Interesting responses, truly.
And Sabertooth, I'd never ridicule your dream - you've had too many cogent postings to deserve that.
All that being said...
Quix, I agree that there are signals. But those symbols are often (as in almost always) interpreted incorrectly...at least, so far as I can tell. Perhaps they're meant to be allegories, and they're interpreted literally. Or maybe the signal changes reality. Or (most likely) none of the above. I have noticed that time after time, from source after source, predictions of disaster are flat out wrong. That's been the case with so-called Earth changes, the economic arena, and so forth.
Sabertooth, your dream is quite similar to predictions that have come from a variety of psychics. Take a look at Edgar Cayce, Arthur Ford, Ruth Montgomery, the Seth series, the Monroe Institute's conversations with Miranon...to name just a few...and you'll get much the same scenario. The white buffalo calf born a few years ago generated similar predictions from Native American spirtualists.
And there are various biblical scholars who also consider various current events to be indicative of upcoming changes.
One could argue that Someone is sending a message, and lots of people are picking up on it. And yet....these predications have been going on for decades that I'm aware of. (I'm a few years younger than you, Quix...but not by that much). In all that time, they've proven wrong in most of the details.
I mentioned allegory above; suppose that Earth Changes are real, but that we misinterpret the images. California falling off the west coast might mean that it slides into the sea...or it might mean that it joins Atzlan. The midwest destroyed could mean exactly what it seems to...or it could mean that an economic earthquake (i.e., sudden shift) caused a lot of damage and many people lost their previous lives. (Example: optical engineers were making 100K per year, and a few have shown up in homeless shelters, per the Wall Street Journal).
So, no ridicule. But a strong suspicion that a literal manifestation of these situations isn't going to happen. If it does, please feel free to enjoy a well earned gloat!
Am in a bit of a rush today so haven't responded to many worthy, kind or at least interesting posts. Maybe later after a trip to Arcosanti and Costco.
MUCH APPRECIATED your thoughtful post neutrino.
I strongly believe it has been satan's well executed plan to garble things in transmission as he did with Daniel's answer to prayer heard instantly but delivered later; and certainly to garble things in the hearer and most certainly in the body politic as well as in The Church universal. He is out to steal, rob and mostly DESTROY as his vengeance for God saying NO WAY to satan's plan to play God. He is hell bent to throw sand in the eyes of all God's creation he's allowed to do so with.
He recognizes his time is short for making mayhem. He realizes in that in terms of individuals, the stakes are high.
He realizes that God is going to increase revelation, supernatural demonstrations and the like. He reportedly wants to start WWIII way ahead of time.
Discrediting prophetic input would be a grand way to increase confusion and turn people off to hearing God directly at all. And earnest but sometimes too foolish even authentic Christians have too often helped him out, me included.
NEVERTHELESS, there IS an authentic prophetic voice in our era. It is being purified more and more. It is getting increasingly accurate. I STRONGLY BELIEVE I WILL LIVE TO SEE THE DAY WHEN an authentic prophet of the Living God declares something and it will happen instantly or to the second of when it's said it will happen. People will STILL explain it all away to their rationalized satisfaction.
I believe the instant to on the button timing and 100% accuracy may not be that far off.
However, there is a context when "let the [local congregation or group] test or sort a propehcy or interpretation of tongues--there's a context when that is fitting. Evidently He expects lots of flawed people to not hear 100% accurately in our era.
But I strongly believe HE WILL HAVE at least scattered individuals who hear as accurately as Moses did. I think part of His problem has been finding men as humble as Moses. Too many have their own pride and their own views that get in the way of either hearing accurately or reporting accurately.
In terms of Timothy Snodgrass--I take our Freepers' word for it who know him personally. Their vetting him is OK by me. I'm quite willing to say yea and amen and then wait on God.
We shall see what God does in terms of confirming with signs following. If they and Tim are right, Timmothy will likely be right on the button. I've waited long to see it. I'm sobered that it might be about such a dreadful set of events but have expected the purified prophetic word to be first accurate about such.
I DO TEND TO BELIEVE FROM MY EXPERIENCE THAT GOD *TENDS* TO SAY WHAT HE MEANS AND MEAN WHAT HE SAYS AND TO FULFILL THINGS RATHER LITERALLY DOWN TO THE MINUTE DETAIL THAT WOULDN'T SEEM TO MATTER AT ALL. He's done that in my life over and over.
I tend to expect Timothy's predictions to come true rather wholesale and extensively.
I treat the nonBiblical sources saying the same thing as one of two things.
A) God MAY be using all available channels to try and alert the populations of the world.
B) Satan certainly mixes fiction with truth to create confusion and lead people astray.
I think the more sobering aspect of Timothy's stuff is the WWIII implications. And MANY--WHAT MAYBE AS MANY AS 50??? prophetic types have asserted that if we do Iraq wrong, out of timeing, in the wrong way etc. etc. that we will fall into the enemy's trap and end up starting WWIII too soon.
Even the Bible Codes seem to say that WWIII will occur either in 2002 or in 2006. There seems to be some options having to do with prayer and the behavior of populations--especially The Church. . . . perhaps and governmental leaders toward Israel as Timothy asserts.
Part of me on reading the latest stuff by Tim started to say--wait, we can't have WWIII now, it's not 2006 yet and then I woke up and realized that it's still 2002---a reportedly vulnerable period for the possible start of WWIII.
If a key issue is the lawlessness and percentage of people giving the finger to God is any clue, then we haven't learned much from 911 and God would likely be duty and honor bound to try and send a louder wake-up call if not out right reaping of what so many have sown.
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to read the handwriting on the wall. We have all been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Either we have chosen to apply Christ's Blood for our deficiences as individuals or we haven't. But the eternal and present deficits are glaring on God's balance sheets for large numbers of individuals and certainly for nations and geographic spheres.
Timothy seems to be giving us another chance to attend to our own flaws before God. We shall see how many do.
There's the news of the nukes Iraq has evidently already distributed by terror teams waiting on his signal.
There's the bit about Mexico colluding with China to invade the SW and Western U.S. while Russia attacks Alaska and the Eastern U.S. Such dreams and visions have been going on for at least a decade by evidently hundreds of people great and small of all ages.
I guess I have detected over my decades of watching, sifting, sorting:
A) An increase in better quality prophetic statements.
B) An increase in God's following through demonstrably on the national and international stage.
C) An increase in Biblical prophecies regarding end times being fulfilled.
The increases appear to be in 1) intensit (2) quantity and (3) frequency.
I don't think it's a strictly right upward slop on a 1:1 basis but the average of the line is definitely up and getting more steeply up.
I also have a bias that God deliberately keeps things fuzzy as long as possible to afford more people a more pure free will choice. I believe He does that for 2 reasons.
One, He is compassionate and would prefer that none perish eternally.
Two, It allows Him more flexibility to respond to our prayers and changes in our lives in loving response to His warnings.
Anyway--for whatever it's worth--that's my 2 cents response to your kind post.
BLESSINGS,