parousia70 said:
I do see your point! Thank you for your those scriptures!
I guess my main concern is who today is qulaifed to declare any given event as the fulfillment of prophesy?
In scripture, there was always a living voice raised up by God to declare such, but I find no one qulaified today. Everyone seems to be at odds on which event fulfilled what, yet in scripture, there is always someone qualified.
See my point?
The qualified ones in scripture who announced the fulfillment were discredited because they were not CONSIDERED "qualified".
Look at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Who were these during THEIR day and time??? I believe they were considered a bunch of nobodies!!! Yes, WE hold them in esteem TODAY, but only because, through the passage of time, they were PROVEN right to those who believe. Why, even now, the Jewish community do not hold these four in high esteem because they do not believe what has been said.
Remember, it wasn't Caiphas who made the announcements. Or a king. Or another significant person that anyone of that day would accept as 'credible'. Sometime, it seems, God used others, of lesser value in the eyes of the WORLD to announce the fulfillment of prophecy.
Look at the shepherds who, probably, announced to the community that the Christ was born. Of what value were they to the Jewish nation? Very little?
Sadly, if I lived during the time of these fulfillments, I would most CERTAINLY have doubts. Maybe to the point of following the mainstream in disbelief (if I heard) or to the point of not even hearing the announcements to begin with because the announcement never made it far during the short passage of time that happened.
If someone were to make endtime claims today, I would take them with a BIG grain of salt, but I would not discredit them outright because they do not SEEM to be qualified in the eyes of man.
And, I believe 99.999999% of us would do the same.
Therefore, I can definately see that prophecy could easily pass us by with few, if any,of us realizing them until AFTER the fact. Few would hear if a pronouncement was made. Few would believe it even if they DID hear. And others would take the pronouncement with a grain of salt -- I am one of these.... I hope.
The fear of believing is oft based on the fear of being wrong.
Or, at least, I think.