Free Republic

Just wanted to add that I suspect that at least some of the negative findings regarding vitamin D (in my post above) might be due to the fact that many people who take vit. D supplements are also taking high doses of calcium, since the two are often combined.

So I wonder if maybe the excess calcium is causing some of the problems that the NIH overview attributes to vit. D.

But I really don’t know.

Thanks for posting about vitamin D.

For years I’ve heard about huge benefits from vit. D. Then I recently came across some cautioning info. I’m not a medical expert and am not sure what to make of this.

Bottom line: According to the following article from the NIH, “the evidence was inadequate or too contradictory to conclude that the vitamin [vitamin D] had any effect on a long list of potential health outcomes (e.g., on resistance to chronic diseases or functional measures), except for measures related to bone health.”

Here are selected quotes from the very long NIH article:

VITAMIN D

Colorectal cancer

... Vitamin D alone did not significantly affect the development of new serrated polyps, but the combination of vitamin D with calcium increased the risk almost fourfold. The VITAL trial found no association between vitamin D supplementation and the risk of colorectal adenomas or serrated polyps

Pancreatic cancer

An investigation that pooled data from 10 studies of cancer in 12,205 men and women found... an increased risk of pancreatic cancer with 25(OH)D levels of... 40 ng/mL or above

Prostate cancer

Research to date provides mixed evidence on whether levels of 25(OH)D are associated with the development of prostate cancer.

Several studies published in 2014 suggested that high levels of 25(OH)D might increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Breast cancer

Some observational studies support an inverse association between 25(OH)D levels and breast cancer risk and mortality, but others do not...

Conclusions about vitamin D and cancer

The USPSTF stated that, due to insufficient evidence, it was unable to assess the balance of benefits and harms of supplemental vitamin D to prevent cancer...

Taken together, studies to date do not indicate that vitamin D with or without calcium supplementation reduces the incidence of cancer, but adequate or higher 25(OH)D levels might reduce cancer mortality rates.

Further research is needed to determine whether vitamin D inadequacy increases cancer risk, whether greater exposure to the nutrient can prevent cancer, and whether some individuals could have an increased risk of cancer because of their vitamin D status over time.

Cardiovascular disease

... Overall, clinical trials show that vitamin D supplementation does not reduce CVD risk, even for people with low 25(OH)D status (below 20 nmol/L [12 ng/mL]) at baseline

Type 2 diabetes

... Clinical trials to date provide little evidence that vitamin D supplementation helps maintain glucose homeostasis, reduces the risk of progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes, or helps manage the disease, particularly in vitamin D-replete individuals.

Health Risks from Excessive Vitamin D

While acknowledging that signs and symptoms of toxicity are unlikely at daily intakes below... 10,000 IU, the FNB [Food and Nutrition Board] noted that even vitamin D intakes lower than the ULs [Tolerable Upper Intake Levels] might have adverse health effects over time.

The FNB recommended avoiding serum 25(OH)D levels above approximately 50–60 ng/mL, and it found that even lower serum levels (approximately... 30–48f ng/mL) are associated with increases in rates of all-cause mortality, risk of cancer at some sites (e.g., pancreas), risk of cardiovascular events, and number of falls and fractures among older adults.

[This link has much more info on all of the above:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/ ]

Frankly, I’d much rather believe all the positive things that Mercola (and many others) say about vitamin D. But the above info from the NIH is troubling.

I don’t know how to reconcile the two.

Maybe someone who knows more than I do can comment.

Most Christians detest people like Jim Jones and his ilk.

On the last url page you cited, on the right-hand side, under Top Stories, here’s the first article listed:

Russia’s most repressive legislation. Christians are praying and fasting
https://www.russianpentecostal.org/news/administration/4686-russias-most-repressive-legislation-christians-are-praying-and-fasting

A few more articles about Russian persecution of Christians:

What Putin’s Re-Election Means for Christians
https://www.persecution.org/2024/03/22/what-putins-re-election-means-for-christians/

Putin Revives Soviet Persecution Of Christians Amid Prayers For Peace
https://amac.us/newsline/national-security/putin-revives-soviet-persecution-of-christians-amid-prayers-for-peace/

Russia’s Persecution of Christians Intensifies; Putin Can’t Be Trusted, Experts Warn
https://www.christianpost.com/news/russia-persecution-christians-intensifies-putin-cant-be-trusted-experts-warn-184255/

Grassley Discusses Religious Persecution By Occupying Forces In Ukraine
https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/remarks/grassley-discusses-religious-persecution-by-occupying-forces-in-ukraine

Putin’s attack on Christians...

... While Russia lauds itself as “pro-Christian,” its behavior belies its claim as propaganda...
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/putins-attack-ukraines-christians-deserves-this-punishment

Incidents of Russian Persecution Against Ukrainian Christians
(multiple maps with specific reported incidents)
https://www.iswresearch.org/search?q=persecution+of+christians

Christian Persecution Under Russian Control
(Voice of the Martyrs)
https://vomcanada.com/ua-2022-03-03.htm

Russia: Christians banned from discussing faith outside church
https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/russia-christians-banned-from-discussing-faith-outside-church

Living as a Persecuted Christian in Russia
https://arriveministries.org/living-as-a-persecuted-christian-in-russia/

As with Abraham, God declares us righteous when we believe in His promise and provision of salvation.

Genesis 15:6, And he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He counted [imputed, credited] it to him for righteousness (1917 JPS (.]tzedaqah , ָצְדקָה]

Habakkuk 2:4, Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous [יקּ ִדַצ, tzaddiq] shall live by his faith. (JPS 1917)

Isaiah 53:10, But the LORD chose to crush him by disease [the suffering Servant], That, he made himself [the Servant] an offering for guilt, He might see offspring and have long life, And that through him the LORD’s purpose might prosper. (Tanakh)

Isaiah 53:11, Out of his anguish he shall see it; He shall enjoy it to the full through his devotion. My righteous [הָָקְצדָ , tzedaqah] servant makes the many righteous [tzaddaq], It is their punishment that he bears; (Tanakh)

As with Moses and David, God wants us to listen to this Prophet and believe in the Messiah.

Deuteronomy 18:15, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your own people, like myself; him you shall heed. (Tanakh)

Psalms 2:7, Let me tell of the decree: the LORD said to me, “You are My son, I have fathered you this day.” (Tanakh)

Psalms 2:12, pay homage in good faith, lest He be angered, and your way be doomed in the mere flash of His anger. Happy are all who take refuge in Him. (Tanakh)

These verses demonstrate that all our good deeds, generous efforts, and charitable gifts can never measure up to the standard of God’s righteousness. However, the Hebrew Scriptures also promised a future prophet, a unique servant of God, who would come to bear in His own body our sins in order to provide righteousness, “to make many righteous” (Isaiah 53:11).

Only One who is perfectly righteous Himself can bear the sin of those who are not righteous. This is what the prophet Isaiah declared.

This was exemplified centuries earlier when Abraham believed in God and God “counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

The promise Abraham believed was that God would be true to His promise in Genesis 3:15 to provide a descendant who would defeat Satan and bear the penalty of sin for the world.

But like Abraham, we must believe this promise to be credited with God’s righteousness.

https://www.deanbibleministries.org/dbmfiles/notes/Are_You_Right_With_God_2-27-24_final.pdf

And still more about our wonderful Mashiach:

Isaiah 53:6, We all went astray like sheep, Each going his own way; And the LORD visited upon him The guilt of all of us. (Tanakh)

Isaiah 53:7, He was maltreated, yet he was submissive, He did not open his mouth; Like a sheep being led to slaughter, Like a ewe, dumb before those who shear her, He did not open his mouth. (Tanakh)

Isaiah 53:10, But the LORD chose to crush him by disease, That, if he made himself an offering for guilt, He might see offspring and have long life, And that through him the LORD’s purpose might prosper. (Tanakh)

In Isaiah 53 the suffering Servant gives His life for Israel.

He (an individual) bore “their” (the people’s) iniquities (53:12 see below) and bore “the sin of many” who are identified as “the transgressors” (Tanakh, JPS, 1985).

Thus the Servant here must be an individual, not the nation, nor the people, for this one dies for the people, a permanent substitute the nation.

God provided a permanent removal of our sin through the promised Mashiach who dies as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The Mashiach dies in our place.

Isaiah 53:4, Yet it was our sickness that he was bearing, Our suffering that he endured. We accounted him plagued, Smitten and afflicted by God; (Tanakh)

Isaiah 53:5, But he was wounded because of our sins, Crushed because of our iniquities. He bore the chastisement that made us whole, And by his bruises we were healed. (Tanakh)

Isaiah 53:6, We all went astray like sheep, Each going his own way; And the LORD visited upon him The guilt of all of us. (Tanakh)

The Mashiach rose from the dead.

Isaiah 53:10, But the LORD chose to crush him by disease, That, if he made himself an offering for guilt, He might see offspring and have long life, And that through him the LORD’s purpose might prosper. (Tanakh)

Isaiah 53:12, Assuredly, I will give him the many as his portion, He shall receive the multitude as his spoil. For he exposed himself to death And was numbered among the sinners, Whereas he bore the guilt of the many And made intercession for sinners. (Tanakh)

Psalms 16:10, For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. (Tanakh)

Psalms 16:10, written by King David around 1000 BC, could not have referred to David because he died and was buried and his tomb’s location was known for centuries thereafter.

All of our righteousnesses [הָדקְצָ , tzedaqah] are as “polluted garments” (Isaiah 64:6 [64:5 in Tanakh]) and we are all sinners, separated by our sins from God. So how does anyone obtain righteousness that God accepts?

Am I right with G-d? Am I justified before G-d? How can I, a sinful human, be sure? Can I have that assurance? What does G-d’s inerrant, inspired revelation tell me?

https://www.deanbibleministries.org/dbmfiles/notes/Are_You_Right_With_God_2-27-24_final.pdf

All of the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible that G-d hasn’t yet fulfilled, He will surely fulfill in the future.

As you said, the Mashiach will one day personally reign over the whole earth from Jerusalem.

But our great dilemma is this. As Job said (9:2), “How can man be in the right, justified, before G-d?”

Am I right with G-d? Am I justified before G-d? How can I, a sinful human, be sure? Can I have that assurance?
https://www.deanbibleministries.org/dbmfiles/notes/Are_You_Right_With_God_2-27-24_final.pdf

I haven’t read all of the following, and can’t answer any questions or objections that you may have about this, but these articles claim that DNA studies are being used to identify Jewish men who are deemed eligible for the Levitical priesthood in Israel today:

The Cohanim - DNA Connection
https://aish.com/48936742/

DNA Studies Trace Jewish Priestly Lineage From Biblical Times
https://israel365news.com/301195/dna-studies-prove-existence-of-biblical-priestly-class-health-and-science/

Jewish Priests, Biblical Status Confirmed By DNA, Ready to Prepare for Third Temple
https://israel365news.com/315998/dna-testing-aiding-prophetic-return-priestly-covenant/

Priestly Gene Shared By Widely Dispersed Jews
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/07/980714071409.htm

“Catholics and other preterists truly think the thousand year reign is now.
Tell that to the mom that was gunned down last night in front of her kids who will now be orphans.”

As you know, they misinterpret Luke 17:21, which has often been poorly translated as saying that the kingdom is “within you.” But the NASB translation gets it right:

Luke 17 (NASB)
20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
__________________________________________________________

Quote from
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament
by John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck

Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come.

This was a logical question to ask, for He had been preaching for quite some time that the kingdom was at hand.

Jesus responded to the question in two ways.

First, He said that the Pharisees would not be able to tell of the coming of the kingdom through their observations.

Second, He told them that the kingdom was in their midst.

The term “within you” is often misunderstood.

The Pharisees were rejecting Him as the Messiah and were not believers.

(They were distinct from the disciples Jesus addressed beginning in v. 22.)

Thus it would not make sense for Jesus to have told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was within them as if it were some sort of spiritual kingdom.

It is better to translate the phrase “within you” (entos hymon) as “in your midst.”

Some feel that the force of the expression is “within your possession or within your reach.”

Jesus’ point was that He was standing right in their midst.

All they needed to do was acknowledge that He is indeed the Messiah who could bring in the kingdom - and then the kingdom would come.

Preterism

What follows is excerpted from a paper entitled

A Case for the Futurist Interpretation of the Book of Revelation
by Dr. Andrew Woods

“Revelation’s ‘Time Texts’

“The argument most relied upon by preterists to contend for a first century fulfillment is Revelation’s so called ‘time texts.’

“Because Revelation makes use of the words ‘shortly’ or ‘quickly’ or tavcos (Rev 1:1; 2:16; 3:11; 11:14; 22:6, 7, 12, 20), ‘near’ or ‘at hand’ or ejgguvs (Rev 1:3; 22:10), and ‘about to’ or mevllw (1:19; 3:10), preterists believe that they have the literary license to locate the fulfillment of most of John’s prophecies in A.D. 70.

“However, the preterist errs in assuming that these words are technical expressions that always have the same definition every time they are used.

In fact, each of these terms has a broad semantic range and therefore its meaning must be determined by its context rather than through the imposition of an artificial ‘one size fits all’ grid.

“For example, besides always understanding these words chronologically indicating when Christ will return, it is also possible to understand them adverbially or qualitatively indicating the manner of Christ’s return.

“In other words, when the action comes it will come suddenly or with great rapidity. The New Testament allows for such a usage. For example, while it is true that Scripture often uses ‘shortly’ or ‘quickly’ (tacos) in a chronological sense to indicate ‘when’ (1 Timothy 3:14), Scripture also uses the same word in a qualitative sense to indicate ‘how.’

“For instance, Acts 22:18 uses tacos to indicate manner when it says, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

“The LXX also displays an adverbial use of these expressions by using them in prophetic contexts that would not be fulfilled for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years or more into the future (Isa 13:22; 51:5; Zeph 1:7, 14; Obad 15; cf. Isa 5:26; 13:6; 58:8; Joel 1:15; 2:1; 3:14).

“Given the broad semantic range of these terms, ‘context is king’ in determining whether the chronological or adverbial meaning is applicable.

“Because the context of Revelation involves global events that have not yet come to pass, an adverbial rather than a chronological meaning should be assigned to these words.

“While Revelation’s ‘timing texts’ pose no obstacle to the futurist interpretation, these texts pose considerable problems for the preterist interpreter.

“Partial preterist interpretive problems are created by the fact that Revelation’s ‘timing texts’ are found at the end of the Book of Revelation as well as the beginning (Rev 22:6, 7, 10, 12, 20).

“The partial preterist system still wants to hold to a future bodily appearing and final judgment (Rev 20:7-15).

However,the use of tavcos and ejgguvs in Revelation 22 is injurious to the partial preterist system, because the existence of these words at the end of the book logically leads to the conclusion that the entire Book of Revelation was fulfilled in A.D. 70 rather than just most of it.

“If the use of tavcos and ejgguvs in the early chapters of Revelation lead partial preterists to conclude that most of the book’s prophecies were fulfilled in A.D. 70, then surely these identical words found at the end of the book should also lead to the conclusion that the entire book was fulfilled in A.D. 70...”

https://www.pre-trib.org/articles/all-articles/message/a-case-for-the-futurist-interpretation-of-the-book-of-revelation/read
_________________________

Here are additional resources debunking the false teachings of Preterism and partial Preterism:

Has Bible Prophecy Already Been Fulfilled?
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://www.pre-trib.org/articles/all-articles/message/has-bible-prophecy-already-been-fulfilled/read

Preterism
by Dr. Randall Price
https://www.raptureready.com/2015/08/07/preterism-by-randall-price-pdf/

Gary Demar’s End Times Fiction
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://www.pre-trib.org/dr-thomas-ice/message/gary-demar-s-end-times-fiction/read

A Review of Hank Hanegraaff’s The Apocalypse Code
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://www.pre-trib.org/articles/all-articles/message/a-review-of-hank-hanegraaff-s-the-apocalypse-code/read

An Assessment of Kenneth L. Gentry’s Internal Evidence for Dating Revelation
by Dr. Robert Thomas
https://pre-trib.org/dr-robert-thomas/message/an-assessment-of-kenneth-l-gentry-s-internal-evidence-for-dating-revelation/read

I haven’t watched the video, but I think there’s sometimes a misunderstanding about the identity of “the many” with whom the future antichrist will confirm a covenant.

This prophecy about “the many” occurs in the book of Daniel, so the term “the many” should be interpreted in light of how it’s used elsewhere in that particular book.

This is from Dr. Thomas Ice, author of many books on Biblical eschatology:

“... Daniel 9:27 says the covenant is to be made with ‘the many.’ This term always refers in some way to Israel throughout the book of Daniel (Daniel 11:33, 39; 12:3). Thus it is a narrow term, used in a specific context. It is not a broad term...”

https://www.pre-trib.org/dr-robert-thomas/message/the-seventy-weeks-of-daniel/read

Some of the Old Testament prophetic books may seem at first glance to be cryptic mishmashes, but the best scholars who’ve carefully delved into them have found them to be structured and purposeful.

For example, here’s a chart by Dr. Charles Dyer that shows in simplified form the basic structure and symmetry of the book of Ezekiel:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqAI5rYY3o32-MM86k52D5hcH6H8HzkSHpvN69Q9qHLnYXEJEWcB8Qft7qYGUBYrVDl4o

In Ezekiel 37, the prophecy of the valley of dry bones is about Israel’s restoration in the last days.

In Ezekiel 37:15-23, the prophecy of the 2 sticks is about the future uniting of Israel’s northern and southern kingdoms.

Then Ezekiel 38-39 describe the future Gog-Magog war during the Tribulation period.

And then Ezekiel 40-47 describe the future Messianic Temple that will be built by the Messiah during His Millennial reign on the earth.

All of these God-given prophecies will be fulfilled.

Dr. Andy Woods’ series entitled Middle East Meltdown goes verse-by-verse through Ezekiel chapters 36 through 39.

He shows how chapters 36 and 37 (the “valley of dry bones” prophecy about the restoration of Israel) perfectly set the stage and lead into chapters 38 and 39 about the Gog-Magog war.

He also explains in detail how we can go to historical sources to determine the identities of the Gog-Magog war participants named in chapter 38.

This is a free series posted online. A written transcript accompanies each video:

https://slbc.org/series_event/middle-east-meltdown/

(Classes are listed in reverse order, with the most recent one at the top. The first class is at the bottom of the page.)

That video series is based on a book:

The Middle East Meltdown: The Coming Islamic Invasion of Israel
by Dr. Andy Woods
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945774002

There’s been a lot of interest in the timing of the Gog-Magog war described in Ezekiel 38 & 39. Will it be pre-Trib, early-Trib, mid-Trib, late-Trib, or what?

To me, the 2-stage view, though not widely known, makes the most sense. Here’s Dr. Andy Woods’ explanation of that view, quoted recently in another thread:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4188057/posts?page=148#148

THE TIMING OF EZEKIEL 38 & 39

THE 2-STAGE INTERPRETATION

“... where does the Gog-Magog war fit?... I believe that chapter 38, the war, happens consistent with seal judgment number two, very early in the Tribulation, because... there’s a transition from peace to war in Ezekiel 38. That’s exactly what’s happening with the first two seal judgments, you go from peace under the antichrist to war;

“and then chapter 39... starts to talk about things that happened at the end of the tribulation. Like, for example, the birds of prey gorging on the corpses; like a converted Israel and we know from other passages of scripture that those are events that take place at the end of the tribulation.

“So what I’m seeing is chapter 38 happening essentially with seal judgment number two and chapter 39 essentially transpiring at the end of the tribulation period. So you’ll have the birds of prey at the end, Israel’s conversion at the end and the weapons, at that point, are burned for seven years. The bodies of the invaders are buried for seven months

“... I see the burial and the burning continuing on into the millennial kingdom.

“A lot of people don’t like that, they don’t want their millennium messed up with a bunch of smoke and burials but to me it’s not that big of a problem because the millennial kingdom is a renovation and not an ex nihilo new creation.

“So there’s actually going to be death in the millennial kingdom, amongst the surviving mortals, children of the mortals of the tribulation, those that survive the tribulation, that are believers, that enter the kingdom in their mortal bodies and repopulate the earth. That generation will still experience death. [Isaiah 65:20]

“So the millennial kingdom is not a pristine perfect environment. There’s actually going to be animals slaughtered during that time period and essentially what you have happening here, is, since the millennial kingdom is really not an ex nihilo new creation but a renovation, I don’t really have much of a problem seeing burial and burning of weapons happening during that kingdom age.

“So Ezekiel 38 is the second seal judgment. Ezekiel 39, most of it, is the end of the tribulation period and then the weapons burning and the burial continues on into the thousand year kingdom.”

- Dr. Andy Woods
https://slbc.org/sermon/middle-east-meltdown-020-ezekiel-38-39/

Some others who hold the 2-stage interpretation of Ezekiel 38 & 39:

“There is a lot of debate how Ezekiel 38-39 fits.... I think the best argument is that Ezekiel 38 takes place in the first half of the Tribulation and Ezekiel 39 in the second half of the Tribulation.” - Dr. Robert L. Dean

“Harold W. Hoehner... argued that Ezekiel 38 refers to events in the middle of the Tribulation and chapter 39 to events at the end of the Tribulation.”

For more info on the 2-stage interpretation of Ezekiel 38-39, see this book:

The Middle East Meltdown: The Coming Islamic Invasion of Israel
by Dr. Andy Woods
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945774002

Available free online:
Dr. Andy Woods’ video series: Middle East Meltdown
https://slbc.org/series_event/middle-east-meltdown/

Another wildly popular book that I think is similar to Jesus Calling is Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts. As in Jesus Calling, the author dares to write under the pretense that Christ Himself is speaking.

Might some of these kinds of Christian writers be naively caught up in the occult practice of automatic writing, channeling a clever lying spirit? I don’t know.

But it’s tragic how popular it is among Christians to engage in pagan practices — such as getting alone and being quiet and receptive and listening for God to speak apart from Scripture, and assume that whatever wise-sounding, extrabiblical impressions or commands they receive are from God, and whatever miraculous things occur when they obey these impressions are also from God.

How do they know it’s from God? They say it FEELS like it’s from God, so they just KNOW it MUST be from God. And they’ve heard “wonderful, mature Christians” on TV and Youtube who endorse this highly subjective, mystical-emotional approach.

But remember that people in the New Age Movement and other forms of paganism use a similar or identical approach, receive supernatural messages, and experience miracles.

It’s tempting for me as a sinful human to assume that if I, a Christian, have sincerely “surrendered” to Jesus, “given my life” to God, I’ll automatically have discernment and won’t be deceived by the wiles of Satan.

What we often fail to realize is that true surrender to God isn’t just being sincere and saying, “God, I surrender to You! I give my life to You!”

Surrender is an ongoing process that occurs when we are transformed by the renovation of our thinking (Romans 12:2), as we learn the Bible and apply it to our lives.

We need to be humble and teachable, recognize the sufficiency of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17), consistently sit under the teaching ministry of a well-equipped pastor, and learn and apply what God has revealed in the Bible.

In pulpits today, there are few well-prepared pastors who faithfully do the hard work of studying and teaching the Bible from the original languages, and offer the kind of sound, frequent, systematic, verse-by verse teaching that builds spiritual growth and discernment.

Here’s a great source of the kind of teaching that’s needed:
https://www.deanbibleministries.org/

About the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, I found these insights really helpful:

https://www.challies.com/articles/10-serious-problems-with-jesus-calling/

https://tottministries.org/jesus-calling-enjoying-peace-in-his-presence-by-sarah-young-nashville-thomas-nelson-2004-382-pp-hard-15-99/

(Many, many reviews of this book that voice similar concerns can be found online.)

Relevant info posted previously on another thread:

Many think UFOs either don’t exist or must be visitations by an advanced race of space travelers.

But there’s a better explanation.

Scientist and author Jacques Vallée says the facts do not support the “advanced race of space travelers” hypothesis:

1. unexplained close encounters are far more numerous than required for any physical survey of the earth;
2. the humanoid body structure of the alleged “aliens” is not likely to have originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel;
3. the reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race;
4. the extension of the phenomenon throughout recorded human history demonstrates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon; and
5. the apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives.

Vallée believes “the alleged extraterrestrials could be… multidimensional beyond space-time; thus they could coexist with humans, yet remain undetected.” Vallée sees many “commonalities between UFOs, … demons, angels, ghosts, cryptid sightings, and psychic phenomena.”

This same Jacques Vallée “served as the real-life model for Lacombe, the researcher portrayed by François Truffaut in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He also attempted to interest Spielberg in an alternative explanation for the phenomenon… Vallée said, “I argued with him that the subject was even more interesting if it wasn’t extraterrestrials. If it was real, physical, but not ET. So he said, ‘You’re probably right, but that’s not what the public is expecting — this is Hollywood and I want to give people something that’s close to what they expect.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Vallée

To me, it’s very interesting that thousands of years ago, Biblical divine revelation predicted, and explained the true reasons behind, future events including:

- an aerial catching away / mass disappearance of many humans from the earth
- massive deception of those who remain
- a charismatic world leader who eventually claims deity
- global government tyranny
- huge celestial and geophysical catastrophes
- supernaturally empowered humans working great deceptive wonders
- widespread visible manifestations of supernatural entities on the earth

See, for example, these Biblical prophecies:
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18
2nd Thessalonians 2:3-12
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapters 5-19. (Many of the strange prophecies in the book of Revelation are best understood in light of the prophecies in the Biblical book of Daniel the prophet.)

”We are currently living in the last days of the Church Age, but we are not in the last days of the Jewish Age. Paul was in the last days. Luther was in the last days. John Darby was in the last days. We are in the last days of the Church Age. But we are not in the last days of the Jewish Age. That is the tribulation.”
- Dr. Robert L. Dean

DOCTRINE OF THE LAST DAYS

TERMS RELATED TO ISRAEL:

a. Latter days: Isaiah 2:2; Deut 4:30, 31:29, Jeremiah 30:24, 48:47, Dan 2:28, 10:14
b. Last days: Jeremiah 49:39, 23:20, Hosea 3:5, Acts 2:17, Is 2:2, Ezek 38:16, Micah 4:1
c. Last day: John 6:39-40, 44,54, 11:24, 12:48
d. Latter years: Ezek 38:8
e. Time of the end: Dan 8:17
f. End of time: Dan 12:4
g. End time: Dan 12:9
h. End of the age: Dan 12:3

All of these terms are related to Israel... in Israel’s thought and in the terminology related to Israel, all of these terms relate to the end of the Jewish age and what they will go through in terms of judgments and in terms of various disturbances that give birth to the Messianic Age. So we have one set of terminology that is distinct to Israel. In Jewish and Old Testament thought, all of this turmoil that we call the Tribulation takes place at the end of the present age in the process of giving birth to the Messianic Age. We have the terminology birth pangs in numerous passages related to the Tribulation period.

TERMS RELATED TO THE CHURCH:

We must distinguish between the last days of the Church Age and the last days of Israel’s tribulation.

a. Later times: I Tim 4:1
b. Last days: James 5:3, II Tim 3:1, Heb 1:2, II P 3:3
c. Last times: I P 1:20
d. Last time: I P 1:5, Jude 18
e. Last hour: I J 2:18

All of these phrases refer to the entire Church Age. Folks ask if we are in the end times. The question is, whose end times?

… If you are alive in the Church Age, you are in the last days. I Tim 4:1

… In the New Testament, these terms refer to the entirety of the Church Age. Heb 1:2 If you were in the 2nd century you were in the last times. If you were in the 20th century you were in the last times.

… Thus this refers biblically to the last period in God’s timetable before the coming of the Messianic Age, also called the Millennial Kingdom. (The tribulation is the end of the Age of Israel.)

… In Jewish thought their last days would end with a series of judgments terminating the present age and inaugurating the Messianic Age.

Deuteronomy 4:30 “When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice

Distress refers to the tribulation. “Latter days” is when Israel finally calls on the Lord.

https://deanbibleministries.org/old-testament-menuitem/habakkuk-menuitem/message/2005-hebrews-010b/read

Also see this free paper posted online:

Are We Living in the Last Days?
by Dr. Thomas Ice
https://pre-trib.org/dr-robert-thomas/message/are-we-living-in-the-last-days/read

“That technology would be God-like and the beings would be angels!”

Or, to rephrase slightly: That technology would be supernatural and the beings would be (fallen) angels.