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Not many yet. But the coming of the beast to power or the Jews' building a new temple in Jerusalem would certainly be. The return of the Jewish sovereign state with J as its capital cannot be overlooked, as well as the increased persecution of Christians & the massive prevalence of sin. Biden is taking measures to protect TGs from discrimination. THAT'S SOME DEVOUT CATHOLIC! God assigned everyone's gender at conception & He didn't make any mistakes!
Like you, I was very pleased when Jerusalem was re-established as the capital of Israel - on the 70th anniversary of when Israel became a nation again. Likewise, the other things you mention are causes for concern. As my daddy would say, the world is heading to Hell in a hand-basket. Having said that, I don't believe they are signs of Christ's return, but they show the need for His return.
The world is being conditioned for the coming of the beast, just as 1920s Germany was conditioned to accept Hitler.
I absolutely agree that today's world is being conditioned for something just as Germany was a century ago. I think a one-world government could be in our future. COVID-19 provided a perfect opportunity to accelerate government control. Actually, I suspect COVID was more of an engineered opportunity, with control of the masses as a major goal. On a related note, I find it very suspicious that Biden "won" (stole) the election largely due to states changing their voting laws because of COVID. While I still believe the Great Tribulation, the Beast, etc. are in the past, we definitely need to be alert for Satan's schemes.
It was proven by Scripture (Rev. 19:11-21) that the beast & the trib were NOT in the past. There's more & more of a push toward a cashless society, helping pave the way for the marka the beast. More & more LBGTQ acceptance & legalization, with gender-bender clinics opening. The world is being prepared for the coming of another great demagogue who will make Hitler look tame, & who will appeal to 99% of the world's population. Satan will enable him to say exactly what people everywhere wanna hear, & they'll put him in power willingly, helping him to subdue those who don't wanna go along. That'll be the beast.
I agree with what you say regarding our current situation. Unfortunately, we are moving toward a cashless society, which could pave the way for a type of world currency. You are absolutely right regarding the LBGTQ push. I don't believe Rev 19:11-21 proves a future fulfillment of the Beast. I do agree that we might see a type of "beast", whether it's an oligarchy or some type of system that may be put in place.
And there are a lot more, with a general falling away from Jesus in many churches worldwide.
Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. Strong delusion has come. In many cases, the churches are accepting the world's values and embracing sin instead of standing firm on Christ and Scripture. People either fall for the watered down / perverted "gospel" or they leave the church because they believe it to be a fraud. Either way, they are falling away from Jesus.
We've discussed that passage before, and I'm not going to re-hash it now. If it was so plain, we would not be debating our views on this passage. To me, all the "time indicators" plainly show the events were in the past. Yet, we disagree on what those passages mean as well. Having said that, I I truly do understand why you (and many others) believe these events are in our future.
I've noticed a trend among many preachers that they often preach about certain sins or types of sin insteada HOW TO BE SAVED from them. I heard one on radio the other day preaching a whole sermon against theft & embezzlement. I believe everyone knows they're sins, but not everyone knows HOW TO BE FORGIVEN FOR IT & SAVED FROM THE PENALTY for them. This preacher did not preach the GOSPEL during that entire sermon. While that trend isn't new, it's becoming more prevalent now.
Interesting observation. You are absolutely right in that the primary message should be about surrendering your life to Christ and repent of sins. If they don't preach the Gospel, they have not done what Christ expects of our preachers.
Since I don't believe as you do, you imply that I don't understand the Scriptures, or prophecy at the very least. Yet, I could turn the statement around. I don't want to get into an argument, especially since I've already made my argument many times. We certainly know that Jesus is coming back someday. We agree that our world is a very sinful place, and it seems to be getting worse every day. We agree that we need to witness to our family, neighbors, etc. the Gospel, especially as we may be the first person to ever share the message of salvation with someone who is lost. Our different "end times" views aren't going to affect anyone's salvation, but sharing the Gospel does.
I wonder about the salvation of some of them.
Indeed. We are known by our fruit, so that doesn't speak well of some of them.
Is repeating your view that the Revelation 19 passage "proves" your case supposed to convince me? Why do you keep repeating yourself? If you can't convince someone of your argument the first time you say it, repeating the same argument won't convince them either. I've stated my case, and you've stated yours. If either you or someone else needs me to repeat my view on Revelation 19, I will. Otherwise, I believe you know my view, and I know you disagree. If you truly doubt if any other reader here (besides @kyredneck, of course) believes the beast has come and gone, why waste so much time repeating your arguments when you don't need to convince anyone else? You arguments certainly will not convince any Preterist to change his view.
I post it for two reasons: First, in the hope you'll open your eyes & see the truth; next, to hopefully prevent other readers from believing the pret garbage.
Unless you have something new or different to add, I have stated my case. I don't see any point in repeating the same thing over and over. Christians have always disagreed on their views of a variety of doctrines - e.g. present day manifestation of the Gifts of the Spirit, or Arminianism vs Calvinism. I just put our views of eschatology in the same category. While we may have very strong opinions on those views, they are not as important as belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are saved by grace and not works, etc.
You are missing the point. A generation is not 40 years. 40 years is a period to kill off a generation. The OT covenant ended days after the Olivet Discourse. That is not what Jesus answered. If God was involved with 70AD it happened after that generation of the Cross were all dead. In Matthew 24 it was not about the generation that day on the Mt. Of Olives. It was about the generation of the fig tree blooming.
All the disciples were dead in 70AD. John was the only one alive at that time, and was a prisoner of Rome, not even near Jerusalem.
Well, I'm not a prophet, & never claimed to be.
To the contrary, Brother, I believe you are missing the point. The point is that Jesus clearly told His immediate audience "you" will see these things come to pass. History records that General Titus destroyed Titus in AD 70, which fits perfectly with Christ's prophecy. Moreover, you misunderstand the meaning of "generation". It always means those living at one time. It generally refers to a period of 40 years (as in the generation of Israelites that perished in the wilderness).
You can't possibly know that for sure. Scripture records that a few of the disciples were killed, but there is no valid reason to believe even most of them were dead. Again, this has nothing to do with a "fig tree" prophecy.