So the discussion we had at Aunt Rosie's last night got me thinking about this...
In your mind, is there a practical value in trying to figure out end times prophecy? If so, what is it?
Everyone has their own ideas about the end times, and there have been plenty of well-meaning folks who thought they had it all figured out. Hitler was supposed to be the AntiChrist at one point, then Stalin, then I don't know who. Fidel Castro maybe. After Chernobyl in 1986 there were all kinds of people could "see" Bible prophecy being fulfilled. Same with the collapse of the Soviet Union, 9-11, and the election of GWB in 2004.
Point is, pretty much every end times shtick that people predicted has either been disproven, or will be. What really gets me hacked off is that all this predicting and being proven wrong makes us Christians look like idiots.
And what I really really don't get is why as a Christian you're almost supposed to assume that we're living in the end times. Every preacher that I ever heard mention the "End times" has assumed that we are living in them. Every single one (but some preachers never mentioned it, so I can't speak for them).
I personally believe that we are not living in the 'end times' per sec. A lot of prophecy in Revelation is getting closer to being able to be fulfilled, but we're not there yet. One-world government? The European Union might be a step in that direction, but we still have a long way to go in that area. One-world religion? Muslims with their reproduction rates might eventually be a majority of the world population, but for that to happen there would have to be at least 10 billion people in the world, and that's assuming that the non-Muslim population didn't increase at all.
I think both might be possible within a century, maybe even within 60-75 years. But not at this point.
Back to my original question: What is the practical value in trying to figure out end times prophecy?
Bonus question: A lot of Christian think that the world's Muslim population will have a lot to with ET propecy and its fulfillment. But if it weren't for the all the oil in the Middle East and how dependent we are on it, would Christians still think that?
Coming up...why I think humanity might be entering into (or might already be in) something of a golden age, and how that plays into this. Hint: Matthew 24:6 and Mark 13:7.
Comments (3)
I've said I'm an "ah-ha millennist" because when it happens I'll say"Ah-ha! That's how he did it!" I suppose if one believed that these are the end times it might motivate one to try to drag everyone they know to Christ. But as you've previously pointed out, few if any receive Christ through being "dragged" and sharing God's love is something that we should be doing anyway, so I really don't see the point in "end times" discussions. Maybe I was just scared by too many of those conversations when I was Jenny's age, but I don't see the point of trying to pinpoint specific end times facts.
i like Raisown's point about being scared as a kid. i think every kid gets scared by that and maybe grows up feeling just a little guilty because of it. like you weren't supposed to be scared by Jesus coming back... but honestly, the way it gets described sometimes, who wouldn't be scared? especially a kid!
Yep, I am a pan-millennist because i figure it will all pan out in the end.
Scaring people into the kingdom by terrorizing them about hell is probably not a good method of evangelization. But I have always been intrigued with Revelations and millennial views and am indeed currently reading Left Behind. I think some people will be a bit surprised when God actually pulls it off.