All posts tagged: end times

House church found in Laodicean home may explain Revelation 3:15-17

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Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Laodicea recently discovered a home in the ruins of the city dated to the first century that also contained a church. This has left some wondering if the Apostle John was addressing the believers who attended this church in his message to the seven churches of Asia found in the first three chapters of Revelation. Laodicea, located in modern Turkey, was the second largest city in Asia during the Roman period second only to Ephesus. It was a very wealthy city as it was part of a major trade route that included Ephesus and Smyrna. In addition, the city was also known for its banking and textile manufacturing. The home was quite large, 2,000 square meters in size, and was located beside a large theatre. The house had 20 rooms, that included the church, baths, a large hall with 18 columns and as well an area from which its owner, who was apparently quite wealthy, operated a business. Though the home was built in the first century, it …

Who or what is the restrainer of lawlessness mentioned by the Apostle Paul?

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One of the signs that Jesus spoke about indicating that the end times were near is that there would be an increase in lawlessness (Matthew 24:12-13). The Greek word ‘amonia’, translated lawlessness, refers to a complete disregard for the law. It is a time when there is nothing restraining illegal behaviour. It is similar to a period described in the book of Judges, when we are told that people did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). But the English word ‘increase’ really doesn’t do the Greek word ‘plethyno’ justice, because it means multiply. Derivatives of this word are used to describe floods. So, Jesus was stating that one of the signs of the end times would be a rapidly rising state of lawlessness. In 2 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul provides a more detailed explanation informing us that the “mystery” source of this push towards lawlessness is satanic: 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at …

Another very close call

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It was a very close call, and was all the more onimous considering that the asteroid flew by on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, if you are into that sort of thing. The Daily Mail reports that an asteroid, the size of a large bus (16 feet to 33 feet), missed earth by just 240 miles (386 km) last Friday. This is the closest an asteroid has come to hitting earth since astronomers started tracking what they describe as near earth objects. What is perhaps equally concerning is that astronomers who track asteroids had no idea this happened until Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System located on Mauna Loa, Hawaii saw it flying away the next day. However, even if it had hit earth, it is suspected the asteroid named 2020 VT4 would have burned up in the earth’s atmosphere. In order for an asteroid to reach earth and potentially cause damage, it’s needs to be at least 25 meters (82 feet) in size and for it to have a global impact the asteroid would need to …

Is the U.S. election in Bible Prophecy?

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The United States is completing an election, as I write this, and what an election it has been. The two sides were divided and angry from the beginning, and the results will be almost a tie. When one side is finally declared the winner, the other side will argue about dishonesty and corruption in the voting process. There will be legal challenges, probably for months, and some people will never accept the results. For the record, I am not choosing sides, and I hope everyone involved can find a good future. This election has divided the people of the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, and the whole world will feel the fallout. There is no middle ground, or neutral position. The nation is divided. This must hurt; the Russians are laughing at the Americans about the election: READ: Russian media serve up smugness, mockery after U.S. vote This is huge. So, is such a world-changing event in Bible prophecy? The Bible says many things about the future, and it focuses on things …

Are we getting technologically closer to the Mark of the Beast?

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Over the centuries, Bible scholars have pondered about the Mark of the Beast that the Apostle John mentioned in his vision of the end times written down in the Book of Revelation. He saw that people were forced to take a mark on their hand or forehead and without it, they would be unable to buy or sell. John stated that the mark of the beast revealed an individual’s support of the anti-Christ regime. “It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13: 16-17 (NIV) Some have suggested that this mark was simply a symbolic identification with the satanic realm, while others believe it was a literal mark revealing a person’s support. The emergence of a temporary high tech tattoo created by researchers at Penn State University may indicate how …

Signs of the end times?

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There were threes stories this week that may have ominous ties to the end times. I am not suggesting that they are literal fulfillment of what the prophets saw, but at the very least they reveal how easily it could happen. The first took place in Communist China where according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the leaders of Huang Fei, a village located near China’s Western border, put up a sign warning people against converting to Christianity. They specifically warned of financial consequences if people choose to believe in Jesus Christ. According to CSW, this could include fines and even confiscation of livestock. CSW also reports that the village of Li initiated regulations that permit people in that village to specifically target and isolate Christians. It is uncertain what the consequences of this targeting would be, but again it’s probably financial. Though this is disturbing news, it also reveals that those in positions of authority are becoming increasing threatened by Christianity indicating it must be spreading. In his vision of the end times recorded in …

Are we entering the ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble’?

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An old saying suggests that if we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. So what happens if we don’t remember it? A survey conducted of adults between the ages of 18 to 39 (millennials and Gen Z) by Claims Conference (Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany) discovered that nearly 66% of young Americans were not aware that the Nazis slaughtered six million Jews in concentration camps during the World War II Holocaust. And the survey also revealed other disturbing news: 23% though the Holocaust was either a myth or was exaggerated or had no opinion. 36% believed less than two million Jews were killed. 12% said they had definitely never heard of the Holocaust. 48% could not provide the name of a Nazi concentration camp. But what is equally concerning is that in New York nearly 20% of millennials blamed the Jews for the Holocaust. It was Jew’s fault that the Nazi’s slaughtered millions of them in the gas chambers. This type of thinking does not bode well for the …

Beirut: What is God doing?

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Right now, we are in this year 2020, and this is the year when the world changes. We all know about a virus from China, and violent demonstrations in the streets. Life has changed in a big way. And then we had an explosion in Beirut Lebanon. At this time, more than a hundred are confirmed dead, and searchers are still looking for bodies. Apparently, a ship filled with Ammonium Nitrate was abandoned in Beirut harbor a few years ago. High nitrogen fertilizer, if that was the product, is very dangerous. I have worked in transportation safety, and that fertilizer mixed with petroleum, is as explosive as dynamite. It was used by terrorists to blow up a government building in Oklahoma City, and do you know the meaning of TNT? That powerful explosive is Tri-Nitro Toluene. Toluene is petroleum, and nitrogen is in products like fertilizer. Beirut was just waiting for the explosion, and it was like an atomic bomb without the radiation. READ: Beirut explosion: Angry protesters storm government ministries Lebanon is in the …

Is China’s Communist Regime Paving the Way for the ‘Harlot of Babylon’?

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ChinaAid has just recently released a video of a violent attack on a church in China by the country’s communist regime. ChinaAid is a Christian non-profit that focuses on human rights abuses in China. In their description of the video, ChinaAid writes: “In a video taken at the scene, officers and attendees of Xingguang Church shout as they engage in a physical altercation. As they block the entrance, officials drag a Christian to the door, with other congregants fighting along with him.” Aside from the violence, what is disturbing is the reason for the attack. The church is considered illegal because it was not part of the Communist Regime’s Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). Churches (including house churches) are required by law to be a part of the Three-Self movement. The Communist regime uses the Three-Self movement to control the Gospel message by inserting itself into choosing the Church leadership. The Gospel message is still being preached in some Three-Self churches, if the original pastor is still in charge. However, when he leaves, retires or dies, …

Virus Armageddon: Where Is God Now?

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I have a job with the Provincial Government. Usually I have a work schedule for a month in advance for small towns in rural areas. This is the weekend and my schedule for next week is … Wednesday. I’m sure someone will fix the problem, but right now they are busy with bigger things. That is my experience with the Viral Armageddon, so far. I have also just been notified that I can’t visit my old father in his nursing home, if I travel outside the country. Probably you have your own interesting stories. A few days ago, the world seemed normal, with stories about a virus infection that needed to be controlled, mostly in China. Now our normal world has stopped. We hope it will restart soon, but we don’t know what will happen next. Pictures of the next stages are beginning to emerge: I couldn’t make that up. It seems like science fiction, except we are living through it. I have worked in commercial transportation, and I know that we see trucks and …

Is Amazon paving the way for the Mark of the Beast?

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Several Christian websites are expressing concerns that Amazon’s plans to create technology allowing people to make purchases with their hand is paving the way for the Mark of the Beast warned by the Apostle John in his vision of the end times: 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. Revelation 13:16-18 ESV In this passage, John very clearly ties the Mark of the Beast on either the hand or forehead to a person’s ability to buy or sell presenting a dystopian type of world controlling what a person can and cannot do. There has been speculation for decades on what the Mark of the Beast might entail and the recent announcement by Amazon caught everyone’s attention. The Wall Street Journal alleges that Amazon has applied for patent involving a “non-contact …

Climate Change and the Second Coming of Jesus

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Do you believe the ‘End is Nigh’? Do you think the world is about to change in a big way, and we can’t reverse the change? Do you believe that Jesus is coming back soon? These days, almost everyone who is anyone believes one of those ideas, or something similar. There is a sense everywhere that this time in history will end soon. Our little day is approaching sunset. So, who believes in climate change? Who thinks we are altering our environment, and we will have intense global warming, with severe food shortages; and the ice caps will melt and the oceans will rise and flood coastal cities? Our leaders in this are politicians and celebrities. It’s a New Age religion, Jesus is not mentioned, but the Bible has been telling us for thousands of years that the end will come, and now everyone is starting to believe. Christians have called this the ‘Second Coming’ and the New Age leaders might talk about Global Warming. Strangely, whether we are believers or deniers in Jesus, we …