The Bible - what does it say about our future?

Danno

I would like to hear from people on their opinions of what The Bible and it's prophecy has to say about our future...

Kevin_rc_ie

The new testament? the old testament? both? neither?

it certainly says somewhere that the world as we know it will come to an end.

monkeyfudge

Most likely the bible was written to affect political change at the time when it was written, and it did a very good job of it too.

I've read some interesting articles which sugest that Emperor Nero was the beast that is written of in the Book of Revelations.

But I really don't think they were thinking over 2000 years ahead when they wrote the thing.

Danno

I am curious as to what the Book of Revelations is all about and any other parts of the Bible that refer to prophecised events that have not occurred yet...

Particuarlly the Second Coming of Christ...

Kevin_rc_ie

you could have a quick read yourself.

The Bollox

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

The new testament? the old testament? both? neither?

it certainly says somewhere that the world as we know it will come to an end.

oh yes it says that the world is coming to an end. how do you know the bible was not written by four frat boys about 2K years ago?

I do not believe there is some ultimate being/thing somewhere we cannot comprehend that made us and decided, instead of telling us straight out that we have X ammount of years on this planet to see what we can do, left around a gaggle of cryptic clues.

Excelsior

Marts, we know for sure that the Bible wasn't written by some frat boys 2000 years ago.

Monkeyfudge, do you have any reasoning to back up your claim that "most likely" the Bible was written to affect political change?

Danno, the Book of Revelations can probably be read most profitably if you consider John's vision to be an access into the spiritual realm where he sees the events of Easter from that perspective.

If you read the amazing chapters around Rev 5 you'll see that its all about the Christ being the one key able to unlock salvation, that he had to die on the cross and then that glory would be restored. If you think about eschatology (theology about the "End Times"), it really all begins and ends in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

In terms of the arguments from supposed clues in Revelation about when the end will come and what it will be like, I think taking a look at the whole Bible there are only three things any Christian can say for certain:

1) There will be an end and people will face God
2) That end will come suddenly and surprisingly
3) Christ's glory becomes evident for all on that day

I don't think that fundamentalist formulations about the 12 stars of the EU flag symbolising the rising Anti-Christ have any significance. I certainly don't think that the military occupations of Palestine has any biblical precedent like some bat-crazy yanky fundies. All that kind of reading into the text shows the Bible a shocking disrespect. We're meant to read out what is in it, not read in what we would like or fear.

smidgy

Have a peek here,

http://100prophecies.org/page9.htm, it seems to sum up the obvious ones.

One of the most important I think is that ....

The Gospel will be preached to the entire world
Bible passage: Matthew 24:14
Recorded: about 30 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Matthew 24:14, the Bible says that the Gospel (the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) will be preached throughout the world. The Bible also says that after this happens, the end times will come. The Bible has been preached throughout the world for a long time. But now, with the increasing worldwide availability of television and the Internet, there is greater potential for the Gospel to be preached to everyone, everywhere.


Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

You could have a peek here as well, Christina is an Irish prophet and has a thing or two to say about such things.
http://www.christinagallagher.org

Dades

smidgy wrote:

In Matthew 24:14, the Bible says that the Gospel (the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) will be preached throughout the world. The Bible also says that after this happens, the end times will come. The Bible has been preached throughout the world for a long time. But now, with the increasing worldwide availability of television and the Internet, there is greater potential for the Gospel to be preached to everyone, everywhere.

Strangely enough, that would suggest to me that people should stop preaching what's in the bible, if it's moving us ever-closer to the End.

Weren't the Jehovah's Witness' originally all about warning people of the impending end of the world (which since passed several times)?

Excelsior

And also cancelling Christmas! Such villainy hasn't been heard of since Cromwell.