I'm doing a study on Revelation and while YZF has probably been over this a thousand times before, it still boggles my mind. According to the prophecy in John's Revelation, 50% of the whole world's population will be dead by chapter 9. Initially 25% are killed off in chapter 6 verse 8:

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Then of the remaining 75%, 1 full third (25%) is killed off by chapter 9 verse 15:

And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.

G.I.s charging up Omaha beach on June 6, '44 had a better shot to live through D-Day then the world's people will have to make it through a seven year period.

If I recall correctly, everyone but the 144K are killed, is this right?

interesting question I've wondered about myself

there must be a few women who survive, or it would be difficult to re-populate the earth :) furthermore, there is a "remnant" of Israel who are judged at the conclusion of the Tribulation, likely several hundred thousand

just imagine being one of the those few who survives the Tribulation and sees, first hand, Christ return and restore the earth, sees the temple lifted up high on a mountain as Zechariah prophesies, and goes into the Millennium with a world like it was meant to be

Oops, how could I forget? The 144K are witnessing to the world. There will be some folks saved from their work.

what a privilege, those people are the most priveged and honored of all, but I wouldn't want to suffer as they will suffer

Most privileged and honored? Is there scripture to support this? I have to go back to John the Baptist as the greatest person born on earth (not including Jesus).

There's no sin during the millenium right? Do people die?

David prayed for the death of his enemies as well

both you and (you know, I hate to even mention him because a tirade will certainly follow) are simply Satan's agents here, a hindrance to me at every step...nothing I do here is ever good enough to please you, never one thing positive, you're both full of hatred and accusations, like your father the devil

Forgive me for jumping in, but as a Christian, would not these be the very people that you should forgive?

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.


Even more importantly...

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Firstly, I'll raise my hand and say that I am guilty. I'm guilty of having a hot head at times, and I'm guilty of not doing the right things- both from within and without. So, I'm not saying this from any kind of standpoint of being better than anyone else because I'm not.

That said, Jesus here is talking about the very situation that you find yourself in. Will God answer a prayer for the destruction of others, or would he much rather answer a prayer that you bring to him which demonstrates a love in your heart toward people who nail you down?

You are a child of God, and therefore responsible and accountable for your actions. If you are born again, then you know better of God and can be of great help to others who do not see the love of Christ for what it is- Salvation by His Blood.

Help them by helping them, not by hurting them. God's protection will be enough to carry you past words which condemn you. Take with you the full armor described in Eph 6.

Now, if I could only take my own advice 100% of the time, I'd be getting somewhere, but you get the idea.

Try.

I have...this is a six year history you have little clue about

Yes, it's true I'm new here and may not know the extent of the battle, but what you wrote here made me think of something.

God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh, according to the Bible.

Six years you have all battled, maybe rest will come in the seventh as well?

hardened enemies of the Truth will remain so, which is why David prayed for their swift destruction

David also had a flaw which caused him not to be used of God to build the Temple. Hardened enemies of the Truth will remain, which is why God sent us a Savior. How can we best help them to see?

I'm not trying to justify all my actions here, but let's face it, some people are weeds, straight from the pit...this isn't mr. rogers neighborhood

No, you're right. Its far worse than that.
But when we claimed Jesus, we didn't do it for just ourselves. There are strings attached, after all:

The condition:

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

The charge:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Try.

belch,

great post, but you flew off the handle a little when subjected to the jonnie ("skydivr") verbal assault, remember?

these guys aren't your typical people...they are extreme wingnuts (just as they claim I am)

You are absolutely correct. I did just that.

That's why I posted this when I first entered this thread:

Firstly, I'll raise my hand and say that I am guilty. I'm guilty of having a hot head at times, and I'm guilty of not doing the right things- both from within and without. So, I'm not saying this from any kind of standpoint of being better than anyone else because I'm not.

And this:

Now, if I could only take my own advice 100% of the time, I'd be getting somewhere, but you get the idea.

I think shutting up and doing the right thing in the heat of the moment is about the hardest thing I have had to tackle since accepting Christ into my life. There's still traces of moron left within. I don't know if I'll ever get rid of it.
In those times, I have to catch myself and realize that I'm not doing the faith any favors by talking like I'm still in the high school play yards. I have to bite the bullet and stop when I can. So, I did.
I don't know. I'm just saying try, that's all.

Forgive me for jumping in, but as a Christian, would not these be the very people that you should forgive?

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.


Even more importantly...

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Firstly, I'll raise my hand and say that I am guilty. I'm guilty of having a hot head at times, and I'm guilty of not doing the right things- both from within and without. So, I'm not saying this from any kind of standpoint of being better than anyone else because I'm not.

That said, Jesus here is talking about the very situation that you find yourself in. Will God answer a prayer for the destruction of others, or would he much rather answer a prayer that you bring to him which demonstrates a love in your heart toward people who nail you down?

You are a child of God, and therefore responsible and accountable for your actions. If you are born again, then you know better of God and can be of great help to others who do not see the love of Christ for what it is- Salvation by His Blood.

Help them by helping them, not by hurting them. God's protection will be enough to carry you past words which condemn you. Take with you the full armor described in Eph 6.

Now, if I could only take my own advice 100% of the time, I'd be getting somewhere, but you get the idea.

Try.


Outstanding post.

I have a lot of trouble praying for people I hate. It took forever to be able to pray for my mom.

I do, however, have all my hair.

Mine's actually been growing back. It started a couple years ago. :)

Outstanding post.

I have a lot of trouble praying for people I hate. It took forever to be able to pray for my mom.

You hate your mom?:eek:

You hate your mom?:eek:

More than anyone else in the world.

It's the origin of all my problems.

I'm sorry to hear that.. :sad:

I'm sorry to hear that.. :sad:

I don't think it's pure hatred, more like a wellspring of rage going back to the very beginning. We all have our own unique situation in life and mine was definitely unusual. There comes a time when one must quarantine themselves from psychological poison and get some fresh air.......

I've said it before. There are benefits to looking like a psycho.

Hey Mark, when you quote scripture, do you do it from memory or do you look it up?

How many times did you read the bible?

Have you read other Holy texts like the Torah and the Quran?

I follow the religion of the Hawk.

How many times did you read the bible?

This will be my 5th year that I've read it through. Not that this gets me anywhere with God. It's a good idea though, if only to familiarize oneself with the events of the Bible. It doesn't replace serious study time unless you can remember everything you've read.

straight through?

I've read the NT many more times, and the OT prophets

No? What's wrong with you, don't you love the detail of Numbers? Don't you want to know how many stansions hold up the Tabernacle curtains? You silly boob.

I follow the religion of the Hawk.

Is this the same as the suicide/self crippling cult of Tony Hawk? I hear Stephen Baldwin's into this now.

Is this the same as the suicide/self crippling cult of Tony Hawk? I hear Stephen Baldwin's into this now.

No. This is the national religion of Kazakhstan.

the numerology of Numbers is fascinating to me, but it's something you can read once or twice without needing to keep going back to it

by contrast, one could read Ephesians, for example, 1000 times and still mine new truths from it, and benefit greatly from the experience

John MacArthur often spends 6-7 years teaching ONE of the gospels...one

Do you have his commentary series?

let's hear the Word of the Living God



how about an amen?

Amen! Revelation right?