- 3. Abortion: In
previous centuries, deliberate
abortion of an unborn child was very risky and so
- not many were driven to take this step. This was not a perfect
situation, for women, girls
and unborn ones died. But these tragic losses were relatively small
in number.
- God counts each life as precious, and we should know
this. Yet
we have become involved in abortion on a large scale! This started to
happen when we declared abortion to be legal. Since we felt impelled to
take this step the total number of fetuses aborted is numbered in the
tens of millions. (Tens of millions in the OECD countries
alone[10]. How many in the world
as a whole?) The procedure usually adopted "vacuums" the embryo out of
the womb. The fetus is taken away from its life support system and can
be dismembered in the process.
The writer's feeling a while ago was, "Surely this is an
End-Time
sign? Why isn't it in Scripture?" Well he found he was mistaken; it is
in the Bible, but it's disguised (perhaps because the tiny victim is
similarly
hidden from our eyes?) The following verse had the power to grieve this
writer when he accepted that the word "children" could extend to
children
not yet born:
- "You who burn with lust — inflaming yourselves with idols — among
the oaks, under every
green tree; who slay the children [in sacrifice]
in the valleys under clefts of the rocks?"
Isaiah 57:5 (Amp.)
- In the Wisdom of God, it was known that the current wave of
abortions
would come on the Earth; we humans too, would have been aware in
advance
if we had only studied the Bible. We would have been forewarned and
realized
that the consequences of abortion could be illustrated in a quite
dreadful
way:
- "Samaria ... rebelled against her God ... their infants shall be
dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women shall be ripped up."
Hosea 13:16 (Amp.) - please see Hosea 13:8-16.
- Abortion can "rip up" the soul of whoever gets involved with
it. The writer and many others who dabbled in sex sin have risked
bringing
this damage on themselves and their sexual partners. Our only comfort
is
this Biblical evidence that God was aware we would get into this mess
at
this time.
- 4. Drugs (also drinking, and smoking): Because
the Bible seems to say nothing about
- marijuana, solvent abuse, cocaine, etc, it's possible for drug
users
to get the idea that they're a
jump ahead of God. But a long time ago the Warning was given about
what could happen
"in the end." Scripture explains that drug abuse starts
simply enough with alcohol -
but way on down at the end of that road may be injection and (through
heroin), death:
- "Look not on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the
glass. It goes down
smoothly; but in the end it bites like a serpent, or like a poisonous
adder."
Proverbs 23:31-32 (NAB)
- ^ 5.
Computers and Robotics: We think we're pretty smart
these
days; we can build computers
- that do amazing things at incredible speeds. (The writer was one
of
the many who get their
living from producing computer software.) The
widespread use of computers has led to the
use of the term: "Information Revolution." It also led to that
"millennial concern" - Y2K.
- Additionally, we now find some assembly-line jobs (hopefully the
more
boring ones) being done by robots - machines that mimic a human in
action
as well as in logic. And there is much interest now in designing
computers
that will be able to learn. "Artificial intelligence" is the
current
term for this endeavor. The Japanese, who lead the world in robotics,
are one of the nations who are pressing on with the work in this field.
In view of all this great inventiveness, it would be surprising
wouldn't
it, if the Bible had nothing to say on the subject? Thankfully, we can
see that God was indeed there before us! In the Book of Revelation
(already noted as being of special
significance in the End-Time) it says - of the "second beast":
- "This second beast ... was able to win over the people of
the world and persuade them
to put up a statue in honor of the beast that
... still lived. It was allowed to breathe life
into this statue, so that
the statue ... was able to speak ... He compelled everyone ...
to be branded on the right hand ... and made it illegal for anyone to
buy or sell anything
unless he had been branded with the name of the beast or with the
number ...
of a man ... 666." Revelation 13:12-18 (Jer.)
- As you are probably aware, the basis of data processing is "the
number
of his name" - that is, making numbers out of a series of letters.
Every
letter stored in a computer is actually held in the form of a numeric
code.
(For example, there is a standard coding system - Unicode - which
enables
all the significant alphabets in the world to be translated into
numbers.
Unicode does this by converting each letter into a code expressed as a
string of 16 binary digits. [A binary digit is either a one or a zero,
which is all, basically, that computers can "understand"!])
Just as numeric codes are the key to using computers so
computers
are essential to the construction of robots. Hence the race is on to
develop
software programs that will enable a computer (or a robot) to learn,
and
so improve its performance in a given situation. Robots are here; the
prophesied
"statue" that can speak is a reality today!
- 6. The
Great
Pyramid: The largest building in the world, the Great Pyramid
at Gizeh in Egypt,
- dates back 4,600 years(11). In those days,
would its builders have known the size and weight
of the Earth, and the exact length of Earth's year,
measured the three major ways that
astronomers of today specify this unit? These and many other
geophysical and more general truths
are expressed through the design of this wonderful edifice.
Indeed scientists and mathematicians
have been amazed at the wisdom built into it.
- ^
But the Creator knows how the Earth is put together, and the Scriptures
hint at God placing something in Egypt for later discovery:
- "Which hast set signs
and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day ...."
Jeremiah 32:20 (KJV)
- Named long ago as one of the "Seven Wonders of the World," the
Great
Pyramid is the only one of the seven that remains. For years it had
kept
its secrets to itself, but in these "last days" the marvels of the
Great
Pyramid are becoming more known. Praise God!
Today we know enough to recognize the scientific truths that are
built into the Pyramid; the hard question is, "Do we know enough to
trust
God for the Key Truth - that Salvation is through God's Son?"
You see, the design of the passageways within the Pyramid
reveals
a Prophetic Timeline, and this Timeline honors God's Son. For example,
one point along the Timeline gives a date of April 3, 33 CE for the
Crucifixion
of Jesus. This point is at the start of the Pyramid's "Grand Gallery."
Another, lower point gives a date of October 14, 29 CE for His Baptism
in the River Jordan. (Please activate the following links, for
additional
notes on the Great Pyramid - in chapter 6,
in chapter 7, and in Appendix E [for more on the Crucifixion
date].)
- 7. Heart transplants: It may seem
incredible to you that the Bible, written so long ago,
- could look forward to the life-giving technique of organ
transplant
surgery. But it is so!
- God is deeply interested in our having good hearts, in the
writer's opinion. This applies in the physical sense, as well as in the
spiritual. And so the Lord is being entirely in Character
when He declares the following through the prophet Ezekiel:
- "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you:
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 36:26 (Amp.)
- Behind every "medical miracle," there's a Miracle-working God!
- 8. Witnesses to
Life after Death:
The biggest Gift that Jesus gave to us is access to an
- everlasting life, obtained by way of Salvation. Anything
that causes us to doubt the reality of
this eternal life works against
God. (And there have been no lack of influences on the side of
skepticism in recent times, wouldn't you agree?) On the other hand,
anything that increases
our faith in the hereafter must be of God.
- With the advancement of medical techniques, wonderful things have
been
revealed. Heart patients and others have been revived from the dead;
many
of them have blessed us with inspiring accounts of their experiences.
They
tell us that their spirits have traveled to Heaven (sometimes to Hell).
Many were given a choice as to whether they wanted to return to this
earthly
life or not. It was a hard decision for them after the glories they had
seen. All this is a marvelous confirmation of what Scripture has been
holding out to us all along: ongoing life - a life of endless growth
and
development.
^ Does this
verse not touch on the
current wave of Life After Death experiences?
- "... I will open up the windows of heaven for you and
pour out a blessing so great
you won't have room enough to take it
in!" Malachi 3:10
(TLB) [writer's
italics]
- 1. God and the Map: A recurring theme in
the Bible is the revolution that God will perform
- in the natural world - transforming the face of the Earth.
We are told in Isaiah:
- "The deserts will become as green as the Lebanon mountains,
as lovely as Mount Carmel's pastures and Sharon's meadows;
for the Lord will display his glory there ...." Isaiah 35:2 (TLB)
-
- If you examine the present map of North Africa (please see
below), you
find an amazing thing. The boundaries of the various countries
surrounding
the Sahara desert form a very definite shape. And does that shape not
bear
a strong resemblance to the traditional plough? (For comparison, the
group
of stars called the Plough is shown below, along with a drawing of an
actual
plough.) The map outline is a pretty convincing likeness, isn't it? In
which case can we not say that God has confirmed the above Promise
beautifully?
Map 5-2-1. The Sahara Region -
Showing the Plough
Boundaries(12)
|
Photo 5-2-2. The Plough in the
Heavens
(aka 'Big Dipper')(13)
|
|
|
Drawing 5-2-3.
A Traditional Design of Plough(14)
Scripture tells us that when Jesus returns to Earth as Messiah,
He
will first set foot on the Mount of Olives. This was foretold to His
disciples at His Ascension:
- " 'This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will come in just the same
way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'
Then they returned to Jerusalem from
the mount called Olivet
...." Acts 1:11-12 (NAS)
- Please see also Zechariah 14:3-9, as confirmation that the
above Words meant just what they said.
^
Holding this thought about the place of Jesus' Return, please
have a look at the first map shown below. It's a modern map showing
Israel, and her borders with the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Egypt,
the occupied Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria.
Map 5-2-4. Israel’s Boundary -
the Footprint(16)
 |
Is this
over-imaginative nonsense, or is it possible to see the shape of a foot
in the outline of Israel's (accepted) boundary? If you look in the
Bible (especially in the King James Version) at the references to
"foot" or "feet" you find that there are a lot of them - 341 in all,
in the King James Version!(15) Could it be that
a few of them are hinting at this distinctive
shape that centers on God's special Land? For example:
- "Thou drawest Thee a line about the soles of my feet
...."
- Job 13:27 (JPS)
- "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
- who brings good tidings
...." Isaiah
52:7 (Amp.)
When Prophecy is fulfilled and the Messiah sets His Foot
again
upon the Earth -
what a Touchdown that will be!
|
- The next map below, taken from a larger map of S.Western Asia, is
copied from an atlas published in 1950. There is a key
difference
between this map and other maps, as far as Israel's boundary is
concerned.
At the time, the West Bank was a part of Jordan; but this map shows the
West Bank area as part of Israel.
This is very strange when you consider that it was not until the
1967 war that Israel occupied the West Bank territory - 17 years after
the above atlas was published. The map of "Palestine" from the same
atlas
is normal. It depicts Israel with her borders as they were at the time,
the West Bank shown as being a part of Jordan. (This map is shown
beside
the "strange" map, for comparison.)
Since the W.Bank is "occupied territory"
(UN Security Council Resolution 242), any map made after the 1967 war
should show that the W.Bank has a different status to Israel herself.
So the "strange" map neither shows the situation in 1950, nor is it an
accurate picture of the current status of Israel-Palestine. But the
writer firmly believes that God is in control - of maps and everything
else. Make of this what you will, but the writer wonders whether
what we are seeing was a Prophetic view of the Land in the
Kingdom?(17) That this "strange" map could be
showing us the situation in a future Age of
Equality - to be ushered in by the Prince of Peace!
Map 5-2-5. The "Strange" Map
of Israel’s Boundary
(1950 atlas[18])
|
Map 5-2-6. "Normal" Map
Showing Israel’s True Boundary
- or most of it (same 1950 atlas[18])
|
|
|
- 2. The Dead Sea Scrolls: This
wonderful treasure was found on the NW shore of the Dead Sea;
- the first cache was discovered - probably by a goatherd
named Mohammed - in 1947, near
Qumran. Produced by members of the Essene
community, the hundreds of scrolls (and tens
of thousands of fragmentary
remains), date from about 250 BCE to 70 CE.
- ^ The importance
of the scrolls
to us rests on 5 counts:
- 1. By their very close agreement with the (much later)
manuscripts
that were already known to us, they show the care with which the Old
Testament
Scriptures have been handed down to us.
2. They tell about the "Teacher of Righteousness," the Leader of
the Essenes. He is shown as paving the way for Christ - some of the key
values
Jesus upheld were the beliefs of this Teacher also. He may also,
like Christ, have been crucified.
3. They show the workings of a pre-Christian community whose
members
unselfishly dedicated themselves to glorifying God.
4. Even the authority of the New Testament
is underwritten
by these finds - a fragment of Mark's Gospel was one of the treasures
uncovered
at Qumran. Fragment 5 from Cave 7 (known as 7Q5), is a scrap of papyrus
containing 9 certain Greek letters and 10 uncertain ones. Bible scholar
José O'Callaghan has shown that these letters fit a set of words
within the text of Mark 6:52-53. (You can read all about this wonderful
but
controversial! claim in a book by David Estrada and William White,
Jr. - The First New Testament[19].)
The passage concerned is at the close
of Mark's account of a notable
Miracle, namely Jesus' walking on water:
- "And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret,
and moored to
the shore." Mark 6:53 (RSV)
- Yet the jars holding these finds were,
according to some
scholars, sealed up by 70 CE! If this date is upheld, then the idea
that the Gospels were
composed a long time after Christ's Life on Earth (as some have
argued), is disposed of.
An apocryphal document dated around the 1st century CE: the Assumption
of Moses, seems to show that the Essene community was told by
God to
hide their writings away, in order that they could be found (when most
needed), in the End-Time!(20)
- These precious scrolls then, found by a young Palestinian Arab/s
just
prior to the rebirth of the State of Israel, can be seen as a key part
of what God is showing us in the End-Time.
And isn't this great Good News for us? Because if the above Signs
ring true, then we can be sure that God is in Control. On the other
hand,
if nothing's meant by this time of trouble - if there isn't some big
Breakthrough
just waiting for the right moment to happen - surely this a strange,
pointless
world we're living in?
