
Prophecy @ MindSay 
Perhaps the beginning of troubles is near an end and the real trouble is about to begin.
I'm not one to often trust in ancient prophecies unless they come from the Christian Bible... but there are things spoken of in several ancient texts that seem to agree in effect with this present age and with the Bible.
Its been said that if honey bees become extinct that soon after, within several years, human life would end.
Aztec clock points to 2012 as the end of time.
I Ching also points to about 2012 as the end of time.
Some say the Bible speaks of a 7000 year lease God gave man on earth... Going by the Hebrew calender, we are almost at 6000 years now. Add to that the Millenial Reign, and that is the 7000 years... in other words, six "days" and a Sabbath of rest.
Honey bees are dying. Moral decay is rampant. I expect that if Hilary were to obtain the throne, she would try to declare herself as God. Barack might also try that trick...
The earth its self is groaning with pains... global warming... horrible earthquakes... air pollution... water pollution... tsunamis... cyclones... floods... food shortages... famine in some places...
If you trust the weatherman to try telling you when its gonna rain, why not trust someone who is telling you something more important?
Unfortunately, by some curious little quirk, my Bible-retention abilities only seem to start working after about the third time of reading something.
It came to my attention recently that I'm very poorly acquainted with much of the Old Testament. Now, books of history are good. They're fun, and exciting, and sometimes there's bad stuff happening, but you can still see it all in your mind. Books of the law are really, really boring. I know I should read them and get acquainted with them to further my understanding, but boy - there's a lot of information in there, and much of it is hard to care about. I'm working on it.
Books of prophecy have kind of a goofy effect. I'm pretty well-acquainted with the New Testament, so I can now and again recognize something as, "Hey! I know when that happens! Cool!" But there's also a lot about how this kingdom will fall, and that king will be smited, and I really don't know the history as well as I should (and I also suspect that much of it isn't covered in the Bible - it is Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, after all). So, reading about things that are going to happen, but I don't know if they've already happened, or they're going to happen, etc.
Remember the Ethiopian in the chariot, reading about the prophecies of Christ, and how he didn't understand and asked for an explanation? I'm baffled on understanding everything that DOESN'T relate to Christ. I suspect that I should locate some sort of related reading material to lend some context. Which would be fun - as long as I'm not going to be quizzed on dates later, I rather enjoy history.
So, gradually overcoming the hold of intimidation that I have regarding the Old Testament. A few years previous, we had, "It's big, it's scary, and it's boring." I still have a lot to read, and perhaps starting with the second-largest book was not the best plan, but hey, we're making progress.
Here is Peter's account of the coming of Messiah, and how it relates to the last days. The emphasis is not mine but refers to Joel 2:28-32 prophecy of the last days.
Acts 2:14-40
(14)
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.(15)
For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.(16)
But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:(17)
'AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.(18)
AND ON MY MENSERVANTS AND ON MY MAIDSERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS; AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY.(19)
I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH: BLOOD AND FIRE AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.(20)
THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD.(21)
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.'(22)
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—(23)
Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;(24)
whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.(25)
For David says concerning Him: 'I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE, FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, THAT I MAY NOT BE SHAKEN.(26)
THEREFORE MY HEART REJOICED, AND MY TONGUE WAS GLAD; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL REST IN HOPE.(27)
FOR YOU WILL NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HADES, NOR WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION.(28)
YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF JOY IN YOUR PRESENCE.'(29)
"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.(30)
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,(31)
he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.(32)
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.(33)
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.(34)
"For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,(35)
TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL." '(36)
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."(37)
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"(38)
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(39)
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."(40)
And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."
God prepared a bloodline through which He would send His only begotten son of the seed of a woman (yes, it is a strange term, but the seed of man carried the inherited curse and therefore Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit and a virgin of the House of David).
God said that the soul that sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:20)
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. (Hebrews 9:22)
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
God, by His grace, has sent His son to be a propitiation for our sins. (Romans 3:35)
Here is the marvelous truth - He who knew no sin humbled himself to become one of us, to die a shameful death on the cross, so that we who were sinful could be reconciled to the Father through the blood of the son.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
(17)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.(18)
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,(19)
that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.(20)
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.(21)
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Here Paul discusses the gift of salvation, and explains how in one man all have been cursed, but how in the son of God, all who will believe will be redeemed from the curse, and will become the sons of God.
Romans 5:1-21
(1)
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,(2)
through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.(3)
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;(4)
and perseverance, character; and character, hope.(5)
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.(6)
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.(7)
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.(8)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.(9)
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.(10)
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.(11)
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.(12)
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(13)
(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.(14)
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.(15)
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.(16)
And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.(17)
For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)(18)
Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.(19)
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.(20)
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,(21)
so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We must understand that God has had a plan from the beginning, and though much of it is a mystery to us, the parts which we do understand are overwhelming in their scope and power to set the sinner free. He who sees the end from the beginning knew that the world would go through its various growing pains, and then would begin to decay. His beautiful creation has been systematically destroyed by man, and yet God chooses to destroy the earth in the end - with fire - and to extend salvation to all mankind while there is yet time.
But the day is coming soon when we will see that the majority of mankind will reject the mercies of the Lord, and will by default opt for His justice. Those who refuse to humble themselves to the Lord God will pay the price for their own rebellion.
The following is Jesus' prophecy of the end times and the rebellion of man. The words of Jesus are in red.
Luke 21:1-38
(1)
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,(2)
and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.(3)
So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;(4)
for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."(5)
Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said,(6)
"These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."(7)
So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"(8)
And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them.(9)
But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."(10)
Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.(11)
And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.(12)
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.(13)
But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.(14)
Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;(15)
for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.(16)
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.(17)
And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.(18)
But not a hair of your head shall be lost.(19)
By your patience possess your souls.(20)
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.(21)
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.(22)
For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.(23)
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.(24)
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.(25)
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;(26)
men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.(27)
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.(28)
Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."(29)
Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.(30)
When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.(31)
So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.(32)
Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.(33)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.(34)
"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.(35)
For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.(36)
Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."(37)
And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.(38)
Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.
Note that in the last days, men's hearts will fail them because of fear. An increasing number of people will experience heart attacks, heart failure, anxiety attacks and such because of the fear they have regarding the times we are in, and their dismay for the future will cause them to weaken and loose heart.
How can we have peace in the face of the coming storms? We must surrender our lives to the ONE who is able to save us and keep us. We must believe in the Lord our God, Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is. We must believe in His son, Jesus, who was sent to cleanse us and to save us and to restore us to a relationship with the Creator. We must repent and be baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, Who was sent to us to lead us into all truth, to convict us and to convince us concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. And we must give our trust to God so that we may lean on Him without fear for the days we are in, because these days are evil, but we are looking to the future with Him.
Prayer to Adonai God:
Dear Lord,
I look back on my life and realize that I am a sinner. I confess that I have done many things, thought many thing, said many things, and failed to do and say many things: I have failed in many ways, and I have a habit of being selfish. I have harmed others because of my pride and foolishness. I have failed to do things that could have helped others because I was filled with apathy.
I acknowledge that there is nothing truly noble or holy in me, and that I need you to cleanse me of my unholy and evil ways. I repent of my evil actions and words, and of my failure to act when I should. I repent of my unclean thoughts and the actions that they spawn.
I beg your forgiveness, and throw myself on your mercy. You are holy and righteous, merciful and just. I know I deserve to die because of my sin, but you have provided me with the way to everlasting life through the shed blood of your dear son, Jesus.
I accept now the freedom from sin that has been given as a gift to me through Jesus, your son. I confess my faith in Jesus, and I thank you for loving me so much that you sent your own son to be executed as my substitute.
Teach me your ways, teach me your truth, and help me find my light in your words. I put my trust in you.
Amen
The reason there is such a vast amount of programming lately is because programming caters to advertisers who want people to buy their stuff, so they want programming that meets the interests of their target audiences. The current spreading of interest in the End Times, the book of Revelation, an investigation into The Rapture (was it Discovery Times or History International or the National Geographic Channel?) all tells the folks in cable television that they need to find information on this topic.
Often, the television programs turn to the book of Revelation, but they tend to neglect the gospels, thinking that the "good stuff" for television programming isn't going to be seen there.
However, Jesus teaches of some amazing things, there on that hillside near Jerusalem. He told his disciples to be on the lookout for the "abomination that causes desolation" (Matthew 24:15) that will be standing in the "holy place" prophesied by Daniel. Many have taught over the years that this alludes to a future rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. However, Daniel himself did not say that there would be a Temple, there. What he says is this:
with many for one week,
but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.
And the abomination of desolation
will be on a wing of the temple
until the decreed destruction
The wing of the Temple, you will see there. A corner of it. A part of where it was or where it might be. This will presage the greater tribulation. Christ says that those who witness it should prepare to hide themselves at that time. "Run for the hills" is about what he said.
Has all that come to pass already? According to Eusebius, when there was persecution, many Christians did indeed remember the words of Christ during a time of persecution during the reign of Emperor Titus. The Christians fled to Pella, at the foot of the mountains, for safety.
However, I do not believe that the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy is contained entirely in that era. Jesus referred to that prophecy specifically, and as his disciples were Jewish, they would have been familiar with Daniel's words. Jesus also goes on to say this:
Does this not sound as if the elect, then would still be present for the times of trouble? Does this sound as if Christ is promising a pre-tribulational departure for his followers?
I do believe that after all the trouble starts, there will certainly be those who do cry out to the Lord. They will be the exception, though, rather than the rule scripture teaches in the book of Revelation. As is the truth today, many people will discount God's hand in the events of the world, even as the signs and judgments pile up on one another.
So, folks may watch shows and specials on cable, they may read about it popular and fringe media, but it is still highly likely that many will not recognize the signs as they come about. For it is much more entertaining to speculate on the End of the Age than it will be to live through it.
Jesus says that many will come, claiming to be him, but they will be lying. False messiahs and prophets will appear (and indeed, they have done so over the millenia) to deceive many. (24:23-27)
They may even have a special on cable.
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Date Line July 3, 2007
Thoughts and connections: It seems logical that we should have the new focus on homosexuality (Gray Matters), cross dressing (Mrs. Doubtfire), gender dissociation and redefinition; it seems logical that this should be in a context of lessening priority on having children.
Obviously, Right-wing evangelicals have pushed the current agenda. They have pushed it through their irrational and blasphemous attacks on human sexuality.
They have also promoted both movements through funding policies in the administrations they control and influence. Primary Education is a necessity for children; pre and post-natal healthcare is a necessity; it is necessary to ensure health and nutrition, if we want children to learn, grow and prosper; but the Right-wing promotes warfare and death..
What Right-wing administration, or individual politician, or preacher, advocates peace? Where are they on the military?
Where is the Right-wing, the evangelicals, on the realities of Iraq, or declaring that al-Qaeda are international criminals; and not a stateless nation qualified to declare war upon sovereign states?
Albert Einstein spoke of anti-Semitic bigotry as "a state of psychic distemper in the masses." If we look at Einstein, a devout pacifist who understood the need to international police to replace armies, we also see the man who gave us the key to the nuclear bomb.
Einstein was not inventing a weapon. Nuclear power, and the bomb, are the work of those who hate humanity, and revere the one they call Satan (when their allegiance God).
How do we know their true master, the true master of the Right-wing evangelical? We can look to how they respond to Einstein�s statement: "There is no power on earth from which we should be prepared to accept an order to kill."
Right-wing evangelicals, Christians in general, love the preparation to kill more than they love the preparations for their children to live. If you doubt that, again we can point to the funding priorities that they have advanced while in power, and blocked, or opposed, when out of power.
The role of a Christian in American society, from before the time of the Salem Witch Trials, has been to brutally kill and justify brutal killing. When have they done otherwise? Even the Mormons went west with guns and a love of killing Indians.
What we see in modern society is a rebellion against Christianity. It is clear that people cannot fight against those who kill without remorse in the name of their deity. We cannot fight those who praise the use of the murder of innocents as a means of controlling spectators.
We are, in the name of a glorious Christian Crusade (Bush declared it a Crusade, his Christian backers cheered and declared their unbridled support); we are engaged in a mass murder of innocent Iraqis in the name of attacking al-Qaeda.
Never mind the realities that al-Qaeda declared the need to eliminate Saddam Hussein; that al-Qaeda declared the need to plunge America into debt; that al-Qaeda declared the need to involve American forces in a quagmire which would block the flow of oil.
Bush has, as I have pointed out before, both here and in my newspaper column, done everything which al-Qaeda stated they required of him. It is interesting that Bush has done this with the full and enthusiastic backing of Evangelical Christians, and mainstream Churches.
The murder of ones fellow man, violation of a universal command, is the primary, paramount, focus for the community which built its power on the sword and torture. Note that torture, the Inquisitions, to inquire by use of torture, is the primary advocacy of this administration.
In terms of prophecy and scripture, which the Christian Right loves to reference, these are the end of days when Christians, the evil force, are to be destroyed by Islamic armies (per the Koran), or simply to be destroyed in accordance with Revelation.
Why do I focus on Christians? Is it that I am anti-Christian? Or is it that I have actually read and understood the scriptures they love to wave about? It is, of course, the latter and not the former.
Revelation states that twelve thousand of each of the twelve tribes of Israel will be saved. Revelation states that Jesus
Himself will, as those who come in his name by know him not, and whom he does not know, will denounce these Evangelical and "Universal" Christians.
Yes it is natural that children are no longer important. If it is the end of times, and there are no more souls, there can be no more children.
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