I used to think so––in the 80s. I expected everything to crash, and then the world went on and on. I have come to the conclusion that end time things will not look the way everyone seems to have them figured out. Jesus said they would actually be saying they had peace and safety before the end, not "Oh, crap, we're all doomed." I have also concluded that much of the content in Revelation is now historical from our perspective, detailing the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of new powers, all laid out in dream language and symbols. It is amazing to me that people who can't bring themselves to believe God still does miracles today believe that scorpion horses will be loosed on the earth to sting all the bad people.

Everything we are experiencing now or fearfully expect has happened before (only without the iPhones). Have we forgotten all the truly horrific things that happened in the past, things that seemed like apocalyptic nightmares? But it was more that seemed. The Black Plague is one example. It wiped out 1/3 of all the people in Europe. Think of it! Some formerly bustling towns were left with only one or two survivors. There were so many bodies they began dumping them together into holes. Does the scale of that deserve no consideration in the face of charts and diagrams that have to ignore it because they put everything into the future?

The truth is that this stubborn nonsense is all based on (very) bad exegesis of Daniel 9, which was about the coming Messiah, the ministry of His disciples after His death and resurrection, and the eventual destruction of Jerusalem. There is no self-consistent justification for splitting it apart to insert 2000 years so the last bit happens in the distant future, and I mean none. They do this with no other prophecy in the Bible and don't realize how much it leads them around in unproductive circles. There is also no justification for suddenly switching who the prophecy is speaking about to make part of it about some future antichrist. There are other scriptures that talk about this evil person plainly and detail the conditions that will allow him to rise. You don't have to wrestle it into other scriptures to prove your point.

In spite of everything that's happening, I do not believe we are yet in the time of Jesus' return. I think Satan has jumped the gun again, trying to make his antichrist plans happen like he did with every historical megalomaniac who wanted to take over the world and remake it. This will fail, too, because we are in the time when the rock is smashing into the toes of the Babylonian system pictured in the timeline image the King of Babylon saw in a dream. When it is time for the other thing, God will let it happen, but not before. I think He means to give the world a taste of what it can be like to live in peace under just governments first, so people can make a real choice between good and evil without the unjust interference of mass brainwashing.

I used to think so––in the 80s. I expected everything to crash, and then the world went on and on. I have come to the conclusion that end time things will not look the way everyone seems to have them figured out. Jesus said they would actually be saying they had peace and safety before the end, not "Oh, crap, we're all doomed." I have also concluded that much of the content in Revelation is now historical from our perspective, detailing the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of new powers, all laid out in dream language and symbols. It is amazing to me that people who can't bring themselves to believe God still does miracles today believe that scorpion horses will be loosed on the earth to sting all the bad people.

Everything we are experiencing now or fearfully expect has happened before (only without the iPhones). Have we forgotten all the truly horrific things that happened in the past, things that seemed like apocalyptic nightmares? But it was more that seemed. The Black Plague is one example. It wiped out 1/3 of all the people in Europe. Think of it! Some formerly bustling towns were left with only one or two survivors. There were so many bodies the began dumping them together into holes. Does the scale of that deserve no consideration in the face of charts and diagrams that have to ignore it because they put everything into the future?

The truth is that this stubborn nonsense is all based on (very) bad exegesis of Daniel 9, which was about the coming Messiah, the ministry of His disciples after His death and resurrection, and the eventual destruction of Jerusalem. There is no self-consistent justification for splitting it apart to insert 2000 years so the last bit happens in the distant future, and I mean none. They do this with no other prophecy in the Bible and don't realize how much it leads them around in unproductive circles. There is also no justification for suddenly switching who the prophecy is speaking about to make part of it about some future antichrist. There are other scriptures that talk about this evil person plainly and detail the conditions that will allow him to rise. You don't have to wrestle it into other scriptures to prove your point.

In spite of everything that's happening, I do not believe we are yet in the time of Jesus' return. I think Satan has jumped the gun again, trying to make his antichrist plans happen like he did with every historical megalomaniac who wanted to take over the world and remake it. This will fail, too, because we are in the time when the rock is smashing into the toes of the Babylonian system pictured in the timeline image the King of Babylon saw in a dream. When it is time for the other thing, God will let it happen, but not before. I think He means to give the world a taste of what it can be like to live in peace under just governments first, so people can make a real choice between good and evil without the unjust interference of mass brainwashing.