Think On These Things - Prophecy is Delicious

When Will There Be Peace in the Middle East?

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:58:00 -0700

One can glean from Scripture that there will never be peace in the Middle East that is - until Antichrist's rule, which will begin after the rapture, and probably because of it. No new superpower has to surface, or new war has to materialize, for the Rapture and subsequent events to occur. The sudden disappearance of 100 million Christians should suffice to catapult Antichrist into power, leaving those left behind to desperately search for answers that only he can provide with his "lying signs and wonders." He is the only one who can make peace, at which time (towards the end of his 7 year reign) all nations will come against the "city without walls" - Israel who has been lulled into a sense of peace by him. This will be Armageddon, where Christ himself will have to intervene to save Israel and begin His millennial kingdom. When will this all begin? No one knows, but at Jesus' own command, we are to look to the heavens in anticipation of his return. Therein lies Imminency the belief that nothing else has to happen from a prophetic perspective for the rapture to take place. In other words, it could happen tomorrow. Christ likened what the world would be like at that time to the days of Noah, and Sodom and Gomorrah. But what he emphasized was this: people would be marrying, buying and selling, and carrying on. In any event, He wants his Church to be ready for Him. This is not the only take on the end times, but it is the one that seems makes the most sense. God is has made Israel a "burdensome stone" to all nations (as evidenced by the amount of resources the United Nations has put into that tiny little region) and will punish them all for dividing Israel (see UN Res 181, also Bush's Road Map to Peace). It is my belief based on Scripture that before that punishment, He will get his people out of wrath's way.

What is the significance of 70 years of Babylonian Captivity?

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:49:00 -0700

Daniel knew of what Jeremiah had written that Israel would be in captivity for 70 years. So why 70 years? Why not 100, or 50? Is 70 years arbitrary? So 70 years are determined on the weeks of desolation of Jerusalem. You see, not only were the Jews to have a Sabbath every 7th DAY, but every 7th YEAR!!! And in that seventh year, they were to let all slaves go free, forgive all debts, do not till the land. And for 70 weeks of years (490 years) do you know how many times they did it? Go ahead and take a guess. NOT ONCE!!! And so God establishes that Israel owes Gods land 70 years, and said that they will not be able to till the soil in that time. That 70 years of time coincides with the Babylonian captivity which took place after the prophesy. Gabriel arrives while Daniel was meditating on this, bringing the message that there will be another period of 70 weeks of years, or 490 years, and at the end of 69 of them, the messiah will arrive, then be cut off. We learned earlier that this prophesy corresponded to the exact day in which Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. You just cant escape the supernatural inspiration of the Bible.

The Prince that Shall Come

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:10:00 -0700

People say the prophesy was actually written after the fact. Those who critique it in this matter realize that it is just too amazing. So amazing in fact that you either have to somehow rationalize it through subterfuge on the part of the biblical author, or you have to admit that it is true. If you admit to yourself that it is true, and you acknowledge that God is real and the Bible is his word, you are going to either rebel, or you are going to submit. Your choice. Like Paul in Acts 9, he PROVED to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. And in Damascus 3 years later, he did the same. And what do they do? They went about to KILL HIM! They had all the evidence, all the facts, and they did not want to believe. People believe what they want to believe.

Keep the Passover - Forever?

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:57:00 -0700

Interesting prophesy here. I was watching a show where a Christian of Jewish descent was trying in essence to convert a Jew (by nationality only) to Christianity. This guy - the Jew - thought that as long as you were a "good person" you'd go to Heaven. He himself did not believe in the God of the Jews, but, he keeps the Passover with his family as tradition. There was a declaration made 3,500 years ago (in Exodus 12:14) that the Jews would keep the Passover forever. Even though there are now millions of Jews who do not believe, like the man above, in the God of the Bible, they still keep the Passover. AMAZING. The prophets of the goddess Vesta in Rome also swore that the sacred fires tended by the Vestal Virgins would burn forever; and the Zoroastrian prophets declared that the sacred fires in Persia would never go out. Neither remain, but the Passover is still observed.

Prophecy is Delicious!

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 09:15:00 -0700

Jeremiah 15:16 says "Thy words were found and I did eat them." That's an interesting way to describe reading. But it's also qute telling. He's not just reading words on a page, but digesting them, giving him substance. And if we are to eat God's word, then prophecy is delicious! And filling - prophecy comprises almost 1/3 of the bible. And most of it has already been fulfilled. Then why is it neglected in the church, when it is, in fact, the cornerstone of Scripture? With it, we can practically prove Jesus is the Messiah, and so it is a powerful faith builder and convicter. You cannot honestly be an atheist or an agnostic in light of prophecy. For these reasons, I am adding a category on this blog for prophecy and we are going to be covering many of them in the future.