The end of the world as we know it
In a recent Australian
census it was noticed that the fastest growing religion is “no religion” but
this does not mean the population have suddenly all become avowed atheists. A
survey by the Pew Report in the USA found that while many no longer maintain a
connection with traditional religion they still hold a belief in a Creator or
Supreme Being. In many places in the west Evangelical Christianity is growing
while the old established religions are failing. In China Christianity is the
fastest growing religion, to the extent that in a few years China will become
the world’s largest Christian nation.
Despite the push
against religion by globalists, leftists, atheists and those who maintain that
science precludes religion Christianity continues to survive and even grow.
What can it be that makes rational people follow these ancient teachings and
place such significance in them? To
answer this we should look at the difference between the failing denominations
and the growing ones. Those that are observing ancient rituals and practices
are falling behind but the newer more vibrant religious groups who concentrate
on Bible study are those that are expanding and growing.
It appears that Bible
study is the difference which raises the question, how can a book written
thousands of years ago have such an influence today? The thing that gives the
Bible so much authority is the prophecies that have been fulfilled. Those who
have studied the Bible and history are often surprised at how many predictions
have already been fulfilled. A good example of an accurate prophecy is the one
about Tyre; the population of Tyre did not place much credence on the
prediction of destruction made by Ezekiel, because their city was protected by
an island fortress where the whole population could take refuge. The prophecy
warned that the city would be destroyed and thrown into the sea where fishermen
would cast their nets over the ruins.
When Alexander the Great
arrived and called for them to surrender they refused and so Alexander had his
army tear down the city and throw it into the sea to build a causeway. The
invaders then used the causeway to attack the island fort and once they
breached the walls slaughtered the entire population, the example that
Alexander made of Tyre convinced many other city states to surrender without
challenge. Today fishermen cast their nets over the remains of ancient Tyre;
just as predicted by Ezekiel.
Prophecies warned that
the population of ancient Israel would be “dispersed among the nations” but
also claimed that they would one day be returned to their ancient homeland “in
the days of the end”. Following the Bar Kochbah revolt in 132 CE the Romans
forced all Jews out of Jerusalem and renamed the region Palestine. The re-establishment
of Israel in 1947 stunned the world, the Jewish people after two thousand years
of dispersal had returned, despite the efforts of Nazis and many others to
eliminate them. The fulfilling of this prophecy is an indication that we have
now reached the predicted “end times” and the religions prepared to discuss
this are the ones to which people are attracted.
Once we believed that
the universe was eternal, permanent and static; it was only the Bible that
claimed the universe had a beginning. Scientists Wilson and Penzias discovered
evidence supporting the Bible view in 1964 and we have since known that the
universe began with what we call the “big bang”. If the Bible was right about
the beginning the odds are in favour of it being right about it having an end,
a concept that does not sit easily with many people.
It is not only Biblical
prophets who predict an end times Nostradamus predicted that, “The dead will
come out of their graves”; obviously a vision of the Biblical resurrection. Nostradamus
even gave an indication of a possible date; he said at “the time of the great
games of slaughter, not far from the great millennium”. There were no games in
Nostradamus’ time but the modern Olympics began in 1896 almost 400 years after
Nostradamus’ birth, which makes this a pretty good prediction because the
original Olympics were opened with the slaughter of 1,000 bullocks. Nostradamus
obviously expected the resurrection of the dead to occur during an Olympic
Games.
There are other
prophets who predict that this “end time” is imminent; the Irish priest and
prophet St Malachy in 1139 predicted 112 Popes from his time until the Messiah,
the current Pope is the 112th and last. St Malachy’s titles and
descriptions have been remarkably accurate 112 times in identifying the popes
it is possible that he may be right that this current one is the last Pope.
A pre-Biblical prophet
whose writings imply that we are in the final days is Enoch who lived before
Noah. Enoch accompanied angels who showed him the whole history of the world
from creation to judgement. In Chapters 89 and 90 of his book he describes fifty-eight
“shepherds” or leaders in Judea before the Messiah comes to rule all mankind.
Following Solomon the Israelites separated into two kingdoms, ten tribes
becoming Israel in the North and two tribes became Judah in the South – ruled
by the king in Jerusalem.
Enoch divided these
kings or shepherds into early shepherds of which he said there would be 35 and
23 later shepherds. Beginning with Rehoboam there were twenty Kings of Judah
until Zedekiah, then from Judah Macabee to Antigonus there were ten Hasmonean
Kings, four Herodian Kings followed Herod and then Simon Bar Kochbah; making a
total of 35 early shepherds. There were no leaders in Israel following the Bar
Kochbah revolution in 132 CE, until 1947 when the UN partitioned the land and the
modern state of Israel was proclaimed. Modern Israel has had 23 Prime Ministers
including Benjamin Netanyahu, so if Enoch’s prophecies are on track Israel has
its final leader in power. An interesting aside here is that America’s
President Trump is the forty-fifth president but as a number of presidents have
served more than one term there have been fifty-eight inaugurations; the USA is
also under its fifty-eighth shepherd. This may mean that President Trump will
be the final US president.
In the book of Daniel,
King Nebuchadnezzar dreamt of a statue which Daniel was able to interpret as a
prediction of all the empires that would arise from his time until the end
times. The prophecy has proved remarkably accurate and our times are described
as being an empire partly of iron and part clay which cannot cleave together,
Daniel described a great rock from Heaven which will shatter this empire. Few
today could deny that our civilisation could be described as fractured and as
unable to unite as iron and clay. The Bible also predicted that the Earth would
be destroyed by the actions of its inhabitants, it is not our carbon emissions
that are destroying the world but our inability to get along.
The world may be destroyed
by war or by the wrath of the Creator the Bible seems to be predicting a
combination of the two. The Almighty said, “I will wipe you from the face of
the Earth, two thirds will die but one third will be saved. That third I will
bring through the fire and refine them like fine gold.” There are several other
prophecies that are expected to occur prior to the end of the world. The Bible
says these will, “come as a flood” in other words all happen very quickly; vast
destruction and life on Earth will only be spared by the rotation of the Earth
being changed from twenty-four hours to only sixteen hours. An “angel” or “messenger”
will come from the East, Nostradamus also predicts this messenger and says, “Long
awaited in Europe he will come from the deepest part of Asia. He will rise to
become the most powerful of Kings in the Orient”.
The deepest part of
Asia is the area known as Australasia and includes New Guinea, Australia and
New Zealand, but there is no one in that area today who could be described as “the
most powerful king in the Orient” no matter how some politicians might view
themselves. Both Enoch and Daniel describe a white haired bearded man who
assembles the pardoned and then hands authority to the arriving Messiah. The
Bible also says that Elijah will return prior to the Messiah’s arrival and
Jewish tradition refers to the “Messiah Ben Yusaf” or messiah from the house of
Joseph who precedes the Messiah from the house of David who will be given
authority over all mankind.
The next few years
promise to be very interesting and may culminate in the final proof of the
accuracy of Biblical prophecy.
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