Many folks have asked "ARE these the End Times" but I would like to know - "what if they AREN'T?"

Question

And this is not meant as a slight to anyone who is a Christian, so please don't take it that way.

It's just that I've seen many posts asking if these ARE the End Times and if others are hoping that they are and how people are preparing.

But in every generation for the last couple thousand years there have been those looking forward to the End Times, and in each there have been folks who have claimed to see the signs.

Perhaps one of the most prominent times when this happend was during the Late Middle Ages in Europe. But did the Apocalypse come?

Nope.

But the Renaissance did. And this period gave rise to a new age of humanity.

So - what if we AREN'T facing the End Times? How will you react?

What if this is simply a dawn of yet another new age of humanity?

END DAYS AND THE APOCALYPSE
http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_10006.html

And "it looks like its true" has been said for several centuries now.

I meant END TIMES AND THE APOCALPYSE
http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_10006.html

(and I'm using this to correct the correction that someone offered me in their answer)

Answer 1

If these aren't the end times, then I don't see how much longer this world and it's occupants can survive. When you don't count all of the crime and violence and wars...there are so many other things that are endagering our lives. With all of the medical advancements, you would think we would be living a lot longer, but look around... there is so much sickness and disease. It seems as if every one is poisoned in some way with cancer or pesticides, even the food we eat doesn't hardly have the nutrients we need to be healthy...as you know the list goes on. Now everyone is talking
about the bird flu and if it mutates it will be as bad as the Spanish influenza.

Let's move on to the ruining of the earth. Scientist keep pointing to all of the natural disasters( like hurricanes) and saying it is man's doing. Global warming, deforestation, pollution, the ocean is dying, the ozone is depleating...I could list more, but it is too depressing.

You had mentioned how each generation is looking to the end of times and seen the signs, which is true, but never before in history have all of these signs been seen as greatly intensified and on a global scale as we are seeing now.“The sign” is a composite one made up of many evidences; its fulfillment requires that all aspects of the sign be clearly in evidence during one generation. The various aspects of the sign are recorded at Matthew chapters 24, 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21; there are further details at 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Peter 3:3, 4, and Revelation 6:1-8
The wars, food shortages, earthquakes, sicknesses, lawlessness, lack of love among people are all part of that sign. Can you deny that these things have increased, even in your lifetime? I know they have in mine.

I do believe as you said we are very close to the dawn of another new age of humanity.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2004/10/1/article_01.htm

Answer 2

I am not depending on either camp I prefer to continue to believe in Jesus and live in the now. My cessation of life will be my end of time even if the world's version does not show up in my life .
I put my faith in God and though I watch what it going on in the world, I can't say one way or the other. That does not mean that there are not wiser Christians out there than I, who have a better idea. If I knew for sure it was not coming but something else, it would not change anything I would still live for today my beliefs intact,a New Renaissance or THE end .

Answer 3

END TIMES FOR WHAT IS THE QUESTION? THEY AREN'T RIGHT AWAY.

Rev.20:1-6[ THE END TIME FOR SATAN]; Eph.3:21[ JESUS WORLD IS WITHOUT END];

THE WORLD THAT WILL END IN THE LAST DAYS TO TIME OF THE END

Rev.17:1-6,10-14[#1 - #5, #6 to #7 is full in 1914 CE, to 8th];
#01. Egypt #1 and Moses. #02. Assyria #2 and Isaiah. #03. Babylon #3 and Daniel.
#04. Cyrus #4 and Ezra. #05. Greece #5 Matt.1:1-17[14 generations to Christ];
#06. Rome #6 and Christ crucified and ascended, John on Patmos.
#07. Europe #7 and world gets the KJV 1611 bible 303 = 1914 excepted translation.
8th. Europe Americas 8th of the seven 1776 + 230 = 2006 after Christ.
Bible time is new moon to new moon, sabbath to sabbath, 360 days with make-up to 365 in year[math 360].

Matt.24:3; 28:20; Acts 2:16,17; 2Tim.3:1-7; James 5:1-5; 2Pet.3:3-9; Heb.1:1-13; Dan.8:17,19; 11:27.35; 12:1-13; Rev.12:7-12 [ Satan has a short time];

1Thes.5:1-9,21[ Time is important to children of the light to know times and seasons that Jesus does not come as a thief in the night ] ; Matt.24:3,7,14,15,22,36-38 [ Only God know the day and the Hour but it being 6,130 after Eden, to know the near year is possible]; IT IS NOW 6,072 AFTER EDEN.

Answer 4

Only the father knows when the things in Revelations will come to pass. He said it is not for us to know. Just be ready when Jesus comes. But to answer the question more directly, it has been the end of times from the time that Jesus ascended to heaven to sit by the right hand of God. The end of times is the time between the Ascension and the creation new Jerusalem (new heaven and new earth). If you read Revelations carefully you will see that the Apocalypse has not happened yet at least not in totality.

Answer 5

The 'end times' will eventually arrive, because we have been given plent of warning. Its been two thousand years since Jesus said at Matthew 25;13 “Keep on the watch, therefore, because YOU know neither the day nor the hour.
And again at Matthew 24;36 “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
And the 'conditions' that will be found in the last days; 2 Timothy 3;3 But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, 3 having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, 4 betrayers, headstrong, puffed up [with pride], lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. 6 For from these arise those men who slyly work their way into households and lead as their captives weak women loaded down with sins, led by various desires, 7 always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.

Answer 6

At the very least these have to be the end times of life as WE know it. It wasn't very long ago, just a few years, that the population of the world became 6,000,000,000 and it's already 6,531,085,071 as of this writing. 24 years ago I moved to an area that had very few people inhabiting the area. Now almost every plot of land has at least one home and the wilderness is receding rapidly. We can't continue to populate the planet at this rate without running out of natural resources. Something WILL happen; another World war where multimillions are killed or a pandemic... something. It HAS to.

Answer 7

If it is not the End Times, then praise God for giving humanity longer on this earth. If it is the End Times, then I pray everyone is prepared for it spiritually, for it will be ugly. No one but God knows when, so we should all remain prepared at all times for it. We've had many scares of the End Times, but we cannot predict it without reading the prophecy of Daniel and Revelation....and we are very close to it, but it may not happen for another several generations of the earth....leave it to God and just be ready. We need to take care of our earth and environment all of the time, for we do not know how many generations will be here after us and if it's the End Times, we show God that we took care of something precious to him.

Answer 8

Oh.. now you're bumming me out ...it might mean I gotta get up off my butt .. do some work .. cogitate .. come up with some solutions ... and be custodial towards my planet ...
Nah .. I'm gonna join the hailbob cult so I can get out and rapture in a nick of time ...

And by the way ...what was it that the meek inherit? ... The ones not anxious to "rapture out" ... I can't remember .. but I'm pretty sure the patient meek got something ... hmm

Answer 9

How will they react? They will play a game called "choose your own religion" - and start looking for the new "real" signs - which of course will be crap as usual.

That's the sad thing - they just cant let go - even if all rationale stares them dead in the face.

Answer 10

I would say if this is not the end, then live your life as if it is your last. Do as much good in the world as you can before the end does come.