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PROPHETIC SIGNS THAT WE ARE IN THE END TIMES [A good summary of SOME key evidences--QX]
CONTENDER MINISTRIES ^ | 11 JUL 2004 | JENNIFER RAST

Posted on 11/07/2004 8:40:35 PM PST by Quix

Prophetic Signs that we are in the End Times

Contender Ministries

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The Bible gives many examples of signs that should warn us of the coming end of the age. Six such signs are given by Jesus, two characteristics are given by Paul, and eleven other occurrences are given by the prophets to occur prior to or soon after the end of the age. While we are also told we will not know the time of the End, God obviously wanted us to know when that time was getting closer. As the Christian church is increasingly drawn into the interfaith movement, and as more and more churches go into isolation, preparing to sleep through the growing attacks on their faith, perhaps God knew it would take a few signs to wake us up and remind us that we have work to do.

Unfortunately, many Christians take the verses that tell us we won't know the time of His coming to mean they should ignore any and all scripture that might warn us of this time of tribulation. Others have fallen into the trap of fearing being labeled a "conspiracy theorist" should they display an interest in the Biblical prophecies about our future on Earth. My philosophy is simple. God included it in the Bible and, since God is all knowing, we should trust that it is something we should know and study along with the rest of His Word.

It is increasingly obvious that the time of our Lord's coming is drawing near. Prophecy is being fulfilled daily, and at a faster pace than ever before. Whether you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, or believe Christians will be witness to the full tribulation, wrath, and final judgments, matters not. The beginning of birth pains and the signs of the times should have the same effect on all of us. It should motivate us to save as many souls as we can in the time that we have left. The Great Commission tells us to be disciples to all nations, bringing the message of salvation through Christ to all people. If the Church is raptured before the tribulation, it is important that we leave behind an explanation for the trials and judgments those left behind will face. How else will they recognize the deception of the anti-Christ and seek instead the truth of the Bible? If we are to endure the tribulation along side them, we will need to be prepared to not only share the message of salvation, but share with them the reasons for God's judgment and hold it up as further proof of their need to be saved.

Below is a study of the prophetic signs God gave us as a warning of the approaching end of the age. Many of them are being fulfilled now and many will be fulfilled in the near future. I would encourage you to study prophecy, know what is coming and be prepared to share it with others.

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SIX SIGNS GIVEN BY JESUS TO INDICATE HIS COMING AND THE END OF THE AGE

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In Matthew24:3 Jesus was asked, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus told his apostles to look for the following signs prior to his second coming and the end of the age.

1. FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS

Matthew 24:5 "For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and will mislead many."

Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."

In the last several years many have claimed to be the Messiah. Jim Jones and David Koresh are examples of these false christs as well as countless others who are not as newsworthy. These false prophets are a prelude to the ultimate false christ, the antichrist. Many New Age groups, some even NGO's working for the United Nations, are anxiously awaiting the antichrist, preparing the way for his acceptance as the head of the hierarchy of gods and the one who will usher in world peace.

2. WARS

Matthew 24:6 "And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."

Rumors of wars in all areas of the world now occur frequently thanks to instant media coverage and the availability of a multitude of 24-hour news sources.

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

More people have been killed in warfare in this century than at any other time in history. As the death toll rises in the Middle East, more and more countries work feverishly to develop devastating weapons of mass destruction. Add to that the expanding threat of terrorism and unpredictable dictators such as Saddam Hussein, and the potential for the outbreak of war exists in nations, kingdoms and places across the globe.

3. FAMINES

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

As white, Christian farmers are driven out of Africa in increasing numbers, and foreigners move in to replace life-sustaining crops with poppies that now supply 25% of the worlds drugs, famine spreads across the African continent. The undernourished are not limited to Africa, however. A large portion of the worlds 5 billion people suffers from a shortage of food.

4. EARTHQUAKES

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

The number and intensity of earthquakes this century is at a level higher than any other time in history. A staggering number of seismic events occur around the world daily. The earthquake seismic monitor IRIS shows all major earthquakes for the last year. Indicated by yellow and red circles, the seismic events of the last 15 days provides strong evidence of the fulfillment of Matthew 24:7 in our day. By contrast, in the years from 1890 to 1900 there was only one major earthquake in the world.

5. TRIBULATIONS

Matthew 24:8-9 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name."

Christians are under attack throughout the world today. In the United States Christians still enjoy freedom to worship God without suffering much more than ridicule, hatred, or discrimination at work and school. However in many other countries such as China, Sudan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Russia, and many Muslim nations, Christian suffer much greater persecution and often times death for their faith. During the tribulation this suffering will be worldwide and will continue even to the point of martyrdom. These first 5 signs will increase in intensity and severity as the tribulation approaches, much like the birth pangs or contractions of a pregnant woman worsen as the delivery time approaches.

6. THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."

This prophecy has already been fulfilled through television, radio, missionaries, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and the internet. People all over the world now hear the message of Christ from missionaries who have the means to travel the globe, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our own homes, churches and offices.

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TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF THE END OF THE AGE FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL

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1. GODLESSNESS IN THE LAST DAYS

II Timothy 3:1-5,7 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

For anyone who has watched television, read a newspaper, lost a retirement to corporate greed and corruption, or just walked outside their front door, it is obvious this prophecy has been fulfilled by our generation. Our leaders are often corrupt; our cities are filled with crime, brutality, and neon signs proclaiming our sinful, godless nature. The New Age Movement brings in increasing numbers of mystics who claim to be the enlightened ones. They are some of the most educated and influential people in our societies, and yet the most lacking in real truth.

2. APOSTASY (FALLING AWAY FROM THE FAITH)

I Timothy 4:1-3 "But the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth."

Churches today are becoming more and more ecumenical, embracing the New Age interfaith agenda, and denying Christ as the only way to salvation. Giving in to the politically correct media and a corrupt society, they have embrace homosexuality as an acceptable alternate lifestyle and preach tolerance and compromise in place of God's truth for the salvation of the world. The environmentalist movement within the New Age movement lures them into a worship of mother earth, belief in past lives, reincarnation, and Karma while demonizing all those who would eat the meat God gave us as nourishment for our bodies.

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ELEVEN FULFILLMENTS OF BIBLE PROPHECY REQUIRED FOR THE END OF THE AGE

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1. EXISTENCE OF A 200,000,000 MAN ARMY IN THE EAST

Revelation 9:16 "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them."

An army of that size had never existed until China's army reached that number in the 1960's.

2. REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY)

Daniel 2:32-33 "The head of the statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."

Daniel 2:40-43 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have the toughness of iron, and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

The fourth kingdom of iron is the Roman empire according to Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The two legs are the division of the Roman empire into an eastern portion called the Byzantine empire which ended in the 1400's and a western portion based in Rome which ended in the 400's. The nations of Europe since the Roman empire dissolved have never adhered or formed one empire but continue as separate nations, however, the European Union now has 15 Member States and is preparing for the accession of 13 eastern and southern European countries.

3. RETURN OF THE ONE PURE LANGUAGE, HEBREW, TO ISRAEL

Zephaniah 3:9 "For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."

Prior to the restoration of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was a dead language. Now Hebrew is spoken throughout Israel.

4. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, RESTORATION OF TEMPLE WORSHIP AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN JERUSALEM

For several end time prophecies to be fulfilled, the temple will have to be rebuilt.

Revelation 11:2 "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the oly city for forty-two months."

Daniel 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolation, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Daniel 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary."

Some archeologists believe that the temple mount is actually 340 feet south of the Dome of the Rock site, putting the Dome of the Rock within the Court of the Gentiles. This may be the court outside the temple that is left out.

There are many groups already working on preparations for the new temple. The blueprints are already done, the temple garments have been made, and there have already been attempts to lay the cornerstone of the temple. The only thing standing in the way of the construction of the new temple is Islam's third holiest site, the Dome of the Rock and government support for such an undertaking. Some possible scenarios for the rebuilding of the temple are as follows:

1. The persuasion and performing of miracles by the Antichrist and False Prophet convinces the Islamic world to approve the rebuilding.

2. The United Nations will negotiate the rebuilding of the temple following a war with the armies from the North (Russia and Islamic forces). This assumes that the war with the armies from the North is not the battle of Armageddon as some feel and that this attack occurs before the rapture or tribulation period begins. The supernatural destruction of the Russian army and Islamic forces will cause an outpouring of Christian worship and zeal amongst the Jewish people who will reconstruct the temple.

3. It is determined that the site of the first two temples is actually south of the Dome of the Rock, and the court of the gentiles (Dome of the Rock) will be left out of the 3rd temple.

A group in Israel called the Temple Mount Faithful have obtained most of the clothing, instruments and other equipment required for temple worship and are actively preparing for the laying of the third temple's cornerstone.

5. APPEARANCE OF THE RED HEIFER AFTER 2000 YEARS

Numbers 19:2-7 "This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. "You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. "Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. "The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening."

A red heifer will be required to be used in the process of purification described in the book of Numbers. In May 1997 the first Red Heifer was born in 2000 years. Another red Heifer was born in Israel in March of 2002.

6. INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL

Daniel 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Billy Graham was quoted as saying, "ninety percent of all the engineers and scientists who have ever lived are alive today." Air travel, space travel, DNA research and human cloning are all examples of the rapid increase in knowledge in our generation.

7. RETURN OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL

Zephaniah 3:10-11 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings. In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain."

In 1984, Operation Moses saw the airlift of 15,000 Jews who had already fled to refugee camps in Sudan to escape starvation. In 1991, Operation Solomon flew 20,000 Jews to Israel from Ethiopia itself. A further airlift began in June of 1999, aimed at transporting the last 3,000 members of the Quara Jewish community from northeastern Ethiopia to Israel.

8. THE RISE OF RUSSIA

Ezekiel 38:2,4,8 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them."

In order for some end time events to occur Russia will have to be a strong nation with a strong military.

9. RETURN OF RUSSIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL

Jeremiah 23:7-8 "Therefore behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them. Then they will live on their own soil."

In the 1970's and 1980's there was a mass exodus of Russian Jews out of Communist Russia. In 1999 the Associated Press reported a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, bringing the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel since the early 1990's.

10. TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MARK OF THE BEAST

Revelation 13:16-17 "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name."

On May 10, three members of a family in Florida became the first people to receive the biochip implant. Each device, made of silicon and called a VeriChip, is a small radio transmitter about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. It transmits a unique personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet of a special receiver unit. VeriChip's maker describes it as "a miniaturized, implantable, radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, emergency and healthcare applications."

Is the biochip the mark of the beast to be used by the antichrist? We can't really know. What is significant is that people are being softened to the idea of a mark or an implant as a means of maintaining security, providing medical information, and regulating a more interdependent world. As attitudes change, fears subside, and people are convinced of the need for such a mark, the true mark of the beast will be easily introduced to the world by the antichrist.

11. PLANS FOR THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT

The United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO's, and other agencies are preliminary steps to the formation of a one world government. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world government headed by the antichrist. The increasing terrorist threat and the middle east conflict will only speed up the formation of this governing body as fear and promises of better security make more people willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance.

12. INSTANT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WORLD

Revelation 11:3, 7-10 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth."

Television and the 24-hour news networks make it possible for people around the world to see the dead prophets and rejoice at their deaths.

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place."


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To: concretebob

Thanks.


1,221 posted on 12/21/2004 4:59:53 AM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Safrguns

FOR SURE!


1,222 posted on 12/21/2004 5:01:27 AM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Quix; concretebob
Thank you so much for your replies!

Perhaps you and Angel-Gal could decide which passages from the best Enoch version whould be likely to be most edifying, informative to post on this thread about such topics.

The problem with Enoch is that its antiquity can be proven – a copy found in the Dead Sea Scrolls was carbon dated to approximately 200 B.C.. Jude quoted it as Scripture. There are about 100 phrasings in the New Testament that appear rooted from Enoch.

The Jews however did not accept Enoch as part of their “canon” because it referred to Christ. And the Christian canon did not accept it because it was not part of the Jewish canon. (How bizarre, btw.) Some notable fathers of the Church protested, including Justin Martyr.

The bottom line is that the book of Enoch was kept, copied and perhaps altered by believers in diverse locations. And because the Enoch in the DSS is a copy – and fragmented at that – we are not assured that it is faithfully reproduced. With the Torah, the copies had to be so faithfully reproduced that even the slightest error caused the entire copy to be destroyed.

If all of this were not enough, the “New Age” believers have embraced the book of Enoch. And much of what you find on the Internet is some copy interpreted in some way by them.

IMHO, we must defer to the most recent and most scholarly translation available which is the one in Charlesworth’s Pseudepigrapha.

1 Enoch was translated from examining a 15th century Ethiopian manuscript comparing it with a late 18th century Ethiopian manuscript and the text of R. H. Charles. The oldest version was taken as the greater authority where there were differences. He also compares the oldest source to available Greek fragments. He looked at the Qumrun (Dead Sea Scroll) fragments in Aramaic but they didn’t influence his translation. As an example, here is a translation from a fragment of Enoch in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It refers to the height of the “giants” as 3,000 cubits. In his translation, the height is shown as 300 cubits.

2 Enoch is also provided in the Charlesworth collection. It is the Slavic version, very fragmented in 20 different sources. The differences are so great that they are shown in columns. This Enoch doesn’t look a lot like the 1 Enoch but it includes some fascinating prophesies.

3 Enoch is also provided in the Charlesworth collection. It is the Hebrew apocalypse of Enoch, a product of the Merkabah mystics. There is a direct connection between Merkabah literature and Qumran, the Jewish Kabbalah, etc.

IMHO, 1 Enoch is the most significant to the New Testament but one loses a lot of the “landscape” by not also reading about the other Enochs, fragments, etc.

However, until or unless a complete Enoch is recovered of as great or greater antiquity than the Dead Sea Scrolls – to which all of these fragments and “copies” can be compared, we cannot be completely confident that we have the whole manuscript. This is the sad result of both the Jews and the Christians not accepting Enoch in the various canons.

If anyone wishes to read up on Enoch, I very strongly suggest the Charlesworth collection and most importantly – pray about everything you read and let the Spirit guide your understanding - God alone is Truth and the Spirit alone can lead us into Truth. Likewise, I suggest that the Charlesworth collection be the primary source for excerpts on this thread.

1,223 posted on 12/21/2004 8:37:29 AM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Quix
Thank you for your questions!

I don't doubt that the watchers involved at that time were so imprisoned. What about those who weren't but are now?

I am not aware of any Watchers being designated, sinning and subsequently imprisoned after the Noah flood judgment. I am also not aware of any prophesies of such in Scripture.

And, I don't know that giants would be the result.

That giants were the result of angels breeding with mortal women is in Genesis 6:1-4 and also in Enoch. There is a dispute about size - 300 cubits or 3000 cubits.

And the women became pregnant and gave birth to great giants whose heights were three hundred cubits. These (giants) consumed the produce of all the people until the people detested feeding them. So the giants turned against (the people) in order to eat them. And they began to sin against birds, wild beasts, reptiles, and fish. And their flesh was devoured the one by the other, and they drank blood. And then the earth brought an accusation against the oppressors.

Such a huge eating machine would be hard to miss. To me, the description (size and conduct) sounds a lot like the various dragon myths of old. (Perhaps the dragons of folklore were legends handed down from experiences with these giants?)

At any rate, according to Enoch - when the Watchers were judged by God, they pled for their children, these giants. God destroyed the children's bodies but their spirits have roamed the earth ever since as the evil spirits, unclean spirits or demons - whereas their fathers (the angels who sinned) were chained in darkness for the final judgment. (Jude 1:6, 2 Peter 2:4-5)

1,224 posted on 12/21/2004 8:53:56 AM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Alamo-Girl; concretebob; Safrguns; Las Vegas Dave; DAVEY CROCKETT; MamaDearest

SORRY.

I wasn't very clear.

Given a LOT of givens plus conjecture and puzzle pieces . . .

it seems more than a little plausible to me that THE WATCHERS in our era are known as ET's.

I don't wish to get into an exhaustive WHY at the moment. I will note that the sometimes reported 70 different races of ET's WATCHING the drama on our planet . . . and dinking with it somewhat seem to do things akin to demonic forces and/or at least be in league with demonic forces.

I do NOT, however, consider them totally identical to demonic forces 100%. That is, I do not consider 100% of all demonic forces to be ET's NOR do I consider 100% of all ET's to be demonic forces. I do believe that whether they are demonic forces inhabiting bioengineered 'shells,' or not, that 90-99% of the more commonly observed and reported ET races are at least incahoots with satan toward establishing a global government; controlling man; and trying to throw sand in God's face in the 'final conflict.'

AND, that they are clearly literally scr*wing around with humans of both sexes--literally and invitro against humans' wills. I suspect God is as annoyed with it this time as He was in the days of Noah.

There's little to no reported evidence of giants being produced. Usually, the offspring are reported to be rather puny but healthier than the ET parents in some respects that are hard to discern.

Can we say with any certainty that the WATCHERS of Noah's era are more or less the same class of critter as the WATCHERS of our era? I don't know that we can say much of certainty except that GOD IS; CHRIST IS HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN WHO DIED FOR US; ROSE AGAIN . . . etc.

But, to me, it's much more than a little plausible.

There is one significant difference. The WATCHERS of NOAH's era seemed to be copulating with women out of lust reasons rather totally and wholesale. The WATCHERS of our era appear to be copulating with both men and women in a rather cold scientific enterprise of some sort devoid of any passion except what they artificially trigger in the humans to coerce the humans cooperation. And, many times, sperm and ova are harvested in a very sterile, mechainzed way.

Some say offspring from such are to reinvigorate the ET's homeworld dying from whatever ingrownness and genetic engineering gone long awry. Some say it's to engineer a mass of human savy, human appearing, human compatible troops to help control earth. I don't know that anyone (but God), even the government really knows. Some say all that is government research about pollution and nuclear deteriortation of the genome under the guise of ET's. There might CONCEIVABLY be some of that but I doubt it's the whole reported picture of such escapades.

I don't know that any of this is all that central to anything eternal. Even if the WATCHERS end up playing a central role in end time events; they will eventually just end up as a functional footnote to the climax. Christ and His Church will have the starring roles. All forces of evil will be trounced and removed from ALL Creation.

And for that, I believe that all the true races of ET's or WATCHERS or whatever else there is will be REJOICING as Scripture indicates.

[I'm not really that interested in debating the existence of ET's with the naysayers. If fair-minded folks want to sort through in a mutually respectful way such issues as are touched on above--fine with me as I have time and energy.]


1,225 posted on 12/21/2004 10:01:11 AM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Quix
Thank you for the explanation!

I have no personal experience with unidentified flying objects and don't have an opinion - one way or the other - as to whether or not they are visitations from the spirits. My now deceased husband had seen a UFO and was asked to appear on a television program with a panel. He was a pilot but the others there were not and were quite excitable and had all kinds of ideas of what the UFOs were, their "purpose" and such. My husband was not pleased to be in that company and ended his part in the panel by simply observing that what he saw was unidentifiable - if he could have identified it, it wasn't a UFO.

I do note that in Scripture, angels may appear as normal people ("Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." - Hebrews 13:2") They may also appear with frightening demeanor (Daniel, etc.)

But even if the UFO's were some visible form of angelic visitation - I do not put any weight on a claim that they are among the Watchers. The angels in heaven do not have sexual relations (Matt 22:22-33) The Watchers (who according to Enoch were angels made in heaven but assigned to earth) were a uniquely assigned group of angels who had a physical manifestation such that they could and did have sex with women and produced giants (see also Genesis 6). For that conduct and more, they are all imprisoned for the final judgment. (Jude, 2 Peter 2, Enoch)

Without the evidence of such giants (Genesis 6, Enoch) walking the earth today, I do not accept the testimony of women claiming to have had sex with angels.

1,226 posted on 12/21/2004 10:31:01 AM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Alamo-Girl

I understand. I think!

Thanks.


1,227 posted on 12/21/2004 10:49:04 AM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Safrguns

While the New Testament uses the Greek word "demon" to refer to these "sons of the mighty", the Old Testament uses revealing descriptive names. Words which describe these beings, such as b'nai Elohim, "sons of God", Zophim, "the watchers", and Malakh, "messengers", (translated angel in English), are used for the "aerial host" often regardless of alignment. New Testament demons were understandably associated with evil, since originally the Greek term diamon meant "any deity", and the Bible consistently portrays only one God. There are three main terms for demons in the New Testament: daimonion (demon; 60 times, 50 in the Gospels); pneuma (spirit; some 52 times) usually with a qualifying adjective such as akatharton (unclean; 21 times) or poneron (evil; 8 times); and angelos (7 times of demonic agencies). Daimon (demon), the term commonly used in classical Greek, appears only once (Mark 8:31) ( Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Walter A. Elwell (Ed))


1,228 posted on 12/21/2004 1:27:39 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: Quix
Lucifer comitted the worst sin of all, he was prideful. He told God he would place himself above God, and all would bow to him.
This has been Lucifer's goal from the start, to place himself ABOVE God, to be LIKE God.
That is why the Watchers took wives from the human segment of society. Lucifer wanted to start his own race of beings which would be loyal to him.

Lucifer is very clear about his ambitions in his "I will..." speech quoted in Isaiah 14:13:
I will go up to the heavens,
I will raise my thrown above the stars of God, and
I will sit in the mount of meeting, in the sides of the north.
I will rise over the heights of the clouds:
I will be compared to the Most High.

1,229 posted on 12/21/2004 1:36:00 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: Quix
To follow up:

(KJV) "How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!"

(Interlinear)
"O shining star, son of morning,
how you have fallen from the heavens...
For you said in your heart,
I will go up to the heavens;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
and I will sit in the mount of meeting
I will be compared to the most high."

Lucifer, the greatest of God's angels, "sealed the measure" of perfection and beauty of all creation. His nature reflected the glory of God, and the word of God which spoke all creation into existence.

Ezekial 28:
You were the anointed cherub
that covers, and I had put you
in the holy height of God...
YOU WALKED UP AND DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE...
You were perfect in your ways from the day
you were created, until iniquity was found in you.

Ezekial's prophecy is addressed to the "king of the rock", an "anointed Cherub", who is described as traveling "in the midst of the stones of fire" which literally translated is "in the midst or among the eh-ben, 'built stones or rocks',of fire".

BUILT STONES? What are they that the greatest angel created Bible prophecy, stones of fire, cherubim, seraphim, angel, devil, demon, prince of the powers of the air, authority over UFOs, ufo, alien, demon, monuments on the moon could travel up and down in their vastness? The answer is in the night sky. There can be seen "God built " stones reflecting the light of the sun.. . the planets.

Before the creation of Adam, the civilizations of angels existed on the terrestrial planets. Throughout scripture there is a consistent reference to the first dwelling places of some of the ancient sons of God. These angels created habitations on the Earth, Mars, "Astera" the Fifth Planet, the Moon ...

Ezekial 28:
3 Behold you are wiser than Daniel;
every one of the secret things is not hidden to you...
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you.
16 By the multitude of your trade they filled your midst with violence, and you sinned.
So I cast you profaned from the height of God, AND I DESTROYED YOU, OH COVERING CHERUB, FROM AMONG THE STONES OF FIRE...
18 By the host of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trade, you have profaned your holy places;
thus I brought a fire from your midst;

1,230 posted on 12/21/2004 1:57:58 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: concretebob

Thanks.


1,231 posted on 12/21/2004 2:04:53 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: concretebob

True.


1,232 posted on 12/21/2004 2:05:45 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: concretebob

I hadn't ran across that perspective before.

Thanks.

Quite interesting.

Blessings,


1,233 posted on 12/21/2004 2:07:47 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Quix
No... I don't think it really matters. If you know a lot about angels and their attributes from the bible (evil or not), you might find that their actions in the bible are inconsistent with that of demons... i.e. no fallen angel would have any need or desire to 'possess' a human body. Their bodies are already far superior to ours, and it would simply be of no use to them. Demons on the other hand are disembodied spirits. They DO desire to control flesh, because it is something they used to have but have lost.
So... the question then becomes... where did demons come from if they are not fallen angels? There is also discussion about the original greek translations of the phrase 'formless and void' in Genesis 1:2, which is said to be more like the aftermath of destruction, rather than the emptiness following creation as most assume. So, if Genesis 1:2 is describing the destruction of earth, what was destroyed?
This then takes us to other various scriptures which give hints and implications of a race of beings that existed before Adam's time. Which ones? I don't know... I got most of this from a sunday school class taught by someone who was EXTREMELY familiar with Hebrew... It made sense to me, and I know this guy well... someone who is closer to God than anyone else I can think of. He actually worked with Einstein at one point in his life... very smart guy.
1,234 posted on 12/21/2004 2:43:50 PM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
Safrguns..You sound just like me.
I swear, I was reading your post, thinking to myself, "when did I post this?"...:)
1,235 posted on 12/21/2004 2:51:49 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: Quix

All I'd do is reinforce what you said, and maybe do some "linear interpolation" regarding the physical body/lack of, scenario.


1,236 posted on 12/21/2004 2:55:48 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: concretebob
Assuming that fallen angels were never de-frocked of their bodies, why would it be necessary or desirable for a fallen angel to 'possess' a human body which is far less impressive than theirs? If demons are actually dis-embodied spirits (which would explain why they want to possess humans), where did they come from? Products of angel/human relations? maybe... don't know... assuming they are, wouldn't this be a very limited army at Satan's disposal? were the angels which had relations with humans doing this for so long without challenge that would explain the multitude of demons that are known to exist? Only a third of the angels rebelled against God... not much to work with there at armageddon when your still facing the other 2/3rds.

Now here's a real good kicker... You know how God likes the number 3.... We know that Satan leads a rebellion against God twice... once in heaven with 1/3 of the angels, and once in Revelations at armageddon. What happened to 3??? (unless armageddon IS # 3... so where's # 2?)
1,237 posted on 12/21/2004 2:59:14 PM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
I would have LOVED to have been in that Sunday School class.
What a marvelous way to justify/reinforce/verify, one's faith.
(not sure if any of those descriptors are correct in context, but that could be another 1100+ post thread)
1,238 posted on 12/21/2004 3:01:40 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: Safrguns
Apparently, they can't exist for very long OUTSIDE of a physical body.
That is what I have read in the past, and I can't remember where, but it was on a website which researched the individual entities in terms of their names, and their function.
It also had an admonition that it was best to ignore them, and their existence.
As if acknowledging their existence increased their power.
It was stated that these spirits are extremely evil, and very vindictive, and a mortal expressing overt curiosity, was apt to find more than he wanted.
There are people in the world, who have dedicated their lives to finding these evil spirits.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but no more so than UFO chasers.

1,239 posted on 12/21/2004 3:12:42 PM PST by concretebob (but what do I know, I'm just an ignorant peasant)
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To: concretebob

Tohu and Bofu... Formless and Void
The same phrase is also used in Revelations somewhere in reference to destruction of the earth... not sure where.


1,240 posted on 12/21/2004 3:14:36 PM PST by Safrguns
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