Bible Prophecy: God's Agenda & Your Part in It

202 Pages·2015·1.81 MB·English

by  Erickson

"And indeed it so came to pass, that our nation suffered these things under
Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel's vision, and what he wrote many
years before they came to pass. In the very same manner Daniel also wrote
concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made
desolate by them. All these things did this man leave in writing, as God had
showed them to him, insomuch that such as read his prophecies, and see how
they have been fulfilled, would wonder at the honor wherewith God honored
Daniel; and may thence discover how the Epicureans are in an error, who cast
Providence out of human life, and do not believe that God takes care of the
affairs of the world, nor that the universe is governed and continued in being by
that blessed and immortal nature, but say that the world is carried along of its
own accord, without a ruler and a curator; which, were it destitute of a guide to
conduct it, as they imagine, it would be like ships without pilots, which we see
drowned by the winds, or like chariots without drivers, which are overturned; so
would the world be dashed to pieces by its being carried without a Providence,
and so perish, and come to nought." --Josephus, Antiquities of The Jews - Book
10, chapter 11 par. 7.

Copyright © 2012 by Glen Paul Erickson
Library Of Congress registration number TXu 1-809-779
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Table Of Contents
A Little Background
Could They Be Right? Let's Not Make Any Presumptions
Errors in Timing and Context
Keys to Understanding Biblical Prophecy
The Statue and the Beasts
Daniel 7 and Revelation 13
The Pattern
Who Is the Ruler Who Will Come?
The Identity of the First Kingdom
Could There Be More Than One Abomination That Causes Desolation?
A Day for a Year
The Punishment TimeLine
Another TimeLine, 2300 Evenings and Mornings
The Abominations
The Great Tribulation Is Coming?
Why Does Jesus Come In Wrath?
The Trouble of the Disciples
Temple to Be Rebuilt?
The Four Horsemen and the martyrs
144,000 Sealed
How Extensive Is the Wrath of God?
Who Will Attack Israel?
The Beasts: a Recap and Additional Observations
666
What if I'm Wrong?
What if I'm right?
The Event Horizon
Completing the Image of God
The Bride of Christ
The End of the End
TimeLine Chart
The 7 Headed Beast Through History
7 Headed Beast Through History-Comparison Chart
Addendum: Sacrifices ended four times
The charts are here so you can see what they look like. Since they wont
have sufficient resolution on small screens the charts are available online at
http://bp-ga.blogspot.com/
Who are the Jews? Among other things I'd like to show you the purpose of the
chosen people and how they are God's 'neon sign' to humanity as to the validity
of His message contained in the writings of the Hebrew prophets.
1
A little Background
In this study of scripture, the most prominent objective is to determine if
the Bible is the truth; if it is truth you must be prepared for the
implications. If the Bible is truth, it's human authors speak beyond the
limitations of man, and are actually passing on the words of God who
then is its true author. If the Bible proves to be true and God is a reality
then we will be faced with having to admit to the reality of the
personification of evil in the person of Satan as well, and cease to laugh
at the notion that some of the norms and values of the world that we have
been indoctrinated with may be from this source rather than our own
selves.
Because I have seen the evidence in prophecy that the Bible is the
inerrant Word of God, I believe that Satan has indeed come down in
great wrath, knowing his time is short. This is evident by what is taking
place in the world and that we are all confronted by a snowstorm of
deception, distraction and disillusionment. This evidence could only be
attributed to a purely human cause if the revelations contained in
scripture have no credibility. If the Word of God (the Bible) is shown to be
accurate then it follows that God is real; and if God is real then so is the
one that is presented as the enemy of humanity in this communication
from God. I'll present the particular evidence, for the validity of the Bible,
that was the key to my becoming convinced, if I may be allowed to build
my case, with the hope that it may be the key to the lock of disbelief in
the minds of some others who are familiar with the scriptures but who
don't know down to the very core of them that they are truth.
There is often more resistance to the idea that there is an evil spiritual
enemy in the person of Satan then there is to accepting the possibility
that there is a God. If Satan is what the Bible says he is (the original
source of evil), it would be a good idea to get past the culturally fostered
attitudes of contempt towards the idea. If Satan is a reality, and is as
powerful, and clever as the Bible indicates, the deck is really stacked
against us if we remain unaware and therefore operate in our own
strength. It is necessary to be able to recognize the reality of our enemy,
and of the One in whom is our refuge. We must utilize any and all
available tools to expose truth and to fan the flames of our hope and
faith, so we should also make use of prophecy for this purpose. That is,
to demonstrate the reality of God and by extension the reality of the
source of evil.
The Rundown
What I write here is about prophecy, yes, but more narrowly it's the result
of a personal struggle with determining what is truth that I went through
several decades back, and why I became fully convinced in the truth of
the Bible after I had lost confidence in in its veracity although I was quite
familiar with its content. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing,
and that is certainly necessary, but the Psalms talk of meditation as well.
Having knowledge of scripture doesn't mean belief follows. How that
knowledge is processed is what determines belief and faith. I had
knowledge, much of which was contorted so as not to match reality, and I
needed this knowledge re-framed so that I could finally believe without
playing what I like to call: the emperors new clothes game. It is to such
people in particular that I write, but I'm not excluding any others who want
to consider strengthening their foundation of belief. However much I'd like
to, I doubt that I can approach my intended subject matter in any way
meaningful to people who haven't first explored the scriptures.
I could have called this 'why I believe'. Because I want to share why I
returned to confidence in the Word of God, I will be focussing on those
specific things; that is to say, this won't be a comprehensive examination
of prophecy. I am going to be scripture intensive, and in most cases I will
include the verse, not just its reference to make things easier. I've
skipped over such references in books I've read in the past and I doubt
I'm the only one.
People's belief develops through very individual paths. For some, what I
discuss here will add nothing; but I'm sure there are those who will
benefit, which makes writing this worth doing, although I may have some
anxiety about my own errors. If the possibility of errors were allowed to
silence people, no one would dare speak anything except what is on a
homogenized, standardized approved list, and all thinking would cease.
We're all going to have our errors and we can all add to the various
discussions. The fact is, over time I'm going to change my view to varying
degrees as I continually reconsider the evidence. One day we will know
the truth completely, until then, we'll have to do the best we can. What I
write here is what the Bible said to me that led me to faith in its validity at
a time when I might just as easily have accepted something entirely
different. I hope to stimulate thinking and a desire to seek truth as
apposed to simply receiving one of the belief sets various groups accept
as orthodoxy. I'll largely be using the NIV translation simply because My
NIV Thomson Chain Reference Bible has 30 years worth of my notes in
it. I do have an NKJV, I like it but it lacks all my scribbling.
Speculation
This is not unusual speculation now, but years ago while engaging in one
of those wild speculative conversations, talking about when Jesus will
come, it occurred to me that since God likes to work in orderly numerical
increments, I lean towards a 70 year span from Israel's birth in May 18
1948 to a change in its government, largely because of Matt 24:32
(NKJV) "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has
already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is
near.” V33. “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is
near --- at the doors!” V34 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by
no means pass away till all these things take place” [what is a
generation? Psalms 90:10 (NKJV) “The days of our lives are seventy
years”]. Jesus had detailed the things that would take place earlier in the
chapter, but Luke summarizes them and adds more information to the
same message Jesus was giving at the time essentially saying that this
was in fulfillment of all that had been written which is primarily about
Israel's fall, punishment and rebirth; Luke 21:22 (NKJV) “For these are
the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”
That one generation of 70 years would be completed in 2018.
Jesus, in Luke 4:17-21, read 2 verses from the messianic prophecy in
Isaiah 61 then stated that the prophecy had been fulfilled in their hearing.
Jesus made this claim about the verses he had read which alludes to a
division of the prophecies completion in two parts that might be
characterized as the part of the lamb and the part of the lion. He had just
fulfilled only those two verses (V1-2) of the Isa 61 prophecy with nine
remaining, indicating the second part's fulfillment is left for the absolute
end of the age as indicated by Isa 61:7 "everlasting joy" for Israel, which
the Bible says comes only after Jesus comes. Since Jesus is implicitly
talking about His ministry as having two parts, and since the first half was
3.5 years (3 Passovers are recorded by John), and if indeed the total
duration of his ministry is seven years, there then remains 3.5 more years
for the final ministry; and if the government in Israel isn't to be changed
until the end of that ministry; that means that the earliest Jesus might
come would be 3.5 years before May 18, 2018 which puts it in or any
time after November 2014, the day and the hour still unspecified. Another
possible start point might be May 11 1949 when Israel was seated at the
UN.
When the earth's population topped seven billion, it occurred to some of
us that God, being the great engineer, may have designed the earth for a
specific maximum occupancy; and seven, being the number of
completion, might have used it in that figure.
It's fascinating that the Jew's Torah calendar specifies the end of six
millennium since creation as ending in 2015. Such references as Matt
25:5 "But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and
slept" could indicate that our attempt to deduce the exact time will be
thwarted. The timing of Jesus' first coming was accurately enumerated by
Dan 9:24-26, but this was only clear in hindsight. You know, It's fun to
speculate, but that's all it is. I'm of the opinion that there is a better use of
prophecy than mere speculation, although I do value having some clue
about what is in store, and I want to know all I can.
Blind Faith or Evidence-Based Faith?
It's interesting that the value of prophecy is more for proving the validity
of God's Word than in knowing the future; this is my contention in any
case. It's the prophecies about Israel, the accurate numerical predictions
that convinced me the Bible was indeed true when I was going through a
time of reconsidering the legalistic beliefs I had been taught from a very
early age. I also asked myself what evidence there was to the Bible's
validity. Others I knew went through the same thing and decided the
Bible had no evidence for its validity at all, and became atheists or
followers of Eastern religions. This is why the prophecy issue is so
important to me. If one finds that evolution is too unbelievably full of
holes, and therefore there must be a creator, the next question is: but
which god or creative force is behind the creating?
The Bible answered that question through the chosen people, as, what I
like to call, God's neon sign in the sky, as to the Bible's validity. Many
Christian's I've talked to about their beliefs say something like, "Evolution
is impossible, so I believe." If they grew up in India, they'd believe too,
but in Shiva, Brahma, or Vishnu or any from the plethora of accepted
god's. I've known people who, believing themselves to be Christian,
started talking to Hindus or Muslims who then said, "What they said
made sense." I wonder how many people think they have a firm
foundation in their belief? I find it interesting that when I say my belief is
based on proof, many people who believe will roll their eyes and say they
believe because God has given them signs in their life.
God has given everybody a sign; His signature built in letters on
parchment with an unduplicable watermark. If He didn't, anything might
be believed as a revelation from Him. You can search the internet and
easily find many examples of cults of personality, whose leaders are
claiming to speak the words of the Almighty, and drawing a following after
themselves.
Some say, “I believe without a sign, why can't you?" and I say, “I guess
I'm weaker than you in that I've needed logical proof.” They typically
retort, “You mean you demanded a sign? You know Jesus said that it's
an adulterous and evil generation that seeks after a sign.” To which I
reply, “True, but maybe that's because He had already provided so many
signs, and Jesus, according to John 14:11 (NIV) said, “believe in the
evidence of the miracles,” that He performed. No, signs are not a bad
thing.
For those who believe in Jesus and the Bible as being the Word of God
because of something miraculous (perhaps the voice of God speaking in
a dream), I'm glad for you; but for we to whom God did not whisper in our
ears, He did speak through His written Word which is verifiable.
Personally, I feel that God has spoken to me in my spirit, bringing various
thoughts and people to mind, and does so occasionally when I tune out
the world and really get my head into listening mode, but I can't prove
this to anybody. This is not something that made me believe however. I
believed first based on the evidence.
Some months back I was getting overwhelmed with frustration because I
was not meeting my expectations in some work, and learning the skills I
want in various areas. I had a dream that left me sitting bolt upright in the
wee hours of the morning. I was walking down a path, well worn into a
rolling expanse of land covered with short grass virtually grazed down to
the dirt, and little cyclones were erupting a short distance in front of me
on either side of the path as I walked. The largest might have been about
the size of a a medium sized tree. They whirled up in a blur of motion
then dissipated leaving a piece of fine furniture, or sculpture of the kind
that I aspire to produce myself. This went on for some time and then
words came into my head. It was like hearing a voice -- but there was no
voice, just the meaning. It was like that moment right before you say
something and you know what you want to say but you haven't acquired
the specific words to string together to match. The meaning was directed
to me in the 2nd person and said, "All these things are easy," and I
shouldn't get hung up on what God considers to be minutia; there are
things of eternal significance to be concerned with. Similarly, a number of
years back, I was taking a shower and contemplating how horribly I had