The End Times Are Very Near

[axeplayer]

There is a lot of evidence supporting the idea that the end times and the rapture are very near to happening. for example, the United Nations fulfill the prophesy that very near to the end times, the world will be united as one, and there will be peace on the earth(even though we're a long way from peace). also, barcodes, credit cards etc. are an early warning to the mark of the beast being used to pay for all of our expenses. In college station, Texas, there are stores where you can pay for your groceries, appliances, etc., with your thumbprint. So what does everyone else think? Are the end times and Judgement Day near?

[mrmufin]

Would you mind quantifying just how near "the end" is? I'd really like to brush my teeth and comb my hair, provided I have sufficient time.

So what do you think we're looking at, timewise? 20 minutes? 18 hours? Six months?

Regards,
mrmufin

[mrmufin]

(duplicate entry removed)

[juliod]

barcodes, credit cards etc. are an early warning to the mark of the beast being used to pay for all of our expenses.

I'll admit that I am not much of a biblical scholar, so I obviously missed the part of revelations that links barcodes and credit cards to the mark of the beast.

OTOH, my total for lunch the other day came up to $6.66.

In college station, Texas, there are stores where you can pay for your groceries, appliances, etc., with your thumbprint. So what does everyone else think?

What do I think? I think you can get free goodies by breathing on the detector to make a faint condensation which will bring up the previous fingerprint.

But seriously, do you really believe this "end times" nonsense?

DanZ

[Colter]

Hopefully it will be the end of superstition and the expansion of spiritual enlightenment.

[hannahjoy]

There is a lot of evidence supporting the idea that the end times and the rapture are very near to happening. for example, the United Nations fulfill the prophesy that very near to the end times, the world will be united as one, and there will be peace on the earth(even though we're a long way from peace). also, barcodes, credit cards etc. are an early warning to the mark of the beast being used to pay for all of our expenses. In college station, Texas, there are stores where you can pay for your groceries, appliances, etc., with your thumbprint. So what does everyone else think? Are the end times and Judgement Day near?

It's hard to say. It does seem likely, but then many people now in their graves were certain Christ would return within their lifetimes.
Why do you think the mark of the beast would be in electronic form? I incline more to the view that it is just a visible mark that indicates whether you are a citizen "approved" by the Antichrist or not.
I would also see the EU as the more likely precursor to the one world government than the UN. The UN doesn't have a particularly successful track record .
The reestablishment of the nation Israel is a promising sign, though . . .

Hannah Joy

[Dilettante]

I don't usually interpret Revelation as a prediction of the end times, but for the sake of argument let's assume it is. I don't see any of the signs mentioned (the world being united as one, peace of earth, marks of the beast, etc.)
Neither the UN (nor the EU, as hannahjoy suggests) is "united as one". Besides, the EU is just a relatively small part of the world, even if it doubles the population of the US, and the US is a lot more "united" than the EU is or probably will ever be. For one thing, at the time of writing this not all EU countries are using the same currency.
As for peace on earth, axeplayer himself said it's still a desideratum.
And what does ID have to do with the mark of the beast anyway? All our passports and ID cards have a different number, and it's not "666". Is the mark of the beast a commercial scheme? I don't see how one's choice of payment method at the supermarket checkout relates to the apocalypse. There is nothing in Revelation that suggests that, not that I remember.

[youngborean]

I don't see how one's choice of payment method at the supermarket checkout relates to the apocalypse. There is nothing in Revelation that suggests that, not that I remember.

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:


Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.


Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.

I believe the theories about the financial structure in the end times are linked to verse 17. I don't particularly like talking about specifics, like pointing out things in politics etc. that are definite signs. It seems to me that man has always been close to bringing his own destruction. I think this is why Jesus warns us to be ready, and at the same time tells us that we won't know when it's happening.

[micatala]

My own opinion is, that whenver the 'end times' occur, they will happen in a way that (almost?) no one will have anticipated. How many of those alive at the time of Jesus correctly anticipated how the coming of the Messiah would play out? I don't know that you would find a single person in the Bible who 'got it right', even though many were anticipating it.

As hannahjoy noted, many people have already died who thought they would live to the see the second coming, and I think you could include at least some of the original 12 apostles in that list.

This track record is why I look on in bemused frustration, sometimes even a state of disturbance, at the current near mania about the nearness of the second coming in some circles. IMO, I think many are reading way too much into the prophecies, and going way off base in the process. I don't see much point in trying to match up current events with Revelations. I don't think that was the point of the book.

It seems to me, the main point Jesus and others were making in their 'end times' prophecies is that we should try our best to be ready, so that at any point, whether we die or whether the second coming happens while we are here, we are trying our best to follow our calling as God's children

The disturbing part for me is that many people put so much stock in particular interpretations and the nearness of the event that they do not behave in what I consider a responsible manner. Who cares about the environment if the earth is not going to be here in a few years? Who cares about international relations if the non-Christian nations are going to suffer tribulation or annihilation anyway? Interpreting prophecy is a tricky business, and it is very easy to be wrong, even when one is very convinced one is right.

[Colter]

Great post Micatala,

The second coming has often been confused with the end of times when really it would be the end of an (age). Some see the world as slipping deeper and deeper into kayos before the rapture or tribulation. Johns revelation seemed to have been distorted and did not survive intact, many interpret it as darkness death and destruction before the second coming.

Jesus more than likely will return upon the ushering in of the age of light and life, a time when his simple gospel will have triumphed over all of the world. The largely distorted version of his life giving message will rise above the Christian religion that bears his name.

"The brotherhood of men is founded on the fatherhood of God. The family of God is derived from the love of God--God is love. God the Father divinely loves his children, all of them.
The kingdom of heaven, the divine government, is founded on the fact of divine sovereignty--God is spirit. Since God is spirit, this kingdom is spiritual. The kingdom of heaven is neither material nor merely intellectual; it is a spiritual relationship between God and man.
If different religions recognize the spirit sovereignty of God the Father, then will all such religions remain at peace. Only when one religion assumes that it is in some way superior to all others, and that it possesses exclusive authority over other religions, will such a religion presume to be intolerant of other religions or dare to persecute other religious believers.
Page 1487 Religious peace--brotherhood--can never exist unless all religions are willing to completely divest themselves of all ecclesiastical authority and fully surrender all concept of spiritual sovereignty. God alone is spirit sovereign.
You cannot have equality among religions (religious liberty) without having religious wars unless all religions consent to the transfer of all religious sovereignty to some superhuman level, to God himself.
The kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men will create religious unity (not necessarily uniformity) because any and all religious groups composed of such religious believers will be free from all notions of ecclesiastical authority--religious sovereignty.
God is spirit, and God gives a fragment of his spirit self to dwell in the heart of man. Spiritually, all men are equal. The kingdom of heaven is free from castes, classes, social levels, and economic groups. You are all brethren.
But the moment you lose sight of the spirit sovereignty of God the Father, some one religion will begin to assert its superiority over other religions; and then, instead of peace on earth and good will among men, there will start dissensions, recriminations, even religious wars, at least wars among religionists.
Freewill beings who regard themselves as equals, unless they mutually acknowledge themselves as subject to some supersovereignty, some authority over and above themselves, sooner or later are tempted to try out their ability to gain power and authority over other persons and groups. The concept of equality never brings peace except in the mutual recognition of some overcontrolling influence of supersovereignty." Urantia revelation 1955