Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Prophecy Frauds and Their "Breeding Ground of Wanton Tomfoolery"
From the
Delmarva Earthquake 2011: Sign of the end or a simple geological event?
Speculation has already begun and will no doubt further escalate, that tremors in a region not generally known for perceptible seismic activity could be a sign of what many call the “end times.” From the quote, unquote, Christian vantage point, the erroneous eschatology is based on a misreading of passages in the Bible referred to as the “Olivet discourse,” so designated because Jesus delivered the address while on the mount of Olives.
In the discussion, found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus is asked a question about the Jewish temple he had just exited and condemned to be “desolate.” Understanding the destruction of the “holy place” meant the end of the old covenant age, Christ’s disciples, understandably, wanted to know when it would occur and what signs would lead up to it.
The record of Jesus’s oration includes a laundry list of portents that, without consideration of the time indicators, could apply to literally ANY epoch of human history since then:
- False Christs
- Wars and rumors of wars
- Nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom
- Famines
- Earthquakes
to name some.
Removing, ignoring, or reinterpreting Christ’s unambiguous proclamation of Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, and Luke 21:32 - as to WHEN these events would cease to be prophetic signs and the end (of the old covenant age) would happen - as today’s prophecy pundits have done, has created a breeding ground for wanton tomfoolery.
Concerning WHEN Jesus declares: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.” Can there be any doubt that the near demonstrative phrase THIS GENERATION refers to those whom Christ was addressing? Is there the tiniest possibility that ALL THESE THINGS somehow excluded any sign preceding the time referent?
Although the obvious answer is an emphatic “NO,” sadly, it seems to be “yes” for those who approach the Scriptures with reckless abandon and preconceived notions. The plain truth is that the sack of Jerusalem, the destruction of Herod’s temple, and the transition from the Old Testament era to the new are being discussed in these passages. And true to His word the events did come to pass before that generation passed away when, under the command of Titus, the Roman armies wreaked their cataclysmic havoc.
No matter how prophecy frauds like Hal Lindsey, John Hagee and the like try to deceptively twist post-modern earthquake statistics as they conjunctively contort Bible verses, the end spoken of, with its attendant precursory earthquakes, happened in AD 70. Just like Jesus said it would.
Until next time...
13 comments:
I am personally convinced that any Jesus who taught, taught that he was living in the end times and "shortly" and "this generation" meant exactly what it says. When I say 'you", I don't mean the yous 2000 years from now!
I also don't think Jesus was kidding when he was made to say, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me," which was the shock this jesus felt from things not going as planned. I know the apologetic.
The Plain Truth is that Jesus was wrong, the Apostles were wrong, Paul was dead wrong and the Church has been wrong forever.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Second-Coming-The-Eternal-Carrot&id=94672
I just put out lunch for the cat. I predict that he will eat every bit of what is in the dish.
This is known as "The All-of-It" Prophecy.
I also predict there will be weather tomorrow. Maybe not here or where you are, but there will be weather.
If this comes to pass, then I should be considered THE END Time Prophet! There is none like me!
In theory, you should send your tithes to me, because I predicted that which comes to pass.
Unfortunately, since there is no tithing on wages and few of you are farmers, I'm probably not going to get much. (I suppose you could buy all those Amazon.com books off my website, but it probably wouldn't even begin to pay what's already invested in it -- and anyway, it's a semi non profit [as well as non prophet] public service). I'm also not trusting enough to let people know where I'm living, since there are a few cultists out there who have made threats. I don't know why they would do that to a True Prophet (although, I will never claim to be a true prophet OF GOD -- that's just WRONG!).
So, under the circumstances, you could give me some advice on what to expect from giving true prophecies. There have been so few.(Although, I've already experienced people exercising the seven stages to suppress dissenters, against me -- Stage 2: Listening But Not Hearing, right here, in fact.)
Be certain, because my prediction is true, the END is NEAR!
The end of what is what I'm not really certain of.
It is or would be terrifying for fundamentalists to face the fact that the NT church and it's leadership was simply wrong. They were not reaching forward thousands of years and soon and shortly meant to them what it would have meant to us.
The Book of Revelation is not a prophecy worth much after about 70ad. It was, in fact, a failed prophecy meant to encourage until the Romans were driven out, which of course, did not happen. While scholars have often said Revelation was written in the 90's, there is a growing suspicion it was written in the year or months before the Fall of Jerusalem in 70. Written by Jewish Christians to encourage Jewish Christians in the city, it may have portrayed Vespasian as the Beast and ....ta ta....the Apostle Paul as the False prophet whom they hated for his misguided teachings about their Messiah and OT.
The Ephesian Church was congratulated by Jesus (the Killer Jesus of revelation, not the kind suffer the children to come unto me Jesus of the Gospels) for routing those who said they were apostles (Of the 24 times Paul is called an apostle in the NT, 22 times he is calling himself one and luke his apologist gets 2 of his own), and were not. No one else in the NT calls Paul an Apostle. You know, kinda like finding anyone outside Dave Pack's RCG who thinks Dave really is an apostle. In frustration Paul says, "All those in Asia (Ephesus) have forsaken me, May God not hold it to their charge..." etc. It never crossed his mind to wonder why. It was just their fault, not his.
blah blah :) amen.
I do notice however that the more the US invades other countries that hate our freedoms and kills off the people, the more weather, earthquakes and nasties we seem to get from God.
M.T. Church
I heard a good one from one of my evangelical buddies today. He said that the epicenter of the Virginia earthquake was near a cemetery where many of the fathers of our country who founded the US as a covenant nation with God are buried. The earthquake was caused by all of them simultaneously turning over in their graves!
BB
"I do notice however that the more the US invades other countries that hate our freedoms and kills off the people, the more weather, earthquakes and nasties we seem to get from God."
Give me a break!
Tectonic plates move, faults slip and volcanos blow their tops because the guts of the earth are hot and moving. Every once in a while volcanos break wind and often a whole lot more. Hope you're not in the vicinity when real volcanic diarhea erupts! Or, a nine-plus slip happens!
The sun heats the ocean and the atmosphere and things start swirling. Sometimes it gets downright nasty. Happens in this hemisphere every mid-summeer. Do you suppose there's a logical explanation with no supernatural overtones?
Leave the superstition about a god being responsible to the ancient shamans who started all this nonsense. If you want to be as ignorant and just plain dumb as they were, be my guest, but count me out! We now have science, and I don't ignore and ridicule it like the superstitious do.
Another thought. Whoever thinks these little "burps" in Virginia, Colorado and California are anything to get excited about needs to fantasize what probably happened over the eons.
Ocean deposited strata now reside nearly 30,000 feet above sea level in the Himalayas. How would you like to have been around that area of the world for some of the quakes that resulted from those upthrusts? Most of them occurred before modern humans even existed, so human "sin" had nothing to do with them.
Maybe some dinosaur was gay. Did the wooly mammoths go to war against the sabre tooths or vice versa? Just what could have goten "god" so pissed off way back there?
Why were the Founding Fathers turning over in their graves?
My guess is that they heard David Barton's lies about them, on those hoakey programs on Christian TV networks!
And Douglas, please be careful when you prophecy your cat will eat every bit of his food.
Our cat suddenly stopped eating a few days ago.
We took him to the vet, it cost $450 for the x-rays, barium, blood-work, etc, but thankfully he's OK now.
He doesn't roam free outside(due to food allergies and other concerns), but he does have a large enclosure outside that I made for him, with ramps and shelves, which he can freely access via a cat-door in the kitchen window.
We had been remiss and hadn't lately pulled the weeds that were growing in there, and we think he ate some of the Deadly Nightshade that had grown large and had berries on it.
Now, he's got his appetite back, his enclosure is all weeded, and the only plant left in there is the lilac bush which will stay since it's not on the toxic list.
He's a good cat. I'm not sure if he wants to get into politics, but maybe I'll float the idea by telling him about Mikey for President.
Douglas Becker said...
In theory, you should send your tithes to me, because I predicted that which comes to pass.
Unfortunately, since there is no tithing on wages and few of you are farmers, I'm probably not going to get much.
MY COMMENT: And...you're not even a Levite, there's no more Temple, and I only have nine cows.
Can the term "end times" refer to the the period of time from the cross to the rapture? Also, "this generation" may refer to those who see these events taking place (earthquakes,wars, etc), and not those Jesus was talking to.
Anonymous said...
Can the term "end times" refer to the the period of time from the cross to the rapture?
MY COMMENT: I don't know. Can it?
Also, "this generation" may refer to those who see these events taking place (earthquakes,wars, etc), and not those Jesus was talking to.
MY COMMENT: Huh? When have earthquakes, wars, "etc" NOT taken place??
"When have earthquakes, wars, "etc" NOT taken place??"
Wars happen with disgusting frequency. Earthquakes happen every day in many parts of the world. This old earth is a-movering! Not all are noticeable, but seismographs pick them up.
In any one place, especially in the central US and parts of the Middle east, decades can go by without a noticeable earthquake.
Just what the doom and gloom prognosticators want. When they do happen, the BS gets cranked into high gear.
Steve, I live in an apartment. I have no room for your tenth kine (were the 9 born this year? if not, it's not an increase).
Please keep your bull to yourself :)
PS: The surprise "Easter Egg" is not ready yet, but if you experiment and look around, you'll find it. Sadly, Banned has not even yet linked to dnarefutesbi.com but probably will shortly -- any site that links to Herbert Armstrong's link to the CIA just has to go for something like that, don't you think?
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