Signs we are not at the end of times?

[prodigalson12]

I’m watching this world running forward like a freight train being dropped from Niagra Falls. Everything I’m observing correlates with all of the predictions from the bible when describing the end of times. If it were just a few things, I wouldn’t be all that concerned, but every angle, every aspect, all are coming forth at once and gaining momentum with nothing stopping it. The world economy itself is ready and willing and able to accommodate an Anti Christ style one world government to get it back in track, people have adopted other gods on a rampant scale including too many that hide behind their churches. We are murdering on unprecedented scale, the planet itself is grumbling underneath our feet and from the seas to the sky itself, all showing signs that the end is near, right around the corner.

I’d like to know, are there any signs that it’s NOT near, anything at all? I can’t find any, none at all.

 

[GodLovesTheSpek]

We know it will get worse before it gets better when He returns in glory. We don’t know the time or place. For many it is sooner than one thinks. What we can do is to make sure we and everyone we come in contact with are ready for final judgement at anytime and anyplace.

 

[Ron57]

We’ve been in the “end times” for the past 2000 years. Christianity is growing in the southern hemisphere. Have faith in God!

 

[AirLiner]

People, nobody knows when the end of the world will be so stop with these claims.

You think your society is bad? Look at what the Christians had to endure in Rome, a powerful oppressive government, persecution and hatred of Christianity everywhere, public immoralities much worse then you see on today’s society, immense numbers of pagans and heretics plaguing the land. We’ve been through worse don’t worry that this is the end.
Though I would like to see all those atheists’ reactions to the end times.

 

[Kakieanne]

:gopray I believe that we’re in the end times too…but they could last another thousand years or more. No one knows and we’re not supposed to know.

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. Are there any nations where the Gospel has not been preached?

 

[Holly3278]

It is true that nobody knows what the date or the place will be. However, it is also true that we are showing all of the signs of the end times that are in the Bible and these signs seem to be occurring at a rapidly increasing pace. I honestly believe that we are very close to the end. We should be ready for it.

 

[prodigalson12]

I’d like to know, are there any signs that it’s NOT near, anything at all? I can’t find any, none at all.

That’s the topic here, bottom line, seeing way too much in favor of the end, is there any evidence that it’s not?

 

[LilyM]

:gopray I believe that we’re in the end times too…but they could last another thousand years or more. No one knows and we’re not supposed to know.

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. Are there any nations where the Gospel has not been preached?

So making disciples of all nations simply means preaching to them? Whether or not that preaching actually converts them, or converts them in numbers? Weren’t they supposed to BAPTISE them as well?

With more than two-thirds of the world not being Christian, I’d argue that we’re a long ways from making disciples of all nations yet.

 

[LilyM]

I’d like to know, are there any signs that it’s NOT near, anything at all? I can’t find any, none at all.

That’s the topic here, bottom line, seeing way too much in favor of the end, is there any evidence that it’s not?

‘No-one knows the day nor the hour, not even the Son, but only the Father’. Even Jesus doesn’t know that the end is near, so you’re presuming to greater knowledge than even He has.

 

[colliric]

So making disciples of all nations simply means preaching to them? Whether or not that preaching actually converts them, or converts them in numbers? Weren’t they supposed to BAPTISE them as well?

With more than two-thirds of the world not being Christian, I’d argue that we’re a long ways from making disciples of all nations yet.

The commandment appears to indicate those that come foward for baptism from amoungst the Nations. Not the entire nation itself.

 

[prodigalson12]

So making disciples of all nations simply means preaching to them? Whether or not that preaching actually converts them, or converts them in numbers? Weren’t they supposed to BAPTISE them as well?

With more than two-thirds of the world not being Christian, I’d argue that we’re a long ways from making disciples of all nations yet.

God’s word is in all nations now, his churches as well, there are many that are disciples within them, take note as to when Lot discussed having Sodom and Gomorrah being spared if only a certain number of righteous men lived in them…

 

[maize]

the sun has about another 5 billion years before it turns into a red giant and consumes earth.

 

[LilyM]

The commandment appears to indicate those that come foward for baptism from amoungst the Nations. Not the entire nation itself.

OK - by your logic then, since we’ve already fulfilled Our Lord’s command by baptising one or more persons of every nation on earth, then we’ve done as he asked and no longer have any need to further evangelise or bring more people to the Church and it’s already as big as it needs be.

I’m sure all those Catholic and other Christian missionary organisations that are currently out in far-flung corners of the earth will be happy to know that their efforts are unnecessary.

 

[mchale]

Oh for goodness sake, I thought trying to predict the end of the world was something that Catholics had grown out of two thousand years ago. Many of the things that people believe are prophesies of the end times might have been prophesies of other events, such as the destruction of Jerusalem.

In any case, the world might end tomorrow, and it might end a billion years from now (About when the Sun will become too hot to allow Earth to sustain life). If we take a broader view of the world, it might not have an ending for 10s of trillions of years into the distant future.

Personally, I believe the End of the World is not meant to be looked at as an historical event. Rather I tend to believe the Resurrection will occur outside of time as we currently understand it.

To get back to the specific issues at hand; for people to talk about how bad things are right now clearly indicates how readily people forget the past. Barely 80 years ago, things were far worse economically than they are now, 70 years ago, the world was under threat of facist domination, 50 years ago, communist domination. The wars of the first half of the 20th century made all wars before and afterwards seem like school yard fights in comparison.

–
Bill

 

[LilyM]

Oh for goodness sake, I thought trying to predict the end of the world was something that Catholics had grown out of two thousand years ago. Many of the things that people believe are prophesies of the end times might have been prophesies of other events, such as the destruction of Jerusalem.

In any case, the world might end tomorrow, and it might end a billion years from now (About when the Sun will become too hot to allow Earth to sustain life). If we take a broader view of the world, it might not have an ending for 10s of trillions of years into the distant future.

Personally, I believe the End of the World is not meant to be looked at as an historical event. Rather I tend to believe the Resurrection will occur outside of time as we currently understand it.

To get back to the specific issues at hand; for people to talk about how bad things are right now clearly indicates how readily people forget the past. Barely 80 years ago, things were far worse economically than they are now, 70 years ago, the world was under threat of facist domination, 50 years ago, communist domination. The wars of the first half of the 20th century made all wars before and afterwards seem like school yard fights in comparison.

–
Bill

:yup: - and if they’re thinking of troubles within the Church, what we’re going through now is not a patch on the Arian heresy, and possibly not even up there with the Reformation or the schism with the Orthodox in terms of impact.

 

[one2serve]

OK - by your logic then, since we’ve already fulfilled Our Lord’s command by baptising one or more persons of every nation on earth, then we’ve done as he asked and no longer have any need to further evangelise or bring more people to the Church and it’s already as big as it needs be.

I’m sure all those Catholic and other Christian missionary organisations that are currently out in far-flung corners of the earth will be happy to know that their efforts are unnecessary.

Hello All
I am new here and have come here to learn more about Catholicism. I just hope that the rest of you aren’t as mean spirited as this Lily person seems to be. Anyway I hope my time here is enlightening.
Now to my opinion, I do believe we are close but just how close is something we will not know this side of Glory. All I know is that we don’t need to worry if we are ready for that wonderful day.

 

[mchale]

Hello All
I am new here and have come here to learn more about Catholicism. I just hope that the rest of you aren’t as mean spirited as this Lily person seems to be. Anyway I hope my time here is enlightening.
Now to my opinion, I do believe we are close but just how close is something we will not know this side of Glory. All I know is that we don’t need to worry if we are ready for that wonderful day.

One2serve,
Please remember to be charitable in your opinion of other person’s responses. Yes, Lily’s response might come off as brusque and a little sarcastic, but you have to remember, this is a topic that Catholics often get bombarded on by others. Further, sometimes a response like this is the best one.

–
Bill

 

[LilyM]

Hello All
I am new here and have come here to learn more about Catholicism. I just hope that the rest of you aren’t as mean spirited as this Lily person seems to be. Anyway I hope my time here is enlightening.
Now to my opinion, I do believe we are close but just how close is something we will not know this side of Glory. All I know is that we don’t need to worry if we are ready for that wonderful day.

I’m sorry if I came across as mean spirited.

I am impatient with people speculating about end times though - there are so many more important things to worry about, and Our Lord did say that the end would come like a thief in the night, and I just don’t see why people don’t take Him at His word.

 

[tm30]

Now to my opinion, I do believe we are close but just how close is something we will not know this side of Glory. All I know is that we don’t need to worry if we are ready for that wonderful day.

If you think we’re close now, where were we during the first half of the 20th century - the bloodiest in known history - millions upon millions of men, women, and children killed during two HORRIFIC, DIABOLICAL world wars? When the Vatican itself was at threat of being conquered by the Nazis?

Now, I will say that abortion is the greatest of all evils, and has certainly also claimed tens of millions of lives, but it’s nearly impossible to say, “well this is the straw that’s going to break the camel’s back.” God has ways of achieving his goals without bringing the end of the world. There may be horrible, terrible chastisements, but with the goal of correcting man’s immorality and continuing life on earth. I find it very believable that this is in progress or is coming. Natural disasters, wars/terror, economic collapse, epidemics are all ways of trying to straighten out our priorities as a human community. These things will get progressively worse until our will is broken and we reject the wiles of Satan.

So my message to you is “hope”. As Pope John Paul the Great said over and over again, “BE NOT AFRAID”. God absolutely has our back, even if we suffer terribly - better to suffer for righteousness than evil…

 

[prodigalson12]

I’m looking at the first half of the 20th century, regardless of the horrific events, there still was left in tact, our core set of beliefs that have largely fizzled away. Example, we used to pray in public school, God was still proclaimed within our governments, family values were still largely in tact as they should have been. Our technology was also quite limited, people were not able to communicate as they do now, and take note as to how often this communication leads to sin.

I stopped watching tv several years ago, when ever I popped in and watched it afterwards for a short time, I was appauled how it has became so much worse. I remember when there was clear limitations as to what was allowed to be broadcasted, it’s no more and the vile nature of it, even with the channels that are supposably family friendly are still packed full of corrupted messages, pornographic imagry, anti christian agenda’s, and in general, totally accepted by mainstream society. You don’t notice it so much if you watch on a regular basis, you very much do when you leave it as I have. This again was not that way at all during the first half of the 20th century.

Along fire coming out of the sky, if a large enough meteor impacts the earth, it will indeed kick up enough molten debree to cause fire to come down from the sky accross the whole planet. I’d think by the time the sun burns out, we would have the technology to leave the solar system long before hand.

I’m not seeing the proof I’ve been looking for that the end of times are not near. We have been given plenty to go by from biblical references to know what to look out for, they have been given to us for a reason. They exact day and hour, that I very much agree upon, but the correlation of what’s going on is unprecedented throughout the entirety of history.