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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.
Melian you need to know the self proclaimed gospel expert quix denies the existence of the Pope but believes in UFO’s. Feel free to laugh at his odd beliefs, many here do.
***Holy Spirit clearly left the cathedrals long ago.
Thankfully, He has returned a bit here and there with some of the Charismatic folks earnestly WORSHIPING GOD AND GOD ALONE IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.***
In following the false prophet J-d, you have clearly repudiated your own statement.
***You dare to insult praying the gospel?!! ***
Our apostate friends vary between misunderstanding the bits of the Gospel that they have left and eliminating the Gospel altogether. I suppose it it not really their fault; they’ve had a bad childhood (the Reformation) and have not only not recovered, they’ve mostly devolved into first millennium heresy.
That’s encouraging.
Thx.
Another very
VERY UNTRUE BRAZEN FALSEHOOD
by the same clique that seems to have as a cardinal doctrine
the frequent flinging of false witness.
Quix, I am sure you have heard this quote, but your concerns about the members of the Catholic Church not doing what they should sometimes made me think of this:
As Hillaire Belloc said, “If anyone should deny the divine origin of the Roman Church, let it be known that no mere human institution, conducted with such knavish imbecility, would have lasted a fortnight.”
I recommend rest, enriching reading, and ginger tea for that sore throat. Hope you feel better soon.
Perhaps you should be directing your clarification to Rome. They didn't get the memo.
Their arguments sound like blasphemy to me...how can they say the things they do...but then I suppose it may be because they do not have the fullness of faith so their understanding is well....??
No problem at all.
There can be some “passionate” Catholics who want to be “more Catholic than the Pope” but they get reigned in eventually.
You got that picture from an Baptist website.
http://www.wayoflife.org/
Where is that in the Vatican?
What is the year on that particular piece of art?
What is the story behind it and who is the artist?
Let’s not be like the Mainstream Media who make the accusation as bad as the act. Rush was accused of being a racist on a quote that he did not make. We need more information on that art and the artist’s intent.
God reigns in everyone
who truly has a heart after Him, to Know Him, Love Him, Obey Him.
Oops that’s Iscool your fellow ranter. Same style, easy mistake. Sorry.
Amen!!!!
Ping to 470.
Who knows where that piece of art is from.
***Fine. Traditional paintings may depict Mary at the foot of the cross, but the photo I posted shows a cross erected in the main Mary Basilica in Rome with Mary on the cross with Jesus.***
Who says? Your photo is found at the http://www.wayoflife.org/ which is a very anti Catholic website. Do you anything other than a heretical website which claims much and proves little? Prove that this is found at the Vatican or indeed in any Catholic Church.
If it is, then I was previously unaware of it. If it is not, then it is business as usual for the enemies of Christ, right?
***Their arguments sound like blasphemy to me...how can they say the things they do...but then I suppose it may be because they do not have the fullness of faith so their understanding is well....??***
Most Protestant denominations (and even more the non denominationals) are founded on the idea that they are not Catholic. They still hold us up as the ideal and when they find their own creations of men lacking as compared to us, they get upset, nasty, and attack in whatever fashion seems good to them.
The photo is from Way of Life Blog file, page 8
http://www.wayoflife.org/files/page8_blog_entry81_1.jpg
I cannot find anywhere the crucifix is located. Maybe someone who posted it knows....
From the website you referenced, we see there are actually TWO photos of Mary on the cross with Jesus, one in Rome and another in Poland...
As St. Irenaeus says, she being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race. Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with him in their preaching ... death through Eve, LIFE THROUGH MARY. This UNION OF THE MOTHER WITH THE SON IN THE WORK OF SALVATION is made manifest from the time of Christs virginal conception up to his death (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 8, II, 56, pp. 380-381). Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but BY HER MANIFOLD INTERCESSION CONTINUES TO BRING US THE GIFTS OF ETERNAL SALVATION. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of ADVOCATE, HELPER, BENEFACTRESS, and MEDIATRIX (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 8, II, 62, pp. 382-383). A plaque in the Chapel of the Virgin of the Grace at Saints Vincent and Anastasius Church in Rome says, Cardinal Benedetto Odescalchi, who became the pope with the name of Innocent XI, initiated THE WORSHIP OF THE IMAGE, placed on the altar in 1677, and wanted his heart to be buried here, not in the main chapel. Note the following quotations from the Vatican II Council of the 1960s:
Rome continues the double-speak.
Raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.
Gargle, dilute and drink in small amounts throughout the day.
If that doesn't work, single malt scotch.
Medicinal purposes, you see...
No. I think we have enough to worry about on planet earth without looking to the skies for anything but Christ.
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