Signs of the End of Days

I read one article that stated (Biblically) that we've been in the last days since 33 A.D. When Peter was preaching to the crowd after the Spirit filled him in the upper room (Acts 2), Peter said : (referring to Joel's prophecy....) "In the last days ,God has promised to pour His Spirit out on all flesh." So I suppose that started the last days....right?....but nearly 2000 years is a long time to be in the last days, huh? the day in which we live must be the "last of the last days".dennis :-)

Much of the point of reference is around Israel. When Israel became a state or better said-reconized by the U.N. in 1948, coming back from their being scattered throughout the world-back to the promise land, this indeed is a Major event on the end times clock. The focus now in Israel is the long awaited peace treaty, especially to rebuild the Holy Temple which once stood on the Temple Mount. I believe we will see this event, bringing peace to that region finally!! BUT!!! When it starts according to God's Time table , it will last for 3 and a half years. Then the Anti-christ will emerge from the powers that be(Europe) to stop the Temple sacrifices that have been going on as in centuries before, to declare that he is god. We are that close! Months? maybe,years?? certainly in our life time. This I believe is the season Jesus was referring to.

Nice opinion. Maybe i should restate what i ask of everyone.Please QUOTE SCRIPTURE.I think when it comes to this subject...even if we do quote scripture...all we have is opinion. I think we should allow for opinion or else the dicsussion is pretense.Ever since my childhood deliverance from nightmares caused by Hal Lindsey's "The Late Great Planet Earth" movie, I've come to the conclusion that the prophetic scriptures are not the puzzle pieces that they seem to be. For instance I could quote Revelations 9. When I was a child I was intrigued by the possibility that John the Revelator looked into our century with ancient eyes and saw Apache gunships..."And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men's faces.And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war. And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months." Years later I realized that Hal was filtering out as much as he was explaining with his helicopter a'la Nostradamus theory. Revelation 9 could be referring to creatures as well as machines...or something else. (Obviously they were bad and not good.) Perhaps prophetic scriptures are quantum in nature...able to exist in two or more places at once. They may predict the future while still speaking of the past..moving in deeper Kingdom waters, they occasionally surface and cause ripples in history to let us know that they are God's words. Beyond opinion, I don't see how we can prove, through scripture, that these are the very last days. I might be able to make a convincing case by reading headlines...but not the bible. I'm not saying we can't be in the last days...yet the generation that saw Israel reborn as we understand it is past. Some days it's hard to believe we can go on at all but civilization may be here another 500 years...reorganized into something surprising to us but still here nevertheless.I admit I still have my childhood fascination with helicopters, wormwood missiles, 666 technology, and revived Roman empires. I won't be showing my own children any Hal Lindsey movies though.;-) MC

And definatly Israel being reestablished is truly biblical (isn't it?? sounds like it..lol)Is this beyond doubt? Is the Israeli nation state really a reconstitution of the people of Israel who were joined to God in covenant at Sinai? These terms IsraelIsraeliteIsraeliJeware presumed, by many, to be synonyms; but are they? If I became an Israeli citizen would I automatically become 'heir' to all the promises made to Israel? Sounds like a neat short cut to me, or another gospel?

The Bible is filled with proofs of the Lord's timing. I also imagine that the believers in every generation have been waiting (and even expecting) the Lord's return. Remember in Acts 1:6, shortly after Jesus' resurrection, some of the disciples were already asking, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" But Jesus answer was pointed, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." There are signs, like the regathering of the jews back to the nation of Israel in Ezekiel chapter 37. However, many of the signs are quite interpretive, and are sometimes not realized until AFTER their fulfillment. One of the most interesting signs that seems to have been fulfilled is the found in 2 Peter 3.Verse 4:"They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'" Lately, I have heard alot of people, both secular and churched (and even ministers) saying this. My answer to them is this: Regardless of whether the Lord is coming today or in a thousand years, we should still be prepared to meet him at any moment. Most people don't live to be 120 years old. But even 120 years is short compared to the inescapable eternity that awaits us when we breathe our last breath. Verse 8 continues: "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."The important thing is that we live our lives prepared to meet the Lord at any moment!Verse 11 and 14:"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.""So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."Should we give up the wait? By no means! Its just that the preparation for eternity should not depend on the timing of the Lord's return. It should depend on our relationship with him right now. The purpose of most of the Scriptures concerning the Lord's return deals with the very matter of being READY.Matthew 24:42-44"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."Keith Green once said about the debate concerning the pre-trib/post trib Rapture:"PRAY for Pre, but PREPARE for Post." The same thing applies to life. You could say, "PRAY that the Lord comes today, but PREPARE for a longer stay."Even so, come Lord Jesus! :-)