Posted by
heresyarch's Contra Mundum on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 6:01:43 PM
Fear God, instead:
Isaiah 8:12-13
12 "Do not call conspiracy
everything that these people call conspiracy ;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread,
The Beast of Revelation and the accompanying 666 is past. It was Nero who would use burning Christians as lamp-posts to light streets. Tacitus testifies that Nero ..." inflicted unheard of punishments on those who, detested for their abominable crimes, were vulgarly called Christians"(Annals 15.44). Josephus reports that as a prelude to the temple's destruction (the time of the Gentiles taking in 3 and 1/2 years), lightning and thunderous storms with utmost violence (Wars 4.4.5)....The Romans denuded the land of trees, setting them on fire(Wars 5.12.4) Vespasian set surrounding villages on fire (Wars 3.4.1) . When the temple burns, Josephus reports it was seething hot (Wars 6.5.1). Jews turned to barbarism (Wars 5.1.1), so that women and the elderly were looking for deliverance from the Romans. And during the wars Josephus reports over a million was killed (even if it was tens of thousands). The Idumean and Zealot revolt left thousands dead in and around the temple. Josephus reports of the conquering Romans disgust over mothers who were cooking their own children ..... a horrendous period which culminated with the abomination of desolation....Romans setting their standards within what was left of the temple. It was the end of an era....the end times of the Old Covenant, and the judgement of the Lord who had used the Roman army as his tool of punishment on those who had rejected His Messiah.
Consider the nearness of end times events to the biblical writers:
Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must **soon** take place.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because **the time is near**.
Rev 1:9 I, John, your brother and **fellow partaker in the tribulation** and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
1Pet4:7 **The end of all things is near**.
Heb 1:2 **but in these last days** he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
Matt 16:28 "I tell you the truth, some **who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom**."
1Cor10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the **fulfillment of the ages has come**.
2Thess2:7 For the **secret power of lawlessness is already at work;** but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way
James 5:8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is **near**.
1John2:18 Dear children, **this is the last hour**; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how **we know it is the last hour**.
Conclusion: Even if there is a new world order coming, it is nothing to fear for those who love and serve God. The other important conclusion is that the beast of Revelation is no more. Those who speculate that there is a NAU coming based on their newspaper exegesis of Scripture, are just plain wrong.