Why hasn't Christ returned yet?

[vinsight4u]

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[vinsight4u]

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[EastCoastRemnant]

Interesting thoughts, LLOJ. Christ's return could indeed have something to do with the Jewish feasts. I wonder if this is a mystery we will ever solve?

Imo, the feast most likely would be the feast of trumpets as the others have had a fulfillment already...

1. Pesach or Passover... Christ's crucifixion
2. Unleavened Bread... Jesus rested in the tomb on the first day of this feast, the "high Sabbath"... He also was the bread of life that had no sin in Him (unleavened)
3. First-fruits... after His resurrection, He ascended to the Father to present the first fruits of those that were resurrected with Him (the twenty and four elders)
4. Shavuot the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost... we all know that Pentecost was fulfilled with the Apostles being given the Holy Spirit
5. Rosh HaShanah or Feast of Trumpets... as the name suggests, this is when the trumps shall sound and He will descend with a shout
6. Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement... began after the 2300 day prophesy in Daniel "that cleansed the sanctuary"
7. Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles... When Christ was born. Tabernacles means to personally come and dwell with which is what Jesus did.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Maybe the world has to get worse many times over before Jesus returns....even though it seems like the world is slowly turning into a planet-wide war zone..

The signs of the times are fast fulfilling and things cannot go on much longer without a resolution.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

The signs of the times are fast fulfilling and things cannot go on much longer without a resolution.

Sure they can. It's been going on for about 6000yrs or so. What has changed?

http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Lazarus
JESUS vs the OC JEWS

John 10:24
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Rev 6:10
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the land?”



.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Sure they can. It's been going on for about 6000yrs or so. What has changed?

Everything is consolidating... the earthquakes, rumours of wars, pestilences, etc. have been around for a while but they are all increasing in severity and frequency, just as the scripture says.... as birth pains. The contractions of these things will soon bring forth the end of all things..

As an example, there have been earthquakes for millennia but if you do a search for magnitude 6.0 or higher you will see that these mega quakes only happened about 2-3 time a century going back 2000 years. Magnitude 6 and above are not events that need scientific equipment to record, so they have been recorded in the annuls of history. Up until the 1600's, this pattern of a few a century was the same, then in the 17th century there were a couple dozen, the 19th century recorded 50, the 20th century had over 300... since the 21st century began there have been over 500 magnitude 7.0 quakes.

The same is true of the other signs...

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Then there is the movements on the religious front... the Papacy is consolidating all the wayward daughters back under her wing, including all the Orthodox churches. This is in fulfillment of Rev 13:3. Rome is also meeting with all the billionaire tech CEO's and other "wealthy merchants of the earth that were waxed rich through her delicacies". This consolidation is in preparation to make war against the saints and to create a system where no man may buy or sell save him that has the mark of the beast.

 

[AnticipateHisComing]

Actually. we didn't. Jeremiah 1:5a simply means that God had foreknowledge, before he first created Jeremiah in his mother's womb, what Jeremiah was going to be like.

Note that John 8:23, John 3:31, and 1 Corinthians 15:46-47 counter the mistaken, Gnostic idea that we pre-existed as spirits (either in heaven or on a prior, spiritual earth), and then came to the present earth to be conceived and born into physical bodies. For John 8:23, John 3:31, and 1 Corinthians 15:46-47 show that only Jesus came down from heaven to the present earth, while we are from the present earth, and our 1st existence is in our present, natural bodies.

Very good points on Jesus being from above and we being of earth. Remember the very first command from God, be fruitful and increase in number. Next look at what Jesus said about marriage in heaven, there is none. Now relate this to the end time and answer the OP question. The end will come when the last elect soul has been born and come to salvation. God knows this number while we don't; and of course we are more than a number, we are known by name.

Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,

Revelation 6:11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.​

Some simple observations should make it clear that this creation was not meant to be eternal. Mathematically, there can't be endless reproduction in a world where people live forever. So on earth we create both body and soul; the body not eternal, the soul eternal.

 

[AnticipateHisComing]

Sure they can. It's been going on for about 6000yrs or so. What has changed?

Look at my previous post. Next Google for a population graph over the history of this planet to see that at current population growth rates we can't continue for another 1000 years. It took thousands of years for us to get to the first billion people on this planet. Currently we are adding a billion people about every 12 years. We are fast coming to the point of this earth being filled.

While animals were also given the command to fill the earth, they continue to with limits on their expansion. People expand on this earth and consume so many resources that at some point in the future it will have to be put in check. The things of old that reduced populations will return; war, famine, plagues are in the future as predicted by scripture. It all makes sense as every since the Tower of Babel, mankind does not exist peacefully with others. As the world gets more crowed and one nation's advance depends on another's decline, there will be wars. Currently these have been more in the financial domain with currency manipulations, but it is our nature to not get along and we will fight as we did before.

 

[Achilles6129]

I think the population point is definitely a good one. That does separate us from previous generations. Here's another interesting point: Christ says that the tribulation will exceed any amount of affliction that has ever been. That statement must include the global flood of Noah. Population statistics show that in Noah's time there were between 776 million - 3 billion people on the planet. That would seem to indicate that at the time of the end there are more people around than in Noah's day.

 

[Bible2+]

EastCoastRemnant said in post 27:

Then there is the movements on the religious front... the Papacy is consolidating all the wayward daughters back under her wing, including all the Orthodox churches. This is in fulfillment of Rev 13:3.

Note that it might not be a fulfillment of Revelation 13:3. That is, the tribulation that must precede Christ's return (Matthew 24:29-31) might not have even started yet. We must properly understand how the tribulation prophecies will be fulfilled, in order to know when Christ's return will be very near (cf. the principle of Luke 21:28). For Christ's return will occur "immediately after the tribulation" (Matthew 24:29-31).

Regarding Revelation 13:3: "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast", note that it says "one of his heads [plural]". That is, one of his 7 heads:

Revelation 13:1 ¶And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

The 7 heads of Revelation's "beast" in its empire aspect (Revelation 13:1, Revelation 17:3) represent 7 different empires (Revelation 17:9-10): Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and (possibly) Islam. The first 5 had fallen by the time of John the apostle in the 1st century AD: "five are fallen" (Revelation 17:10, Revelation 1:1b-2). The 6th (Rome) existed at the time of John: "one is" (Revelation 17:10). The 7th (possibly Islam) had not come by the time of John: "the other is not yet come" (Revelation 17:10). The empire of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) will be a different, still-future, 8th head (Revelation 17:11), which will be a revival of one of the 5 empires which had fallen by the time of John (Revelation 17:8,10,11). It will be a revival of the empire of Babylon. The Antichrist will transform the present-day, rebuilt city of Babylon (in Iraq) into the capital of his world empire, only to see his city of Babylon ultimately destroyed at Jesus' 2nd coming (Isaiah 13).

Before the 2nd coming, when the world is brought into the conscious and open worship of Lucifer (the dragon, Satan) and the Antichrist, during the Antichrist's future, literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), the Antichrist will build their main temple in the city of Babylon. For a temple to "wickedness" will be built in Shinar (Babylonia) (Zechariah 5:8,11), and the Antichrist is called "that Wicked" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Also, the dragon has been the god worshipped in the city of Babylon since ancient times.

The Antichrist may claim to be Nebuchadnezzar returned, and so reinstitute the system which Nebuchadnezzar set up whereby everyone had to worship an image or be killed (Daniel 3, Revelation 13:15). The Antichrist may also claim to be, at the same time, the return of Nimrod (the founder of Babylon: Genesis 10:8-10), and Hammurabi, and Asoka, and other famous rulers of the past. For he may claim that he has had many different "past lives" as various "enlightened" rulers.

Besides building a main temple in Babylon, the Antichrist will also sit (at least one time) in a future, 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem, and declare himself God there (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36,31, Matthew 24:15, Revelation 11:1-2). The Antichrist could also sit (at least one time) in other religions' holiest shrines, and declare himself to be God there as well. For example, he could also sit in Islam's Kaaba in Mecca, in the Sikhs' Golden Temple in Amritsar, in Catholicism's St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, etc.

EastCoastRemnant said in post 27:

... the Papacy is consolidating all the wayward daughters back under her wing, including all the Orthodox churches. This is in fulfillment of Rev 13:3.

Actually, Revelation's "beast" in its individual-man aspect (commonly called the Antichrist) -- during his future, literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-18) -- won't support Catholicism in its past and current form, insofar as Catholicism affirms that Jesus is the Christ, while the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22). And Catholicism affirms that Jesus is the Son of God, while the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 2:22b). And Catholicism affirms that Christ is in the flesh, while the Antichrist (like the Gnostics) will deny that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7). And Catholicism affirms that the God of the Bible (YHWH) is the true God, while the Antichrist (like the Gnostics) will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And Catholicism affirms that the only man who is God is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, while the Antichrist will say that he (the Antichrist) is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). And Catholicism affirms that Lucifer (Satan) is evil, while the Antichrist will bring the world into the conscious and open worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9). So the Antichrist's religion during his 3.5-year worldwide reign won't be Catholicism in its past and current form, but a blend of Luciferianism and Gnosticism.

Nonetheless, before Lucifer gives the Antichrist power over all nations (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), the Antichrist, and the man who will be his False Prophet (Revelation 19:20), could at first pretend to support Catholicism (as well as Christianity generally, and also Islam), in order to start gaining a worldwide following.

-

The beast which comes up out of the earth in Revelation 13:11-16 represents the individual man who will become the Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13). He could be a secretly-apostate pope who at some point during his tenure will make a great push for peace and unity between Christianity and Islam. He could say something like: "Why do we fight each other? Are we not all the spiritual children of Abraham and of his God, the one God? Can't we lay aside our foolish, man-made differences of theology, which have done us no good at all, but only brought us hatred and violence, and unite into one religion of Abraham, one religion of peace, based on love for the one God and love for our fellow man? What is more important than this?"

He could be so skillful in elucidating what the moderate Muslims could call "the true, peaceful, loving nature of Islam", that he could be hailed by them worldwide as (in their words) "a Great Imam, come to rescue our beloved Islam from the bad reputation falsely given to it by the terrorists". In this way, a pope could come to hold high positions of power in 2 religions at the same time, which could be symbolized by the 2 horns of the False Prophet lamb (Revelation 13:11). This would be similar to how the 7 horns of the true-Jesus lamb in Revelation 5:6 could represent the true Jesus holding 7 positions of power at the same time (cf. Jesus wearing many crowns at the same time in Revelation 19:12). The False Prophet could even say that he is Jesus. (But he won't say that he is Christ, for the False Prophet and the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ, and will deny that Christ is in the flesh: 1 John 2:22; 2 John 1:7.)

Once the False Prophet by his amazing miracles has brought the world under his spell (Revelation 13:13-18, Revelation 19:20), including many Muslims and Christians who may not care much for scriptural dogma, but could go wild over his signs and wonders, he could begin to (in his words) "restore to the world the real message which was spoken by me (Jesus) at my first coming, and by the great prophet Mohammed, but which message became corrupted by power-hungry men when they copied and changed the early manuscripts of the Bible and the Koran". He could then gradually initiate the world into the Antichrist's Gnostic Luciferianism (1 John 4:3, Revelation 13:4-6), a religion which could have existed since ancient times in some "mystery" cults, and which still exists today in the highest degree of initiation of a worldwide secret society. The False Prophet could present his miraculously calling fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13) as purported proof that Lucifer (the dragon, Satan) and the Antichrist are the true God (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9), in an inversion of how back in Old Testament times, Elijah miraculously called fire down from heaven to prove that YHWH is the true God (1 Kings 18:37-39).

--

If a secretly-apostate pope does become the Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 13:11-16, Revelation 19:20, and Revelation 16:13), adherents of Catholicism will have to decide what their ultimate source of truth is: Is it the pope and the RCC, or God and the Bible? Many adherents of Catholicism who know God and the Bible well and hold to them as their ultimate source of truth will no doubt be utterly aghast at the false doctrines of a False Prophet pope. Such adherents of Catholicism could demand that he be removed for heresy and apostasy, and that the cardinals elect a new pope. But other adherents of Catholicism, including many cardinals, bishops, and priests, could be deceived (along with most of the rest of the world) into believing the False Prophet pope's false doctrines, because of his ability to perform the most amazing miracles (Revelation 13:13-14, Revelation 19:20; cf. Matthew 24:24).

And so a great schism could arise within the RCC. Compare the Akita prophecy: "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops". Many adherents of Catholicism could follow the False Prophet pope, while other adherents of Catholicism could reject him and eventually even elect their own, new pope (or reinstall a former pope who is still alive), whom they could declare to be the "True pope". But this new (or reinstated), "True pope" could then be murdered, along with many of his followers, by the False Prophet pope's soldiers. Compare the 3rd Secret of Fatima: "he [the pope] was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions". Could the soldiers firing "arrows" be the Vatican's Swiss Guards, whose weapons and colorful uniforms hark back to the Middle Ages?

After this slaughter, the False Prophet pope could manage to retain the papacy and full control of the Vatican, and through his (deceived) cardinals, bishops, and priests, retain full control of all RCC cathedrals, parishes, churches, etc., throughout the world. And when the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") obtains power over all nations, he and the False Prophet will make war against true, Biblical Christians (whether they are adherents of Catholicism or not) throughout the world, and will physically overcome them and kill them (by beheading) in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).

It is only when the Antichrist has completely broken all the physical power of the true church (which consists of all true believers, whether they are adherents of Catholicism or not: Ephesians 4:4-6) that the future tribulation will end (Daniel 12:7b) and Jesus' 2nd coming will immediately occur, at which time he will physically resurrect and rapture (gather together) the church (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6). And at his 2nd coming, Jesus will tread the winepress of God's wrath alone (Isaiah 63:3, Revelation 19:15-21), and so he/God will get all the glory for defeating the power of evil on the earth (Deuteronomy 32:39-43). For he/God won't share this glory with the church (cf. Isaiah 42:8-14, Isaiah 26:18).

EastCoastRemnant said in post 27:

Rome is also meeting with all the billionaire tech CEO's and other "wealthy merchants of the earth that were waxed rich through her delicacies".

Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Note that while the corrupt aspects of Rome are included in what Revelation's symbolic "Babylon" (Revelation chapters 17-18) represents, it represents much more than just the corrupt aspects of Rome. For Rome just by itself doesn't reign over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18). Nor is Rome the only place where people buy merchandise (Revelation 18:11). Nor is Rome the place where all martyrs have been killed (Revelation 18:24). Nor has Rome just by itself corrupted the entire world (Revelation 18:3). Nor has Rome been continuously supported by the empires of fallen man throughout history (Revelation 17:9-10). Instead, Revelation's symbolic "Babylon" represents all of mankind's corrupt political (Revelation 17:18), economic (Revelation 18:11), and religious (Revelation 18:24) systems throughout the earth (Revelation 18:3), and throughout history (Revelation 17:9-10).

The 10 kings of the Antichrist's empire will destroy with fire what Revelation's "Babylon" represents (Revelation 17:16-17) when they destroy the cities of the nations (Revelation 16:19), probably with nukes (and probably with Fission-Fusion-Fission, "FFF", or "666", nukes, "F" representing the number 6 in English gematria), at the time of the 7th vial (Revelation 16:17,19), which will be the final event (Revelation 16:17) of the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, right before Jesus' 2nd coming (Revelation 19:2 to 20:6, Matthew 24:29-31). They could do this under the direction of Lucifer/Satan (Isaiah 14:17,12), who could want to leave only a literal "scorched earth" for Jesus to return to.

Near the very end of the future tribulation, Lucifer (employing the ancient lies of Gnosticism) could say to the Antichrist and his 10 kings something like: "Our great battle against the evil, tyrant god YHWH is about to begin [Revelation 16:14, Revelation 19:19], a battle which we will win, and so we will be able to escape YHWH's prison house, this material universe, and return to the wholly-spiritual Pleroma [i.e. heaven]. So let us now destroy this prison cell, this foul planet, and let us, as it were, burn up all the gewgaws which we have hung upon our cell walls. Let us burn up all our great cities, all our magnificent systems. Let us break all our chains of attachment to this vile physical realm, that we might more freely ascend back to our rightful place in the Pleroma [cf. Isaiah 14:13-14]".

Of course this will be a lie. For at his 2nd coming, Jesus (who is YHWH: John 10:30, Zechariah 14:3-4) will completely defeat the world's armies, arrayed against YHWH (Revelation 16:14, Revelation 19:19-21). And Jesus will have Lucifer bound in the bottomless pit during the subsequent 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6, Isaiah 14:15). And Jesus will restore ruined parts of the earth and make them like the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35, Isaiah 51:3). And after the 1,000 years and subsequent events (Revelation 20:7-15), God will create a new heaven (a new 1st heaven, a new sky/atmosphere for the earth) and a new earth (a new surface for the earth) (Revelation 21:1). And then God will descend from the 3rd heaven in the literal city of New Jerusalem to live with saved humanity on the new earth (Revelation 21:2-4).

 

[ViaCrucis]

Everything is consolidating... the earthquakes, rumours of wars, pestilences, etc. have been around for a while but they are all increasing in severity and frequency, just as the scripture says.... as birth pains. The contractions of these things will soon bring forth the end of all things..

1) They aren't increasing, it's just that the world has gotten much smaller, information travels much faster and goes everywhere through mass media, particularly since the advent of widespread internet use. We are simply far more knowledgeable about things happening in other parts of the world. We are more aware of the number of earthquakes because seismological equipment has become more advanced and so we are detecting more earthquakes.

2) If we pay attention to what the Lord says in the Olivet Discourse He is quite clear that earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, etc are not signs of the end.

"When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs." - Matthew 24:3-8

These are not signs of the end, these are not indicators of impending doom--"do not be alarmed" "the end is not yet". These are the beginning of birth pangs, this present world is suffering, and always has been. These are not the things to look for.

As an example, there have been earthquakes for millennia but if you do a search for magnitude 6.0 or higher you will see that these mega quakes only happened about 2-3 time a century going back 2000 years. Magnitude 6 and above are not events that need scientific equipment to record, so they have been recorded in the annuls of history. Up until the 1600's, this pattern of a few a century was the same, then in the 17th century there were a couple dozen, the 19th century recorded 50, the 20th century had over 300... since the 21st century began there have been over 500 magnitude 7.0 quakes.

The same is true of the other signs...

See above. We are more aware of these things because we are more equipped at recording them. A 7.0 earthquake in a remote place on the planet wouldn't be known to most people two hundred years ago and would go unrecorded. So pointing to old records and comparing them to modern records is fundamentally unhelpful.

This is like people claiming that more people today suffer from depression more--well, not really, it's just that we've only really started to identify depression and recognize it as a medical condition in recent times. People have been suffering with depression since forever, but it's being diagnosed as depression now. We have better knowledge about these things, can identify them, and make note of them--that's not the same thing as these things happening more often.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

Then there is the movements on the religious front... the Papacy is consolidating all the wayward daughters back under her wing, including all the Orthodox churches. This is in fulfillment of Rev 13:3. Rome is also meeting with all the billionaire tech CEO's and other "wealthy merchants of the earth that were waxed rich through her delicacies". This consolidation is in preparation to make war against the saints and to create a system where no man may buy or sell save him that has the mark of the beast.

Or not.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[dqhall]

The world conspired against Jesus the first time he came. When he comes again it will be to establish a new heaven and earth. Until then, the Holy Spirit has been given to instruct believers and to turn people away from their sins.

In Matthew 24:14 it is stated: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (KJV)"

 

[Goatee]

When He is ready he will return. Just be prepared as best you can.

 

[fat wee robin]

Then there is the movements on the religious front... the Papacy is consolidating all the wayward daughters back under her wing, including all the Orthodox churches. This is in fulfillment of Rev 13:3. Rome is also meeting with all the billionaire tech CEO's and other "wealthy merchants of the earth that were waxed rich through her delicacies". This consolidation is in preparation to make war against the saints and to create a system where no man may buy or sell save him that has the mark of the beast.

Don't you mean the Talmud, which portrays Jesus and His mother in a most hateful way , whereas Catholics love Jesus , these people hate Him ,but surely you know that .

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Don't you mean the Talmud, which portrays Jesus and His mother in a most hateful way , whereas Catholics love Jesus , these people hate Him ,but surely you know that .

The Jewish nation had it's demise pronounced in Daniel 9:24-27 which came about in the 1st century but this current power against God and His people in foretold in Daniel 8:23-25 which is mirrored in Revelation 13 and 17. It is the beast of Revelation, the apostate church.

 

[Bible2+]

EastCoastRemnant said in post 37:

The Jewish nation had it's demise pronounced in Daniel 9:24-27 which came about in the 1st century . . .

Actually, it didn't. We must properly understand how prophecies have and will be fulfilled, in order to know when Christ's return will be very near (cf. the principle of Luke 21:28). For Christ's return will occur "immediately after the tribulation" (Matthew 24:29-31).

Regarding Daniel 9:24-27, note that the abomination of desolation of Daniel 9:27, as of Daniel 11:31, was typically fulfilled by the abomination of desolation in 1 Maccabees 1:54, which occurred in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the 2nd Jewish temple in Jerusalem in the time of Antiochus IV. But per Jesus' statement in Matthew 24:15, the church will see the abomination of desolation in Daniel 11:31 fulfilled (antitypically) in the future, when the church will see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place (of a 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem). This future abomination of desolation could be a standing, android image of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:15) which his followers ("they") will put in the holy place of the temple (Daniel 11:31) to be worshipped (Revelation 13:15), after they have stopped the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices which the ultra-Orthodox Jews will have restarted in front of the temple (Daniel 11:31). This image will pollute the holy place of the temple (Daniel 11:31).

The Antichrist will then fulfill Daniel 11:36 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 by sitting himself (at least one time) in the temple and proclaiming himself God. By the power of Satan (the dragon, Revelation 12:9), the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") will then rule and be worshipped by all the nations of the earth for 3.5 literal years (Revelation 13:4-18), and will physically overcome Biblical Christians (not in hiding) in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).

Also, from the day on which (antitypically) "the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 1,335 days" (Daniel 12:11-12, Revelation 16:15). Also, because the Antichrist will fulfill Daniel 11:31 antitypically (Matthew 24:15) and will fulfill Daniel 11:36 for the 1st (and only) time, then he will also fulfill all of Daniel 11:21-45 (the 1st part of it antitypically, and the rest for the 1st and only time) when he arises on the world stage, for that passage refers to the career of the same man. And since the Antichrist will fulfill all of Daniel 11:21-45 when he arises on the world stage, then just preceding his arising on the world stage, Daniel 11:13-19 could be fulfilled antitypically by an Iraqi Baathist General completely defeating and occupying Israel and Egypt with a huge Iraqi Army (Daniel 11:15-17; in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath").

EastCoastRemnant said in post 37:

The Jewish nation had it's demise pronounced in Daniel 9:24-27 which came about in the 1st century . . .

Regarding Daniel 9:24-27, note that in Daniel 9:26 the original Hebrew word (karath: H3772) translated as "cut off" can refer to when a peace treaty/covenant is "made" (Genesis 21:27). The 1st century AD fulfillment of Daniel 9:26a was at the Crucifixion, when the true Messiah, Jesus, made the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 9:15-17). But a future fulfillment of Daniel 9:26a will be when the Antichrist makes a peace treaty, which will be a fulfillment of the covenant in Daniel 9:27 and the league in Daniel 11:23, with a future, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" in Jerusalem, after he and his followers are militarily defeated by the Antichrist (Daniel 11:22-23). So this future fulfillment of Daniel 9:26a can refer to this false "Messiah" being "cut off" in the sense of being "covenanted", peace-treatied.

This treaty will allow this false "Messiah" and his followers to keep a 3rd Jewish temple which they will have built on Jerusalem's Temple Mount (after they or great earthquakes have destroyed the Muslim structures there), and to (mistakenly) continue to perform the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices in front of the temple for at least 7 years (Daniel 9:27a), so long as they give up the outer court of the temple (Revelation 11:2a) to the Muslims so that the Muslims can rebuild the (by that time destroyed) Al Aqsa Mosque on the southern end of the Temple Mount and resume worship there. After "cutting" this treaty (Daniel 9:26a), the Antichrist could appear before the "many" (Daniel 9:27) nations represented at the U.N. General Assembly, and "confirm" (Daniel 9:27) that for at least 7 years he will keep this treaty with the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, using this as purported proof to the world that he is (in his words) "a man of peace, and no Hitler".

In Daniel 9:27, "he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" refers to when, only some 3.5 years after making the peace treaty of Daniel 9:26a,27a and Daniel 11:23a, the Antichrist will break the treaty, attack the 3rd temple, stop the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices, place the abomination of desolation (possibly a standing, android image of the Antichrist) in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the temple (Daniel 9:27b, Daniel 11:31, Matthew 24:15), and then sit himself (at least one time) in the temple and proclaim himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). Thus could begin the Antichrist's literal, 3.5-year Luciferian (Satanic) worldwide reign of terror (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).

At the very end of the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, the Antichrist (Daniel 11:45) and the world's armies will pillage Jerusalem right before Jesus' 2nd coming (Zechariah 14:2-21). And at the 2nd coming, there will be tremendous earth changes in the vicinity of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4-5). These events could result in all of Jerusalem's structures, including the 3rd temple and the Wailing Wall (also called the Western Wall), being broken down so that not one stone will be left on another (Luke 19:44, Matthew 24:2). Then the returned Jesus (Zechariah 14:4, Acts 1:11-12) will rebuild Jerusalem and make it the capital of the world (Zechariah 14:8-19, Micah 4:1-4). He will also build a 4th temple there (Zechariah 14:20-21, Zechariah 6:12-13). It will serve a similar function for the church during the future millennium (of Revelation 20:4-6) as the 2nd temple served for the church in the 1st century AD (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17), and as the temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19) serves for those in heaven (Revelation 7:15).

EastCoastRemnant said in post 37:

. . . but this current power against God and His people in foretold in Daniel 8:23-25 . . .

In Daniel 8, the ram represented the ancient empire of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 8:20). The goat represented the ancient empire of the Greeks, beginning with Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:21). After he died, his empire broke up into 4 Diadochian Greek kingdoms (Daniel 8:22).

Daniel 8:8-9,21-25 means that the Antichrist will come from a country the territory of which used to be part of one of these 4 Diadochian Greek kingdoms. For Daniel 8:9 means that the Antichrist will come out of one of the 4 kingdoms referred to in Daniel 8:22. And while Antiochus IV could have fulfilled Daniel 8:9,23-25 typically, the Antichrist will fulfill it antitypically. The Antichrist will fulfill Daniel 8:24a because he will be mighty, but not by his own power (Revelation 13:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:9). He will fulfill Daniel 8:24b because he will prosper, and will physically destroy the holy people, the church (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13). He will fulfill Daniel 8:25a because he will magnify himself (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). And he will fulfill Daniel 8:25b because he will stand up against the Prince of princes (Revelation 19:19), and will be broken without hand (Revelation 19:20).

EastCoastRemnant said in post 37:

. . . which is mirrored in Revelation 13 and 17. It is the beast of Revelation, the apostate church.

Note that "beasts" can refer figuratively to individual people (Titus 1:12). Revelation uses a Greek masculine-pronoun "him" to refer to its beast (Revelation 13:8) when it is referring to the individual "man" (Revelation 13:18) aspect of its beast, commonly called the Antichrist, the individual "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) who will sit (at least one time) in a 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). He will bring the world into the conscious and open worship of Lucifer (the dragon, Satan) and himself (Revelation 13:4,8, Revelation 12:9).

He will rule the earth for 3.5 literal years (Revelation 13:5-10, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12:7), and will have a miracle-working False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13), who by amazing, Satanic miracles (2 Thessalonians 2:9b), such as calling fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13), will deceive the world into worshipping a speaking (possibly an android) image of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:15), and receiving a mark of the Antichrist's name or gematrial name-number (666) on their right hand or forehead (Revelation 13:16-18). The Antichrist and his False Prophet will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire at Jesus' 2nd coming (Revelation 19:20), while at that time Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).

A 2nd aspect of Revelation's beast is that it is a powerful fallen angel (referred to with a Greek masculine-pronoun "he" in Revelation 17:11) who is now literally in the bottomless pit and will ascend from it during the future tribulation to spiritually empower the empire of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) (Revelation 17:8-11), empire being a 3rd aspect of the beast, represented by the animal symbols of Revelation 13:1-2. The fallen-angel aspect of the beast could be the angelic prince whom Satan had assigned to spiritually empower the ancient empire of Babylon, just as Satan had assigned other fallen angelic princes to spiritually empower the subsequent ancient empires of Persia and Greece (Daniel 10:13,20). When the ancient empire of Babylon was defeated, the fallen angelic prince empowering it could have been cast into the bottomless pit. This same fallen angel could be released to empower a revival of the empire of Babylon during the Antichrist's future, literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (of Revelation 13:5-18).

The release of the powerful fallen angelic prince of Babylon from the bottomless pit could occur at the same time as the unbinding of 4 other powerful fallen angels now bound at the Euphrates (Revelation 9:14b), who could have been bound there at the fall of the ancient empire of Babylon. The binding of a stone to a scroll by the prophet Jeremiah about the fall of the ancient empire of Babylon, and the casting of the scroll into the Euphrates to sink down to the bottom (Jeremiah 51:63-64) could have been a symbolic act which included a representation of the binding of the 4 powerful fallen angels and their being cast into the Euphrates to sink down to the bottom.

When these 4 fallen angels are released at one point during the future tribulation, they will cause an army of 200 million strange horse-like beings to kill 1/3 of mankind (Revelation 9:15-19). This could be done in order to make mankind completely desperate before its takeover by Satan and the Antichrist mid-tribulation, when Satan and his fallen angels will be cast down from heaven to the earth permanently after losing a mid-tribulation war in heaven (Revelation 12:7 to 13:18).

 

[AnticipateHisComing]

1) They aren't increasing, it's just that the world has gotten much smaller, information travels much faster and goes everywhere through mass media, particularly since the advent of widespread internet use. We are simply far more knowledgeable about things happening in other parts of the world. We are more aware of the number of earthquakes because seismological equipment has become more advanced and so we are detecting more earthquakes.

How observant that we are more knowledgeable of disasters, but so missing the point of signs. The purpose of a sign is to put people on notice, not kill people. It doesn't matter exactly how much of a change in the actual number or severity of natural disasters there has been of recent. It matters only that the world perceives the disasters more often. I would note though that severity of these disasters are certain to be worse as the population is higher today than ever. Also today we have the existence of multiplier effects to disasters like nuclear reactors melting down.

2) If we pay attention to what the Lord says in the Olivet Discourse He is quite clear that earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, etc are not signs of the end.

If you would pay a little more attention to the words written you would see that these are signs of the end times. Read the first sentence you quote. The disciples ask the question when and with what sign the end comes. The Olivet discourse is Jesus' answer to the disciples' question for signs of the end.

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”​

These are not signs of the end, these are not indicators of impending doom--"do not be alarmed" "the end is not yet". These are the beginning of birth pangs, this present world is suffering, and always has been. These are not the things to look for.

I think you don't understand what labor pains are and totally miss Jesus' analogy. Labor pains come before and with increasing severity/awareness leading up to the event of birth. While pregnancy lasts 9 months, labor pains occur in the last days/hours preceding a birth that last minutes. You quibble over Jesus saying the pains are not the last day and use it to dismiss Jesus' whole message presented with the analogy. Understand that Jesus said that wars, famines and earthquakes are signs that mark the beginning of birth pains. If you compared the 9 months to the thousands of years we have been waiting for Jesus' return even a simple person could understand that the time of wars, famines and earthquakes marked as the start of birth pains is very near the day of Jesus' return.

See above. We are more aware of these things because we are more equipped at recording them. A 7.0 earthquake in a remote place on the planet wouldn't be known to most people two hundred years ago and would go unrecorded. So pointing to old records and comparing them to modern records is fundamentally unhelpful.

This is like people claiming that more people today suffer from depression more--well, not really, it's just that we've only really started to identify depression and recognize it as a medical condition in recent times. People have been suffering with depression since forever, but it's being diagnosed as depression now. We have better knowledge about these things, can identify them, and make note of them--that's not the same thing as these things happening more often.

You seem to concede to a heightened knowledge and awareness of disasters. Understand that the whole point of signs is to be seen. We don't hide traffic signs behind bushes. Further traffic signs provide direction. God's end-time signs likewise serve a purpose and are intended to be noticed. God does not bring earthquakes to just aimlessly dispense of his righteous judgement. If Hollywood can understand that these signs represent a call to repent for the end is near then Christians should be able to understand this also.

Now if end time signs have a purpose of bringing the lost to repentance, than there should be some time between the sign and the actual event of the last day. This would allow some time to actually head the sign, repent and come to salvation. Now if one were to appreciate the purpose of signs, one could appreciate how Jesus and scripture has led people to believe that the end was near for every generation since his first coming. Indeed judgement day is near for everyone, for most everyone dies within about 100 years, give or take.

 

[throughfiierytrial]

The Bible says that a day is like a thousand years in the Lords eyes, he is not wanting anyone to perish, It is most important to remember that Yahweh is in total control. No matter what we may think our lives are just a puff of air in comparison to His time frame.
As an example Hebrews 22:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We are not the only ones G-d has a plan for.
Your right the world is much bigger than man ever thought...so in the Creator G_D

But Scripture also says...and a thousand years is but a day. (I just want to emphasize His return as a thief in the night...very unexpected.)