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Never underestimate the willingness of gullible sheeple to zealously follow a cause and believe anything they are told, even to the death. I mean, look at yourself. You buy the lies of young earth creationism hook line and sinker.
The folks at Jonestown are also a perfect example..
And besides, Christianity is hardly the only religion that has followers willing to martyr themselves.
Uhhh, yeah.. this takes us back to "square pegs and round holes".
There are in fact no "detailed" prophecies being fulfilled. Not without ALOT of forced interpretations, creative symbolism and changing the meanings of words and sentences.
In Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 8 it reads. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they (are at hand to come.)
In the Book of Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 24 God speaks to the Children of Israel and states. (For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of the countries, and will bring you into your own land.)
And chapter 38 verse 8 tells us, these things would occur in the
(latter years).
Now what is interesting here, is Jesus refers to Ezekiel Chapter 36 verse 8 in the New Testament without ever speaking of chapter and verse. This I just discovered. Speaking of Israel shooting forth it's branches.
In Matthew chapter 24 verses 32 to 34. (Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh 33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34. Verily I say unto you, (THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS, TILL ALL THESE THINGS BE FULFILLED.)
There are such details found in the Bible, and it actually requires a lot of force to ignore what is clearly written. There are no forced interpretations, or creative symbolism, or changing the words of a sentence. In fact, that is what would be required to get the prophecy to read some other way.
Now there are some churches that do not follow these prophecies, yet when you see how clearly they read, one is not sure how they can ignore them. Why would a church split over such Biblically clear statements?
14 Then the LORD will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,
15 and the LORD Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling [e] the corners of the altar. 16 The LORD their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown. 17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
Thats a little bit further down in Chapter 9 of the Z book.
Also, it doesn't say savior, that was translated later, it says "King". It also doesn't say peace, it says he will ride on a donkey, a colt, and the foal of a donkey. So he is going to ride in on a donkey, a horse, and a 1 year old donkey, all at the same time? Incredible.
All of this was never to occur at the sametime. And when you read the prophecies, that becomes obvious. Yet the prophecies will occur in the order God has laid out. And that is where the Jewish leaders got confused. They made a choice based on a belief that the prophecy was to be fulfilled (only) in their time. That belief, was a big mistake on their part.
Now as I have pointed out on other posts, most main line Christian faiths agree that this part of the prophecy is correct. And that is why there is little debate over it's reality in the church today. A prophecy that has already occured usually is easy to accept. It is the prophecies that are yet to come, that sometimes cause debate in the church.
All of this was never to occur at the sametime. And when you read the prophecies, that becomes obvious. Yet the prophecies will occur in the order God has laid out. And that is where the Jewish leaders got confused. They made a choice based on a belief that the prophecy was to be fulfilled (only) in their time. That belief, was a big mistake on their part.
Now as I have pointed out on other posts, most main line Christian faiths agree that this part of the prophecy is correct. And that is why there is little debate over it's reality in the church today. A prophecy that has already occured usually is easy to accept. It is the prophecies that are yet to come, that sometimes cause debate in the church.
How do you know that it was the Jews who erred? Could identical arguements, albeit with different biblical references,yield different conclusions?
How do you know that it was the Jews who erred? Could identical arguements, albeit with different biblical references,yield different conclusions?
Well, we know the Jews erred, because the Old Testement prophecy said they would. And the Old Testament tells us that God would scatter the Jewish people throught out the nations, because they have sinned against the Lord. And the Bible also tells us, that near the end of time, the Jewish people would return to the land of Israel. Now, many in the church believe this prophecy today, yet many of the more liberal denminations ignore the prophecy. And that is why we have a split on this issue. There are way to many churches out there, that I call pretend churches. They look like real churches, yet when it comes to what they actually believe, more often then not, their beliefs are based on a worldly mind set. And those are the churches, who ignore the prophecies found in the Bible.
If the Bible had been clearly written in a manner that could be understood by anyone who read it then we wouldn't have countless interpretations of what various passages mean. I truly believe that the Bible is one of the most poorly written books I've ever read for the simple reason that it is for the most part completely incomprehensible. I also think that one of the major reasons that the Christian faith has split into such a large number of sects and denominations is because Christians have been arguing among themselves about what it actually says and when like minded Christians became forceful about a particular issue they just formed another branch of Christianity.
I think every Christian would agree that the Bible is the most important book that was ever written and they would also agree that it's the inspired word of God which was given to mankind. So I have a simple question. If God is in fact the real author of the Bible and he inspired various men to write it down then why did he do such a poor job? There is controversy about the real meaning of virtually every book in the Bible. That controversy would not exist if every detail was written so clearly that that the meaning of every single passage could only be interpreted in one way. Why should that be so difficult? Afterall this is God we're talking about who never makes mistakes. Any thoughts?
There is only one correct view, unfortunately man is fallen, and errs in his flesh.
For the same reason that my wife and I can attend a party and on the way home she'll say that she didn't enjoy the party because so many of the people there were snobs....and I may have had the time of my life at this same party.
People are people and as such we all intrepret things differently....as it should be to make life interesting. We all have different interests, talents, abilities and things look differently from various vantage points.
It's not at all hard to imagine how there are so many different intrepretations of the bible. I'd be surprised if there weren't.
The problem isn't that people choose to intrepret the bible differently and worship differently in a manner that makes sense to them. The problem starts when you (yes, omnipotent little ol' you) and those who think just like you decide that everybody should see things just as you do....and, god help them if they don't since they will be eternally punished and forever in missery.
Now of course since you firmly and without doubt believe that you're right, and everyone else is wrong....you've just got to "save" them from themselves and their defective ways. The stakes are very high, and with your vast and absolutely correct knowledge comes lots of responsibility....god (or your ego maybe ???? :-) told you so. Afterall if you don't save these people they will be lost forever in a terrible place. So...wouldn't that justify using about any means you can to save the lost ? Maybe drastic measures are called for....time is short and the worse things get on planet Earth the more drastic the measures.....and on and on and on.
You get the idea...
Two adages I've heard that seem true to me....."The less one knows the more firmly one believes it and loudly proclaims it".....and "If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem looks to you like a nail".
That controversy would not exist if every detail was written so clearly that that the meaning of every single passage could only be interpreted in one way. Why should that be so difficult? Afterall this is God we're talking about who never makes mistakes. Any thoughts?
The only book in the Bible you really have to worry about is Revelations. Think of the rest as just an Agatha Christie prequel.
The only book in the Bible you really have to worry about is Revelations. Think of the rest as just an Agatha Christie prequel.
If you know anything about the Bible, you will understand that the Book of Revelation contains limited prophecis. And without the other prophecies found in the Scriptures, the Book of Revealtion lacks the critical details needed to understand it's passages. God put the prophecies that speak about our future in both the Old and New Testaments. And it requires both Testaments to see the whole picture.
If you know anything about the Bible, you will understand that the Book of Revelation contains limited prophecis. And without the other prophecies found in the Scriptures, the Book of Revealtion lacks the critical details needed to understand it's passages. God put the prophecies that speak about our future in both the Old and New Testaments. And it requires both Testaments to see the whole picture.
It's unbelieveable to me that a loving god would bury details necessary for our salvation and to understanding the whole picture. I guess it kind of reminds me of a "word find" in the local news paper.....although the stakes aren't quite as high (eternal damnation apparently) if you fail to find a few words critical to helping you finish the puzzle.
Oh...and I guess god also requires you be able to read and have critical thinking skills to figure out the entire puzzle buried in the book. Sheesh......I just never thought god was quite that nasty to try and fool the simple minded or uneducated.
It's unbelieveable to me that a loving god would bury details necessary for our salvation and to understanding the whole picture. I guess it kind of reminds me of a "word find" in the local news paper.....although the stakes aren't quite as high (eternal damnation apparently) if you fail to find a few words critical to helping you finish the puzzle.
Oh...and I guess god also requires you be able to read and have critical thinking skills to figure out the entire puzzle buried in the book. Sheesh......I just never thought god was quite that nasty to try and fool the simple minded or uneducated.
Who said anything about Salvation?
I said, both the New and Old Testaments have prophecies not found in the Book of Revelation. And these prophecies are required reading in order for one to understand the prophecies found in the Book of Revelation.
The understanding of Gods offered Salvation is another subject. Yet, His Salvation and it's requirement, is far more obvious in the Biblical Text.
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33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34. Verily I say unto you, (THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS, TILL ALL THESE THINGS BE FULFILLED.)
