.
I could not let today's 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile to go unmentioned, especially since it comes so soon after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti (the 2nd deadliest one in known history). So, this is officially my first post-sabbatical blogpost.
I have posted three previous times on the subject of earthquakes, which is certainly reasonable and proper to do so, since the focus of this "Future History" blog involves end-time events as mentioned in the Bible, and how current events relate to Biblical prophecies.
Before I comment further here, I'd like to direct your attention to those three previous posts where earthquakes were the major topic. (The word earthquake appears in many other posts however):
Post 31. "Earthquakes and the End Times", where the text of all the Bible prophetic passages about earthquakes are listed, plus a comment about current earthquakes in California. Posted July 10, 2009. Click here to read.
Post 32. "And Another Medium Quake in Calif today", where we discuss the Richter Scale, how it works, and the rating of famous (or infamous) earthquakes. Posted July 11, 2009. Click here to read.
Post 76. "Earthquakes: Are they getting your attention?", where I discuss whether quakes are really more prevalent. Posted October 1, 2009. Click here to read.
Since the contents of the above posts relate closely to the two recent earthquake events, please read them and then continue:
First, before we tackle and compare the human misery element of the two earthquakes, lets discuss the relative strength of the two earthquakes:
How much stronger was the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile than the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti? Lets see: If we divide the smaller 7.0 into the larger 8.8, we get 1.257 -- which means that the Chilean earthquake was 1.257 times stronger than the Haitian quake. Right?
Totally and utterly wrong!! Remember what we said in post #32, that to go up "1.0" on the Richter Scale (like from 5.0 up to 6.0, or from 7.5 up to 8.5), means that the "stronger" hurricane is ten (10) times stronger than the "weaker" hurricane. So the Chilean hurricane is AT LEAST 10 times stronger than the Haitian one, and almost 100 times as strong. But thanks to the miracle of Excel Spreadsheets, we can calculate the exact difference. To go from 7.0 up to 8.8 means the Chile hurricane was 63.1 times as strong as the Haiti earthquake. Trust me and Excel. (I'll post the calculations in a comment below. )
Now regarding human suffering, there are at least two mitigating circumstances as to why, when the Haiti quake killed 250,000 people, that the Chile quake did not kill millions.
First, today's Chile quake was much further underground, and the effect was blunted by the time it reached the surface.
Second, Chile had experienced an even larger earthquake on May 22nd, 1960 -- 9.5 magnitude, 1655 killed, and two million homeless. After that 1960 quake they prepared for "the next big one", with much stricter building codes and standards. As bad as things look now on television, it will turn out that years of Chilean preparation saved their country from a similar ruin in 2010.
I have not much more to add here, but just to note that the second decade of the 2000's is just barely starting, and already we have two massive earthquakes, one as measured by loss of life, and one as measured by the Richter Scale strength of the quake.
Finally, as I pointed out in an earlier post, back in July of 2009, California was averaging about 500 quakes a week of all sizes (most 3.0 magnitude or less). But now, just 6 months later, California is averaging nearly 750 quakes a week of all sizes. Here is the link to the current report: Click here.
My guess is that this will not be the last posting in 2010 on major earthquakes.
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Showing posts with label Revelation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Revelation. Show all posts
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, October 18, 2009
83. US GOVT AGREES TO AL QUEDA TERMS
Headline of the possible future? .
Doubtful? Questionable? Incredible? Even Unthinkable?
No, not unthinkable, because I think about the possibilities often.
Beyond belief? Perhaps. Beyond possibility? No, not at all.
If that headline in the title were to ever appear in America's newspapers, I suspect it would be followed shortly by the following headline: "US Militia attacks national and overseas targets"
How could this scenario ever take place? And what are the possibilities?
Answering the second question first, I consider the possibility of the scenario I am going to outline to be in the 50-80% range. Perhaps I am too naive not to put it in the 99% range.
Now the first question: How could this scenario ever take place?
When I search Google for "Suitcase Nukes", I get 1,430,000 hits. The information behind the hits ranges from the opposing positions of "Two-hundred suitcase nukes in existence" to "Not a chance that any of them will work" to "None in existence". All three are too extreme, and the reality lies somewhere in the middle (included in this scenario is the existence and use of similar "backpack nukes").
Here are three "reasonable" posts regarding suitcase nukes, the first, a non-sensational "just the facts", from The National Terror Alert website (America's leading source for Homeland Security News): National Terror Alert website
and the second from a myth-busting website that considers the entire spectrum of views, The War of Illusions site (much more down-to-earth, level-headed, than it sounds): War of Illusions website
and a third more "sensational", yet fact-filled article by Jerome Corsi in World News Daily: Jerome Corsi website
As I read these three articles and many more, I have come to the conservative conclusion that there are somewhere between two and twenty suitcase or backpack nukes in various stages of decay, repair, or mobilization in the world today.
And from that conclusion, comes my possible/likely/probable scenario of a twin nuclear attack on New York City in downtown Manhattan, and in Washington DC in the Capital-White House-Supreme Court area, between 10am and 2pm on an undeterminable day. If they were to go off at different times, the Washington DC event would have to be first. With these twin nuclear blasts, the center of business and the seat of our government would be wiped out in a single blow.
Can I take credit for this idea? Not hardly. This scenario has been proposed many times, one of the latest being Joel Rosenberg in his recent best selling novel "Dead Heat". The Amazon website tells a lot about it: Amazon Dead Heat
"Dead Heat" starts out not with two nuclear blasts, but five. And my initial reaction to the book remains the same, that the problems facing America were too easily fixed, and too soon solved. Rather, think Post-WWII Germany in 1945: 15 years to bring to a reasonable state by 1960.
If twin nuclear blasts take out Washington DC and Manhattan, things will be far worse than "Dead Heat" suggests. If the timing of the blasts were particularly 'right' for Al Queda (and I presume they would be), of the 600 top governmental leaders in the USA, there might be only 15-40 of the national leaders left alive -- those away from the city. There would be no central control, and perhaps no communication due to such devices and controls being rendered inoperative by a single or multiple Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP). (See Amazon for "EMP", non-fiction and fiction)
And then the second blow would hit: A warning from Al Queda, that five more nuclear blasts were prepared to go off in five other major cities within 24 hours unless America agrees to Al Queda's terms. These five cities would never be mentioned, but could only be speculated. Surely Houston and Los Angeles would be two of them... but the other three? Perhaps Atlanta, perhaps DFW.
Thus, depending upon who was left running the country, the next day's headline might be: "US GOVT AGREES TO AL QUEDA TERMS". Or the alternative: "HELL NO, WE WON'T AGREE!"
Surely with the latter attitude, and maybe even with the attitude of capitulation, within 24 hours the other five devices would explode (or worse, maybe larger devices would be launched from offshore container ships), and America as we know it today would be no more -- with five to thirty million people dead or dying. Travel, eating, working, and known comforts would be barely possible. Within weeks, possibly 100,000,000 dead.
Is this view even Biblical? I think so, and I'll address that eventually in another post. But as for now, do what Homeland Security suggests: be watchful, be wary, be careful, and be sure to report all suspicious activity. And while you watch and wait, read Revelation 18.
I'll be watching for your comments!
(I would add (a day after the above post) that there has never been a weapon fashioned that has not eventually been used -LG 10/19/09 14:43cdt)
.
Doubtful? Questionable? Incredible? Even Unthinkable?
No, not unthinkable, because I think about the possibilities often.
Beyond belief? Perhaps. Beyond possibility? No, not at all.
If that headline in the title were to ever appear in America's newspapers, I suspect it would be followed shortly by the following headline: "US Militia attacks national and overseas targets"
How could this scenario ever take place? And what are the possibilities?
Answering the second question first, I consider the possibility of the scenario I am going to outline to be in the 50-80% range. Perhaps I am too naive not to put it in the 99% range.
Now the first question: How could this scenario ever take place?
When I search Google for "Suitcase Nukes", I get 1,430,000 hits. The information behind the hits ranges from the opposing positions of "Two-hundred suitcase nukes in existence" to "Not a chance that any of them will work" to "None in existence". All three are too extreme, and the reality lies somewhere in the middle (included in this scenario is the existence and use of similar "backpack nukes").
Here are three "reasonable" posts regarding suitcase nukes, the first, a non-sensational "just the facts", from The National Terror Alert website (America's leading source for Homeland Security News): National Terror Alert website
and the second from a myth-busting website that considers the entire spectrum of views, The War of Illusions site (much more down-to-earth, level-headed, than it sounds): War of Illusions website
A quote from the above post: A former CIA director, George Tenet, is convinced that al-Qaida wants to change history with the mushroom cloud of a nuclear attack. In 1998, Osama bin Laden issued a statement called “The Nuclear Bomb of Islam.”
“It is the duty of Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God,” he said.
and a third more "sensational", yet fact-filled article by Jerome Corsi in World News Daily: Jerome Corsi website
As I read these three articles and many more, I have come to the conservative conclusion that there are somewhere between two and twenty suitcase or backpack nukes in various stages of decay, repair, or mobilization in the world today.
And from that conclusion, comes my possible/likely/probable scenario of a twin nuclear attack on New York City in downtown Manhattan, and in Washington DC in the Capital-White House-Supreme Court area, between 10am and 2pm on an undeterminable day. If they were to go off at different times, the Washington DC event would have to be first. With these twin nuclear blasts, the center of business and the seat of our government would be wiped out in a single blow.
Can I take credit for this idea? Not hardly. This scenario has been proposed many times, one of the latest being Joel Rosenberg in his recent best selling novel "Dead Heat". The Amazon website tells a lot about it: Amazon Dead Heat
"Dead Heat" starts out not with two nuclear blasts, but five. And my initial reaction to the book remains the same, that the problems facing America were too easily fixed, and too soon solved. Rather, think Post-WWII Germany in 1945: 15 years to bring to a reasonable state by 1960.
If twin nuclear blasts take out Washington DC and Manhattan, things will be far worse than "Dead Heat" suggests. If the timing of the blasts were particularly 'right' for Al Queda (and I presume they would be), of the 600 top governmental leaders in the USA, there might be only 15-40 of the national leaders left alive -- those away from the city. There would be no central control, and perhaps no communication due to such devices and controls being rendered inoperative by a single or multiple Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP). (See Amazon for "EMP", non-fiction and fiction)
And then the second blow would hit: A warning from Al Queda, that five more nuclear blasts were prepared to go off in five other major cities within 24 hours unless America agrees to Al Queda's terms. These five cities would never be mentioned, but could only be speculated. Surely Houston and Los Angeles would be two of them... but the other three? Perhaps Atlanta, perhaps DFW.
Thus, depending upon who was left running the country, the next day's headline might be: "US GOVT AGREES TO AL QUEDA TERMS". Or the alternative: "HELL NO, WE WON'T AGREE!"
Surely with the latter attitude, and maybe even with the attitude of capitulation, within 24 hours the other five devices would explode (or worse, maybe larger devices would be launched from offshore container ships), and America as we know it today would be no more -- with five to thirty million people dead or dying. Travel, eating, working, and known comforts would be barely possible. Within weeks, possibly 100,000,000 dead.
Is this view even Biblical? I think so, and I'll address that eventually in another post. But as for now, do what Homeland Security suggests: be watchful, be wary, be careful, and be sure to report all suspicious activity. And while you watch and wait, read Revelation 18.
I'll be watching for your comments!
(I would add (a day after the above post) that there has never been a weapon fashioned that has not eventually been used -LG 10/19/09 14:43cdt)
And I would also ask you to check out post 86 above here, about a book recommendation "One Second After" -LG 11/13/09 4:00cst.
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Sunday, July 5, 2009
28. Uncertainty below, Certainty above
Rev 9:15...
I tried this message on twitter, and it took two tweets, and I still didn't think I did the verse or idea justice, so I thought I'd expand a little over here on the blog.
Studying prophecy often takes you far outside of prophecy (and that's a good thing!)
Take Revelation 9:15 in context. Here is what is happening, starting in Revelation 5:
(1) A worthy one to open the 7-sealed scroll has been found (Jesus!!), (2) the 7 Seals have been opened by Jesus Himself and the 7 judgments pronounced and consummated, and (3) the angels of God now blow their trumpets in announcement and causation of the next set of judgments from God. (4) Five angels have blown their trumpets, and the sixth sounds his trumpet in announcement of (5) the releasing of four other angels who have been bound at the great river Euphrates (Rev 9:13).
Regardless of whether this future event takes place in 2013 or 2023 (or 20230), for us, the timing of this event is uncertain; but for God the timing is exact and precise. Notice His preparation: these four angels had "been prepared for the hour and day and month and year" that they might be released. It could only have been more precise if God would have added "and minute and second". But I think that is contained in the verse, not explicitly but rather implicitly.
God "holds the whole world in His hand", and we tend to think of material holdings like birds and people and the world itself, but he also holds the times and seasons in his hand. Thank God that our times (and seasons) are in his control.
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I tried this message on twitter, and it took two tweets, and I still didn't think I did the verse or idea justice, so I thought I'd expand a little over here on the blog.
Studying prophecy often takes you far outside of prophecy (and that's a good thing!)
Take Revelation 9:15 in context. Here is what is happening, starting in Revelation 5:
(1) A worthy one to open the 7-sealed scroll has been found (Jesus!!), (2) the 7 Seals have been opened by Jesus Himself and the 7 judgments pronounced and consummated, and (3) the angels of God now blow their trumpets in announcement and causation of the next set of judgments from God. (4) Five angels have blown their trumpets, and the sixth sounds his trumpet in announcement of (5) the releasing of four other angels who have been bound at the great river Euphrates (Rev 9:13).
Regardless of whether this future event takes place in 2013 or 2023 (or 20230), for us, the timing of this event is uncertain; but for God the timing is exact and precise. Notice His preparation: these four angels had "been prepared for the hour and day and month and year" that they might be released. It could only have been more precise if God would have added "and minute and second". But I think that is contained in the verse, not explicitly but rather implicitly.
God "holds the whole world in His hand", and we tend to think of material holdings like birds and people and the world itself, but he also holds the times and seasons in his hand. Thank God that our times (and seasons) are in his control.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
23. Outline of the Book of Revelation
A few caveat emptors and aids to study: (1) this outline of Revelation is not identical to an outline of Future History (Bible Prophecy), because much of Future History is not mentioned in Revelation; (2) the events described in Revelation may not be in strict chronological order; and (3) This outline is not meant to be for all purposes, but specifically for study of prophetic issues -- thus the quick overview of the first three chapters.
Although posted, this is a preliminary draft, preparatory to final checking. This outline is completely my own creation, although it has been checked and rechecked against other similar outlines for accuracy, to avoid obvious error. Yet, it is hoped that it is more orderly in its presentation -- in the sense that the relation of the seals, trumpets, and bowls, in relation to the parenthetical sections can be more clearly seen.
It will be beneficial to click on the post title, and print this outline as we study the book of Revelation along with other prophetic passages.
1.) The servants, the setting, the "sevens", and the savior - Rev Ch 1
2.) Letters to seven local churches - Rev Ch 2 and 3
3.) The Scene in Heaven - Ch 4 and 5
.....a.) Jesus the Lamb takes the scroll to open it 5:6-14
4.) The Seven Seals - the start of the Tribulation period
.....a.) The 1st Seal - 1st horseman - False Christ/Antichrist 6:1-2
.....b.) The 2nd Seal - 2nd horseman - Peace goes, War starts 6:3-4
.....c.) The 3rd Seal - 3rd horseman - Famine upon the earth 6:5-6
.....d.) The 4th Seal - 4th horseman - Death and Hades come, bringing more war, famine, and pestilence 6:7-8
.....e.) The 5th Seal - The cry and comfort of the slaughtered martyrs 6:9-11
.....f.) The 6th Seal - Chaos and devastation on earth and in the heavenlies. The "Great Day of his wrath" arrives 6:12-17
..........(Parenthesis in Heaven:
...............1.) The sealing of the 144,000 witnesees 7:1-8
...............2.) The great multitude out of the great tribulation 7:9-17)
.....g.) The 7th Seal - Contains the 7 trumpets, silence and forewarning of judgment 8:1-5
5.) The Seven Trumpets -- The second half (the last 42 months of the Tribulation period) may start here at 5.a.), or may start at the 1st Woe (5.e.), or may start at the first Bowl judgment (7.a.). Knowledgable opinions differ.
.....a.) The 1st Trumpet - hail & fire with blood falls upon earth 8:6-7
.....b.) The 2nd Trumpet - a great burning mountain (meteor?) falls into the sea 8:8-9
.....c.) The 3rd Trumpet - a burning star-like object falls upon the rivers & streams 8:10-11
.....d.) The 4th Trumpet - a third of the heavenly bodies are struck 8:12
.....e.) The 5th Trumpet (The 1st Woe) - Satan falls from heaven, releases tormentors from the pit 9:1-12
.....f.) The 6th Trumpet (The 2nd Woe) - Four angels & 200 million horsemen released 9:13-21
..........(Parenthesis in Heaven:
...............1. Mighty Angel announces the 7 thunders (hidden) 10:1-4
...............2. Mighty Angel announces "there will be no more delay" 10:5-7
...............3. John eats the little scroll 10:8-11
...............4. The temple is measured, the two witnesses testify 11:1-14)
.....g.) The 7th Trumpet (The 3rd Woe) - The great announcement of the kingdom arrival, worship breaks out in heaven, more judgments commence, (and this last trumpet contains the 7 bowl judgments) 11:15-19
(6.) The Great Parenthesis
.....a.) The Woman (Israel), her Son (Messiah), and the Dragon (Satan) 12:1-6
.....b.) Satan thrown down to the Earth 12:7-11
.....c.) Woe to the Earth, war with Israel, war with the saints 12:12-17
.....d.) Power given to the first Beast (the Antichrist) 13:1-10
.....e.) And power given to the second Beast (the False Prophet) 13:11-15
.....f.) The Mark of the Beast 13:16-18
.....g.) The Lamb and the 144,000 14:1-5
.....h.) The messages of the three angels 14:6-13
.....i.) The harvest of the Earth -- the grapes of wrath 14:14-20
.....j.) The scene in heaven before the seven bowl judgments 15:1-8)
7.) The Seven Bowls of wrath (possibly the start of the 2nd half of the Tribulation, called the Great Tribulation)
.....a.) The 1st Bowl of wrath - harmful and painful sores 16:1-2
.....b.) The 2nd Bowl of wrath - sea becomes like blood, all sea life dies (salt water) 16:3
.....c.) The 3rd Bowl of wrath - rivers and springs become blood, (fresh water) 16:4
..........1.) Proclamation of the righteousness of God's judgments 16:5-7
.....d.) The 4th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the sun - fierce heat 16:8-9
.....e.) The 5th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the throne (kingdom) of the beast 16:10-11
.....f.) The 6th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the river Euphrates, to open the way 16:12
..........1.) Demonic spirits like frogs sent to assemble the kings 16:13-15
..........2.) The gathering takes place at Armaggedon 16:16 (see 19:11-21)
.....g.) The 7th Bowl of wrath - poured out in the air, "It is done" 16:17
(8. The Last Parenthesis)
.....a.) overview of the destruction of Babylon 16:18-21
..........1.) destruction of religious Babylon 17:1-18
..........2.) destruction of commercial Babylon 18:1-24)
9. The scene in heaven and Earth.
.....a.) Rejoicing in heaven 19:1-5
.....b.) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb 19:6-10
.....c.) The Battle of Armageddon 19:11-21
10. The Thousand Years, The New Heaven & the New Earth, Life with God
.....a.) The Thousand Years of Kingly Rule, with Satan bound, and thrown into the abyss 20:1-6
.....b.) The final defeat of Satan 20:7-10
.....c.) The Great White Throne judgment 20:11-15
.....d.) The New Heavens and the New Earth ch 21
..........1.) The New Jerusalem 21:9f
.....e.) Life with God 22:1-5
.....f.) The last warning to those alive now: Jesus is coming back 22:6-21
Although posted, this is a preliminary draft, preparatory to final checking. This outline is completely my own creation, although it has been checked and rechecked against other similar outlines for accuracy, to avoid obvious error. Yet, it is hoped that it is more orderly in its presentation -- in the sense that the relation of the seals, trumpets, and bowls, in relation to the parenthetical sections can be more clearly seen.
It will be beneficial to click on the post title, and print this outline as we study the book of Revelation along with other prophetic passages.
1.) The servants, the setting, the "sevens", and the savior - Rev Ch 1
2.) Letters to seven local churches - Rev Ch 2 and 3
3.) The Scene in Heaven - Ch 4 and 5
.....a.) Jesus the Lamb takes the scroll to open it 5:6-14
4.) The Seven Seals - the start of the Tribulation period
.....a.) The 1st Seal - 1st horseman - False Christ/Antichrist 6:1-2
.....b.) The 2nd Seal - 2nd horseman - Peace goes, War starts 6:3-4
.....c.) The 3rd Seal - 3rd horseman - Famine upon the earth 6:5-6
.....d.) The 4th Seal - 4th horseman - Death and Hades come, bringing more war, famine, and pestilence 6:7-8
.....e.) The 5th Seal - The cry and comfort of the slaughtered martyrs 6:9-11
.....f.) The 6th Seal - Chaos and devastation on earth and in the heavenlies. The "Great Day of his wrath" arrives 6:12-17
..........(Parenthesis in Heaven:
...............1.) The sealing of the 144,000 witnesees 7:1-8
...............2.) The great multitude out of the great tribulation 7:9-17)
.....g.) The 7th Seal - Contains the 7 trumpets, silence and forewarning of judgment 8:1-5
5.) The Seven Trumpets -- The second half (the last 42 months of the Tribulation period) may start here at 5.a.), or may start at the 1st Woe (5.e.), or may start at the first Bowl judgment (7.a.). Knowledgable opinions differ.
.....a.) The 1st Trumpet - hail & fire with blood falls upon earth 8:6-7
.....b.) The 2nd Trumpet - a great burning mountain (meteor?) falls into the sea 8:8-9
.....c.) The 3rd Trumpet - a burning star-like object falls upon the rivers & streams 8:10-11
.....d.) The 4th Trumpet - a third of the heavenly bodies are struck 8:12
.....e.) The 5th Trumpet (The 1st Woe) - Satan falls from heaven, releases tormentors from the pit 9:1-12
.....f.) The 6th Trumpet (The 2nd Woe) - Four angels & 200 million horsemen released 9:13-21
..........(Parenthesis in Heaven:
...............1. Mighty Angel announces the 7 thunders (hidden) 10:1-4
...............2. Mighty Angel announces "there will be no more delay" 10:5-7
...............3. John eats the little scroll 10:8-11
...............4. The temple is measured, the two witnesses testify 11:1-14)
.....g.) The 7th Trumpet (The 3rd Woe) - The great announcement of the kingdom arrival, worship breaks out in heaven, more judgments commence, (and this last trumpet contains the 7 bowl judgments) 11:15-19
(6.) The Great Parenthesis
.....a.) The Woman (Israel), her Son (Messiah), and the Dragon (Satan) 12:1-6
.....b.) Satan thrown down to the Earth 12:7-11
.....c.) Woe to the Earth, war with Israel, war with the saints 12:12-17
.....d.) Power given to the first Beast (the Antichrist) 13:1-10
.....e.) And power given to the second Beast (the False Prophet) 13:11-15
.....f.) The Mark of the Beast 13:16-18
.....g.) The Lamb and the 144,000 14:1-5
.....h.) The messages of the three angels 14:6-13
.....i.) The harvest of the Earth -- the grapes of wrath 14:14-20
.....j.) The scene in heaven before the seven bowl judgments 15:1-8)
7.) The Seven Bowls of wrath (possibly the start of the 2nd half of the Tribulation, called the Great Tribulation)
.....a.) The 1st Bowl of wrath - harmful and painful sores 16:1-2
.....b.) The 2nd Bowl of wrath - sea becomes like blood, all sea life dies (salt water) 16:3
.....c.) The 3rd Bowl of wrath - rivers and springs become blood, (fresh water) 16:4
..........1.) Proclamation of the righteousness of God's judgments 16:5-7
.....d.) The 4th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the sun - fierce heat 16:8-9
.....e.) The 5th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the throne (kingdom) of the beast 16:10-11
.....f.) The 6th Bowl of wrath - poured out on the river Euphrates, to open the way 16:12
..........1.) Demonic spirits like frogs sent to assemble the kings 16:13-15
..........2.) The gathering takes place at Armaggedon 16:16 (see 19:11-21)
.....g.) The 7th Bowl of wrath - poured out in the air, "It is done" 16:17
(8. The Last Parenthesis)
.....a.) overview of the destruction of Babylon 16:18-21
..........1.) destruction of religious Babylon 17:1-18
..........2.) destruction of commercial Babylon 18:1-24)
9. The scene in heaven and Earth.
.....a.) Rejoicing in heaven 19:1-5
.....b.) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb 19:6-10
.....c.) The Battle of Armageddon 19:11-21
10. The Thousand Years, The New Heaven & the New Earth, Life with God
.....a.) The Thousand Years of Kingly Rule, with Satan bound, and thrown into the abyss 20:1-6
.....b.) The final defeat of Satan 20:7-10
.....c.) The Great White Throne judgment 20:11-15
.....d.) The New Heavens and the New Earth ch 21
..........1.) The New Jerusalem 21:9f
.....e.) Life with God 22:1-5
.....f.) The last warning to those alive now: Jesus is coming back 22:6-21
Thursday, June 25, 2009
19. Is North Korea mentioned in Bible prophecy?
The very short answer:
Maybe, with qualifications.
Is the word "Korea" in the Bible? : Most definitely not! Not explicitly, and not even implicitly.
Ten years ago, no one would even consider that North Korea might be a factor in the last days. But answer this: Is the word "China" mentioned in the Bible? Most definitely not! But most authors of books on prophecy consider that the nation of China -- more specifically the army of China -- appears near the final days of the end times.
It can be seen in the following passage in Revelation 9:13-16 which says:
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard their number.
Another passage in Revelation 16:12 speaks of what most consider to be the same event and time: 12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
This number of people (if the figure is to be taken literally) has been possible only since perhaps 1970, and almost all writers take this to be the Chinese army. However, there are other possibilities. The Revelation 9 passage does not tell where they are coming from, but the Revelation 16 passage says they are "the kings from the east". East often means "Orient", and the Orient includes such nations as China, Japan, and Korea. So this could be an all-out assault from the Orient countries.
Another view, which might exclude Korea, is that the Muslim nations also are generally to the east of the Holy Land, which is where all the nations are heading at the time of these two passages. This could be an all-out assault from the Muslim countries.
So the evidence is inconclusive and not as easy to interpret compared to whether Iran is mentioned in Bible prophecy, but thought-provoking just the same. For sure, we'll be looking at this issue again.
Maybe, with qualifications.
Is the word "Korea" in the Bible? : Most definitely not! Not explicitly, and not even implicitly.
Ten years ago, no one would even consider that North Korea might be a factor in the last days. But answer this: Is the word "China" mentioned in the Bible? Most definitely not! But most authors of books on prophecy consider that the nation of China -- more specifically the army of China -- appears near the final days of the end times.
It can be seen in the following passage in Revelation 9:13-16 which says:
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard their number.
Another passage in Revelation 16:12 speaks of what most consider to be the same event and time: 12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
This number of people (if the figure is to be taken literally) has been possible only since perhaps 1970, and almost all writers take this to be the Chinese army. However, there are other possibilities. The Revelation 9 passage does not tell where they are coming from, but the Revelation 16 passage says they are "the kings from the east". East often means "Orient", and the Orient includes such nations as China, Japan, and Korea. So this could be an all-out assault from the Orient countries.
Another view, which might exclude Korea, is that the Muslim nations also are generally to the east of the Holy Land, which is where all the nations are heading at the time of these two passages. This could be an all-out assault from the Muslim countries.
So the evidence is inconclusive and not as easy to interpret compared to whether Iran is mentioned in Bible prophecy, but thought-provoking just the same. For sure, we'll be looking at this issue again.
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