the Beast of Revelation 13:1-8 would in some way bring a wary peace to the war torn region by allowing the Jews and Muslims to have both a Temple and the Mosque of Omar. In order to facilitate this, Israel would have to make large concessions, most notably in my eschatology, military control of Jerusalem. Notice that I did not say governmental control, just military. i.e Israel would maintain her sovereignty over Jerusalem, but the UN or some other equally “Neutral” group would police the city.

Now BHO is making the first overtures in that direction. There is no way, and I mean by that NO WAY, the nation of Israel will give up Jerusalem and the Golan Heights to her enemies. There is a strategic purpose as well as symbolic purpose to owning these two spoils of war. But, with worldwide pressure and a shrinking base of allies, she might give up control of policing the city. Everyone knows this, but just like selling a car, start off with asking for more than you want/know you can get, and “settle” on what you were really wanting all along. Hamas doesn't want control of Jerusalem as much as it wants Israel gone, but they'd settle for this in a New York minute.

But back to my question, “Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?” Well, the mathematical proof would suggest yes. Let me explain. In the ancient languages, each alphabet character as a corresponding number. In this, one could spell words with numbers, not just letters. This would be similar to texting, using the old telephone/letter equivalent.   i.e. 2 = a,b,c;    3= d,e,f;   etc.    Revelation 13:18 tells us that the Beast’s number is that of a man, and that this number is six-hundred and sixty six. (666)

So take our current president’s name. Barack. In the Greek language (The language that the Book of the Revelation was written) B=2; A=1; R=100;A=1;C=600; K=20. Add those together and it equals 724. But take away 3 because there is an unholy Trinity, multiply that 3 by 7 because that is the number of years in the Tribulation, subtract 3.5 for the first half of the Great Tribulation, then add back 70 for Daniel’s weeks of years, and divide by half (cause he’s half the man Jesus was) and subtract that all from the original 724. That gives you 650.25. Now take 3 for the Holy Trinity and multiply it times 5 for the number of books in the Pentateuch and a random variable integer of ¾ and you get….wait for it…666. Mathematical proof Ladies and Gentlemen. And Math don’t lie.
OK. So I made that up. But in light of Harold Camping’s new date of October 21, I couldn’t resist.

No, I don’t think BHO is the Anti-Christ. There are too many reasons to mention here, but mainly it is because I do not think the Beast will be an American. Most likely, he will be Italian, although I wouldn’t argue with any European country as his homeland. (See Daniel 9:26)

Nevertheless, that does not negate the fact that our president is making a grave error in his Middle East policy. By siding with Hamas he has broken a cardinal rule of politics and diplomacy—never barter with a terrorist. Once again, the POTUS has shown the world that he is more akin to Jimmy Carter than Ronald Reagan. The only thing these people understand is a firm hand and an unshakable stance. That is why Israel has been so successful in defending her borders, against over whelming opposition. Mr. President, I implore you…do not move away from Israel. Do not kowtow to these terrorist thugs. If anything, give Israel your blessing to continue building settlements in the land that rightfully belongs to her. After all, if taking land by force, especially when you were not the instigator in the hostilities, is wrong, then shouldn’t we give California back to Mexico?

Friday, May 20, 2011

WKRP In Cincinnati And The End Of The World

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                      WARNING!

With Harold Camping's End Of The World happening Saturday, I thought I'd share some other End Of The World predictions, six of the biggest actually, that failed to come true.

1. October 22, 1844
Who: Samuel S. Snow, a preacher in the Millerite movement, led by the Baptist preacher William Miller

How he came by this date: A prophesy in the Book of Daniel states "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (Dan. 8:14). If you convert the days into years, and if you start in the year 457 BC – the year that Artaxerxes I of Persia decreed that that the city government of Jerusalem shall be re-established – then this takes you to 1844. Using the Karaite Jewish calendar, Snow pinned the date down to October 22.

What actually happened: Thousands of people gave away all their possessions, only to be surprised when the world did not come to end, and the day came to be known as "The Great Disappointment." The Millerites splintered into several religious groups, the largest and most mainstream being the Seventh Day Adventists, and the smallest and most unconventional probably being the Branch Davidians. Millerism has also influenced the Bahá'í Faith.


2. December 21, 1954
Who: Dorothy Martin, a Chicago housewife and student of Dianetics, a set of practices developed by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.

How she came by this date: Through automatic writing, Martin came in contact with beings from the planet Clarion, who told her that the world would be destroyed by flood and that the faithful would be rescued at midnight by flying saucers (or so she said).

What actually happened: Martin's followers, many of whom quit their jobs and gave away their possessions, gathered in her home to await the aliens. (Martin's husband, a nonbeliever, slept upstairs through the whole thing.) To avoid being burned by the flying saucer, her followers removed all metal from their persons, including zippers and bra straps. Midnight came and went and the group became increasingly agitated. Finally, at 4:45am, Martin said that she received another message from Clarions informing her that God was so impressed by her groups actions that He changed His mind and decided to spare the earth.

The group was infiltrated by a psychologist named Leon Festinger, who used his observations to develop the theory of cognitive dissonance.


3. October or November 1982
Who: Pat Robertson, who in a 1980 broadcast of "The 700 Club" said "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world."

How he came by that date: Robertson has said that God told him about pending disasters on numerous occasions (including a West Coast tsunami in 2006, and a terrorist attack in 2007 – neither occurred). "I have a relatively good track record,” he has said. “Sometimes I miss.”

What actually happened: The world didn't end in 1982, but "WKRP in Cincinnati," did.


4. September 5 - September 27, 1994
Who: Harold Camping (hmmm. Why is that name familiar? Thinking. Thinking.)

How he came by those dates: He interpreted a reference in John 21:1-14 to the disciples being 200 cubits from the shore in the Sea of Galilee as meaning that there would be 2,000 years between the birth and the second coming of Jesus. He estimates that Jesus was born on October 4, 7 BC. He said (then) that he actually could not tell the exact date because of Matthew 24:36.

What actually happened: Nothing. To his followers he explained that what he actually meant to say was that the church age would end in 1994, a truth claim they still believe. Basically, that means that you cannot be saved unless you're a part of Camping's church.



5. 1806
Who: The Prophet Hen of Leeds, a domesticated fowl in Leeds, England, who in 1806 began laying eggs that bore the message "Christ is coming."

How she came by that date: As you will see in the next paragraph, the answer is "the hard way."

What actually happened: Charles Mackay's 1841 book, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," describes it thus:
"Great numbers visited the spot, and examined these wondrous eggs, convinced that the day of judgment was near at hand. Like sailors in a storm, expecting every instant to go to the bottom, the believers suddenly became religious, prayed violently, and flattered themselves that they repented them of their evil courses. But a plain tale soon put them down, and quenched their religion entirely. Some gentlemen, hearing of the matter, went one fine morning, and caught the poor hen in the act of laying one of her miraculous eggs. They soon ascertained beyond doubt that the egg had been inscribed with some corrosive ink, and cruelly forced up again into the bird’s body. At this explanation, those who had prayed, now laughed, and the world wagged as merrily as of yore."



6. September 11, 1988
Who: Edgar C. Whisenant, author of 88 Reasons The World Will End In 1988

How he came by that date: The 88 "proofs" of this were based on a collection of dates and calculations from Biblical and historical factors. When nothing happened by the end of September 13, Whisenant revised his prediction, suggesting the rapture would come at 10:55 AM on September 15. The date was big news, and even TBN got on board, airing taped broadcasts all day of "What to do if you miss the Rapture." (Possibly where The Left Behind series got the idea,) When that failed, he revised it to October 3. Even when that date passed, Whisenant remained undaunted: "The evidence is all over the place that it is going to be in a few weeks anyway," he told Christianity Today.
After his "few weeks" had transpired, Whisenant finally saw his error. He claimed that he had made a slight miscalculation of one year because of a fluke in the Gregorian calendar. Jesus was actually going to return on September 11, 1989!

What actually happened: Turns out he was wrong. ....................................88 times!!!!
Ironically, Whisenant died in May of 2001, just short of a resurgence in interest for his date. Just think, he could have rewritten his book, 2001 Reasons.







Citation: Some of the above information is from The Christian Science Monitor

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Gone Camping; Why The World Will Not End This Saturday

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If you’re not privy to the “Good News” of Harold Camping, let me let you in on this little secret.
****The Rapture is this Saturday**** shhhhh. The Millerites are sleeping. Don’t wake them up.





It really isn’t that funny. I’m sure tens of people truly believe in Camping and his end of the world promise. Anyway, He claims with mathematical certainty that the world will end on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 6:00 pm. I’m not sure about his math, but I am sure that it won’t be Saturday. Anytime someone sets a date, you can be sure that Jesus won’t come back that day. Matthew 24:36 plainly says that, ““But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” So, while I am a literalist, (i.e. NO ONE knows the date) I also like to think that the Father has a calendar open with all these dates circled in red, going, "Won't be then."

Unfortunately, this thing has picked up steam. It has become a world wide affair. Unlike Camping’s last prediction, a 1994 prophecy that the world would end, this one has made it beyond the circes of the loons. A prediction, by the way, his faithful following says was meant to be the “end of the church age,” not the end of the world. This was to be a period when no one can be saved. (Oh, except for new members of Camping’s church, of course. One mustn’t let the coffers dry up!)


But this is the age of social media. And while there are many “end of the world” parties planned, (175,000 people are “attending” one scheduled on facebook) millions of people are intently listening to and reading his ideas, and the word is spreading. An ingenious entrepreneur, who happens to be an atheist, has started Eternal Earth-bound Pets. A service that promises to take care of your pets after you have been raptured. Don’t laugh. He has over 250 customers at $119.99 each. Well, he has gone up to $135 since Camping’s billboards have gone up.


On a more serious note, the Vietnamese government dispersed a crowd of nearly 5,000 Hmong people near the border of Laos, taking some 1,000 into custody as “extremist.” They were waiting for Camping’s Day of the Lord.


All of this, naturally, will culminate in thousands of deceived individuals turning their back on Christianity (no matter how real their true faith was) and millions, maybe even billions of unbelievers saying, “Ha! I knew that Christian faith was bogus.”


Just like William Miller in 1833, Harold Camping will become a scourge to true faith in Jesus Christ, when
this event does not happen. Let us just pray that no new Seventh Day's will pop up as a result.

Friday, March 11, 2011

The Beginning Of Birth Pains

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                                                                                                                                      A Tsunami Hits Japan, March 11, 2011

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. Matthew 24:7-8





Hmm. Libya, Egypt, Japan...all adds up. I'm sure I'll be writing more about this soon. I've been slack and only writing headlines and politics here lately. With the exception of Egypt.

What did Jesus mean by birth pains? After three kids, I kinda know. (No comments, ladies! I was just a participant, not really involved in the pain. I know! I know!)


But any mother can tell you quickly what Jesus meant. Labor pain does two things. It increases in intensity and in frequency. The closer to the birth, the more intense the labor pain and the more frequent the labor pain.

What Jesus is telling us is that the closer we get to the "end of the age" the more frequent wars, famines, and earthquakes will be, and the more intense they will be.


Did you hear about the swarm of 800 quakes in Arkansas last week?!
8.9 in Japan today?
6.3 in New Zealand last month
7.0 in Haiti  in 2010?
8.8 in Chile in 2010?
8.1 in Somoa Islands '09
7.9 in China in '08
9.4 in Sumatra in '04?


More earthquakes.
More intense earthquakes.


According to the USGS, in the decade of the 1990's there was five (5) earthquakes above an 8 magnitude. Since 2000, there have been 13, and two of those were above a 9!


I'm just saying!



A 23' high wall of water slams into Japan's coast. March 11, 2011

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Obama Wants Higher Gas Prices

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Well, we are well on our way to $4/gallon gas prices again. We were living in Atlanta when they hit around $4.80 back in '07. Talk about "end times" scenarios. People believed that was Armageddon! The wailing and gnashing of teeth was amazing. (And that was just from me!) We were spending about $150/week on gas that summer. It wouldn't be anyway near that bad now, but I did put $120 just in the van THIS WEEK! Granted that included a trip to Charleston to see Patty's DR, but still!

It is interesting because, apparently, our fearless leader up in the House of White wants $4/gallon gas! Link

So............brace yourselves. It's coming.

Oh, and by-the-way, oil was trading at $147 a barrel in '07 when gas hit $4. At the current rate, it will make $4/gallon at much less.  Link

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Fifth Horseman Of The Apocalypse

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Wow! Talk about eschatology and the end of the world...Tuesday I was on my way home from the hospital and needed to stop for gas. I also knew I would be going out again, so as I breezed by the gas station I noticed $2.94/gallon. Since my last fill-up was at the GA\FL state line at $3.20/gallon, I thought, "Not bad." When I came out later and stopped at the same station it was $3.08/gallon. 14¢ in just a few hours. Today I drive by and it's $3.24/gallon. Another .16¢!!!!!!!

I think I'm having a vision!



I saw a beast rising up out of Egypt and Libya. The beast had seven heads and a crescent moon tattooed on his chest. And I heard a voice say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a yellow horse! Its rider was holding a barrel of oil in one hand and a scimitar in the other. Then I heard what sounded like a voice coming from a house of white, saying, “One gallon of gas for a day’s wages, and five quarts of oil for a day’s wages, and do not damage the marshy wetlands or drill in the Gulf of Mexico!”


********UPDATE  3/2/2011***********
$3.34 with in the last few hours, up another .11¢. Still, it's better here than in New York...

New York

Stupid Gaddaffi!  Doesn't he know this is very inconvenient for me! Bah. Humbug! You know that "mark of the beast" thing???? Well it's $6.66/gallon and it's coming! Wait...another...vision...

And I looked and I saw another Beast. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to purchase an SUV, and that no one may buy or sell gas except one who has an account at BP. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a gallon: and his number is $6.66. And I heard what sounded like a voice of rushing wind and the sound as it were of doors slamming at the house of white. And the voice of one, crying in the wilderness, and saying,



"Woe. Woe. Woe is me.
How will I get reelected with this economy?"









Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Proclamation Against Egypt

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1 Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.
2 “ I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers.
4 And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 19:1-4 (NKJV)



Sounds all too CNN Headline News, huh?



This prophecy from Isaiah has very close ties to what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:2-7.



2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.



Am I saying that this current Middle Eastern mess is the heralding of the Rapture and Tribulation? No. It could be. In this same chapter Jesus told us that no one knows when He'll return. What I do find hopeful in this is the promise of God to Egypt given at the end of the Isaiah prophecy.



In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.

How great would that be!? To see millions of Muslim converts pledging alleigence to the King of Kings? Even so Lord Jesus, come!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Nothing To Write About

Another Sunday, come and gone. I started A Jet Tour of Revelation tonight. Must have been an anticipated study, our attendance was waaay up. Got to love that.

I must say though, Daniel and Revelation have not moved as easily from sermon to post as I originally thought. Plus, there were a myriad...make that a blizzard, of, “That’s uhm...pretty...uhm...boring. Really. Love ya, though. I mean, you’re a nice guy and all. Very pastoral, quite a handsome devil...in a Dom Deluise kinda way. But the Eschatological Musings post??? What up? I mean, dude!?” comments.

OK. OK. It doesn’t translate. I’m still a fine Bible expositor, I’ll have you know. It just carries better in person. I’ll let you know next Sunday night if the crowd grew or shrank. That’ll tell a lot.

So. That leaves me with nothing to write about.






















Except this one small thing I’ll say about Revelation, then I’m out of here.

The book of Revelation is divided into five parts, or five extended visions.
In Chapter 1 we see The Vision of Christ. (That's what it's all about)
In Chapters 2-3, we have The Vision of the Churches. (I may actually post about these seven churches in detail as the narrative and historical context are quite fascinating.)
From Chapter 4-18 we have The Vision of the Condemnation. (I may have to blog about the significance of the number 7 in numerology and eschatology. Oh, and the 4 Horsemen. And the Two Witnesses. And the Beast. And the Harlot that rides on the Dragon. It would be inconceivable to not go there.)
Chapter 19-20 is The Vision of the Coming King. (My favorite part. Jesus on a White Horse. That's good stuff!)
And it rounds out with Chapters 21&22 The Vision of the Celestial City. (i.e. Home Sweet Home)

Well, I could go on and on. But for now, I say: Farwell.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Con't of A Jet Tour Through Daniel

It has been said that Daniel wrote history with more accuracy before it happened, than anyone else has after it happened. The central question is, “Do you believe that Daniel wrote the book, or that it was published after the time of the Maccabean Rebellion, around 150 BC?” In-other-words, was it predictive or a forgery. I’m certain you can guess where I stand.


For one thing, I have no problem with the supernatural. I believe that God is the Father of Time (Is 9:6), so seeing the future is no harder for Him than for us to look to the right or left. Secondly, Josephus records that when Alexander the Great came to Jerusalem with intents on burning the city, the High Priest showed him Daniel’s writings. Specifically where he (Alex) was mentioned. Alex was so impressed by this he didn’t destroy the city. And then there is the Septuagint. This is the Old Testament written in the Greek language. It was written in Alexandria by Greek speaking Jews in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, well before the coming to power of Antiochus Epiphanies in 175 BC. Daniel is included in the Septuagint.


Daniel’s history is also more accurate than that of secular historians. For years opponents said that Daniel was a forgery because there was no King Belshazzar in secular history. (Daniel 5) But not only did the Nabonitus Cylinder, discovered in 1901, prove there was a King Belshazzar, but also that he was the co-regent. This explains why Daniel was only offered the third highest position in the land. Belshazzar couldn’t offer Daniel # 2, because he was # 2 himself. Opponents only argument is that Daniel is too precise and to accurate to have been written before hand. They cannot handle the supernatural, so they dismiss the facts.


So I hold to Danielian authorship. What this means, practically is this: If Daniel has been right so far, we can put complete confidence in what he says will happen next. We can trust his writings about the times of the end. As he said himself in Daniel 2:45, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.

So what does Daniel say? In the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar in daniel 2, Daniel saw four world empires represented in the form of a staue. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar himself. This was the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The chest and arms of silver represents the Medio-Persian Empire. (If you’ve seen 300, you know about Xerxes, their most famous king.) The belly of bronze represents the empire of Alexander the Great. And lastly, Rome is seen as the legs of iron.




There is no fifth world empire. If there ever is a fifth world empire, close your Bibles and forget about the future, because it is up for grabs. What Daniel did see; however, was a continuation of the Roman Empire that will revive itself in the “latter days.” This Revived Roman Empire is seen in the feet of iron mixed with clay. It will be a ten-nation confederacy, most likely the European Economic Union.

The leader of this empire will consolidate his power and rule over the entire planet. He is most commonly known in the Scriptures as Antichrist, or the one who is opposite of Christ. He will rule over the feet of iron and clay. He will be on the "throne" when Jesus makes His bodily return to the planet Earth to set up His millinial Kingdom. Ahh...so, so, so much to discuss, and so little time to write. Look for my next three posts on this subject...The Times of the Gentile...The Terror of the Antichrist...and The Triumph of Jesus Christ.

Until then,

TTFN.

Blessings,

Steve

Monday, July 20, 2009

Eschatological Musings

So I’m preaching on “A Jet Tour Through Daniel” on Sunday nights in preparation for a vs by vs study on Revelation this fall. It is my personal opinion that Daniel is a book that is more pertinent to living a moral and spiritually victorious life than to eschatology. .

Nevertheless, Daniel is an eschatological gold mine. It is very difficult for me to preach Daniel with out discussing 1:8, “For Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat.” Or chapter 3 and the consequences of following God with selfless determination. Or Chapter 5 and the moral and national implications of riotous living. Or Chapter 6 and the reward of steadfast discipleship.

But for this “Jet Tour” I will focus on the eschatological importance of chapters 2, 7, 9, and 12. Daniel is the key to unlocking Revelation. I hope I will do some justice to this controversial and exciting subject.

A few thoughts:
1) Only 1 thing needs to happen for Jesus to come and rapture the church. The angel to shout and the trumpet of God to sound. (1 Thessalonians 4)
2) No one knows when Jesus will return. I remember a book called 88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return In 1988. (Turns out the guy was wrong 88 times.) Don't listen to date setters. Matthew 24:32-36
3) According to Daniel 2 and 7 there will be a ten nation confederacy that will be ruled by a single, dictatorial leader that will reign and rule over the world during the seven years known as the Tribulation.
4) This leader is known as the Antichrist.

So, coming up on Sunday the 26th I will discuss Daniel 2 and the statue of Nebuchadnezzar and what the ten toes represent.

If you’re in the neighborhood, drop by. If not check out the blog as I’ll update my thoughts here. Either way, pray that I do this subject the justice it deserves. And pray for those you know who do not know Jesus, that they may find Him before it is everlasting to late.

Blessings,

Steve