PDA

View Full Version : possible way for armageddon to happen


jeffs
June 17th 2007, 11:16 AM
Greetings fellow Christians

I know the Bible warns us about trying to predict the end times, but there are a number of interesting trends in politics that I thought I might inform people about that may point to end times events coming up. I’d be interested in others’ thoughts on this subject.

The first thing I noticed was listening to talk show host Mark Belling one day coming home from work. He was talking to a guy in the midst of discussing illegal immigration and this guy suggested that some politicians favor an implanted chip in people’s hands to confirm their identify because there is so much faked identity and identify theft going. Neither person on that show was trying to draw a link between this and the Biblical “mark of the beast” idea, but I found it interesting that such an idea can be floated around as easily as it was. I’ve seen other discussions on tv and radio about implanted chips, usually carrying medical information that anybody can access. Given the microminiaturization of computer chips now, it would not take much effort to create such a chip and implant it in people. The only thing politicians have to do is sell such a thing.

Another trend I’ve found in the anti-American sentiment running in Europe mostly after the fall of Communism and contemporaneous with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. This was confirmed recently to me in John Gibson’s Hating America (Gibson is, if you don’t know, of Fox News). Many people predicted that the Soviet Union would invade Israel in the end times, but this seemed unreasonable since they knew this would spark off a war between us and them, possibly nuclear. Russians don’t want to die but I believe, from what I’ve read, that Moslems would be far more willing to die for the cause of invading Israel than Russians would.

An interesting sidelight to this is the fact some people dream of a united Europe once again. I remember in the early 90’s walking in to a local library and seeing a map that depicted the members of the “European Union,” an odd concept since there really isn’t such a thing now. But I know this idea has been dreamed up and, according to Gibson, one reason for such a thing is to have a political body that can rival the United States for power.

I’ve also seen a rise in acceptance of Islam in Europe and a much more modest acceptance of it at home here. We can learn from history in Germany how it gave rise to Naziism despite the evil in it because nobody had the will to do something about Naziism until it was too late. I believe something like this might be brewing in Europe right now to the point where a clever politician with Moslem leanings could assume a status of a strong political leader over all of Europe (if the European union idea advances further in strength) and be in the position to promise Israel peace if they fulfill certain demands, but then break the peace later.

From listening to tv and radio I’ve learned that this is the common way of Moslems dealing with infidels. They sell the idea they are looking for peace but fake peace gives them time to prepare for more war. This makes sense when you think that the Antichrist makes a peace with Israel but then breaks it. Ergo the antichrist must be either a Moslem or something overtly sympathetic to Islamic goals.

Which brings me to the false prophet that is in league with the Antichrist. We can glean something from history in the fact that the church of Germany gave Hitler a strong backing (at first, of course, until Hitler turned on the church). I believe something like this could happen either from a strong Christian leader (a Pope, perhaps) or an Islamic prophet. Supposedly the coming war with Israel is supposed to usher in or bring about the next Islamic empire or Iman (spelling?) so it could be that this prophet will prophesy that whichever Islamic leader is in charge of a united Europe could be the next prophecied leader.

I admit much of what I am saying is conjectural and lacking quoted sources or references. But these are my thoughts about what is happening in the world and it only takes a number of correct political trends to bring such a sorry system together. Any thoughts anybody?

Ted
June 18th 2007, 11:39 AM
The geopolitics are all real. But Armageddon is an interlude between the 6th and 7th Bowls. It begins with the three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, beast, and false prophet.

We know that the dragon is Satan. The beast, based on the symbolism in Rev 13/Dan 7 is man's kingdoms. And I'll go so far as to say the false prophet is the papacy. But those identifications are less important than the symbol of the frogs.

The frogs are the last plague of Egypt that Pharaoh's magicians could duplicate. This shows that the "gathering for war" isn't about politics. It's about rebellion against God, just as Pharaoh refused to listen to Yahweh's voice. And the Bowls are built around those plagues.

This is called "typology." An ancient event is used as a prophetic model for a later, larger event. When the Bible does this, we need to listen. If we back up a verse, the 6th Bowl "dries up the Euphrates to make way for the kings of the east." This brings Cyrus the Great into view. He dried up the Euphrates by diverting it. This made way for his kings from the east (Medo-Persian federation) to conquer Babylon and release the captive Jews. We should see God's ultimate deliverance of his saints coming here.

Those who preach geopolitical stuff aren't necessarily wrong. They occasionally get something right. I'm sure that even The Late Great Planet Earth accidentally got something right. But those who preach geopolitics based on Revelation are wrong. That book is about salvation, not politics. If we will listen to the symbols, in their original context, we'll see that.

Ted

DanN1
June 22nd 2007, 05:50 PM
The beast, based on the symbolism in Rev 13/Dan 7is man's kingdoms

The beast can't be man's kingdoms because Babylon the Great is man's kingdom and the beast, through ten kings, destroys this kingdom of man in Revelation 17:12,16-18

Ted
July 2nd 2007, 04:39 PM
I love it when people try to make a symbolic prophecy correspond to physical limits. It gets even more entertaining when the symbols are ignored.

"Babylon" means confusion. It is a typological reference to Babel in Genesis 11. Babylon is simply a reference to all rebellion against God, just as the tower of Babel was a rebellion against God, since the people wanted to make a name for themselves (Gen 11:4). This is forbidden since only YHWH is to have a high name.

The Revelation 17 revolt you cite is postmillennial, a parallel to Rev 20:7-9 and 19:19. The message presented is that after the resurrection of the wicked, they join in a final attempt to destroy God and God's people. When they see their failure, they react against the source of their apostasy, the rebellion against YHWH by the father of confusion, Satan.

Thus, the imagery says nothing contrary to what I said before.

Ted