I have a very respectful question regarding the End Times Prophesies?

Question

I see a lot of people who answer my questions on yahoo saying they believe we are in the "end times". I remember shortly after September 11, 2001, I went to a Church with a friend (he later became my best man at my wedding, and was my drill instructor in Basic Training) and a man came up and said he thought we were in End Times because of the attacks.

We saw what happened with June 6, 2006.

Why do people think that we are in End Times - ALL THE TIME? Is it because the Bible says to - Repent the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand? Specifically, I think these end of the world prophesies just aren't true, and that perhaps its a message that the physical body will die, and the individual who desires to be with God after physical death must be aware the SPIRITUAL coming of the end of days for the individual, but not for the Earth. What do you think?

Answer 1

End Times....the time before Christ returns in His glory.

We will be in the End Times until His return. "There will be wars and rumors of wars..." Is it the end of the world? Well, that's not for us to say. Christ himself said it will come "like a thief in the night", so we really can't say when the end will come.

Folks can point to things going on since Christ's ascension--plagues, invasions, wars, religious strife, etc. These days, though, it seems as if there is a heightening of the unrest, an increase in natural disasters, a breakdown of societies on a global level. I definitely think something is coming. Is it "THE END"? Well, I would rather try to be the best person I can be no matter what's coming, and pray that its enough to get me to the next level.

As far as the physical/spiritual thing you mentioned...

I believe God created us to have a dual-existence....we are meant to have a body that experiences the physical world and a soul that exists in the spiritual.

When we were "kicked out of eden" so to speak, what happened was that our total awareness of our spiritual existence was cut off, completely by our choice to do so. That is "original sin" ... the original turning away of the body to live a purely physical existence, which is what we were deceived into doing (that's a whole separate answer for another question).

When Christ comes again, I believe it will be a restoration of ourselves as we were intended to be. I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Answer 2

The last days could take quite a while. Here are some things to think about: many Christians believe they will be raptured into heaven before the tribulation gets very bad. I don't believe that to be accurate. I could be wrong. One poster said that Ezekiel spoke of something the size of a grain of rice being implanted in one's hand. I didn't think that was correct, so I searched www.biblegateway.com and did not find anything like that. However, The Revelation speaks of the mark of the beast being "in" one's hand or "on" one's forehead. There really are so many prophecies that have been fulfilled - those that deal with the end times and those that don't - like the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled simply by being born. The fact that ALL of these prophecies were fulfilled gives credibility to the prophesiers; they must have been God-given prophecies, as it's a pretty incredible thought that a regular Joe could get so many things right in such detail a looooong time before they happened. OK - so here is my point regarding THOSE prophecies: some of the same prophesiers who made those prophecies regarding Jesus also made prophecies regarding the last days. It stands to reason that they would be accurate. You should also really examine what is called "The Olivet Discourse" - a fancy name for a discussion that Jesus and His disciples had on Mount Olive. You can find it in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Some of what Jesus said applied to His disciples in their lifetime, and was fulfilled in 70 AD. Some most definitely was not fulfilled then. You just need to look at the historical references to determine which prophecies were and which weren't. I agree with the poster who mentioned that a thousand years to God can be like a day. So it may seem like the end times are crawling along, but perhaps they aren't to God. And the poster who compared the end times to birth pangs was also correct - there is a Biblical reference for that. I've given birth twice. The labor can be short or horribly long - you never know what will happen. As you know, contractions get closer and closer together before the birth. The events that have been occuring in the past few hundred years seem to reflect that, but the difficult thing is that our media is so prevelant now, as opposed to 100 or 400 years ago. EVERYthing gets recorded now, so could it be that we are reading too much into these current events? Has humanity been so horrible as it is now? Have earthquakes and tsunamis been so commonplace? I don't know. If you feel like it, you can see some current events compiled into different prophetic "buckets".

Answer 3

First of all the Bible says that the earth will be destroyed "as it was in the days of Noah" so, anyone who believes that the literal earth will be destroyed is not understanding that God only destroyed the wicked men and the system of things that existed then (2 Peter 2:5). Also, the prophecy concerning the preaching of God's Kingdom must first be fulfilled to God's satisfaction (everyone must have a chance to accept the TRUTH of God's word) before God is going to destroy the wicked who have refused to accept it (Matthew 24:14 and Psalms 37:10,11, 29, 34). Jesus gives the sign (a single composite sign) of what will be happening at the time that God has chosen to end this wicked world at Matthew 24:3-9. The sign is literal, not spiritual as we can see from the things listed but it is a SINGLE sign and so ALL these things must be occuring simultaneously once God has decided that all people have had the opportunity to know him.

Answer 4

I think fear sparks rantings, but at the same time I do believe the bible to be the word of God and therefore what is written will come. Yes, as some have said already, people have said that it is coming; it is immenient, but that is only because of what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 24 and how these signs have become more predominant with every generation.

Its my opinion, that these ones that say we are in the last days are correct, but that also no one knows the hour or the day. If you are really interested in this subject... like I said, review Matthew 24, Daniel chapters 10-13, 2 Timothy 3: 1-9 and Revelation (the entire book). You can see the big picture by reading all of this... there certainly have been events that have occurred and are occurring now that prove this claim.

Answer 5

Well I think what you're asking is a very good question. If we are speaking of the end times...when is the end? Just as you stated; years ago we were in the "end times" and now we're still in the "end times"...so what does it all mean?

Interestingly enough, when you read the bible, they thought THEY were in the "end times", too. The writers of the new testament fully expected Jesus to return in their time. And here we are, 2,000 years later.

There is a verse that I think about often: "to the Lord, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years, a day". Time is very different to us than it is to God. I do believe all the bible has to say, in the way of prophecy. And I do think we see events quickening towards the tribulation period and the Second Coming of Christ. But yes....we don't know when the "end" will be. As the bible tells us...no man knows the day, only God does.

I think what is of most importance is that we seriously consider who we say Jesus Christ is, each of us. Is He your savior? That is really the matter that is most critical, whenever the "end" of all things may come.

Answer 6

I think that no one knows. I do like watching T.V. programs about Nostradamus, who said 2012 is the year of the end of the world, whatever form that takes. I hope not. But, I know one thing, this heat wave scares the crap out of me. Did you see the global heat index chart on the weather channel? It is scarey. I can only guess at the effect it's having on the already melting poles. We will be in a major crisis when all of the crops and animals dry up. Lots of people have died already from the heat alone. What kind of famine is about to happen? I sense something drastic, and I don't like it.

Answer 7

The Bible says that when the end is near there will be wars and rumors of wars and more natural disasters than normal, among other things. Eventually, after the believers are taken up to heaven there will be a great war between good and evil. After the war is won by God He will destroy the earth and create a new one with no evil.

Answer 8

When Jesus and John said that the kingdom was at hand, it was. Jesus said that it would come in the lifetime of some of those there (Mark 9:1). It did come; on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Every reference to the kingdom after that speaks of it as existing, and not to be established later (Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:9).

As for the return of Jesus, He said that there would be no signs (Matthew 24:36-39).

Answer 9

all the prophecies have been fulfilled for it to be the end times... the end times is believed to have begun in the 60s when Israel once again became a Jewish state. there was a prophecy of the microchip that is being heard of... I believe it's in Ezekiel it talks of an implant the size of a grain of rice in the right hand or shoulder i think. the microchip is advertised as the size of a grain of rice... I know the second coming is going to happen and it will end life on earth.

Answer 10

The end times actually started when Jesus left earth and sat down at the right hand of the Father. (Acts 1:9) Since then, the world has been "groaning" as though with birth pangs. (Romans 8:22)

There are no other prophecies (except that the last Christian be converted) that must be fulfilled before Jesus takes His bride (the church) to be with Him. (The rapture.)

With no other obstacles in the way, we are merely waiting for the time to be right.

Answer 11

Actually, September 11th was just one incident that proves the depravity and violence existing in the world. The end times speak of MANY signs we are to watch for. God gave us explicit incidences that will happen---prophecies even from the Old Testament that will be fulfilled that will give us a hint of when Christ will come again.

I would give you all of the "instances" or "events" on here, but it will be so voluminous that you would probably not read it. Suffice it to say that when someone says "We are in the end times," we are probably just realizing one particular incident or event that will be one more rock taken from the mountain of rocks that are still standing, waiting to come down before Christ comes again.