Birth pangs

Handmaid for Jesus said:

I don't think anyone here said that this in particular is leading to the end of the world/age. But we are just monitoring the things that Lord Jesus said to watch for. .

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That's just how it looked when looking at what people are writing.

The Apostle Paul states explicitly what the sign of the beginning of the Tribulation Period is. He doesn't say anything about a reconstructed Third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. He doesn't say anything about a coronal mass ejection (solar flare). He doesn't mention wars, earthquakes, or floods either. This is what the Apostle Paul says;

"Let no man deceive you by any means; for that DAY shall not come, EXCEPT there come a FALLING AWAY FIRST", and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, KJV).

In a letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explains exactly what "temple" he is talking about in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, and it definitely is not any mythological, reconstructed Third "Jewish" temple.

"Know ye not YE are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in YOU ? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, WHICH TEMPLE YE ARE", (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

Many times Bible prophecy is fulfilled in a "preparatory" and "consummate" stage of fulfillment. The preparatory phase being a foreshadowing, or warning about what is going to come to past. This is precisely the case in 2 Thess. 2:3-4, where a general "falling away" from sound Apostolic teaching precedes the appearance of a "False Prophet" Antichrist.

It is equally clear, from the teachings of the Apostle Paul (2 Thess. 2:4, 1 Cor. 3:17), and Jesus (Luke 21:8), this Antichrist figure comes in the guise of a "Christian", supplanting the Word of God and Gospel of Christ with his own doctrine, (thus defiling the temple of God), even to the extent he ultimately proclaims himself to be the coming of the Messiah.

The only question is, has the great "falling away" from real Christianity already happened ? I believe it has, and it began with the "Eccuminical Movement" in 1910, which later morphed into the "Interfaith Movement", both of which seek to unite all religions that recognize a supreme being, or creator. This not only includes groups formerly identified as non-Christian cults (falsely posing as Christian churches), but also includes the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Bahai and Islam, as well as a number of primitive, indigenous religions (such as those of Native American Indians and the Aboriginal people of Australia). What I call the "Big Tent" world religion movement.

If everyone's spiritual belief is held as being "equal" to one another... regardless of whether they recognize Jesus as the Son of God, or not... How can this possibly not represent a great "Falling Away" from the original tenants of Christianity ??? The very existence of Christ has become irrelevent in modern day Christianity !!! The very notion is totally absurd form a Christian standpoint. Yet this is exactly the infirm spiritual ground upon which we find ourselves.

I think we are totally ready for this "False Prophet" Antichrist figure to appear.

stephen583 said:

I think we are totally ready for this "False Prophet" Antichrist figure to appear.

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I absolutely agree!

stephen583 said:

The Apostle Paul states explicitly what the sign of the beginning of the Tribulation Period is. He doesn't say anything about a reconstructed Third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. He doesn't say anything about a coronal mass ejection (solar flare). He doesn't mention wars, earthquakes, or floods either. This is what the Apostle Paul says;

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No, in your quotes Paul doesn't mention worldwide disaster, because there he is explaining about the glorious Return of Jesus, NOT the beginning of the G.T. Elsewhere Paul and Peter, plus Jesus as well, tell of the sudden destruction by fire to come. Romans 1:18, Hebrews 10:27, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, 2 Peter 3:7, Revelation 14:18-20

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4:

1; Now, about the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He is to gather us to Himself.
This is the Return of Jesus for His Millennial reign. As described in Zechariah 14:3, Matthew 24:30-31 and Revelation 19:11.
Jesus will send out His angels to gather His people to Him, on earth: in Jerusalem, where He will be by then. 2 Thessalonians 4:15-17

2/3; I beg you, my friends, do not act hastily or be alarmed by anything that alleges that Day has arrived. Let no one deceive you in any way.
Don’t be fooled by any false teaching, Jesus is ‘with us Spiritually’, Matthew 28:20b, in this age, but His physical Return is yet to come.

3/4; That Day cannot come before the final rebellion against God, when wickedness will be revealed in human form, the man doomed to destruction. He will desecrate the Temple and claim to be God.
This rebellion is explained to us in Daniel 7:25, Daniel 11:36-39, Revelation 13:3-8
He is the Anti-Christ referred to in 1 John 2:18 and after 42 months, Revelation 11:3, when He Returns, Jesus will chain him up, Revelation 20:2, eventually to destroy him. Revelation 20:10

This Bible passage is very informative, as it totally disproves any pre-trib rapture. The gathering of the Lord’s people to Him, only happens at the Return.
There will be a great gathering of every true believer into all of the holy Land, soon after the Day of the Lord’s wrath, the next prophesied event. Ezekiel 34:11-31
It also proves that there will be another Temple built in Jerusalem. All as so carefully described in Ezekiel 40-44 and confirmed by Revelation 11:1. The Jews will not build the third Temple, it will be done by those people mentioned in Revelation 5:9-10 and in Revelation 7:15
They will live in peace and prosperity in the holy Land, until the Anti-Christ comes in force and defeats God’s people. Revelation 13:7 Some will be taken to a place of safety, Revelation 12:6, and some will face the Great Tribulation. Daniel 11:32
All who have kept their faith will then go into the Millennium with King Jesus.

stephen583 said:

I think we are totally ready for this "False Prophet" Antichrist figure to appear.

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No, the nations are not ready to give up their sovereignty to a One World Government. Daniel 7:23, Revelation 13:3b
Only after the forthcoming terrible Day of the Lord's fiery wrath, will the nations accede to a OWG, as that will be the best solution to regain order in the world.
Initially this OWG will be divided into 10 regions, each ruled by a President, Revelation 17:12-13 but it isn't long before one powerful man rises to take dictatorial control.

Handmaid for Jesus said:

There are signs in the heavens above and on the Earth below that people say is normal but there has been noticeable upticks recently of earthquakes,volcanoes,freaky weather, and other phenomenon. This thread is my attempt of keeping brothers and sisters abreast of the news about it. I call it birth pangs rather than another title not because I believe thr tribulation has started, but because of the increase in frequency.
Joel 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.

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Here is a link to an orthodox Jewish understanding of the time just preceding the coming of Messiah. That time is called 'the footsteps of Moshiach.' Often also called 'the birth pang of Moschiah) referring to the troubles on earth prior to his advent.

http://www.chabad.org/library/moshiach/article_cdo/aid/100900/jewish/The-Time-Before-Mashiach.htm

Handmaid for Jesus said:

Thanks! That is a good article, and we are seeing everything listed, especially here in America.

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These 'pangs' are over-general and have been a part of human culture since the first days of civilization. Read how some historians in the days of the Roman empire complained of the same thing.

To believe that the messiah is coming soon because these things are evident begs the question: why didn't he come before when these things were evident.

Just because you perceive that things are worse than they have ever been might just reflect recency bias.

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A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador on Wednesday, according to the United States Geological Survey. Rafael Correa, Ecuador's president, tweeted that there were no early reports of damage near the quake's epicenter in Mompiche. It comes just over a month after a quake in the same part of the country killed 659 people and caused widespread damage. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Honolulu said a tsunami was not expected.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ke-strikes-ecuador/84529784/?csp=breakingnews

Steve Petersen said:

These 'pangs' are over-general and have been a part of human culture since the first days of civilization. Read how some historians in the days of the Roman empire complained of the same thing.

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Sure.. The ancient Greek, Egyptian and Roman historians complained about plague, flood, famine, drought and earthquakes. That's true. Did they also complain about world changing events like rising sea levels, the disappearance of glaciers from mountain ranges, global deforestation, the record extinction of animal species, or the threat of human extinction from warfare ?! I don't believe so. The only events that even rival the kind of destruction we are talking about today is the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii, or the earlier volcanic eruption on Crete that destroyed the Minoan Civilization.

As catastrophic as these ancient volcanic eruptions were, they hardly compare to the threats posed by Climate Change and the threat of annihilation by global thermo-nuclear warfare which we are faced with today. To make such a comparison is totally and completely ludicrous.

To quote a modern day expert on science and history, Stephen Hawking (arguably one of the smartest men alive today) our civilization is in "Imminent Danger of Unprecedented Upheavals Unseen In The History of the World", Hawkings predictions 2016.

I'm betting he's read a few Greek and Roman histories in his day, and he has a pretty good grip on what we are facing in the not too distant future compared to that time. So i'll go with Hawking's assessment.

A second earthquake struck Ecuador Wednesday 15 miles north of the city of Rosa Zarate. This morning a 6.7 magnitude earthquake happened 21 miles from the town of Muisne, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ke-strikes-ecuador/84529784/?csp=breakingnews

dysert said:

According to the USGS, a magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck near the coast of Ecuador on Wednesday. No reports of casualties at this time.

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Pacific Ring of Fire. How far back do your birth pangs go? They've had nasty earthquakes in that part of the world since there's been anyone around to record it. Had 'em an 8.8 back in 1906. 6.1 doesn't even signify in comparison.

dysert said:

In theology, a literalist is someone who takes the text literally when the context allows for it.

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Unless they're dispensational futurists and the texts are in Daniel or the Revelation, in which case they "interpret" the bejeebers out of 'em.

Handmaid for Jesus said:

There are signs in the heavens above and on the Earth below that people say is normal but there has been noticeable upticks recently of earthquakes,volcanoes,freaky weather, and other phenomenon. This thread is my attempt of keeping brothers and sisters abreast of the news about it. I call it birth pangs rather than another title not because I believe thr tribulation has started, but because of the increase in frequency.

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in my thread victorinus
-I have identified three of the four horsemen
-but can only guess on the rider of the pale horse
-my guess was natural disasters
-go figure