>>...only time will tell.<<
HA! That’s my line!
FWIW, I think we are either on the heels of the 70th week of Daniel and possibly approaching Ezekiel 39, or this will be like WWI and WWII. That is, very bad (worse, actually) but not the end.
I really hope it is the former. But, as you say, time will tell.
BTW, in case you are not aware of how seriously I take this, I bought a ~13 acre farm with a new house on it in central KY two weeks before Obama was elected. I live in Seattle but started looking for permanent employment in Kentucky in earnest late last year. We moved all of our stuff out there last summer. Yes, we can be 100% self sufficient on that property.
I take this very seriously. Again, see my tag line.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul writes, “ 1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”
You are quite right, and we are held responsible for knowing the season of His return for us and to be looking for Him as His Bride. Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24/25, Mark 13, Luke 21) tells us that we should be watching for Him and expecting Him. He is not a thief to us; we know He is coming and are waiting for Him with great expectation and desire to see Him. I highly encourage you to read all three of those accounts of the Olivet Discourse to get every detail. There are some who feel that Jesus was not speaking to the Church here in the discourse, but there would be no way to resolve His comments about the days of Noah and Lot being within the Tribulation because nothing will be normal then, especially not when He sets His foot down on the Mount of Olives.
RobRoy - I applaude you for your efforts to become self-sufficient and buying land to sustain you and your family during the upcoming crisis.
Revelation 18:4 is a warning and the 4th Angels message. Yes, the 4th... The 3 Angels message is in Revelation chapter 14 and the fourth is in Revelation 18:4... Of course, my interpretation might be more than some could handle, yet I am not ashamed. Overcrowded cities are not the ideal place to be in a time of crisis.
On another note, God scrutinizes more the intentions, than our actions, as these can be easily misinterpreted by the bystanders.
My only intention in posting this was not evoke a doctrinal shoot out, but with the hopes that my fellow freepers can ponder for just one moment the times we are living in.
It’s not about us vs. them, patriots vs. socialists... all these events are plainly indicative of a societal meltdown, and not revolutionary human evolution. Things are simply just not getting any better...
Of course, the sharing of this opinion always carries the risk that you will be viewed as a fanatic or sky-is-falling lunatic of somekind. That doesn’t bother me, simply because:
“Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 2 Timothy 1:12
God be with you and your family.