Texas_Tickle
4th Level Orange Feather
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2002
- Messages
- 2,950
- Points
- 38
I did not write this, but I do research on end-time prophecy, and thought this was too much to be a simple coincidence
Here is the link where is can be found
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]&rnum=1
Here is the post itself, it its entirety, and un-edited
I don't know about you guys but my mouth dropped when the I tuned to CNN and
saw the Russian President shaking hands with Saddam! Truly, prophecy in the
Bible is our headlines today! YEah HOO Come Lord Come!
March 12, 2003, 6:47AM
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/1814428
Iraq war considered by some to be fulfillment of prophecy
By BILL BROADWAY
Washington Post
Ever since Jesus said that only God knows the hour or day of the Second
Coming, preachers and self-appointed doomsayers have been trying to predict
when it will happen -- and watching the sun rise on another generation.
Even those who chastise date-setters nearly always say, "God's final
judgment is coming soon, probably in our lifetime, so get ready."
In recent weeks, the prophetic interpreters have been citing a new reason
they believe the end is coming: the impending U.S. war with Iraq.
Anxious discussions have arisen on prophecy Web sites, in Bible study groups
and churches, and at such gatherings as last month's 20th International
Prophecy Conference in Tampa, Fla. Its title: "Shaking of Nations: Living in
Perilous Times."
Many see evidence of Iraq's significance in end-time scenarios in key
passages of the apocalyptic book of Revelation. Chapter 16, which includes
the only mention of Armageddon in the Bible, carries a direct reference to
the Euphrates River, which runs through modern-day Iraq.
"The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its
water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East," writes
John, possibly the apostle, of a container of God's anger emptied on the
ancient land of Babylon, now Iraq. The kings will move their armies through
the Euphrates valley en route to Har Megiddo (Armageddon) in northern
Israel.
The Euphrates appears a second time with one of seven angels whose blaring
trumpets warn that the Final Judgment is near. "Release the four angels who
are bound at the great river Euphrates," a voice commands the sixth angel of
God, whose compliance unleashes agents of death who "had been kept ready for
this very hour and day and month and year and were released to kill a third
of mankind."
Then comes the clincher. In Chapter 9, Verse 11 -- yes, that's 9:11 -- John
says the leader of an army of locusts released to fight humankind is named
Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek. Both words mean Destroyer, one of
several meanings for the name "Saddam."
"Iraq fits like hand in glove," Irvin Baxter, founder of Endtime magazine
and pastor of Oak Park Church in Richmond, Ind., said of the role he
believes the country will play in world-ending events if U.S.-led forces
invade Iraq.
Baxter, a lifelong student of Old and New Testament prophecies, said
casualties will be tremendous, not only of combatants in Iraq but of people
in neighboring countries hit by retaliatory missiles of mass destruction and
Americans who fall victim to terrorists armed with portable nuclear weapons.
And other countries will take the opportunity to pursue their own
interests -- China trying to retake Taiwan, or India making an all-out
assault on Kashmir -- leading to World War III, he said. The result, Baxter
concludes, could be a nuclear holocaust that takes the lives of 2 billion
people, the "one-third of mankind" stated in Revelation.
Such talk bothers Craig Hill, professor of New Testament at Wesley
Theological Seminary in Washington and one of many biblical scholars who say
end-time interpreters distort Scripture to fit their own point of view. Most
claim to read the Bible "literally," yet take bits and pieces from books
written centuries apart under different circumstances, he said.
Ezekiel, one of the most popular end-time texts, was written in the 6th
century B.C. by a Judean priest exiled in Babylon who dreamed of the Jews'
return to Israel and the restoration of the temple.
Revelation was written 600 years later, about A.D. 95, by an exiled
Christian leader encouraging churches in Asia Minor to persevere under the
hardships of Roman control.
Yet prophetic interpreters will take verses from each and combine them to
create a reading that justifies their point of view, said Hill, author of In
God's Time: The Bible and the Future.
"In trying to create one overarching interpretation, they are not allowing
for the complexity of the biblical witness to come through," he said. "The
irony is, in their quest for accuracy, biblical literalists are forced to
misread the Bible."
More problematic is the fatalistic worldview of apocalyptic thinking, Hill
said. Many who obsess about the end of the world fail to enjoy the life they
have or reach out to help others in an effort to improve society, he said.
They become "morally complacent."
Those criticisms are of little concern to millions of Americans who were
caught up in end-time fever long before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks and the explosion of the shuttle Columbia fueled even greater
speculation on how the world might end.
One of the greatest indicators of that interest has been the phenomenal
success of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Since
1995, when their first book appeared, LaHaye and Jenkins have sold more than
38 million copies of 10 novels set during the end-time period known as the
Great Tribulation. The 11th novel, to be released April 8, is titled
Armageddon and set partly in Baghdad.
"Readers tell me they're dying to know who survives Armageddon for the
Glorious Appearing," Jenkins said in a statement. "And I can't wait to see
what they think when they get to the end."
Interest in prophecy increases at times of great instability, said Mark
Hitchcock, author of several books on prophecy and pastor of Faith Bible
Church in Edmonton, Okla. "People want to know what's going to happen, that
there's an end (to the turmoil), that someone's in control."
Hitchcock is a member of a prophecy study group run by LaHaye and generally
supports the sequence of events on which the Left Behind story is based: the
Rapture, the Antichrist's rise to power and the seven years of "hell on
Earth," Armageddon, and the return of Jesus in the Glorious Appearing -- all
occurring before Jesus' 1,000-year reign on earth.
He said he and other "pre-trib guys," those who believe Jesus will "rapture"
believers before the Great Tribulation, are convinced that the Antichrist
will rule the world from a restored Babylon. That's why Hitchcock, too,
thinks an invasion of Iraq will be a catalyst for end-time events.
According to biographers and news reports, Saddam Hussein fancies himself to
be a modern Nebuchadnezzar, the 6th-century B.C. king who conquered and
enslaved the Israelites and brought great prosperity to the land. And he has
begun fulfilling prophecy by rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon,
Hitchcock said.
But he won't be around to enjoy it.
"Once the U.S. gets Saddam out of the way," sanctions will be lifted, oil
wells will flow again at full capacity and Iraq (Babylon) will regain its
power, allowing the Antichrist to mount an army for an assault on Israel,
Hitchcock said. The stage is thus set for the Rapture, Armageddon, the
Glorious Appearing and the other stages.
Here is the link where is can be found
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]&rnum=1
Here is the post itself, it its entirety, and un-edited
I don't know about you guys but my mouth dropped when the I tuned to CNN and
saw the Russian President shaking hands with Saddam! Truly, prophecy in the
Bible is our headlines today! YEah HOO Come Lord Come!
March 12, 2003, 6:47AM
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/1814428
Iraq war considered by some to be fulfillment of prophecy
By BILL BROADWAY
Washington Post
Ever since Jesus said that only God knows the hour or day of the Second
Coming, preachers and self-appointed doomsayers have been trying to predict
when it will happen -- and watching the sun rise on another generation.
Even those who chastise date-setters nearly always say, "God's final
judgment is coming soon, probably in our lifetime, so get ready."
In recent weeks, the prophetic interpreters have been citing a new reason
they believe the end is coming: the impending U.S. war with Iraq.
Anxious discussions have arisen on prophecy Web sites, in Bible study groups
and churches, and at such gatherings as last month's 20th International
Prophecy Conference in Tampa, Fla. Its title: "Shaking of Nations: Living in
Perilous Times."
Many see evidence of Iraq's significance in end-time scenarios in key
passages of the apocalyptic book of Revelation. Chapter 16, which includes
the only mention of Armageddon in the Bible, carries a direct reference to
the Euphrates River, which runs through modern-day Iraq.
"The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its
water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East," writes
John, possibly the apostle, of a container of God's anger emptied on the
ancient land of Babylon, now Iraq. The kings will move their armies through
the Euphrates valley en route to Har Megiddo (Armageddon) in northern
Israel.
The Euphrates appears a second time with one of seven angels whose blaring
trumpets warn that the Final Judgment is near. "Release the four angels who
are bound at the great river Euphrates," a voice commands the sixth angel of
God, whose compliance unleashes agents of death who "had been kept ready for
this very hour and day and month and year and were released to kill a third
of mankind."
Then comes the clincher. In Chapter 9, Verse 11 -- yes, that's 9:11 -- John
says the leader of an army of locusts released to fight humankind is named
Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek. Both words mean Destroyer, one of
several meanings for the name "Saddam."
"Iraq fits like hand in glove," Irvin Baxter, founder of Endtime magazine
and pastor of Oak Park Church in Richmond, Ind., said of the role he
believes the country will play in world-ending events if U.S.-led forces
invade Iraq.
Baxter, a lifelong student of Old and New Testament prophecies, said
casualties will be tremendous, not only of combatants in Iraq but of people
in neighboring countries hit by retaliatory missiles of mass destruction and
Americans who fall victim to terrorists armed with portable nuclear weapons.
And other countries will take the opportunity to pursue their own
interests -- China trying to retake Taiwan, or India making an all-out
assault on Kashmir -- leading to World War III, he said. The result, Baxter
concludes, could be a nuclear holocaust that takes the lives of 2 billion
people, the "one-third of mankind" stated in Revelation.
Such talk bothers Craig Hill, professor of New Testament at Wesley
Theological Seminary in Washington and one of many biblical scholars who say
end-time interpreters distort Scripture to fit their own point of view. Most
claim to read the Bible "literally," yet take bits and pieces from books
written centuries apart under different circumstances, he said.
Ezekiel, one of the most popular end-time texts, was written in the 6th
century B.C. by a Judean priest exiled in Babylon who dreamed of the Jews'
return to Israel and the restoration of the temple.
Revelation was written 600 years later, about A.D. 95, by an exiled
Christian leader encouraging churches in Asia Minor to persevere under the
hardships of Roman control.
Yet prophetic interpreters will take verses from each and combine them to
create a reading that justifies their point of view, said Hill, author of In
God's Time: The Bible and the Future.
"In trying to create one overarching interpretation, they are not allowing
for the complexity of the biblical witness to come through," he said. "The
irony is, in their quest for accuracy, biblical literalists are forced to
misread the Bible."
More problematic is the fatalistic worldview of apocalyptic thinking, Hill
said. Many who obsess about the end of the world fail to enjoy the life they
have or reach out to help others in an effort to improve society, he said.
They become "morally complacent."
Those criticisms are of little concern to millions of Americans who were
caught up in end-time fever long before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks and the explosion of the shuttle Columbia fueled even greater
speculation on how the world might end.
One of the greatest indicators of that interest has been the phenomenal
success of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Since
1995, when their first book appeared, LaHaye and Jenkins have sold more than
38 million copies of 10 novels set during the end-time period known as the
Great Tribulation. The 11th novel, to be released April 8, is titled
Armageddon and set partly in Baghdad.
"Readers tell me they're dying to know who survives Armageddon for the
Glorious Appearing," Jenkins said in a statement. "And I can't wait to see
what they think when they get to the end."
Interest in prophecy increases at times of great instability, said Mark
Hitchcock, author of several books on prophecy and pastor of Faith Bible
Church in Edmonton, Okla. "People want to know what's going to happen, that
there's an end (to the turmoil), that someone's in control."
Hitchcock is a member of a prophecy study group run by LaHaye and generally
supports the sequence of events on which the Left Behind story is based: the
Rapture, the Antichrist's rise to power and the seven years of "hell on
Earth," Armageddon, and the return of Jesus in the Glorious Appearing -- all
occurring before Jesus' 1,000-year reign on earth.
He said he and other "pre-trib guys," those who believe Jesus will "rapture"
believers before the Great Tribulation, are convinced that the Antichrist
will rule the world from a restored Babylon. That's why Hitchcock, too,
thinks an invasion of Iraq will be a catalyst for end-time events.
According to biographers and news reports, Saddam Hussein fancies himself to
be a modern Nebuchadnezzar, the 6th-century B.C. king who conquered and
enslaved the Israelites and brought great prosperity to the land. And he has
begun fulfilling prophecy by rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon,
Hitchcock said.
But he won't be around to enjoy it.
"Once the U.S. gets Saddam out of the way," sanctions will be lifted, oil
wells will flow again at full capacity and Iraq (Babylon) will regain its
power, allowing the Antichrist to mount an army for an assault on Israel,
Hitchcock said. The stage is thus set for the Rapture, Armageddon, the
Glorious Appearing and the other stages.
