Signs that signal the end times?

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chaz0426

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I know it’s all in the book of revelation but having already taken a few looks it’s very hard to interpret and understand in full of what it’s message is in relation to things happening today.

I’m hearing so much fuss about how the end is near ect ect. and actually realistically I’m not finding it that hard to believe it either. At least for me it just seems we’re all heading down hill if things don’t change in the next 2 or 3 decades in terms of climate change, economic policies, famine, new diseases, nuclear ambitions, terrorism, the list goes on.

There is a whole list I can create but I want to try and keep this short.

Basically I’m asking what signs clearly lead one to believe the end is near? I know it’s been said we have been in the end times since Jesus ascended into heaven but I really mean near near like this century, millenium, ect. I know it’s impossible to find the exact date but what about this.

Does revelation or anywhere in the bible say that we will experience a time or period of relative peace and stability before the arrival of the anti-christ and ensuing turmoil?

Or does it say things will get bad and then better for a while and then really really bad?

Or does it say it will just get further and further downhill until the end?

Those are my main questions.

I’m sure decades during the World Wars were thought to have been end times or leading to it and even though we are in tough times now, we aren’t as bad as the Great Depression and WWI/II…yet at least…knock on wood. I wasn’t alive during those times so I can’t say full well what the atmosphere was but from my studies of history I could only imagine it was worse than it is now.

What if nuclear holocaust wipes most of us out in the next World War or even next year by accident? In 1995 we came 3 minutes away from accidental nuclear war as Russia was sitting in front of the button ready to push literally. You think it’d automatically bring Jesus back even if there was no clear anti-christ involved?

Interesting to speculate.
 
From what has been said by approved prophecy the events are these:
  • World wide financial collapes
  • Upheaval/riots all over the world
  • WWIII
  • Impact of a comet or meteor where 3/4 of world perishes
  • Three days of darkness
  • Arrival of a person known as the Great Monarch along with a very holy Pope
  • Era of peace as fortold in Fatima
  • Death of the Great Monarch and rise of Antichrist
  • Return of our Lord Jesus
 
Gosh, I hope I am not around when it all happens - too terrifying for me! I have never enjoyed stargazing…
 
chaz0426 said:
I know it’s all in the book of revelation but having already taken a few looks it’s very hard to interpret and understand in full of what it’s message is in relation to things happening today.
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It’s NOT all in the book of Revelation. Revelation is many things, but a Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World is not one of them.
I’m hearing so much fuss about how the end is near ect ect. and actually realistically I’m not finding it that hard to believe it either. At least for me it just seems we’re all heading down hill if things don’t change in the next 2 or 3 decades in terms of climate change, economic policies, famine, new diseases, nuclear ambitions, terrorism, the list goes on.
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[snip for length]
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Interesting to speculate.
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Speculation can be fun - but do bear in mind a couple of points. First and foremost, as you mentioned, we cannot know the time - Jesus made that explicitly clear. So our responsibility is to live, always, as if the time were imminent - and also as if it might be centuries away. Because if we are always ready for His return, we will not be like the negligent people in the parables, and if we live as if He would not return for another millenium, we will be the good stewards He created us to be.

Next - there have been many points in history when large numbers of people firmly believed that the Second Coming was “any minute now” - beginning with the apostles and early Church, moving on to those who lived under Nero and Domition, those who survived the sack of Jerusalem and those who survived the sack of Rome . . . I have read that Pope Sylvester had to come out and calm the crowds who filled the city of Rome at the end of the first millenium, because they were sure the End was coming, because of the “thousand years” in the book of Revelation.

The history of Christianity is scattered with the remains of those who staked their lives on their timelines, and many of our Protestant brethren still work out elaborate charts connecting the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel and John to the details of today’s news. (When I was growing up there were very convincing arguments demonstrating that the European Common Market was the Beast with the ten heads.) Catholic end-timers like to go a step further, inserting prophetic statements of visionaries, both approved and non-approved. It’s a parlour game, but it should not direct our lives.

“What does the Lord require of thee? Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with our God.”
 
Fun to try and figure out when the end is near but the bottom line is “ONLY the Father knows”.

Many have tried to put a date or timeline to the end for 2,000 years and more. Fact is, everyone that tried to do that was wrong.
 
NHInsider said:
It’s NOT all in the book of Revelation. Revelation is many things, but a Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World is not one of them.

Speculation can be fun - but do bear in mind a couple of points. First and foremost, as you mentioned, we cannot know the time - Jesus made that explicitly clear. So our responsibility is to live, always, as if the time were imminent - and also as if it might be centuries away. Because if we are always ready for His return, we will not be like the negligent people in the parables, and if we live as if He would not return for another millenium, we will be the good stewards He created us to be.

Next - there have been many points in history when large numbers of people firmly believed that the Second Coming was “any minute now” - beginning with the apostles and early Church, moving on to those who lived under Nero and Domition, those who survived the sack of Jerusalem and those who survived the sack of Rome . . . I have read that Pope Sylvester had to come out and calm the crowds who filled the city of Rome at the end of the first millenium, because they were sure the End was coming, because of the “thousand years” in the book of Revelation.

The history of Christianity is scattered with the remains of those who staked their lives on their timelines, and many of our Protestant brethren still work out elaborate charts connecting the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel and John to the details of today’s news. (When I was growing up there were very convincing arguments demonstrating that the European Common Market was the Beast with the ten heads.) Catholic end-timers like to go a step further, inserting prophetic statements of visionaries, both approved and non-approved. It’s a parlour game, but it should not direct our lives.

“What does the Lord require of thee? Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with our God.”
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Agreed, very interesting to follow I’ll admit.
 
William1964 said:
From what has been said by approved prophecy the events are these:
  • World wide financial collapes
  • Upheaval/riots all over the world
  • WWIII
  • Impact of a comet or meteor where 3/4 of world perishes
  • Three days of darkness
  • Arrival of a person known as the Great Monarch along with a very holy Pope
  • Era of peace as fortold in Fatima
  • Death of the Great Monarch and rise of Antichrist
  • Return of our Lord Jesus
Click to expand...
Wow a lot of that I did not even know or never heard of, are these legit prophecies? I thought prophecies and prophets stopped after the resurrection of Jesus?
 
1891 or before: On 1835-FEB-14, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, attended a meeting of church leaders. He said that the meeting had been called because God had commanded it. He announced that Jesus would return within 56 years – i.e. before 1891-FEB-15. (History of the Church 2:182)

1914 was one of the more important estimates of the start of the war of Armageddon by the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society). They based their prophecy of 1914 from prophecy in the book of Daniel, Chapter 4. The writings referred to “seven times”. The WTS interpreted each “time” as equal to 360 days, giving a total of 2520 days. This was further interpreted as representing 2520 years, measured from the starting date of 607 BCE. This gave 1914 as the target date. When 1914 passed, they changed their prediction; 1914 became the year that Jesus invisibly began his rule.
1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994, etc. were other dates that the Watchtower Society (WTS) or its members predicted.
 
I didn’t know all that about the Mormons, but I do remember having it explained to me once that the number seven is significant, biblically - it’s to do with Mosaic Law. As in forgiving your enemy not once, but “seven times seven times”.
But I am afraid I can’t remember much more about it’s significance, perhaps someone else does.
 
William1964 said:
From what has been said by approved prophecy the events are these:
  • World wide financial collapes
  • Upheaval/riots all over the world
  • WWIII
  • Impact of a comet or meteor where 3/4 of world perishes
  • Three days of darkness
  • Arrival of a person known as the Great Monarch along with a very holy Pope
  • Era of peace as fortold in Fatima
  • Death of the Great Monarch and rise of Antichrist
  • Return of our Lord Jesus
Click to expand...
Uhh…Revelation is a book of signs. It is not literal It never says there will be a world war. Nor does it say that there will be literal calamities such as bloody oceans and locusts, etc. I’m guessing you are not too much into prophecy.
 
chaz0426 said:
Wow a lot of that I did not even know or never heard of, are these legit prophecies? I thought prophecies and prophets stopped after the resurrection of Jesus?
Click to expand...
Revelations which were recorded up to the days of Christ are known as public, biblical, or scriptural revelations.

Private revelations are those which were recorded since the time of Christ (i.e. Fatima)

It’s from private revelation that we find a lot of detail. One must be careful for obvious reasons.

A great book out there is: Catholic Prophecy the coming chastisement by Yves Dupont. Some of you might be aware of it, it’s quite interesting and brings to bare saints and their revelations concerning the end of the end days. It’s worth your time.

All Catholics, I feel need to be aware and informed especially today. The saints speak of these days to warn us and prepare us. Caution should be taken always of course. But it appears from what i’ve read, we are very near major endtime events.

We all need to be the best Catholics we can be now. Don’t worry. We just need to practice our faith. The only way to be a Catholic is “to the bone”.
 
CHAZ: I know it’s all in the book of revelation but having already taken a few looks it’s very hard to interpret and understand in full of what it’s message is in relation to things happening today.

Hi. It’s NOT all in the Book of Revelation.

The End Times signs are mostly in Christ’s Eschatalogical Homily in the gospels.

I have been talking about the End Times signs in the Can Someone Refute This? thread in Apologetics.

Example: 15 "When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, … Matthew 24:15-16.

I believe that the “desolating abomination…standing in the holy place” – translated “abominable destructive thing…on holy ground” in the 1970 NAB – is Israel’s nuclear weapons program. Interestingly, in line with Jesus’ reference to “Judea,” the missiles were first deployed in the late 1960s in the mountains west of Jerusalem, in what was “Judea” in Christ’s time.
 
In April I received a ‘middle of the night’ visit from God, with this simple but extremely profound message “Never lose faith, just never lose faith”. I promised and promptly fell
back to sleep.

So, no matter when we think the end times will be, our mission and our goal should always be to ‘Never lose faith, just never lose faith’.

I believe that God will give those who believe in him, the grace to withstand any and all of the ‘end times’ calamaties. Our goal of course is ultimately to be united with him — along the way, we should be encouraging those around us to believe so that they too may be united with him.
 
Amen!
I too, have been blessed with this kind of visitation, and it has put my restless soul at peace, knowing that, so long as I remain constant in Jesus, nothing will harm me. My body, my life, my possessions, even my family and friends, and country, have been given to me to USE to get closer to my Source, my God. They can be removed in an instant, at His Pleasure, for HIS reasons, because He is working WITH MY SOUL, to bring it back to Himself. I can withstand any trial, because HE is the Reward at the end of it.
Why should I fear?
Like St. Peter said, “Lord, to Whom would we go? YOU have the words of eternal life.”
Fill your granaries in heaven, for this world is only a temporary place.
 
I know this is a dumb question but where is the book of revalations, is it in the Bible, where?:confused:
 
ricko said:
Fun to try and figure out when the end is near but the bottom line is “ONLY the Father knows”.

Many have tried to put a date or timeline to the end for 2,000 years and more. Fact is, everyone that tried to do that was wrong.
Click to expand...
That’s what I always think when all the “End of the World” talk comes around, especially in light of the whole 2012 thing. I asked my local Monsenior that same question and he said only God knows and that’s pretty much it, end of discussion. You pretty much just have to put your faith in God and not worry about the end. People have been trying to predict that for ages. Do you really think someone down here can “crack the riddle” and figure out when that time will be and out smart God? I don’t.
 
To try to decipher when the “end times” will be or how to interpret the signs is a fool’s errand. Jesus himself tells us that.

Peter D quoted from Matthew 24. If you read it all, you will see that after Jesus lists various signs he says in verse 23: "If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it."

To wrap up his discourse, which is in response to a question very similar to the start of this thread, Jesus says: “**Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” ** Matt 24: 42.

The end time could be later today, next week, at a time when we least expect it. As others here have stated, there have been many attempts to predict it based on interpretations of scripture in light of current events. But they are always wrong.

I think the end time one must be most concerned with is that of your own death. If on “this very night” your life would end, as Jesus also asks in Luke 12, would you be prepared? That is the only “end time” each of us needs to be preparing for.

Note to Greenpatrick125: Yes the Book of Revelation is the last book of the New Testament in the Bible. It is full of symbolism and allegory which has led to a huge cottage industry in interpreting what it all means, and keeps a lot of TV preachers in business.
 
Some of my non-Catholic friends have sent me emails and such regarding the end times and how it’s near and everyone seems scared. My response to them is always this: we don’t know and never will - remember all the hype about the year 2000? And what about after 9-11? I’m not at home to quote this song accurately, so I’m quoting from memory; it’s a song I occasionally sing to the children at Children’s Litury of the Word: “Stay awake. Be ready. You do not know the hour when the Lord is coming. Stay awake. Be ready. The Lord is coming soon. Alleluia! Alleluia! The Lord is coming soon.”
 
I wasn’t graced with a visitation, but a very clear message in my heart which said," Fear nothing. The grace of God is greater than any adversity you may be faced with." It was also given with the instruction that it be shared! What a gift!
 
greenpatrick125 said:
I know this is a dumb question but where is the book of revalations, is it in the Bible, where?:confused:
Click to expand...
Not a dumb question… it can be confusing because it has been called by different names…

It is that last book of the New Testament. It has also been called “The Apocalypse” if you have a Douay-Rheims Bible or older version. Most newer translations call it “The Book of Revelations”.

St. John, as you will recall, was the apostle that Jesus entrusted his mother to. St. John, known as “the beloved” was the only one of the apostles who comforted Jesus during HIs passion…

ok… hope that helps. To my knowledge, the church has not released any sort of interpretation of this book, other than explaining what the symbolism could mean.
 
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