It’s the best of times. It’s the worst of times.
Two terrible wars are going on in Afghanistan and Iraq. Terrorism is spreading around the globe. But, in spite of worldwide market fluctuations and the mortgage mess, people are still buying flat-screen televisions, new cars, iPods and iPhones like there’s no tomorrow.
Well, what if there was no tomorrow?
Frankly, I think there will be a tomorrow. But what if tomorrow brings a very different world than today? That’s a more likely scenario.
Now hold that thought for just a minute. Could the world be all that different tomorrow?
Absolutely.
We know from recent history that the world can change overnight. It happened several times in my lifetime. It’s just a matter of time before it happens again.
The day after President Kennedy was assassinated, our world was a different place. It changed forever the day after the Columbine School shootings. After 9-11-2001 people talked about a “New Normal.” And six years later we’re still learning to cope.
It seems like every day the newspaper or television reports a catastrophe somewhere: Earthquakes and hurricanes; terrorist attacks planned, thwarted or perpetrated. Every night the news from the Middle East is more disturbing than the day before.
Does anyone really understand the times we live in?
Someone does. More than 2,000 years ago, God told the prophets of Israel about what would happen in our times. They recorded this “future news” in the Bible for our benefit. Author Joel C. Rosenberg calls prophecy “Intelligence intercepts from the mind of God.”
God revealed to the Old Testament Prophet Ezekiel that in the last days Russia would enter an agreement with Iran. For more than 2,000 years there has not been a Russian-Iranian treaty--until now. God says that Babylon (in Iraq) will one day rise again to be a world power.
Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples about the end times. He described worldwide wars and earthquakes. He talked about the rise of false religions and cults. He said evil would increase and then there would come a time of great distress, unmatched in human history.
The Prophet Joel talked about all the nations turning against Israel and seeking to divide it. In the New Testament book of Revelation, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse brings a devastating worldwide food shortage, which leads to massive inflation.
These events sound as if they could be ripped from today and tomorrow’s headlines!
One of the purposes for the Bible is to help us understand the times in which we live and to enable us to see history from God’s perspective. It tells us that part of God’s plan is for Jesus Christ to return one day and fix the mess we’ve made of planet earth.
Students of Bible prophecy and signs of the times tell us that recent history and current events seem to line up with many of the Bible’s predictions. Our world could change overnight.
What should we do? How should we live in such a time as this?
The Bible gives us the answer. Peter, the disciple of Jesus, wrote that since “the day of the Lord will come like a thief,” that is unexpectedly, “you ought to live holy and godly lives.”
I don’t know where you are in your relationship with God. Maybe it’s been a while since you were in church. But consider this: Now just may be the right time for you to seek the Lord.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Showing posts with label End Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label End Times. Show all posts
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Armageddon Triangle
Ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle? It’s an area of ocean near the island of Bermuda where many ships and aircraft are believed to have mysteriously disappeared.
What could be more amazing? How about the ”Armageddon Triangle?” What’s that? Well if you’ve got a minute, I’ll tell you.
The Armageddon Triangle is what I call the convergence of End Times beliefs from the three monotheistic religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
A recent survey of average Americans shows that 42% believe that we are living in what the Bible calls the “Last Days.” And it’s not just Evangelical Christians. One in three Jews also believe we are living in the Last Days.
Due to the best-selling “Left Behind” books, many Americans are aware that Evangelical Christians believe in the “Second Coming” or return of Jesus Christ. They also believe that it is “imminent”—that it could happen at any time.
What many don’t know is that Islam and Judaism share similar expectations.
The Muslim President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is not a lunatic, as some believe. He is a dedicated Shiite who believes in the soon return of a Messiah-like figure, the Twelfth Imam or Mahdi, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. (Jesus Christ is expected to return at the same time, working by his side.) Shiite Muslims of this persuasion believe that the Imam’s return will coincide with an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil (an “Armageddon,” if you please). Ahmadinejad appears to see his role as a “John the Baptist” type, preparing the way for the Muslim “Messiah.”
(If you would like documentation for this, see Joel C. Rosenberg’s book, Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future,” Tyndale, 2006. You might also want to read the last two paragraphs of Ahmadinejad’s September 2006 speech to the U.N. where he prays for the return of his “Messiah.” See below.)
While thinking all this over near the end of 2006, I received an email promoting books by Rabbis in Israel. Their topic? –Whether the Jewish Messiah is about to come and if we are seeing a present-day fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Those prophecies refer to a treaty between Russia and Iran. Such a treaty has not existed in 2500 years—until now.
My first response was “Wow! I had no idea that these three religions shared similar, Messianic/”End Times” expectations!” (Even more interesting is that Israel apparently had a similar Messianic expectation just before Jesus Christ was born!)
Regardless of what you believe about the Bible and its prophecies, just a brief review of these facts should be interesting, if not disconcerting.
There are many differences between the three major monotheistic religions. But all three seem to agree on this: Jesus Christ was a teacher or prophet and that he (or a messianic figure like him) is about to come soon—in one way or another.
All of this, plus the daily events in the Middle East, is enough to make a thoughtful person wonder if something important (of Biblical proportions?) is starting to unfold on the world stage.
Do you want to see what Jesus said about all this? Now might be a good time to pick up a Bible and read the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 24.
Jesus said he is coming back. –It may be sooner than you think!
========================================
[Following is the last four paragraphs from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech September 16, 2006 before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.]
The Almighty and Merciful God, who is the Creator of the Universe, is also its Lord and Ruler. Justice is His command. He commands His creatures to support one another in Good, virtue and piety, and not in decadence and corruption.
He commands His creatures to enjoin one another to righteousness and virtue and not to sin and transgression. All Divine prophets from the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) to the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), to the Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), to the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), have all called humanity to monotheism, justice, brotherhood, love and compassion. Is it not possible to build a better world based on monotheism, justice, love and respect for the rights of human beings, and thereby transform animosities into friendship?
I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet.
Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are Your creatures and You have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause.
What could be more amazing? How about the ”Armageddon Triangle?” What’s that? Well if you’ve got a minute, I’ll tell you.
The Armageddon Triangle is what I call the convergence of End Times beliefs from the three monotheistic religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
A recent survey of average Americans shows that 42% believe that we are living in what the Bible calls the “Last Days.” And it’s not just Evangelical Christians. One in three Jews also believe we are living in the Last Days.
Due to the best-selling “Left Behind” books, many Americans are aware that Evangelical Christians believe in the “Second Coming” or return of Jesus Christ. They also believe that it is “imminent”—that it could happen at any time.
What many don’t know is that Islam and Judaism share similar expectations.
The Muslim President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is not a lunatic, as some believe. He is a dedicated Shiite who believes in the soon return of a Messiah-like figure, the Twelfth Imam or Mahdi, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. (Jesus Christ is expected to return at the same time, working by his side.) Shiite Muslims of this persuasion believe that the Imam’s return will coincide with an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil (an “Armageddon,” if you please). Ahmadinejad appears to see his role as a “John the Baptist” type, preparing the way for the Muslim “Messiah.”
(If you would like documentation for this, see Joel C. Rosenberg’s book, Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future,” Tyndale, 2006. You might also want to read the last two paragraphs of Ahmadinejad’s September 2006 speech to the U.N. where he prays for the return of his “Messiah.” See below.)
While thinking all this over near the end of 2006, I received an email promoting books by Rabbis in Israel. Their topic? –Whether the Jewish Messiah is about to come and if we are seeing a present-day fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Those prophecies refer to a treaty between Russia and Iran. Such a treaty has not existed in 2500 years—until now.
My first response was “Wow! I had no idea that these three religions shared similar, Messianic/”End Times” expectations!” (Even more interesting is that Israel apparently had a similar Messianic expectation just before Jesus Christ was born!)
Regardless of what you believe about the Bible and its prophecies, just a brief review of these facts should be interesting, if not disconcerting.
There are many differences between the three major monotheistic religions. But all three seem to agree on this: Jesus Christ was a teacher or prophet and that he (or a messianic figure like him) is about to come soon—in one way or another.
All of this, plus the daily events in the Middle East, is enough to make a thoughtful person wonder if something important (of Biblical proportions?) is starting to unfold on the world stage.
Do you want to see what Jesus said about all this? Now might be a good time to pick up a Bible and read the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 24.
Jesus said he is coming back. –It may be sooner than you think!
========================================
[Following is the last four paragraphs from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech September 16, 2006 before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.]
The Almighty and Merciful God, who is the Creator of the Universe, is also its Lord and Ruler. Justice is His command. He commands His creatures to support one another in Good, virtue and piety, and not in decadence and corruption.
He commands His creatures to enjoin one another to righteousness and virtue and not to sin and transgression. All Divine prophets from the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) to the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), to the Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), to the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), have all called humanity to monotheism, justice, brotherhood, love and compassion. Is it not possible to build a better world based on monotheism, justice, love and respect for the rights of human beings, and thereby transform animosities into friendship?
I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet.
Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are Your creatures and You have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause.
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