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PROPHETIC SIGNS THAT WE ARE IN THE END TIMES [A good summary of SOME key evidences--QX]
CONTENDER MINISTRIES ^ | 11 JUL 2004 | JENNIFER RAST

Posted on 11/07/2004 8:40:35 PM PST by Quix

Prophetic Signs that we are in the End Times

Contender Ministries

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The Bible gives many examples of signs that should warn us of the coming end of the age. Six such signs are given by Jesus, two characteristics are given by Paul, and eleven other occurrences are given by the prophets to occur prior to or soon after the end of the age. While we are also told we will not know the time of the End, God obviously wanted us to know when that time was getting closer. As the Christian church is increasingly drawn into the interfaith movement, and as more and more churches go into isolation, preparing to sleep through the growing attacks on their faith, perhaps God knew it would take a few signs to wake us up and remind us that we have work to do.

Unfortunately, many Christians take the verses that tell us we won't know the time of His coming to mean they should ignore any and all scripture that might warn us of this time of tribulation. Others have fallen into the trap of fearing being labeled a "conspiracy theorist" should they display an interest in the Biblical prophecies about our future on Earth. My philosophy is simple. God included it in the Bible and, since God is all knowing, we should trust that it is something we should know and study along with the rest of His Word.

It is increasingly obvious that the time of our Lord's coming is drawing near. Prophecy is being fulfilled daily, and at a faster pace than ever before. Whether you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, or believe Christians will be witness to the full tribulation, wrath, and final judgments, matters not. The beginning of birth pains and the signs of the times should have the same effect on all of us. It should motivate us to save as many souls as we can in the time that we have left. The Great Commission tells us to be disciples to all nations, bringing the message of salvation through Christ to all people. If the Church is raptured before the tribulation, it is important that we leave behind an explanation for the trials and judgments those left behind will face. How else will they recognize the deception of the anti-Christ and seek instead the truth of the Bible? If we are to endure the tribulation along side them, we will need to be prepared to not only share the message of salvation, but share with them the reasons for God's judgment and hold it up as further proof of their need to be saved.

Below is a study of the prophetic signs God gave us as a warning of the approaching end of the age. Many of them are being fulfilled now and many will be fulfilled in the near future. I would encourage you to study prophecy, know what is coming and be prepared to share it with others.

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SIX SIGNS GIVEN BY JESUS TO INDICATE HIS COMING AND THE END OF THE AGE

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In Matthew24:3 Jesus was asked, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus told his apostles to look for the following signs prior to his second coming and the end of the age.

1. FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS

Matthew 24:5 "For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and will mislead many."

Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."

In the last several years many have claimed to be the Messiah. Jim Jones and David Koresh are examples of these false christs as well as countless others who are not as newsworthy. These false prophets are a prelude to the ultimate false christ, the antichrist. Many New Age groups, some even NGO's working for the United Nations, are anxiously awaiting the antichrist, preparing the way for his acceptance as the head of the hierarchy of gods and the one who will usher in world peace.

2. WARS

Matthew 24:6 "And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."

Rumors of wars in all areas of the world now occur frequently thanks to instant media coverage and the availability of a multitude of 24-hour news sources.

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

More people have been killed in warfare in this century than at any other time in history. As the death toll rises in the Middle East, more and more countries work feverishly to develop devastating weapons of mass destruction. Add to that the expanding threat of terrorism and unpredictable dictators such as Saddam Hussein, and the potential for the outbreak of war exists in nations, kingdoms and places across the globe.

3. FAMINES

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

As white, Christian farmers are driven out of Africa in increasing numbers, and foreigners move in to replace life-sustaining crops with poppies that now supply 25% of the worlds drugs, famine spreads across the African continent. The undernourished are not limited to Africa, however. A large portion of the worlds 5 billion people suffers from a shortage of food.

4. EARTHQUAKES

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

The number and intensity of earthquakes this century is at a level higher than any other time in history. A staggering number of seismic events occur around the world daily. The earthquake seismic monitor IRIS shows all major earthquakes for the last year. Indicated by yellow and red circles, the seismic events of the last 15 days provides strong evidence of the fulfillment of Matthew 24:7 in our day. By contrast, in the years from 1890 to 1900 there was only one major earthquake in the world.

5. TRIBULATIONS

Matthew 24:8-9 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name."

Christians are under attack throughout the world today. In the United States Christians still enjoy freedom to worship God without suffering much more than ridicule, hatred, or discrimination at work and school. However in many other countries such as China, Sudan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Russia, and many Muslim nations, Christian suffer much greater persecution and often times death for their faith. During the tribulation this suffering will be worldwide and will continue even to the point of martyrdom. These first 5 signs will increase in intensity and severity as the tribulation approaches, much like the birth pangs or contractions of a pregnant woman worsen as the delivery time approaches.

6. THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."

This prophecy has already been fulfilled through television, radio, missionaries, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and the internet. People all over the world now hear the message of Christ from missionaries who have the means to travel the globe, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our own homes, churches and offices.

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TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF THE END OF THE AGE FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL

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1. GODLESSNESS IN THE LAST DAYS

II Timothy 3:1-5,7 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

For anyone who has watched television, read a newspaper, lost a retirement to corporate greed and corruption, or just walked outside their front door, it is obvious this prophecy has been fulfilled by our generation. Our leaders are often corrupt; our cities are filled with crime, brutality, and neon signs proclaiming our sinful, godless nature. The New Age Movement brings in increasing numbers of mystics who claim to be the enlightened ones. They are some of the most educated and influential people in our societies, and yet the most lacking in real truth.

2. APOSTASY (FALLING AWAY FROM THE FAITH)

I Timothy 4:1-3 "But the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth."

Churches today are becoming more and more ecumenical, embracing the New Age interfaith agenda, and denying Christ as the only way to salvation. Giving in to the politically correct media and a corrupt society, they have embrace homosexuality as an acceptable alternate lifestyle and preach tolerance and compromise in place of God's truth for the salvation of the world. The environmentalist movement within the New Age movement lures them into a worship of mother earth, belief in past lives, reincarnation, and Karma while demonizing all those who would eat the meat God gave us as nourishment for our bodies.

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ELEVEN FULFILLMENTS OF BIBLE PROPHECY REQUIRED FOR THE END OF THE AGE

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1. EXISTENCE OF A 200,000,000 MAN ARMY IN THE EAST

Revelation 9:16 "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them."

An army of that size had never existed until China's army reached that number in the 1960's.

2. REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY)

Daniel 2:32-33 "The head of the statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."

Daniel 2:40-43 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have the toughness of iron, and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

The fourth kingdom of iron is the Roman empire according to Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The two legs are the division of the Roman empire into an eastern portion called the Byzantine empire which ended in the 1400's and a western portion based in Rome which ended in the 400's. The nations of Europe since the Roman empire dissolved have never adhered or formed one empire but continue as separate nations, however, the European Union now has 15 Member States and is preparing for the accession of 13 eastern and southern European countries.

3. RETURN OF THE ONE PURE LANGUAGE, HEBREW, TO ISRAEL

Zephaniah 3:9 "For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."

Prior to the restoration of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was a dead language. Now Hebrew is spoken throughout Israel.

4. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, RESTORATION OF TEMPLE WORSHIP AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN JERUSALEM

For several end time prophecies to be fulfilled, the temple will have to be rebuilt.

Revelation 11:2 "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the oly city for forty-two months."

Daniel 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolation, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Daniel 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary."

Some archeologists believe that the temple mount is actually 340 feet south of the Dome of the Rock site, putting the Dome of the Rock within the Court of the Gentiles. This may be the court outside the temple that is left out.

There are many groups already working on preparations for the new temple. The blueprints are already done, the temple garments have been made, and there have already been attempts to lay the cornerstone of the temple. The only thing standing in the way of the construction of the new temple is Islam's third holiest site, the Dome of the Rock and government support for such an undertaking. Some possible scenarios for the rebuilding of the temple are as follows:

1. The persuasion and performing of miracles by the Antichrist and False Prophet convinces the Islamic world to approve the rebuilding.

2. The United Nations will negotiate the rebuilding of the temple following a war with the armies from the North (Russia and Islamic forces). This assumes that the war with the armies from the North is not the battle of Armageddon as some feel and that this attack occurs before the rapture or tribulation period begins. The supernatural destruction of the Russian army and Islamic forces will cause an outpouring of Christian worship and zeal amongst the Jewish people who will reconstruct the temple.

3. It is determined that the site of the first two temples is actually south of the Dome of the Rock, and the court of the gentiles (Dome of the Rock) will be left out of the 3rd temple.

A group in Israel called the Temple Mount Faithful have obtained most of the clothing, instruments and other equipment required for temple worship and are actively preparing for the laying of the third temple's cornerstone.

5. APPEARANCE OF THE RED HEIFER AFTER 2000 YEARS

Numbers 19:2-7 "This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. "You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. "Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. "The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening."

A red heifer will be required to be used in the process of purification described in the book of Numbers. In May 1997 the first Red Heifer was born in 2000 years. Another red Heifer was born in Israel in March of 2002.

6. INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL

Daniel 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Billy Graham was quoted as saying, "ninety percent of all the engineers and scientists who have ever lived are alive today." Air travel, space travel, DNA research and human cloning are all examples of the rapid increase in knowledge in our generation.

7. RETURN OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL

Zephaniah 3:10-11 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings. In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain."

In 1984, Operation Moses saw the airlift of 15,000 Jews who had already fled to refugee camps in Sudan to escape starvation. In 1991, Operation Solomon flew 20,000 Jews to Israel from Ethiopia itself. A further airlift began in June of 1999, aimed at transporting the last 3,000 members of the Quara Jewish community from northeastern Ethiopia to Israel.

8. THE RISE OF RUSSIA

Ezekiel 38:2,4,8 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them."

In order for some end time events to occur Russia will have to be a strong nation with a strong military.

9. RETURN OF RUSSIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL

Jeremiah 23:7-8 "Therefore behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them. Then they will live on their own soil."

In the 1970's and 1980's there was a mass exodus of Russian Jews out of Communist Russia. In 1999 the Associated Press reported a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, bringing the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel since the early 1990's.

10. TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MARK OF THE BEAST

Revelation 13:16-17 "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name."

On May 10, three members of a family in Florida became the first people to receive the biochip implant. Each device, made of silicon and called a VeriChip, is a small radio transmitter about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. It transmits a unique personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet of a special receiver unit. VeriChip's maker describes it as "a miniaturized, implantable, radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, emergency and healthcare applications."

Is the biochip the mark of the beast to be used by the antichrist? We can't really know. What is significant is that people are being softened to the idea of a mark or an implant as a means of maintaining security, providing medical information, and regulating a more interdependent world. As attitudes change, fears subside, and people are convinced of the need for such a mark, the true mark of the beast will be easily introduced to the world by the antichrist.

11. PLANS FOR THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT

The United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO's, and other agencies are preliminary steps to the formation of a one world government. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world government headed by the antichrist. The increasing terrorist threat and the middle east conflict will only speed up the formation of this governing body as fear and promises of better security make more people willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance.

12. INSTANT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WORLD

Revelation 11:3, 7-10 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth."

Television and the 24-hour news networks make it possible for people around the world to see the dead prophets and rejoice at their deaths.

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place."


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To: DAVEY CROCKETT; All

My view on all those 'codes' are that they are far to short to be more than artifacts of the process. There is a significant likelihood that they could be found in any long Hebrew text.

It is CONCEIVABLE that some of them might be valid but they just did not ring that way to me. There were no contextual or geographical or artistic factors indicating validity--that I noticed in a quick scan.

Sometimes the fact of the software being out amongst those not given to staying up-to-date on the research and statistics . . . ends up being a blight on the whole phenomenon.

These pseud-codes at the link strike me as rather like Drosnin's shallow hogwash.


imho.


1,501 posted on 01/18/2005 8:02:04 AM PST by Quix (HAVING A FORM of GODLINESS but DENYING IT'S POWER. 2 TIM 3:5)
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To: Just mythoughts
chosen before the foundation... may not be referring to individuals but rather a group of individuals... just a thought. "Chosen" may not be a reference to salvation, but rather a calling or service unto God.

You and I both know that God creates nothing which is evil, so the correlation cannot be a valid one. God creates things that are good. They are then corrupted by us. God does however use ALL things (good and evil) to further His will.
1,502 posted on 01/18/2005 1:58:19 PM PST by Safrguns
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To: Quix
mine is that we did exist in identifiable form of some sort outside the 'mere' mind of God--as though anything about God could be 'mere.'

How could this be possible without a vessel for the [SOUL]?
Mormons believe that we exist as spirit beings awaiting birth into a physical body... which is one good indication that this is NOT the case.

I do believe this topic simply revolves around the omniscience of God... which is something we are not capable of comprehending, just as eternity itself is beyond our grasp. I think that our attempts to grasp it simply results in speculations which cannot be supported... even though it's fun to try.


1,503 posted on 01/18/2005 2:10:53 PM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns

Pretty well said from my perspective.

. . . . speculative perspective and otherwise.


1,504 posted on 01/18/2005 2:23:31 PM PST by Quix (HAVING A FORM of GODLINESS but DENYING IT'S POWER. 2 TIM 3:5)
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To: Safrguns
"You and I both know that God creates nothing which is evil, so the correlation cannot be a valid one. God creates things that are good. They are then corrupted by us. God does however use ALL things (good and evil) to further His will."

That is exactly correct, we are told that Lucifer, Satan, the devil,the serpent, the dragon, the instead of christ, the play actor, king of Babylon, all those roles he has played, and will be allowed to play, was created perfect.

We are given the history of Lucifer, and he was created as the anointing cherub, yet even in his beauty and perfection, he rebelled and he decided he was 'god' and he drew a third part of the stars of heaven.

Now given we are told this about the devil, who do you think those "stars of heaven" are?
1,505 posted on 01/19/2005 5:57:10 AM PST by Just mythoughts
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To: Just mythoughts
who do you think those "stars of heaven" are?

In reference to which verse?
1,506 posted on 01/19/2005 6:51:48 AM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns

Well for starters Job 38: 1-7,

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Genesis 6 describes the sons of God versus daughters of the Adam.

Rev. 12, the dragon drew a third part of the stars of heaven...


1,507 posted on 01/19/2005 7:09:17 AM PST by Just mythoughts
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To: Just mythoughts
Yes... I think it's important for people to realize that Adam and Eve are not the first ones to sin against God.
Part of the reason for our creation was to prove to Lucifer that God's creation could choose to reject sin.
Lucifer's challenge to God was that any free-willed creation would eventually do what he did.
1,508 posted on 01/19/2005 8:20:06 AM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
God's true church is NOT represented by SOME (1Tim4:1), nor by men (2Tim3:2), nor by those with a form of Godliness <(2Tim3:5), nor by women with sin (2Tim3:6), nor by evil men and impostors (3Tim3:13). I see no identifiers of The Church in your references

Paul says they shall 'depart from the faith' that is the definition of apostasy.

In 2Tim. the context shows that Paul is directing Timothy how to deal with his sheep.

He is telling Timothy to exhort, reprove, rebuke, with all longsuffering and doctrine' believers, not unbelievers.

Why?

Because there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine.

This is directed to the church, not the unbeliever.(see also 2Pe.2)

The church is removed when the Body is complete.

It is an inference from the fact that the Church is the Body of Christ (1Cor.12) and His Bride.(Eph.5:23-32)

Once the Body is complete there is no reason any longer for the church to remain on earth and Christ will receive His bride in heaven as complete (Eph.5:27)

Then will begin the Tribulation (Jacobs trouble Jer.30:7)

1,509 posted on 01/20/2005 12:07:22 AM PST by fortheDeclaration
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To: fortheDeclaration
There is no question that many believers even 10-50 years ago adhere to false doctrins. False doctrins can be found in every denomination, and are the basis for the origins of christian cults. I seriously doubt this situation will get any better. However, this again is not representative of 'THE Church' as a whole. There are still those in the majority which do adhere to sound doctrin, and are effective in their ministry.

Once the Body is complete there is no reason any longer for the church to remain on earth and Christ will receive His bride in heaven as complete (Eph.5:27)

How can the body be complete if there are still those to be won during the tribulation?
1,510 posted on 01/20/2005 7:02:42 AM PST by Safrguns
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To: fortheDeclaration
Ephesians 5:27 concerns why husbands should love their wives. It demonstrates that the institution of marriage was established to represent the relationship between the church and Jesus Christ.
5:26 - "... that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church..."
I don't see any indication of a completeness trigger here.
1,511 posted on 01/20/2005 7:12:58 AM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
How can the body be complete if there are still those to be won during the tribulation?

That is the essential difference in Dispensational theology and non-dispensational theology.

In the church age, when a gentile or jew believes in Christ he becomes a Christian (a member of the Body of Christ)

All of those who became before the Church age (Acts 2), (friends of the Bride) were either saved gentiles (Enoch, Noah, Job) or saved Jews.

When the Church is removed, when one believes in the Tribulation period (a resumption of the Jewish age-Daniels 70th week) one will be either a saved Jew or Gentile, not a Christian.

Only in this dispensation are there three groups of people, Gentile, Jew and Church (saved)(1Cor.10:32)

1,512 posted on 01/20/2005 2:27:00 PM PST by fortheDeclaration
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To: fortheDeclaration
I'm not real familiar with dispensational theology.
Can you provide some biblical support which addresses the completeness of the body of Christ?
Preferrably some which relates this concept to it being a trigger for terminating the current age.
1,513 posted on 01/20/2005 5:15:47 PM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
I'm not real familiar with dispensational theology. Can you provide some biblical support which addresses the completeness of the body of Christ? Preferrably some which relates this concept to it being a trigger for terminating the current age.

As I said, the church is the body of Christ (Eph.1:23)

This was a mystery revealed only to Paul, that a new body was being formed, that was neither Jew nor Gentile (Eph.3:5-6)

This new body being formed in this dispensation is going to be the Bride of Christ (Eph.5)

Once this body is complete (the final New Testament saint saved) there is no more reason for the church age to continue.

Thus, from that one can deduce the Rapture of those church age believers will occur.

That is why the time of the Rapture is a mystery, no one knows when that final individual which will complete that body will be saved.

1,514 posted on 01/21/2005 2:04:50 PM PST by fortheDeclaration
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To: fortheDeclaration
the church is the body of Christ (Eph.1:23)

There was no question as to what the body of Christ is.

that a new body was being formed, that was neither Jew nor Gentile (Eph.3:5-6)

How can you say this, when Eph 3:6 SPECIFICALLY mentions Gentiles? Paul's point was that salvation was NOT limited to the Jews... that simple. Here, Gentiles was being used in the generic sense to mean 'Non-Jew'.

Once this body is complete (the final New Testament saint saved)...

No biblical reference given for the very point I was referring to.
Does the bible refer to the completeness of the body or not?



1,515 posted on 01/21/2005 5:03:41 PM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
the church is the body of Christ (Eph.1:23) There was no question as to what the body of Christ is. that a new body was being formed, that was neither Jew nor Gentile (Eph.3:5-6) How can you say this, when Eph 3:6 SPECIFICALLY mentions Gentiles? Paul's point was that salvation was NOT limited to the Jews... that simple. Here, Gentiles was being used in the generic sense to mean 'Non-Jew'.

No, in Gal.3:28 it is said that when one believes now he is neither Jew nor Gentile in the eyes of God, but a member of the Body of Christ.

Once this body is complete (the final New Testament saint saved)... No biblical reference given for the very point I was referring to. Does the bible refer to the completeness of the body or not?

Yes, the verse that refers to the completion of the Body leading to the Jewish age beginning again is in Rom.11:25, where Israel is said to be blind the fullness of the Gentiles come in

Then Paul goes on to explain that the next event will be the Second coming and the establishment of the New Convenant promised to Israel (Jer.31:31, Heb.8:80)

Below is from the Scofield Bible, the classical work on Dispensational theology.

11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

fullness The "fullness of the Gentiles" is the completion of the purpose of God in this age, viz. the outcalling from among the Gentiles of a people for Christ's name, "the church which is His body" Ephesians 1:22,23 Cf ; Acts 15:14; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Corinthians 12:12,13. It must be distinguished from "the times of the Gentiles" Luke 21:24.

1,516 posted on 01/22/2005 2:52:10 AM PST by fortheDeclaration
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To: fortheDeclaration
when one believes now he is neither Jew nor Gentile in the eyes of God, but a member of the Body of Christ.

True. No argument here.

Rom 11:25 - How can the 'fullness of the Gentiles' be referring to the 'fullness of the body' when the body of Christ is neither Jew nor Gentile?

Eph 1:23 - "which is His body, the fullness of Him" describes Jesus, not the body of Christ

Eph 4:13 - again... "fullness of Christ". This passage addresses the purpose of the Gifts... not a description OF the body of Christ.

1 Cor 12:12-13 Addresses the importance of All gifts of THE Spirit, calling for 'Unity In Christ'. (being of one mind)
This describes unity... not completeness

Luke 21:24 - "times of the Gentiles" is referring to the tribulation period. See verse 22: "these are the days of vengeance,..." The outcalling from among the Gentiles of a people for Christ's name continues during the tribulation, as you stated before.

Again... If the body is to grow during the tribulation, how can you call the body complete before then?
1,517 posted on 01/22/2005 9:57:53 AM PST by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns
There is only one body, and that is the church.

The Body is a specific designation for the Church, not for believers of any other period (hence a mystery)

Once the fullness of the Gentiles has been arrived at, then the Body of Christ, His bride, will be complete and be removed.

Saved Jews of the Old Testament (and Tribulation) are friends of the bride, not the bride.(Jn.3:29)

1,518 posted on 01/22/2005 10:11:41 AM PST by fortheDeclaration
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To: Safrguns
Rom 11:25 - How can the 'fullness of the Gentiles' be referring to the 'fullness of the body' when the body of Christ is neither Jew nor Gentile?

It is the Gentiles who are being 'grafted into the Jewish tree' of salvation.(Rom.11,4)

The Jews have been set aside (mystery of hardening) while this new body, made up of mostly Gentiles is being formed.

Paul states that the Gentiles being saved and being changed from Gentile to Christian is to provoke the Jews to envy.

Salvation was always of the Jew,(Rom.3) but now the Gentiles are the ones being saved, while the Jews are blinded.

Yet, when the full number of Gentiles and individual Jews have been added to the church, then that body will be removed be wed to Christ (Rev.19:7-9)

Saved Jews and Gentiles of the Old Testament and Tribulation are not church, are not the Body of Christ, are not the Bride of Christ.

Thus, there are three groups of saved people, Gentiles, Jews and Christian.

Abraham is a saved Jew (not part of the Body)

Noah is a saved Gentile (Not part of the Body)

Paul is a saved Jew who became a Christian (part of the Body) the Eunich of Acts 8 was a Gentile who became a Christian (Part of the Body).

The church age began in Acts 2 and will run until the Rapture.

When the Body becomes complete (Rom.11:25) then the church will be removed and the Tribulation will begin which is a continuation of the Old Testament, and there will be saved Jews and Gentiles, but no Christians (no Body)

1,519 posted on 01/22/2005 10:26:16 AM PST by fortheDeclaration
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To: fortheDeclaration
The Body is a specific designation for the Church, not for believers of any other period (hence a mystery)

First half of this sentence is correct... the second half has no basis in scripture. A believer is a believer. It is appointed to man once to die, then comes the judgement. Are you saying that Moses is not part of the Body of Christ? Joshua?, DAVID??? Who do you think the captives were that were set free by Jesus after He died on the cross?
You say there is only one body, which is correct, but then you refer to another body which is merely a "friend" of the bride?

Saved Jews of the Old Testament (and Tribulation) are friends of the bride, not the bride.(Jn.3:29)

Actually, you have mis-quoted John 3:29. Here, followers of John the baptist approach him with concerns that he is being upstaged by Jesus. John's response was that he (John) is a "friend of the BrideGROOM" John is referring to himself... not others. Friends of the Bridegroom is another reference to believers.
1,520 posted on 01/22/2005 11:44:13 AM PST by Safrguns
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