Re: End Times Extension
James
> I am a Christian, Catholic, ex-Protestant.
>
> Whenever I read end-times predictions, they are invariably earth
> centred. I personally believe God is going to drive us off the
> planet, and He has provided the means to do so with teleporting, and
> our development of robots and nanotechnology.
>
> For a look at what I'm talking about, type in "quantum teleporting
> latest developments" on Google Search, and the first entry should be
> "Teleportation: Express Lane Space Travel" under Yahoo News.
>
> Ignore the bit about UFO's but absorb the rest of the information. If
> God did not intend us to do so, He would not have provided the
> potential means.
>
> The way I see it, we are indeed headed for a very difficult time, a
> combination of war, terrorism, environmental disaster, and
> totalitarianism, using the latest technology to monitor the movements
> and perhaps even the thoughts of people. I suspect the dual
> occurrence of the Holocaust and the Atomic Bomb in World War II were
> warnings of what to expect on a much larger scale if we don't change.
> And I doubt if we will.
>
> As usual God has provided a way out. And that way out is the
> settlement of other planets, space borne colonies etc. But in the
> meantime it will be a very unpleasant world.
>
> I've made this point elsewhere from time to time. In the article
> above the author points out the difficulty of keeping track of all
> the atoms in a human body, disassembling and reassembling them.
> However I believe we are going to find that teleporting living
> organisms always results in a dead organism at the reassembly end.
> The reason for this is that we will not be able to quantise the
> spirit, and the object will arrive dead as a doornail. This would be
> very useful for quarantine purposes when a disease laden planet is
> trying to create a less risky environment in the early stages however.
>
> Eventually I believe we will learn to teleport the spiritual
> component. But by that time it will be inescapably clear we have a
> spirit, or soul, or whatever you want to call it.
>
> But as far as I am concerned all "End Times" predictions which do not
> take this into account are flawed. On the other hand I believe the
> Anti-Christ is alive today, a political figure who has absolutely
> nothing to do with the Church of Rome. The actual appearance of the
> anti-Christ does not coincide with the actual return of Christ
> however, since one of the most persistent themes Christ mentioned is
> that He will return at a time when we do not expect Him to return.
>
> When the early Christians were being torn apart by lions, the Saracens
> were pillaging parts of Southern and Eastern Europe, the Vikings were
> rampaging in Northern Europe, the Black Death killed a third of the
> people, the Wars of the Reformation tore Europe apart - all these
> times gave rise to the expected imminent return of Christ. But He
> did not come.
>
> In the same way many will expect Christ to return in the middle of the
> immense troubles that I believe are coming. But I will be very
> surprised if He does.
>
> So in about fify years, I believe we will be teleporting around the
> universe, while Mother Earth is a dead or dying planet. We will have
> wrecked it with our violence, environmental stupidity, greed and love
> of money and power.
>
> Bob Crowley.
>
> Bob Crowley.
Bob,
I would just like to introduce you to what the Bible says on a few of
your points above. Just look them up in your own Bible to verify them.
>I personally believe God is going to drive us off the planet,
God made the earth not for nothing, but to be inhabited by people. Isa
45:18,
"For this is what the LORD says-- he who created the heavens, he is
God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not
create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited--..." (NIV)
Also notice Ps 37:29,
"The righteous themselves will possess the earth, And they will reside
forever upon it." (NWT)
> But by that time it will be inescapably clear we have a
> spirit, or soul, or whatever you want to call it.
The Bible refers to the "soul" as the whole person. Thus you and I are
souls. Even animals are "souls".
The first time the "soul" is used in reference to a human is at Ge
2:7,
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
(KJV)
Notice that when Adam got the breath of life, he BECAME a soul, he
didn't receive a soul. Thus the "soul" is not some immortal part of
humans as some teach, but the soul can die. Eze 18:4,
"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the
soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (KJV)
Yes, even animals are called "souls". Ge 1:24,
"And God went on to say: "Let the earth put forth living souls
[Hebrew- nephesh] according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving
animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind." And it came
to be so." (NWT) [brackets mine]
> The actual appearance of the anti-Christ does not >coincide with the actual return of Christ
The Bible tells us that there are MANY antichrists, not just one. Thus
looking for just one can be misleading. 2 John 7,
"Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the
flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver
and the antichrist." (NIV)
Also 1 John 2:18,
"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the
antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how
we know it is the last hour." (NIV)
Notice in that last verse John said "even now" antichrists had come.
Thus people defined as having an antichrist personality started back
in the first century. And it continues on into our day.
>In the same way many will expect Christ to return in the >middle of the immense troubles that I believe are coming. >But I will be very surprised if He does.
Yes, many expect Christ's return to be visible, but the Bible tells us
otherwise. After Jesus was killed and was resurrected, he told us that
no one in the world would ever see him again. (after he went back to
Heaven) Joh 14:19,
"Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live." (NIV)
Also notice that when Jesus returns invisibly and begins ruling, his
enemies will still be around for a while, thus he will not destroy
them immediately at his return. Ps 110:2,
"The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in
the midst of your enemies." (NIV)
Also for the record, the word "return" is not a good choice here since
the actual Greek word used there is "parousia", which literally means,
"being alongside", or presence. The normal Greek word for "coming" is
"erkhomai", but it is not used here. Thus a more accurate translation
at Mt 24:3 would be:
"While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples
approached him privately, saying: "Tell us, When will these things be,
and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of
the system of things?"" (NWT)
Sincerely, James
***********************************
Want a FREE home Bible study?
Have Jehovah's Witnesses questions?
Go to the authorized source:
http://www.watchtower.org
***********************************
.