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Topic: A Battle of Biblical Proportions
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Kindgo
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Member # 2
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War in Babylon has Evangelicals Seeing Earth's Final Days
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Weekend News Today
Lead: Rebekah (email)
Source: SF Gate
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Mon Mar 24,2003 -- America has embarked on a battle of biblical proportions -- and in the eyes of a growing number of evangelical Christians, this long-awaited fight could actually bring about the fulfillment of ancient prophecies about the war of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ.
Wars and rumors of war in the Middle East have long inspired doomsayers and date-setters who see the unfolding of prophecy in current events.
But the attack on Iraq provides especially rich imagery for students -- and entrepreneurs -- of "end times" theology.
Babylon, the ancient Mesopotamian capital where the Israelites were once held in captivity, is located in modern Iraq, now being invaded by the United States and Britain.
Adding to the Biblical overtones of the Iraqi invasion is the backdrop of the battle between Israelis and Palestinians for control of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. That conflict reignited on the cusp of the new millennium, when Ariel Sharon, now the Israeli leader, ascended one of the holiest shrines in Islam, the Dome of the Rock, and symbolically reclaimed it as the site of the ancient Jewish Temple.
Put it all together and the selling of Armageddon becomes a growth industry.
Some signs of the times:
-- ArmageddonBooks.com features a newly updated edition of "The Rise of Babylon -- a Sign of the Endtimes," with the face of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein staring ominously from its fiery cover.
-- Tyndale House, the Christian publisher of the megaselling "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic novels, initiates a huge promotional campaign for its 11th installment of serial fiction, this one titled "Armageddon," set for an April 8 release.
-- Prophecy Watch, a Web site dedicated to "revealing the truth in scripture," prepares for its International Prophecy Conference April 2-5 in Tulsa, Okla. There will be a session devoted to "Iraq and the Rebuilding of Babylon" and a lecture by the author of "The Assyrian Connection -- the Roots of the Antichrist and the Emerging Signs of Armageddon."
Meanwhile, President Bush condemns Hussein as the "evil- doer" and sets out to bring him down.
Some religion scholars are troubled by the president's use of religious language in justifying the war against Hussein.
"There is enormous arrogance and presumption in his use of religious claims, " said James Donahue, the president of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. " 'God is on our side' -- it's too simplistic in its labeling of good and evil. It personifies evil in one person and makes it one bad person versus the rest of the world."
But the books, movies and conferences are part of a growing belief in conservative evangelical circles that the Antichrist is alive, well and working in the world.
Before the Antichrist is revealed in the flesh, however, Jesus will appear in the sky and "rapture" true believers up to heaven. They escape seven years of intense earthly tribulation and disaster that culminate in the end of the world.
At end of the Great Tribulation comes the battle of Armageddon, with Christ fighting the Antichrist. Once the Antichrist is defeated, Satan is bound and kept out of the way for a perfect 1,000 years -- lions lying down with lambs. Then there's the Last Judgment and people go to heaven or hell. Human history ends.
Editor's Note: The author of this article portrays great sarcasm towards us evangelical Christians and the signs of the times. What the author doesn't realize, though, is that the Bible speaks clearly about naysayers in the last days. Where is the sign of His coming? Right before our very eyes.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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Kindgo
Advanced Member
Member # 2
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posted
Weekend News Today
Lead: Rebekah (email)
Source: Weekend Exclusive
Mon Mar 24,2003 -- America is now involved in a battle of Biblical proportions. A growing number of Christians believe that this long-awaited war could actually bring about the fulfillment of ancient prophecies about the war of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ.
Babylon, the ancient city where the Israelites were once held in captivity, is now known as Iraq.
Biblical overtones of the Iraqi invasion are the backdrop of the battle between Israelis and Palestinians for control of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. The conflict reignited when Ariel Sharon, now the Israeli leader, ascended one of the holiest shrines in Islam, the Dome of the Rock, and reclaimed it as the site of the ancient Jewish Temple.
Though mostly evangelical Christians are looking at the Biblical proportions of the war, representitives of the Jehovah's Witnesses say the war is not a significant milestone, but rather only one of several signs that the end is near.
But an Archbishop from the Catholic Church says they'd rather not use the scriptures that way. "I know that there are certain groups of Christians that believe in war in the name of God," says the archbishop. "I don't want to be judgmental of these groups, but in the Catholic Church we don't use the scriptures that way, not with the new covenant God has made with his people."
Some say that the war is a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 13. Isaiah, one of the ancient prophets whose writings can be found in the Old Testament, wrote extensively about a devastation that Almighty God would bring upon Babylon as a result of atrocities perpetuated against Israel.
Israel is mentioned time after time throughout the Bible as a special nation, the apple of God's eye, chosen to set an example for other nations. Today, many around the world still believe that it is a blessed nation.
In the 13th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet says that the world will be punished for the evils of Babylon and that the ancient city would be destroyed to the extent that it would become totally uninhabitable.
Days after the war started in Iraq, troops began to surrender, giving hope that the war will be short. Speculation in recent days, though, could point to a longer and more intense war. Iraq has not yet seen the total devastation that the Bible speaks about.
Some scholars believe that the terrorist attacks commited on the United States on September 11, 2001, were also spoken about in Revelation 18:9,10. The book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, speaks of the destruction by fire of Babylon taking place within an hour. However, most Christians believe that the terror depicted in Revelation will come at a later time, after the Rapture, and the amount of death and destruction will surpass any we have ever seen before, not to mention that America is not believed to be Babylon.
Despite differences in religious opinion on the war in Iraq, church leaders agree that there's no time like the present for people to prepare themselves spiritually.
Most do believe that Armageddon, a spiritual battle which will see the forces of evil being destroyed by Jesus Christ, is near. We don't know when, no man knows the day nor the hour, but just like a woman in labor, we are at that stage when it can happen any time.
Sources: Jamaica Observer SF Gate
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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