Back in 2011, I wrote a blog entitled "Why Muslims Should be America's Biggest Supporters", where I give three possibilities as to why the United States does not show up in the "end times" scriptures of the bible. Those three are The Rapture takes place, economic collapse, and massive terrorist attacks beyond the scope of 9/11. For details, please refer to that blog.
There is one other possibility, that previous to my current sabbatical, I didn't even consider: the bible is written entirely concerning a smallish and specific region of the world. This means that the writers did not even consider the possibility of other lands across the oceans that could be inhabited - especially inhabited with people who would be of major impact upon world events.
Why is this significant? IF the bible is without error, containing what has been called "God-breathed" words, how did these prophetic writings, that apparently reflect so much detail of future events, completely miss the existence of the United States? This means either these writings are not as inspired as many Christians (those I would term "bible worshippers") claim, or that they are being given far more weight than intended when written.
Maybe this is due to the elevation of the bible, and other religious books, beyond their initial intentions. As I've stated before, the bible is NOT the Word of God, but it does CONTAIN the Word of God. I find it funny that many Christians elevate the bible to something so inerrant, that it is practically worshipped, but when faced with statements that are difficult to swallow (like women needing to keep silent in church [1 Corinthians 14:34]) they quickly point out that those focus on the "culture of the times" and that they are not relevant for today.
I guess the bible is true and inerrant, except when it is not.
Or, just maybe, the book was not designed to have every little thing made into a doctrine (I'm talking to you, Faith, Word, Healing, and Prosperity preachers).
I am personally appalled at the atrocities against human life that have taken place over slights to the Koran and its content. I say this as a human being. I cannot say that hiding behind my Christianity. I cannot because Christians have used the bible in order to commit similar atrocities in the church's history (e.g., The Spanish Inquisition). Sometimes religion (of any stripe) goes so far away from its inception, to the point where its followers become an embarrassment to the God they claim to follow. Sometimes I think that Islam is simply going through its "Inquisition" stage - not all those following Islam plan on strapping a bomb to themselves . . .
I really wonder what God thinks of us sometimes.
© Emittravel 2015
Showing posts with label Koran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Koran. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Stuff My Brain Says #4
I'm perfectly fine with someone burning the flag, the Bible, or Koran. I wouldn't do it myself, but I'm fine with someone else doing it. Think about it: the flag REPRESENTS our nation. Our nation is founded on liberty. The First Amendment guarantees us the right to free speech. Burning the flag is a statement that one disagrees with this nation in some way. It is only a piece of cloth. If you take away the right to make that statement you have done more damage to liberty than the burning of that piece of cloth. What it represents is intangible. You can't hurt liberty by destroying a symbol of it.
Same with the Bible or Koran. I don't care if someone buys a copy and burns it. Doesn't matter. What did they do? They burned paper, ink, and possibly a leather binding. That's it. Christians claim the Bible to be the Word of God. It is a holy book. What makes it holy? That particular copy, or what the words represent/say? Would a copy published by a Christian company be any more holy than one published by a secular one? The Word of God is not so fragile that it will fail if a copy of it is burned. Same with the Koran. Muslims believe it is a holy book as well. Why do they get so upset if a physical copy is burned? Don't the words live beyond the printed page? Would deleting the Bible or Koran app (is there such a thing?) from your iPhone be considered the same thing as destroying a physical copy?
© Emittravel 2011
Same with the Bible or Koran. I don't care if someone buys a copy and burns it. Doesn't matter. What did they do? They burned paper, ink, and possibly a leather binding. That's it. Christians claim the Bible to be the Word of God. It is a holy book. What makes it holy? That particular copy, or what the words represent/say? Would a copy published by a Christian company be any more holy than one published by a secular one? The Word of God is not so fragile that it will fail if a copy of it is burned. Same with the Koran. Muslims believe it is a holy book as well. Why do they get so upset if a physical copy is burned? Don't the words live beyond the printed page? Would deleting the Bible or Koran app (is there such a thing?) from your iPhone be considered the same thing as destroying a physical copy?
© Emittravel 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Why Muslims Should be America's Biggest Supporters
I've been a Christian since the early 1990's and have read the Bible more times than I can count, read more books than I care to remember, and have listened to more sermons than most ministers have preached in a lifetime - usually more than once. The Bible says to "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15). It is with this background and understanding that I present this edition of My Humble But Accurate Opinion:
In all my years of study, I have never found the United States represented in scripture. Oh, there are the few vague inferences that some have presented. And if you close one eye, and squint the other really hard, you may actually see it. I haven't. Especially when it comes to scriptures that deal with what has been called "The End Times".
Now understand, the Bible can be broken up into several sections of history beyond just the "Old" and "New" testaments. I'm not going into a great amount of detail here, because, as the title of this article suggests, I've got a point to make. I will say that, in the New Testament, the historical records of the events that were occurring during that time, come to an end at the end of the Book of Acts. There are letters (or "epistles") that follow, but for the most part they fall historically during the times of the Book of Acts. Until you come to the book of Revelation.
Okay, I did it. I mentioned that book of books that makes people either get their hearts a'pumpin' with excitement, or makes their eyes glaze over. And to be honest, for the most part, I tend to fall into the latter group. There is an awful amount of imagery there. In some aspects those images lend themselves to the coming of the fall of Rome; in others they present a time that is historically down the road. But understand: the locations represented there are local to the areas around the Middle East. There is not even a remote reference to any nation to the west. No great "eagle" across the great pond. Nothing. The center of the world, in view of the Bible, is Israel - especially the city of Jerusalem.
There are two main books of the Bible that specifically deal in end times events: Daniel (Old Testament) and Revelation (New Testament). I'm not saying that those are the only references; just the main ones. And, read them yourself, you will not find the United States in either.
What's my point? Think about it. Nothing takes place in the world without the involvement of the United States. Our currency is the basis for the world's economy. We are the biggest ally of Israel. You can't find a peace process initiated in the Middle East without the hand of the United States all over it. Good or bad, the United States is intricately involved in everything that goes on in this world. So, how can you have an infallible book that has proven itself over and over to be accurate (historically, archaeologically, prophetically, etc.) completely miss the existence of the United States in the "current affairs" of the events taking place at the "end times"? Did God say, "Oops!"? I don't think so.
Something has to take place that removes the United States as a world power; eliminating any need for its involvement in the events of the end times.
Take a moment to absorb that. I'll wait.
Now don't get me wrong: I love this country and want nothing more than to see it prosper, grow, and be an ever-driving force for good. I believe that this nation was founded by men and women who loved God and sought His guidance in their affairs. More evangelism (a.k.a. "soul winning") has come forth from the United States than any other nation. But something has to happen in order for the end time events to take place. In other words, Jesus isn't coming back until the United States "goes away".
There are many possible causes for the removal of the United States as a world power/influencer, but I think they can all be whittled down to three possible scenarios: The Rapture takes place, economic collapse, or massive terrorist attacks beyond the scope of 9/11.
The Rapture takes place. The Bible says: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them…" That is a instantaneous mass exodus. When this takes place there is going to be an immediate and drastic drop in the population of the United States. At this point there will be chaos. The United States will implode trying to handle it. Just imagine what will happen when a large portion of our armed forces disappear - around the world! This country will pull every one back within its borders and "circle the wagons".
Economic collapse. Already the dollar has lost so much value due to the non-stop printing presses. Understand, we have a LOT of debt. Some say that we should tax the "rich" and that would solve everything. Honey, if you take the total net worth from everyone that is $250k or greater, you wouldn't even dent the amount of debt we have. And if they don't change the amount being spent, the amount recouped by taking it from the "rich" will be forgotten in a year - and then just who do they go after? The "new rich" - a.k.a. "the rest of us"! In order to pay the multiple trillions of debt due annually they crank out more dollars out of the printing presses. And the more they do, the less value those dollars have.
That's right boys and girls, you can blame the "evil oil companies" for the high gas prices, but understand that it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of oil. Ask your parents how much a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, or a gallon of gas cost them when they were kids . . .
Not only are we in such a deep hole financially, but the world is already looking at replacing the dollar as the world recognized currency. Heck! With the President's "apology tour", for one example, how can you blame them?
Massive terrorist attacks. This one is (hopefully) the least likely, but you can't rule it out. Look what happened immediately after 9/11. Yes, I know it got us fired up, but not until after we first went fetal. A terrorist attack now doesn't have to be a plane in a building. You can pretty much take out a couple of city blocks with a nuclear device in a suitcase. A dirty-bomb would take out even more - make Japan's nuclear reactor woes seem more than mild. Getting them into the country wouldn't be impossible either - we all know how secure our borders are (insert sarcasm HERE). Since 9/11 we have full-groping by the TSA at our airports. Can you imagine what this country would be like after multiple, simultaneous, attacks?
Of the three, the first two are most likely to take place. And keep in mind, the scripture referenced above does consider the Rapture "comfort". I think that the second, economic collapse, is most likely to take place first, though there aren't any prophetic scriptures that have to take place before the Rapture can.
Now let's tie this column's title into this.
Muslims believe Jesus is coming back. That's right. They believe in the end times of the Bible. I know they say they follow the Koran, but as the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." The picture below (and please follow the link after you finish this article to read the information that the submitter graciously provided with it) shows the East Wall of the holy city of Jerusalem. In particular one of the gates to the city known as the Golden Gate.
Notice what is front of the gate? A cemetery. There is a cemetery, of Muslim graves, put there to prevent Elijah, who is to arrive before the Messiah, from going through the gate upon Jesus the Messiah's return. You see, they believe that a holy man would never step upon the ground of a dead person - they would become defiled and "unclean". Do you get it? They planted graves to prevent this event from happening. I hate to say this, but Muslims believe Jesus is coming back more than some Christians I've talked to over the years.
My point: It is in the best interest of Muslims that the United States remains a world power. They should stop trying to take it out. They should do everything in their power to keep the United States a world power, or the Messiah WILL be coming back and they KNOW it! And when He does, an offensive cartoon will be the least of their worries!
Stop the Jihad, I want to get off!
© Emittravel 2011
In all my years of study, I have never found the United States represented in scripture. Oh, there are the few vague inferences that some have presented. And if you close one eye, and squint the other really hard, you may actually see it. I haven't. Especially when it comes to scriptures that deal with what has been called "The End Times".
Now understand, the Bible can be broken up into several sections of history beyond just the "Old" and "New" testaments. I'm not going into a great amount of detail here, because, as the title of this article suggests, I've got a point to make. I will say that, in the New Testament, the historical records of the events that were occurring during that time, come to an end at the end of the Book of Acts. There are letters (or "epistles") that follow, but for the most part they fall historically during the times of the Book of Acts. Until you come to the book of Revelation.
Okay, I did it. I mentioned that book of books that makes people either get their hearts a'pumpin' with excitement, or makes their eyes glaze over. And to be honest, for the most part, I tend to fall into the latter group. There is an awful amount of imagery there. In some aspects those images lend themselves to the coming of the fall of Rome; in others they present a time that is historically down the road. But understand: the locations represented there are local to the areas around the Middle East. There is not even a remote reference to any nation to the west. No great "eagle" across the great pond. Nothing. The center of the world, in view of the Bible, is Israel - especially the city of Jerusalem.
There are two main books of the Bible that specifically deal in end times events: Daniel (Old Testament) and Revelation (New Testament). I'm not saying that those are the only references; just the main ones. And, read them yourself, you will not find the United States in either.
What's my point? Think about it. Nothing takes place in the world without the involvement of the United States. Our currency is the basis for the world's economy. We are the biggest ally of Israel. You can't find a peace process initiated in the Middle East without the hand of the United States all over it. Good or bad, the United States is intricately involved in everything that goes on in this world. So, how can you have an infallible book that has proven itself over and over to be accurate (historically, archaeologically, prophetically, etc.) completely miss the existence of the United States in the "current affairs" of the events taking place at the "end times"? Did God say, "Oops!"? I don't think so.
Something has to take place that removes the United States as a world power; eliminating any need for its involvement in the events of the end times.
Take a moment to absorb that. I'll wait.
Now don't get me wrong: I love this country and want nothing more than to see it prosper, grow, and be an ever-driving force for good. I believe that this nation was founded by men and women who loved God and sought His guidance in their affairs. More evangelism (a.k.a. "soul winning") has come forth from the United States than any other nation. But something has to happen in order for the end time events to take place. In other words, Jesus isn't coming back until the United States "goes away".
There are many possible causes for the removal of the United States as a world power/influencer, but I think they can all be whittled down to three possible scenarios: The Rapture takes place, economic collapse, or massive terrorist attacks beyond the scope of 9/11.
The Rapture takes place. The Bible says: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them…" That is a instantaneous mass exodus. When this takes place there is going to be an immediate and drastic drop in the population of the United States. At this point there will be chaos. The United States will implode trying to handle it. Just imagine what will happen when a large portion of our armed forces disappear - around the world! This country will pull every one back within its borders and "circle the wagons".
Economic collapse. Already the dollar has lost so much value due to the non-stop printing presses. Understand, we have a LOT of debt. Some say that we should tax the "rich" and that would solve everything. Honey, if you take the total net worth from everyone that is $250k or greater, you wouldn't even dent the amount of debt we have. And if they don't change the amount being spent, the amount recouped by taking it from the "rich" will be forgotten in a year - and then just who do they go after? The "new rich" - a.k.a. "the rest of us"! In order to pay the multiple trillions of debt due annually they crank out more dollars out of the printing presses. And the more they do, the less value those dollars have.
That's right boys and girls, you can blame the "evil oil companies" for the high gas prices, but understand that it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of oil. Ask your parents how much a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, or a gallon of gas cost them when they were kids . . .
Not only are we in such a deep hole financially, but the world is already looking at replacing the dollar as the world recognized currency. Heck! With the President's "apology tour", for one example, how can you blame them?
Massive terrorist attacks. This one is (hopefully) the least likely, but you can't rule it out. Look what happened immediately after 9/11. Yes, I know it got us fired up, but not until after we first went fetal. A terrorist attack now doesn't have to be a plane in a building. You can pretty much take out a couple of city blocks with a nuclear device in a suitcase. A dirty-bomb would take out even more - make Japan's nuclear reactor woes seem more than mild. Getting them into the country wouldn't be impossible either - we all know how secure our borders are (insert sarcasm HERE). Since 9/11 we have full-groping by the TSA at our airports. Can you imagine what this country would be like after multiple, simultaneous, attacks?
Of the three, the first two are most likely to take place. And keep in mind, the scripture referenced above does consider the Rapture "comfort". I think that the second, economic collapse, is most likely to take place first, though there aren't any prophetic scriptures that have to take place before the Rapture can.
Now let's tie this column's title into this.
Muslims believe Jesus is coming back. That's right. They believe in the end times of the Bible. I know they say they follow the Koran, but as the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." The picture below (and please follow the link after you finish this article to read the information that the submitter graciously provided with it) shows the East Wall of the holy city of Jerusalem. In particular one of the gates to the city known as the Golden Gate.
Notice what is front of the gate? A cemetery. There is a cemetery, of Muslim graves, put there to prevent Elijah, who is to arrive before the Messiah, from going through the gate upon Jesus the Messiah's return. You see, they believe that a holy man would never step upon the ground of a dead person - they would become defiled and "unclean". Do you get it? They planted graves to prevent this event from happening. I hate to say this, but Muslims believe Jesus is coming back more than some Christians I've talked to over the years.
My point: It is in the best interest of Muslims that the United States remains a world power. They should stop trying to take it out. They should do everything in their power to keep the United States a world power, or the Messiah WILL be coming back and they KNOW it! And when He does, an offensive cartoon will be the least of their worries!
Stop the Jihad, I want to get off!
© Emittravel 2011
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