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Posted on 07/25/2009 2:40:04 AM PDT by Quix
The Bible says we cannot know the time of the Lord's return (Matthew 25:13). But the Scriptures make it equally clear that we can know the season of the Lord's return (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6):
"You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night... But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober."
This passage asserts that Jesus is coming like "a thief in the night." But then it proceeds to make it clear that this will be true only for the pagan world and not for believers. His return should be no surprise to those who know Him and His Word, for they have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give them understanding of the nature of the times.
Furthermore, the Scriptures give us signs to watch for — signs that will signal that Jesus is ready to return. The writer of the Hebrew letter referred to these signs when he proclaimed that believers should encourage one another when they see the day of judgment drawing near (Hebrews 10:25-27). Jesus also referred to the end time signs in His Olivet Discourse, given during the last week of His life (Matthew 24 and Luke 21). Speaking of a whole series of signs which He had given to His disciples, He said, "When you see all these things, recognize that He [the Son of Man — that is, Jesus] is near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:33).
A Personal Experience
Every time I think of "Signs of the Times," I am reminded of a great man of God named Elbert Peak. I had the privilege of participating with him in a Bible prophecy conference held in Orlando, Florida in the early 1990's. Mr. Peak was about 80 years old at the time.
He had been assigned the topic, "The Signs of the Times." He began his presentation by observing, "Sixty years ago when I first started preaching, you had to scratch around like a chicken to find one sign of the Lord's soon return."
He paused for a moment, and then added, "But today there are so many signs I'm no longer looking for them. Instead, I'm listening for a sound — the sound of a trumpet!"
The First Sign
One hundred years ago in 1907 there was not one single, tangible, measurable sign that indicated we were living in the season of the Lord's return. The first to appear was the Balfour Declaration which was issued by the British government on November 2, 1917.
This Declaration was prompted by the fact that during World War I the Turks sided with the Germans. Thus, when Germany lost the war, so did the Turks, and the victorious Allies decided to divide up both the German and Turkish empires.
The Turkish territories, called the Ottoman Empire, contained the ancient homeland of the Jewish people — an area the Romans had named Palestine after the last Jewish revolt in 132-135 AD.
In 1917 Palestine included all of modern day Israel and Jordan. In the scheme the Allies concocted for dividing up the German and Turkish territories, Britain was allotted Palestine, and this is what prompted the Balfour Declaration. In that document, Lord Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, declared that it was the intention of the British government to establish in Palestine "a national home for the Jewish people."
The leading Evangelical in England at the time was F. B. Meyer. He immediately recognized the prophetic significance of the Declaration, for he was well aware that the Scriptures prophesy that the Jewish people will be regathered to their homeland in unbelief right before the return of the Messiah (Isaiah 11:11-12).
Meyer sent out a letter to the Evangelical leaders of England asking them to gather in London in December to discuss the prophetic implications of the Balfour Declaration. In that letter, he stated, "The signs of the times point toward the close of the time of the Gentiles... and the return of Jesus can be expected any moment."
Before Meyer's meeting could be convened, another momentous event occurred. On December 11, 1917 General Edmund Allenby liberated the city of Jerusalem from 400 years of Turkish rule.
There is no doubt that these events in 1917 marked the beginning of the end times because they led to the worldwide regathering of the Jewish people to their homeland and the reestablishment of their state.
Since 1917
Since the time of the Balfour Declaration, we have witnessed throughout the 20th Century the appearance of sign after sign pointing to the Lord's soon return. There are so many of these signs today, in fact, that one would have to be either biblically illiterate or spiritually blind not to realize that we are living on borrowed time.
I have personally been searching the Bible for years in an effort to identify all the signs, and it has not been an easy task to get a hold on them. That's because there are so many of them, both in the Old and New Testaments.
I have found that the best way to deal with them is to put them in categories, and in doing that, I have come up with six categories of end time signs. We will explore these catetories beginning in Part 2 of this series.
Wow! What a blast from the past!
I had no idea you went in for musicals and show tunes, Petronski. Can't stand 'em myself!
I’m surprised you’re not getting royalties for this one.
Actually, I don’t think they are counting the Orthodox at all, but rather the “rites”. The Eastern Catholic Churches under the Holy See.
NYer has a chart explaining them.
Yes. And the Russian Catholics were in a unique situation, being in Soviet Russia, a situation that is still not sympathetic to religion in general.
This is why I don't take Catholic apologetics seriously any more.
Oh. Well, that makes even less sense, but then I am not as educated about all of this as you and some of the others on this forum. I have learned so much since I began visiting here. It’s a lifelong journey, I fear. :)
***Quite interesting, since he wasn’t prosecuted in civil court. It is true that Tyndale varied in fortune with Henry.***
You think? :)
***As I wrote before, Tyndale’s 3 main accusers were theologians: Ruard Tapper, Jacobus Latomu and Jan Doye. After the Tyndale matter, Tapper was appointed by the Pope as inquisitor general of the Low Countries. I should note the Low Countries fell under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.***
One must remember, though, that there were a number of different factions involved. The Church certainly considered him a heretic. But Henry Tudor was maddened beyond all reason by having that book written about him and the divorce that he craved. Henry and the newly formed Anglican Church (remember that many of the religious went over to the Anglicans during the takeover, so that former Catholics were now Protestants in a flash) also went after Tyndale.
I think that you’ve got it right, though, in that the Belgian authorities were nettled by the English burning Flemish and Belgian nationals which probably had as much if not more to do with the actual death (but not the convictions) of Tyndale.
There were many great men who died for their beliefs in rather nasty ways.
***Actually, I’m told that the Catholic Church is 242 contradictory denominations, and that figure comes from a reliable, Catholic-vetted source!
And several of them even have their own Popes.***
You wouldn’t care to expand on that would you?
LOL.
There is that, alright.
Other irons in the fire and now sick.
you’re welcome to post such!
To which do you refer?
I think some folks’ keyboards
WOULD FRIZ AND FREEZE-UP
if they even thought about typing terms of endearment.
Their genetics are tooooo intolernt of such stuff. And even all their property knows it.
LOL.
>>It’s a lifelong journey, I fear.<<
Same with me!
**********************
Whose genetics?
I suppose not, dear.
“Who had him killed?”
After being convicted of heresy by the church, he was defrocked and turned over to civil authorities in the Low Countries, who in turn were under Charles V.
It was his heresy against the Catholic Church that resulted in his death. The English started pursuing him because of his opposition to Henry’s divorce & his translating, but Henry’s new wife SUPPORTED Tyndale, so the main force for pursuit seems to have been Thomas More - who hated Tyndale for translating. And in the end, Thomas More died before Tyndale, for refusing to support Henry’s marriage, but Tyndale was still caught and and charged with heresy...and Queen Anne’s failure to give birth to a boy meant Henry soon turned against her. And in any case, Henry VIII probably couldn’t have saved Tyndale, since he was caught in a Catholic area under Charles V...who didn’t like Henry.
Clear-cut, isn’t it!
Also, from what I read, it wasn’t his translating, but his frequent writings on salvation by faith.
Surely you are not denying that the Catholic Church convicted many of heresy, or that the penalty was death?
As others have pointed out, it was a brutal time. Tyndale received less brutality than many. Reformers were killed in Catholic regions, and Catholics were killed in Protestant regions. Baptists were killed in both. I read somewhere that Baptists, tired of being killed by both sides, once took over a town...and killed non-Baptists. They were overcome, and other Baptists thought their example proved why church and state should be separate.
Our ancestors in faith were excellent examples of courage, but not so good on mercy...
Bricks and mortar may or may not coincide with Christianity.
Firstly, now do you know that they are Christians?
It is the Spirit who sanctions.
Secondly, groups such as the Oneness Pentecostals claim to be Christians yet clearly are not.
According to you. It is the Spirit who sanctions. While I find errors in their doctrine, I find more error in Catholicism, and even Calvinism (my own historical roots).
The Spirit moves upon the Oneness churches. They see the gifts of the Spirit in their churches regularly. That means more to me than any doctrinal error does.
Thirdly, the Church is the only organization authorized to compile doctrine and to teach.
Agreed. But then one must determine the identity of the Church.
I will show you Scripture that sanctions the Church.
Sure. and I will show you Scripture that shows that the Spiritual gifts show the Presence in the Church (IOW prove the Church). Anyone can hang up a sign and throw up some pews...
Where is your personal sanction? Can you photocopy it and post an image on this thread pleasea?
Why?
WHy?
Soooooooooooooooo
The DUPLICITOUS, blood thirsty rock throwing rabid shredders can have a relentless go at it,
OF COURSE!
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