Tribulation Trivia

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● Matt 24:21 . . For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-- and never to be equaled again.

Some of the individual events in the book of Revelation may not seem all that significant by themselves, but when the entire scenario is compiled, the era depicted becomes spectacular.
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● Rev 1:1 . .The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants-- things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by His angel etc, etc.

The Greek word translated "shortly" tells us that the events depicted in the book of Revelation will be completed within a relatively brief space of time.

The Greek word translated "signified" basically refers to indications: in this case, I'd say they can be safely understood as a succession of red flags. In other words; nobody knows the exact day nor hour of Jesus' return to rule the world, but the events depicted in the book of Revelation will serve as early warnings to alert folks that the time has come-- sort of like the act by act synopses used by folks interested in operas like La Bohème, Hamlet, Madam Butterfly, Porgy and Bess, South Pacific, and Don Giovanni.

If folks stuck in the Revelation era use John's letter like that; they'll have a pretty good idea when to expect Jesus' arrival; and begin preparing themselves for it.

Speaking to his Jewish countrymen in Luke 21:28-36, Jesus said:

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

He told them this parable:

"Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."

And then he said:

"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

FAQ: "this generation" passed away long ago and yet none of those things ever happened. Why not?

REPLY: The Greek word translated generation is somewhat ambiguous. It can refer to a current population, and also to a nation and/or an era. For example: there was a generation before the Flood, there's the generation between the Flood and Christ's return, and there will be another generation after that called the regeneration. (Matt 19:28)
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God's patience is long-suffering. However, He's wise enough to know when to say when and to stop throwing good money after bad, so to speak. For example:

● 2Thess 2:11-12 . . God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

In other words: there's coming a time when God's patience will reach its reasonable limits, and He will purposely, willfully, and deliberately make sure that a certain category of people during the Tribulation have no chance whatsoever to be spared the wrath of God.

Back when Noah was preparing the ark, no doubt his neighbors all mocked and poked fun at him as if he were a deranged soul going around with a sandwich board that reads: Repent; The End Is Near! But when the rain started, I bet those very same neighbors panicked and tried to get Noah to open up and let them in. But even had Noah wanted to; he couldn't. The hatch of the ark was sealed from the outside: and God was the only one on earth who could open it-- He chose not to.

● Rev 1:18 . . I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

● Rev 3:7 . .These are the words of him who is holy and true: who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
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● Rev 19:11-16 . . I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.

. . . And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords."

* The winepress mentioned in that verse appears in Isa 63:1-6, and again in Rev 14:19-20.

The fierce wrath of God is interesting. For example:

● Isa 13:9 . . Behold, the day of The Lord comes-- cruel; with both wrath and fierce anger

The Hebrew word for "wrath" in that statement is pertains to an outburst of passion. In other words: the wrath of God won't be weeping big wet crocodile tears while it's slamming the dead at the Great White Throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15; no, they will be terminated with extreme prejudice; viz: their judgment will be administered with choler.

Webster's defines "fierce" as a behavior exhibited by humans and animals that inspires terror because of the wild and menacing aspect of fury in attack. Ferocity is an aspect commonly seen among carnivorous beasts savagely attacking prey. There's neither sportsmanship nor sympathy in ferocity; only sheer terror, brutality, and blood lust.

"cruel" is defined as: disposed to inflict pain or suffering; viz: devoid of humane feelings

● Heb 10:27 . . A certain fearful expectation of . . . fiery indignation

"fiery indignation" is quite a bit more severe than ordinary indignation. It speaks of someone who is seriously ticked off; and so angry that they're actually red in the face.

There are people out there in pews all around the world who have been so coddled by sappy versions of Christianity that they have no concept of the magnitude of the lethal tsunami of rage and violence coming their way to get them.
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[OnceConvinced]

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● Rev 16:12 . . And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

That is curious because in modern warfare; rivers, and even oceans, present no obstacle to military aircraft. But where are the airplanes in Revelation; and where are all the mechanized conveyances? Well; there are none, and in point of fact, war in Revelation is portrayed as fought on horseback and armies move on foot. I have an uneasy feeling that the way of life with which us modern folks are accustomed is coming to an end.
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Indeed. There is no need for the River Euphrates to dry up before the armies can invade and Armageddon can start. Clearly these were prophecies intended to take place around 2000 years ago no, not now.

The other interesting thing is that the River Euphrates HAS dried up, so therefore the Battle of Armageddon should be able to start. The 7 Bowls of Wrath are to take place in a specific order AFTER many other events have occurred. Clearly this is the death knell for bible prophecies. Things like that rapture, the anti-christ ruling, the numbering system coming out and Christians being beheaded for refusing to take it should have already happened by now. The fact they haven't means most of these prophecies are now failed prophecies.

[OnceConvinced]

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● Rev 13:4 . . And they worshipped the Dragon which gave power unto the Beast:
and they worshipped the Beast, saying: Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to
make war with him?

* The Dragon is identified at Rev 12:9 as the Serpent, the Devil, and Satan; so
there can be no doubt who this creature really is. (cf. Rev 20:2)

It's quite possible that the people of that day will honestly believe the Beast is
empowered by a divine being; and unaware they are actually giving glory to a
demonic being instead. For example:

● 2Thess 2:9-12 . . .This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with
counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of wicked
deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to
believe the truth that would save them. So God will send great deception upon
them, and they will believe all these lies.

Worship of the Beast will be universal, mandatory, and strictly enforced regardless
of age, race, gender, and/or ethnic identity-- a one-world mega religion that blows
all others out of the water, e.g. Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism,
Baha'i, Buddhism, etc.
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The idea of there being some world leader who is considered a god and is worshipping by everyone in the world is clearly nonsense. 2000 years ago, this might have happened as some kings and emperors declared themselves gods and everyone had to treat them like that. But it's the 21st century now and there's no way it would happen today. Most people would refuse to do it. We live in a society where overt dictators are despised, not loved. Atheists in particular are not going to be worshipping some human leader as a god. It's purely ludicrous to expect it. And despite what many Christians may think, even atheists will be completely against a dictator who wants to behead all Christians. That's genocide and not accepted by any moral person in the 21st century.

But hey! The River Euphrates has dried up. Thus the whole prophecy of an overt dictator ruling the world and being worshipped as a god is now a blatantly failed prophecy.

But you know, what it really all boils down to is control. There are folks who just simply don't care to be governed by the likes of God;

So thus they are even less likely to be governed by some dictator claiming to be a god no matter how many threats he may make. Consistency please.

[OnceConvinced]

The two passages tell of water pollution on a scale quite a bit more severe than that of Egypt because this is global rather than limited to one specific country. Even so; Egypt's was pretty bad because there was no clean water anywhere for either cooking, drinking, laundry, hygiene, or sanitation. (Ex 7:19-20)

And this is where major shucking and jiving comes in when you try to make prophecies meant for 2000 years ago try to line up with the events of today. None of those rivers are blood. They are simply polluted. For bible prophecies to be accurate, they need to line up with the clear words stated. BLOOD! If rivers aren't turning to actual blood then you have failed prophecies. Likewise if the numbering system is not a mark on your hand or forehead, but something else, then that's a failed prophecy too. (interesting, I don't think you mentioned anywhere in this thread about the numbering system and the beheadings. What's your spin on that?)

Rivers turning to blood is the THIRD bowl of wrath poured out. The very FIRST bowl of wrath is sores for those who have taken the number of the beast. The SIXTH bowl of wrath is the River Euphrates drying up. The Euphrates has dried up so thus bowls 1 through to 5 are FAILED prophecies! As are most of the other prophecies you quote here from the Book of Revelations.

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● Luke 21:25 . .There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

I'd imagine that folks obsessed with climate change would find the roaring and tossing of the sea a useful political advantage. But of course down the road when that actually takes place, climate change will likely lose much of the popularity it currently enjoys as people will no doubt be far more interested in survival than politics.

● Luke 21:26 . . Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

That will be a very dangerous time for elder citizens as anxiety attacks can be fatal for folks in advanced age.
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● Rev 8:1 . .When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

A reason for the silence isn't given, but I suspect the one in charge will be thinking about what He has to do next, and reluctant to bring it on; because the next round of horror will be devastating beyond belief-- and once started, won't be stopped.

● Ezek 18:23 . . Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die-- saith the Lord God --and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
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