Prophecy - The End Times

[Nell]

Whoa! Rampant speculation on the President of Turkey, Erdogan being antichrist. Rather than give you links, I suggest that you type "Erdogan Antichrist" in your browser and read the speculation for yourself. It's interesting. There is some compelling ... stuff.

Nell

[Raptor]

The following study is composed of verses from Daniel chaps. 7,8,9,11,12, about the Antichrist and organized under prevalent themes. Paragraphs are composed of verses simply cut and pasted with very little editing for grammar (changed to present or future tense) and punctuation. 99% of this document consists of verses directly out of the Berean Study Bible.


ANTICHRIST – TIME OF WRATH

"I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end." spoken by the angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.


ORIGIN
The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, and it is extremely terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong, with large iron teeth different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it and trample underfoot whatever is left. It will devour and crush with iron teeth and bronze claws.

The beast has ten horns on its head which are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. Suddenly a little one will come up; when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, a despicable person will arise, he will come to the throne. His appearance will be more imposing and different than the others.

CRAFTINESS
He has eyes like those of a man, skilled in intrigue and he will seize the kingdom by intrigue. Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper.

ARROGANCE
He has a mouth that speaks words of arrogance, and he will speak out against the Most High. In his own mind he will make himself great. He will magnify itself, even to the Prince of the host. He will even stand against the Prince of princes and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

SUCCESS
This little horn will emerge and grow extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land. He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. He will prosper and succeed in whatever he does, the king will do as he pleases. Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed.

POWER
He will extend his power over many countries and gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all their riches. He will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time. He will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and destroy the mighty men along with the holy people. In a time of peace, he will destroy many. He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god, his forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. He will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.

TIME OF PEACE
He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. He will come in a time of peace and invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers.

TIME OF DISTRESS
There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.

BREAKING OF COVENANT
In the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice will be given over to the horn. He will fling truth to the ground and he will intend to change the appointed times and laws. After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering, they will abolish the daily sacrifice and he will remove God´s daily sacrifice and overthrow the place of God´s sanctuary. The sanctuary will be surrendered. With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

DESOLATION
Desolations have been decreed. There will be a rebellion that causes desolation. They will set up the abomination of desolation, on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation.

WAR vs. SAINTS
The saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time. The horn will grow as high as the host of heaven, and cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth, and trample them, the host will be trampled. This horn will wage war against the saints and prevail against them, he will oppress the saints of the Most High, he will destroy the holy people.

DESTRUCTION
Until the end there will be war, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him. The court will convene and books opened, and his dominion will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. The beast will be slain, and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. The horn will be broken off, but not by human hands, he will meet his end with no one to help him.

KINGDOM OF GOD
The Ancient of Days will arrive and pronounce judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time will come for them to possess the kingdom. At that time His people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. The sanctuary will be properly restored. Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him. The saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.

Danke. Raubvogel.

Google translate: Thanks, Bird of prey.
Nell

https://www-pro--medienmagazin-de.tr..._x_tr_pto=wapp

[Matt Anderson]

End Times Prophecy

The first book in the Bible I studied was Revelation. I was somewhere between 7-9 years old. In classic fashion, I got in trouble for doing something wrong and in the many attempts to figure out how to discipline me my mother gave me the punishment of writing a book report. She pointed at a bookshelf and gave me the option to pick a book from the shelf and write a book report (I don't remember the number of words, but it was multiple pages). I walked to the bookshelf and picked the last green bound book of Life Studies by Witness Lee. That's right, I picked Witness Lee's Life Studies on the Book of Revelation to write my book report about. I am pretty sure these are the ONLY Life Studies by Witness Lee that I ever read.

This moment in my life is sad, funny, true and SOVEREIGN and I am thankful for it to this day.

I wrote my report, presented it to my mom and went on with life. I didn't forget anything I read from Lee.

About 8-10 years later, I began to revisit the subject of End Times prophecy. A few years before this, I had begun to read my Bible with interest and to develop a relationship with the Lord for myself. I was in the process of unlearning some of the things I received from the Local Church that needed to be tested and set aside. I was also in the process of keeping the things which were good (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).

This second time of learning about End Times prophecy was much more significant and I began to test everything that Witness Lee had said. It wasn't my goal to cast aside everything from Lee. I had just realized that I had received a mixed bag in my mind from what Lee taught on this subject and that I needed to start filtering it down.

To close this introduction, beyond my 7-9 year old experience with the Life Studies of Revelation I have had three (maybe four) more phases with End Times Prophecy in my life. I've filtered Lee. I've studied what many others believe from multiple points of view (there are at least 4 major views). Then I stopped and told the Lord that I was done. I had learned enough that I didn't need to learn more. I asked the Lord to bring it back to my attention if and when it was relevant for me. This led to a new adventure. The Lord taught me a number of things that ended up connecting with End Times Prophecy, but I didn't realize it. Then in late 2016, God put it back in front of me with a number of significant realizations and the Lord began weaving things together that I could have never anticipated. Since then, it feels like a process of progressive realization that has significantly changed this subject for me.

I've shared these things with a number of others and I have tried to "test" what I have learned with others who are well informed on these subjects.

I'd like to take some time to share some of the things I have learned (and unlearned). I'd also like to share a little bit about how my perspective has changed and how I approach End Times prophecy now.

To be clear, I am not trying to convince anyone of a new point of view with any claim that "Aha! I have it figured out!". I don't. I see darkly as in mirror. I see foreshadowings. I also see some common deceptions that are broadly held which are highly, highly unlikely to be truth. They may have some slice or glint of truth, but they fundamentally mislead believers into a lukewarm status.

So, I am writing here because of my concern for believers that matches what Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 24:3-4

And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you!" ...

Here are some key subjects I'd like to "pontificate" about

• How I approach and handle End Times prophetic subjects now (versus earlier in my life)
• What is the Great Tribulation (and who is in it)?
• What is (and is not) God's Wrath?
• Who is Israel? (Extremely important topic that can significantly alter our understanding of End Times prophecy)
• The touchy subject of The Rapture
• Some key subjects along the Prophetic Timeline (more specifics on this later...)

[Matt Anderson]

End Times Prophecy

How I approach and handle End Times prophetic subjects now (versus earlier in my life)


This post is the least relevant post about the actual subjects of End Times prophecy, but I feel it is essential to lay a little ground work for what I am starting to share.

Like most people, I WANT TO KNOW. I want to have knowledge and I want my knowledge to be correct. Given this natural disposition, it used to be my goal to study, figure things out and come to a point of view that I claimed as my own.

In my late teens, I had a teacher that taught me that this may not be the wisest approach. I didn't learn what this teacher taught me right away. It took some time. My teacher was Witness Lee. When I read his Life Studies on the Book of Revelation I understood how he had put together a comprehensive picture of End Times prophecy. I came to think of it in terms of drawing a circle. He appeared to have drawn a complete, unbroken circle with his interpretation of End Times prophecy. As I studied what Lee had written a second time (not at 7-9 years old, but 18-19 years old), I realized that there were some breaks in the circle he had drawn. He didn't say there were breaks, but I began to see them. So, I began to shift my goal. There was still a strong (and I believe fleshly) desire TO KNOW. I studied further, but I realized that someone who was intelligent and very learned couldn't draw a full and complete circle in their interpretation of End Times prophecy.

So, I worked on drawing my incomplete circle as completely as I could. I think I did a pretty good job. At this stage, I did not realize my assumptions and those assumptions I inherited from others.

By the end of this multi-year exercise which happened in chunks at various times, I was convinced that I had an incomplete circle. There were questions that I could not definitively answer and that I felt that anyone who was intellectually honest also could not definitively answer. The only thing I could do with these unanswerable questions was to survey a set of possible answers and assign some weighting to their likelihood based on my understanding.

This was where I stopped this phase of End Times prophecy study and learning. I could definitively know some things while others were a set of possible options which I could know about, but not come to a definitive answer or conclusion. So, I left various things about End Times prophecy in a state of "Open Questions" and I asked God to put these things back in front of me at a later time if I needed to know more.

During the next 15-20 years, I learned one other core lesson that has influenced my approach to End Times prophecy. Without sharing any testimonial, I will simply state what I learned.

I have learned that answers to difficult questions come by revelation from God. In addition to His revelation, I have to use a sober/healthy mind to test what I believe has been revealed using several "tools".

I have to do this in a relationship that is completely dependent upon God for this revelation. I cannot force God to show me anything and I will only know what He wants me to know when He wants me to know it.

Until He does this, I can know the things He has presented in Scripture as "knowledge without full understanding". This is what I call "seeing darkly as in a mirror" or seeing a "shadowy picture which is not in focus". I can only see more clearly when He reveals it. Many times this happens progressively.

I cannot emphasize enough the dependent approach to learning. I am not driving the conversation or setting the subjects. I express my curiousity and interest in certain things, but I recognize that He has to reveal it. For me, it has been through this approach that I have come to understand more about End Times prophecy than I ever thought possible.

I am an active listener in receipt of things which I believe the Lord has shown me and I do not presume that I immediately have an accurate interpretation of something that He has shown me. I am responsible to test with the "tools" and training God has given me over the years.

In summary, there are many things about End Times prophecy that I do not understand. I have a shadowy image as presented through Scripture and I am completely dependent on relating to God and listening to Him to understand any further. In my experience, God has only made things clearer to me when I needed them to be clearer. He has not satisfied many aspects of my curiosity or interest to know. So, I know I have to continue to be connected to Him related to the End Times.

Matt

[countmeworthy]

Originally Posted by Matt Anderson

End Times Prophecy

How I approach and handle End Times prophetic subjects now (versus earlier in my life)


This post is the least relevant post about the actual subjects of End Times prophecy, but I feel it is essential to lay a little ground work for what I am starting to share.

Like most people, I WANT TO KNOW. I want to have knowledge and I want my knowledge to be correct. Given this natural disposition, it used to be my goal to study, figure things out and come to a point of view that I claimed as my own……

……In summary, there are many things about End Times prophecy that I do not understand. I have a shadowy image as presented through Scripture and I am completely dependent on relating to God and listening to Him to understand any further. In my experience, God has only made things clearer to me when I needed them to be clearer. He has not satisfied many aspects of my curiosity or interest to know. So, I know I have to continue to be connected to Him related to the End Times.

Matt

First of all…nice to “see” you here after a very long time.

2ndly…I truly was captivated reading your posts.

And to everyone else, starting with Nell, Thank you all for posting and sharing.
I am so glad this topic is up for discussion as we ARE living in the END TIMES.

Muchos blessings be upon all.

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by countmeworthy

I am so glad this topic is up for discussion as we ARE living in the END TIMES.

Muchos blessings be upon all.

Every generation since the Lord ascended has had believers thinkining the Lord was going to come back during their life time.

We do have the vantage point of more history to look at, but we still don´t know; the Lord may come back in 20 years, 50 or 100....So if it´s 100, are we living in the END TIMES?

[Nell]

Originally Posted by Matt Anderson

End Times Prophecy

1. I have learned that answers to difficult questions come by revelation from God. In addition to His revelation, I have to use a sober/healthy mind to test what I believe has been revealed using several "tools".

2. I have to do this in a relationship that is completely dependent upon God for this revelation. I cannot force God to show me anything and I will only know what He wants me to know when He wants me to know it.

3. Until He does this, I can know the things He has presented in Scripture as "knowledge without full understanding". This is what I call "seeing darkly as in a mirror" or seeing a "shadowy picture which is not in focus". I can only see more clearly when He reveals it. Many times this happens progressively. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

I cannot emphasize enough the dependent approach to learning. I am not driving the conversation or setting the subjects. I express my curiousity and interest in certain things, but I recognize that He has to reveal it. For me, it has been through this approach that I have come to understand more about End Times prophecy than I ever thought possible.

4. I am an active listener in receipt of things which I believe the Lord has shown me and I do not presume that I immediately have an accurate interpretation of something that He has shown me. I am responsible to test with the "tools" and training God has given me over the years.

In summary, there are many things about End Times prophecy that I do not understand. ...

Matt

These 4 topics stood out to me:
1. Answers to difficult questions...by revelation from God.
Because of curiosity to "know things", I have a tendency to try to figure things out by research, reading what others have said, pro and con, on what I think the answer might be. Another method we employ, as Christians, is to rely on our understanding of Scripture. "The Bible doesn't say that" or "The Bible says this..." I also rely on what I have been taught by a child, not because I tested what I believe by asking for God's clarity.

2. A particularly ear tickling question might cause me/us to come to a conclusion based on something that God has not revealed, but something research has uncovered.

3. Knowledge without understanding. Wow!

4. Listen to God's answer then test to be sure you heard Him correctly.

Be willing to admit that you/I/we don't know everything.

Knowing God is more important than knowing stuff about prophecy and/or the Bible. Unless He's talking to you via revelation, what you/we/I have may be "knowledge without understanding."

Nell

[countmeworthy]

Originally Posted by Nell

These 4 topics stood out to me:
1. Answers to difficult questions...by revelation from God.
Because of curiosity to "know things", I have a tendency to try to figure things out by research, reading what others have said, pro and con, on what I think the answer might be. Another method we employ, as Christians, is to rely on our understanding of Scripture. "The Bible doesn't say that" or "The Bible says this..." I also rely on what I have been taught by a child, not because I tested what I believe by asking for God's clarity.

2. A particularly ear tickling question might cause me/us to come to a conclusion based on something that God has not revealed, but something research has uncovered.

3. Knowledge without understanding. Wow!

4. Listen to God's answer then test to be sure you heard Him correctly.

Be willing to admit that you/I/we don't know everything.

Knowing God is more important than knowing stuff about prophecy and/or the Bible. Unless He's talking to you via revelation, what you/we/I have may be "knowledge without understanding."

Nell

I also ask God the Holy Spirit to help me understand what I am reading, be it a passage or even something unrelated I don’t understand. And while it is not always instantaneously, He always comes through (sometimes it is almost immediately). Most of the time it is followed by confirmation.

[Nell]

Originally Posted by countmeworthy

I also ask God the Holy Spirit to help me understand what I am reading, be it a passage or even something unrelated I don’t understand. And while it is not always instantaneously, He always comes through (sometimes it is almost immediately). Most of the time it is followed by confirmation.

That too! I've always known you to be a bible scholar.