end times
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jenna
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end times
When will the "end times" be? Are they here now, or will they be a long time in the future? Please give me some scriptures to back up your answers.
some things are better left unsaid, which i generally realize after i have said them
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BavarianWheels
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Re: end times
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One is simply Nebuchadnezzar's dream that Daniel interprets. (Daniel 2)
Here is how the NIV Study Bible Notes interprets the dream: "The gold head represents the Neo-Babylonian empire (v. 38; see Jer 51:7); the silver chest and arms, the Medo-Persian empire established by Cyrus in 539 B.C. (the date of the fall of Babylon); the bronze belly and thighs, the Greek empire established by Alexander the Great c. 330; the iron legs and feet, the Roman empire. The toes (v. 41) are understood by some to represent a later confederation of states occupying the territory formerly controlled by the Roman empire. The diminishing value of the metals from gold to silver to bronze to iron represents the decreasing power and grandeur (v. 39) of the rulers of the successive empires, from the absolute despotism of Nebuchadnezzar to the democratic system of checks and balances that characterized the Roman senates and assemblies. The metals also symbolize a growing degree of toughness and endurance, with each successive empire lasting longer than the preceding one."
If Babylon is the Gold,
Medo-Persia the Silver,
Greece the Bronze,
Rome the Iron, then it's more than likely we are living in the time of the feet...and I believe beyond as the feet represent the kingdoms of Europe that stemmed from the break up of the Roman Empire.
This alone seems good evidence that we are in the last days.
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One is simply Nebuchadnezzar's dream that Daniel interprets. (Daniel 2)
Here is how the NIV Study Bible Notes interprets the dream: "The gold head represents the Neo-Babylonian empire (v. 38; see Jer 51:7); the silver chest and arms, the Medo-Persian empire established by Cyrus in 539 B.C. (the date of the fall of Babylon); the bronze belly and thighs, the Greek empire established by Alexander the Great c. 330; the iron legs and feet, the Roman empire. The toes (v. 41) are understood by some to represent a later confederation of states occupying the territory formerly controlled by the Roman empire. The diminishing value of the metals from gold to silver to bronze to iron represents the decreasing power and grandeur (v. 39) of the rulers of the successive empires, from the absolute despotism of Nebuchadnezzar to the democratic system of checks and balances that characterized the Roman senates and assemblies. The metals also symbolize a growing degree of toughness and endurance, with each successive empire lasting longer than the preceding one."
If Babylon is the Gold,
Medo-Persia the Silver,
Greece the Bronze,
Rome the Iron, then it's more than likely we are living in the time of the feet...and I believe beyond as the feet represent the kingdoms of Europe that stemmed from the break up of the Roman Empire.
This alone seems good evidence that we are in the last days.
.
.
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Katabole
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Re: end times
I do believe we are living in the time of the end. This is solely based on what Jesus teaches using the parable of the fig tree. There are only 4 things Jesus asks us to learn in the Gospels and he says to 'LEARN' this parable of the fig tree twice, showing it is of utmost importance.
Mt 24:32, Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (KJV)
33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mk 13:28, Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
Many have tried to explain what the fig tree represents but the Bible clearly explains it:
Hos 9:10, I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time:
In Jeremiah 24, God uses an analogy describing those of Judah as figs:
1The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
2One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
3Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
4Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
7And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
If you notice in verse 6, God says he will plant them and not pluck them up. He is not speaking of figs but the future descendants of the tribe of Judah which he will plant in the land of Israel. That happened in 1948 when Israel became a country. The last time Israel was country was circa 710 BC when the Assyrian army conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.
A number of years ago when I was trying to understand this parable, I asked a horticulturist that if I started a fig grove, what would be the best way to go about planting it. I asked him should it be started using seeds. He said you could, but it would take a long time and it would not be economically feasible. He said the best way would be to use shoots from an older tree.
God used a shoot from the ancient kingdom of Israel, and planted it in the land of Israel in 1948.
Upon looking closer at the parable of the fig tree, Jesus says when it's branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves. A shoot of a tree will have grown in order for it to put forth leaves. If it's branch is yet tender, than it is young not an old, gnarled branch. So when the country of Israel is still young (it's been 60 years this year since Israel became a country) not when it has been around for many hundreds or thousands of years, then as Jesus says summer is near. Summer is the time to 'harvest' figs. And what does Jesus say the harvest is?
Mt 13:39, the harvest is the end of the world;
That word "world" there should be correctly translated as age, as it is the Greek word "aeon."
Then as Jesus explains, the generation that follows Israel becoming a country will not end until all the other prophecies he speaks of in Mt 24 and Mk 13 are fulfilled. Just to note, a generation in the Bible is a specific period of time. Either 40, 70 or 120 years no more, no less.
We will not know the day or the hour but Jesus tells us the parable so that we will indeed know the season. This is why Jesus says in Mk 13:23, Behold, I have foretold you all things.
If you understand that Israel becoming a country is the sign to know when the "time of the end" began, then it opens the locked prophecy in the Book of Daniel. Many have tried to understand this prophecy in the past, but it was futile because the time of the end didn't happen until 1948. How do I know it was locked?
Dan 8:17, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
Dan 8:26, wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Dan 10:14, for yet the vision is for many days.
Dan 12:4, But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Dan 12:9, And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Understanding the parable of the fig tree is the key which unlocks this prophecy. The prophecy in chapter twelve is used to find out how long one of Daniel's "days" is. Remember, it is speaking of the vision of the evenings and the mornings, not literal days.
Dan 8:26, And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true:
Also, it is an angel (angel in the Hebrew language means messenger), which is explaining this prophecy, not a man.
Once you know how long one of Daniel's days is, you apply that to the 2300 days in Dan 8:
Dan 8:14, And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The sanctuary is the city of Jerusalem. It was first cleansed by man in 1433 BC according to Joshua 23 and the first two chapters of the Book of Judges. The next time it will be cleansed is by God. Jesus tells the disciples in Mt 24:2, that there is a day coming when there will not be one stone left upon another in Jerusalem. The western stone wall of Herod's palace still stands today, documenting that this hasn't happened yet. Some claim that happened in 69 AD when Titus sacked Jerusalem but that is not true.
Also, in Eze 12 God gives a description of what people will be saying before that time of the end:
21And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
22Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
23Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
24For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
25For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
26Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying.
27Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.
28Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
So, when people are saying that the end is not going to happen, that is a prophecy that is presently being fulfilled.
A double witness to this is given in 2Pet 3:
2Pet 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
And that is exactly what many people are saying today, fulfilling prophecy when they don't even know they are.
And just to add, in Nebuchadnezzer's dream of a statue the empires of symbolic of those empires which specifically controlled the city of Jerusalem which are:
1 Babylon
2 Medo/Persia
3 Greece
4 Rome
5 The Mohammedians (until 1948)
6 The generation of the fig tree (1948 to the present)
7 Satan
8 Satan
Rev 17:10, And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Anyways, I hope that helps and doesn't cause even more confusion.
Mt 24:32, Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (KJV)
33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mk 13:28, Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
Many have tried to explain what the fig tree represents but the Bible clearly explains it:
Hos 9:10, I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time:
In Jeremiah 24, God uses an analogy describing those of Judah as figs:
1The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
2One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
3Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
4Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
7And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
If you notice in verse 6, God says he will plant them and not pluck them up. He is not speaking of figs but the future descendants of the tribe of Judah which he will plant in the land of Israel. That happened in 1948 when Israel became a country. The last time Israel was country was circa 710 BC when the Assyrian army conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.
A number of years ago when I was trying to understand this parable, I asked a horticulturist that if I started a fig grove, what would be the best way to go about planting it. I asked him should it be started using seeds. He said you could, but it would take a long time and it would not be economically feasible. He said the best way would be to use shoots from an older tree.
God used a shoot from the ancient kingdom of Israel, and planted it in the land of Israel in 1948.
Upon looking closer at the parable of the fig tree, Jesus says when it's branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves. A shoot of a tree will have grown in order for it to put forth leaves. If it's branch is yet tender, than it is young not an old, gnarled branch. So when the country of Israel is still young (it's been 60 years this year since Israel became a country) not when it has been around for many hundreds or thousands of years, then as Jesus says summer is near. Summer is the time to 'harvest' figs. And what does Jesus say the harvest is?
Mt 13:39, the harvest is the end of the world;
That word "world" there should be correctly translated as age, as it is the Greek word "aeon."
Then as Jesus explains, the generation that follows Israel becoming a country will not end until all the other prophecies he speaks of in Mt 24 and Mk 13 are fulfilled. Just to note, a generation in the Bible is a specific period of time. Either 40, 70 or 120 years no more, no less.
We will not know the day or the hour but Jesus tells us the parable so that we will indeed know the season. This is why Jesus says in Mk 13:23, Behold, I have foretold you all things.
If you understand that Israel becoming a country is the sign to know when the "time of the end" began, then it opens the locked prophecy in the Book of Daniel. Many have tried to understand this prophecy in the past, but it was futile because the time of the end didn't happen until 1948. How do I know it was locked?
Dan 8:17, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
Dan 8:26, wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Dan 10:14, for yet the vision is for many days.
Dan 12:4, But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Dan 12:9, And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Understanding the parable of the fig tree is the key which unlocks this prophecy. The prophecy in chapter twelve is used to find out how long one of Daniel's "days" is. Remember, it is speaking of the vision of the evenings and the mornings, not literal days.
Dan 8:26, And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true:
Also, it is an angel (angel in the Hebrew language means messenger), which is explaining this prophecy, not a man.
Once you know how long one of Daniel's days is, you apply that to the 2300 days in Dan 8:
Dan 8:14, And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The sanctuary is the city of Jerusalem. It was first cleansed by man in 1433 BC according to Joshua 23 and the first two chapters of the Book of Judges. The next time it will be cleansed is by God. Jesus tells the disciples in Mt 24:2, that there is a day coming when there will not be one stone left upon another in Jerusalem. The western stone wall of Herod's palace still stands today, documenting that this hasn't happened yet. Some claim that happened in 69 AD when Titus sacked Jerusalem but that is not true.
Also, in Eze 12 God gives a description of what people will be saying before that time of the end:
21And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
22Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
23Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
24For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
25For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
26Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying.
27Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.
28Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
So, when people are saying that the end is not going to happen, that is a prophecy that is presently being fulfilled.
A double witness to this is given in 2Pet 3:
2Pet 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
And that is exactly what many people are saying today, fulfilling prophecy when they don't even know they are.
And just to add, in Nebuchadnezzer's dream of a statue the empires of symbolic of those empires which specifically controlled the city of Jerusalem which are:
1 Babylon
2 Medo/Persia
3 Greece
4 Rome
5 The Mohammedians (until 1948)
6 The generation of the fig tree (1948 to the present)
7 Satan
8 Satan
Rev 17:10, And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Anyways, I hope that helps and doesn't cause even more confusion.
There are two types of people in our world: those who believe in Christ and those who will.
If Christianity is a man-made religion, then why is its doctrine vehemently against all of man's desires?
Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. Jesus from John 18:37
If Christianity is a man-made religion, then why is its doctrine vehemently against all of man's desires?
Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. Jesus from John 18:37
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DrTedBaehr
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Re: end times
By my math, the End Times will come if Barack Hussein Obama becomes President and starts to sell America out to the terrorists.
My research into the Bible's many Truths indicates to me that we may certainly delay the coming of End Times if we start to live according to God's instructions.
My research into the Bible's many Truths indicates to me that we may certainly delay the coming of End Times if we start to live according to God's instructions.
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jenna
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Re: end times
Well, Obama is on a roll! Now what?DrTedBaehr wrote:By my math, the End Times will come if Barack Hussein Obama becomes President and starts to sell America out to the terrorists.
My research into the Bible's many Truths indicates to me that we may certainly delay the coming of End Times if we start to live according to God's instructions.
BTW, welcome, hope you like it here! 
some things are better left unsaid, which i generally realize after i have said them