Tag: Issues

It never ends. In case you have not heard, the economy of the United States will Crash in September of 2008. Then, os some say, the global economy will crash. We can expect a war with Iran soon as well, presumably ushering in a full scale world war. Some say it is the work of the Illuminati, some say it is the New World Order, but whoever is behind it, it is a certain thing, so they say…

Predictions of the End

I am still a young man(will soon be 40), but I have heard many of these “predictions” by folks that I used to deem credible people. I remember the stories of Sunday law bills on presidents desk. In fact the same law has been on Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and presumably Bush II. The same law is about to be signed so we had better straighten up.

Then there were the economic crashes that were to come. Every recession that America entered in my life brought someone saying that this was gonna be the beginning of the BIG one. The one that is allegedly prophesied in the Bible. The economic crash that will bring in the one world currency. Yes it began in the dismal economic time during Carter’s administration. Reagan was to use the poor economy to bring an end to all we know and love with the help of the Moral Majority. Again during the economic downturn during Bush I presidency when you add in the War against Iraq over Kuwait, we had another certain end…

These prognosticators had more opportunity for pessimism when the Dot Com bust happened and the stock market dropped. “We are certainly entering a depression!!” they told us. And we can’t forget the 1999-2000 non-event that was to bring in global chaos at set the stage for the end of all things.

Here We Go Again

Well, here we are again, and I am tired of the prophets who are forever making predictions and never making apologies. I am tired of the Prophets who tell us what is gonna happen and then when it fails to happen hide their mistakes by making more predictions.

But perhaps the greatest problem that these preachers have is that they know more about speculation then they know about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are forever talking about what may happen and never what has happened in Jesus Christ for all of us. They are forever getting us used to thinking about the wrong things.

In addition, their answer to every problem is the same, hoard resources for yourself and forget about the world in which we are to live the life of Christ. Run away with your gallons of water and canned goods while we leave the rest of the world to fend for themselves in this coming global appocolypse.

Jesus comes to all of us, ultimately asking the same simple question that he asked Peter who sunk in the water, “Why did you fear?” It is time for many to stop teaching fear and start teaching faith.

The Bible also Says…

I don’t know what will happen in September 2008. I am not a prognosticator, but one thing I do know, God is faithful to help us through any time that is to come. Certainly the Bible speaks of a time of trouble, but the Bible also speaks of a God that is with us in trouble. Certainly the Bible speaks of end time peril, but the Bible also speaks of a God who will never leave us nor forsake us, certainly the Bible speaks of trouble, but like my ancestors used to say, “I’m so glad trouble don’t last always.” I pray that I will live the life of Christ and that whenever the end comes, God will make good on the promise to wipe away every tear that this world has created.

If you want to see how crazy those who teach Revelation 13 as the Great Second Advent Movement has taught it then I would invite you to turn on the television.

America a Beast?

I invite you to look at how Jeremiah Wright was treated for saying that America would be punished for its treatment of African Americans. Others have said similiar things. Many preachers have said that America would be punihsed for its killing of millions of unborn and/or allowing homosexuality in its borders. Some would expand it to pornography and the like.

All of these things have in common, that America will be punished for wrongdoing. For some reason, many in America finds such sentiment as unpatriotic or problematic. To say that america will be punished for wrongdoing is seen as a great problem and issue. And yet in these last days, we must preach this. Revelation 13 speaks of a lamb coming up out of the land with two horns like a lamb. Christians connected to the Great Second Advent Movement has seen in this a look at the United States of America.

In the late 1800s some even said that Slavery was an example of the lamb horned beast speaking like a dragon. America will cease being the land of religous liberty and will speak like a beast. We can see movements now setting things in place for this.

And when you say that, you will be seen as just another kook.

Roman Catholic Church a Whore?

And if that is not enough, the first beast of revelation 13 which is the roman catholic church is none other than the whore of babylon. All of the reformers saw it as such. Many Christians throughout history have agreed. Here we have the reality that a system that thinks to change times and laws and set itself up in the place of God is a condemned system.

America as a lamb-horned beast and the Roman Catholic Church as the whore of revelation. Open up Great Controversy. If you don’t think you are going to be seen as a kook member of a cult, then once again, just turn on the television and see what they are saying about others who say something similar. It will not be a hard sell to make you look like you are a member of a cult if you belive as much. In the end, we all have to make a decision. Will we follow a kinder-gentler message that is acceptable to all, or will we go the road that Rev. Wright and Rev. Hagee are showing us. The way of ridicule, but the way of being true to onesself and one’s understanding of truth. Because agree or disagree with them, they show what happens when you say something that is unpopular.

The other day I received an email regarding the coming economic crash to the US. This is interesting to me for a few reason. First I am a citizen of the United States, but what was of more interest was the fact that the person was a Seventh-Day Adventist who tried to emphasize that there were prophetic implications to this crash. He quoted a popular evangelical author that predicted this downturn and connected it to his prophetic time-line that ushers in the secret rapture.

Where is the Connection?

The question I have is where is the necessary connection between an American economic collapse and the end time? Why is there a desire to hook an American financial collapse to the onset of the end times? To put it more clearly, Is the economic crash before or after the onset of the final issues?

While I do agree that a financial collapse that brings on the end time is certainly possible, but why is it preached as a necessary condition for the onset of the final crisis and our end time scenario. I mean there is nothing that says that our end time scenario could begin by some other crisis.

Is this a Necessary Component of Our End-Time Scenario?

The Great Controversy scenario sees a powerful United States and an apostate Christianity at the center of the end time crisis. The Adventist end-time scenario sees that many of these issues will converge on the issue of obedience symbolically presented in the Sabbath issue.

Finally, the Adventist scenario, as traditionally understood, sees great importance in the state of the dead which is a way to unify disparate groups. But where is the NECESSARY connection between an American Financial collapse and the ushering in of the end time crisis.

The Economy May Collapse, But What are the Prophetic Implications

One could argue that the economy will collapse before the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, the scripture points to that, but is that a necessary component of the “onset” of the crisis?

Now I am not arguing that the US Economy might not collapse. It may very well. Neither am I arguing that if it did collapse that it will not help usher in the end time. Certainly it COULD be a factor in bringing in the end. If the economy collapsed then one could easily see the onset of the things that Adventists have predicted for years, however note I said “could” be a factor. But there are other things that COULD be factors that we don’t’ emphasize. Perhaps we don’t emphasize some of these possibilities because there are no popular evangelical authors promoting it as helping their own end time scenario which many evangelicals don’t’ even accept. What that means is that we are promoting ideas simply because a popular author is using it to promote his scenario.

What are the Factors?

So what are some factors that are in line with the scenario that the Great Controversy predicts? Well the continued progress of the Gospel to all the world is one. Another factor is increased religious intolerance. America is showing this with recent laws such as the patriot act where they are holding American citizens in jail for months and months without any recourse. Could the hatred of Muslims that we saw a couple of years ago be a precursor to the hatred of other religious minorities?

The increased power of the United States. Not long ago their power was shown in the beat down of both Afghanistan and Iraq (which was one of the strongest military powers in the world) very quickly. How about the increased spiritualism that you see on television including such things as Sci-Fi where life after death is assumed true and supposed proof of is given on such shows as “Ghost Hunters?”

Finally, Ellen White argues that Christ could have come around 1888. The congress had passed some Sunday legislation called the Blair Bill. The loud cry, according to White, had begun in the work of Jones and Waggoner. And there was no American economic collapse for another 40 years at least.

Conclusion

In short, I don” deny that the end could be ushered in with an economic collapse of the United States of America, but that is only one scenario. However there are real fulfillments happening today, but we are not going to find it in the prophetic speculations of those who are attempting to teach the secret rapture.

To repeat, Where is the Required financial crisis to usher in the end time?