(July 24, 2014 at 7:29 pm)John S Wrote: Simply put, Revelation is about the rise of a dictator, his religious accomplice, and what I believe to be the author's 1st Century attempt to describe WWIII.

Honest question: if you were alive and talking about this one hundred years ago, would you have said "The Great War" instead of "WWIII"?

You only come to this conclusion because we have already had two world wars, you're making some assumptions about what the writings in Revelation mean, and you're assuming there will even be a third world war. What evidence do you have that these events pertain to WWIII? How do you know there won't be several other world wars between now and then? We've already had two world wars which apparently had nothing to do with Revelation.

(July 24, 2014 at 7:29 pm)John S Wrote: BTW - If or when WWIII happens, it will be the near annihilation of the human race.

Again, what evidence do you have for this? We thought this for decades during the Cold War... and we're still here.

(July 24, 2014 at 7:29 pm)John S Wrote: Eschatology is the study of the future. I didn't know what it meant either until I joined a Christian website.
My purpose for writing this is NOT to try to convert you. I would NEVER insult you on your website. My ONLY intention is to get you to read this. If you do that, my hope is that you will remember some of this, if the time ever came.
The last book in the Bible, titled "The Book of Revelation" in Protestant Bibles and "The Apocalypse" in Catholic Bibles, is believed by most Christians to pertain to the future, taught by Protestants.
I was raised as a Catholic, and they never taught about the future. When I started reading this last book, I wasn't hindered by the stuff that Protestants learned. I came up with my own conclusions to what it all meant. This last book is filled with a lot of symbolism. I TRIED to get rid of this symbolism and put it into modern terms.
Simply put, Revelation is about the rise of a dictator, his religious accomplice, and what I believe to be the author's 1st Century attempt to describe WWIII.
This dictator is known in the Christian world as "the antichrist", "the beast", "666", and a few other names. He is supposed to have the ability to solve the world's problems. He will be able to make peace treaties where everyone else fails at - the Middle East, Ukraine, the Koreas, and everywhere else. He will bring about a moneyless economy on a worldwide basis. In today's technology, a computer chip will be placed under the skin. When a person runs their arm under a scanner, the amount will be deducted from a person's bank account. In 10, 20, 50 years, this technology might be different. People who refuse to utilize this technology, will become outcasts - terrorists.

If these events happen, believe it or not, atheists might have a better chance of noticing it than many Christians will. Many of them have been taught that when this antichrist arrives that they will be magically whisked away in what is known as the Pre-Trib(ulation) Rapture. You may have heard of this doctrine. Many Protestants believe it but it will not happen.

I could go on but this opening post is too long already.
If you have read this thread, then I have accomplished my goal. I'm not even going to ask you to believe anything that I have written. What I am hoping for is that IF these events happen that you will remember that you heard this somewhere and you will be suspicious of this "superman" who can get things done that no one else can.

Thank You for reading this.

BTW - If or when WWIII happens, it will be the near annihilation of the human race.

It could have meant WWII and you are actually living in hell right now. You wouldn't really know would you.

MM

(July 25, 2014 at 10:13 am)ManMachine Wrote: It could have meant WWII and you are actually living in hell right now. You wouldn't really know would you.

MM

Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Kim Kardashian and Kanye, the doofus of his generation

The signs are all here.

What I love about this study of the future is how it doesn't actually discuss the future at all. You've got this sort of vague, meandering story, but without names or dates or places or any kind of identifying details, it might as well be taking place in fucking space. It has an equal chance of taking place on earth, or on some far flung deepstar colony way out in some other life form's civilization: "Oh, a politician who brokers impossible peace treaties and puts us on a moneyless economy? Gee, that sounds so similar to Spargnax of Nylar 4!"

If you're going to talk future predictions, at least have the decency to predict something and not just mumble portentous bullshit. Show some fucking spine and give us a prediction that's actually confirmable, rather than stuff you can later spin to fit any possible future, or none at all if we die without it happening. It's all so very convenient, that this book of prophecy contains no prophecies until after the event in question has happened.

Revelation is so clearly a product of its time and addresses what would have been contemporary concerns for John of Patmos and his intended audience that I suspect its author would be astonished to learn that people two millennia later were still sifting through its pages, looking for signs that pertain to them. It is no more a prophesy of distant future events than the tea leaves I brewed the other day. But Christians are ever desperate to make their "holy book" relevant at all costs -- even at the expense of their intellectual integrity and common sense -- and to maintain their narcissistic delusion that human history (hell, the universe!) revolves around them. That's what passes for humility in certain circles.

It would be funny if it wasn't (a) so pathetic, and (b) so potentially dangerous.

(July 24, 2014 at 7:29 pm)John S Wrote: Eschatology is the study of the future. I didn't know what it meant either until I joined a Christian website.
My purpose for writing this is NOT to try to convert you. I would NEVER insult you on your website. My ONLY intention is to get you to read this. If you do that, my hope is that you will remember some of this, if the time ever came.
The last book in the Bible, titled "The Book of Revelation" in Protestant Bibles and "The Apocalypse" in Catholic Bibles, is believed by most Christians to pertain to the future, taught by Protestants.
I was raised as a Catholic, and they never taught about the future. When I started reading this last book, I wasn't hindered by the stuff that Protestants learned. I came up with my own conclusions to what it all meant. This last book is filled with a lot of symbolism. I TRIED to get rid of this symbolism and put it into modern terms.
Simply put, Revelation is about the rise of a dictator, his religious accomplice, and what I believe to be the author's 1st Century attempt to describe WWIII.
This dictator is known in the Christian world as "the antichrist", "the beast", "666", and a few other names. He is supposed to have the ability to solve the world's problems. He will be able to make peace treaties where everyone else fails at - the Middle East, Ukraine, the Koreas, and everywhere else. He will bring about a moneyless economy on a worldwide basis. In today's technology, a computer chip will be placed under the skin. When a person runs their arm under a scanner, the amount will be deducted from a person's bank account. In 10, 20, 50 years, this technology might be different. People who refuse to utilize this technology, will become outcasts - terrorists.

If these events happen, believe it or not, atheists might have a better chance of noticing it than many Christians will. Many of them have been taught that when this antichrist arrives that they will be magically whisked away in what is known as the Pre-Trib(ulation) Rapture. You may have heard of this doctrine. Many Protestants believe it but it will not happen.

I could go on but this opening post is too long already.
If you have read this thread, then I have accomplished my goal. I'm not even going to ask you to believe anything that I have written. What I am hoping for is that IF these events happen that you will remember that you heard this somewhere and you will be suspicious of this "superman" who can get things done that no one else can.

Thank You for reading this.

BTW - If or when WWIII happens, it will be the near annihilation of the human race.

Here's an alternative hypothesis for you: the author of Revelations was writing about his present, using symbolism to hide his sedition from the authorities. The beast is Nero, the 'whore of Babylon' is the city of Rome.

Quote:King James Bible
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

Rev 17:10

Five fallen - Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero

One is - Galba

Not yet Come - Vespasian


The book thus dates itself to late 68 very early 69 AD. Servius Sulpicius Galba was emperor for a period of 8 months. By the end of the summer of 68, Vespasian had isolated Jerusalem and crushed the northern rebel army. As the story goes, Josephus when he surrendered to Vespasian had declared that he would be the next emperor.

They all missed the short-lived reigns of Otho and Vitellius but all that goes to show is that the author of this book of jewish apocalyptic nonsense was writing while Galba was still emperor.

The author's world WAS ending. No one can seriously have thought that Jerusalem could stand against the Roman Empire. I don't care how many invisible gods you think you have helping you.

(July 25, 2014 at 9:32 am)FatAndFaithless Wrote:

(July 25, 2014 at 9:28 am)John S Wrote: I would like to thank everyone who read my opening post. That is all that I asked for.

Don't wanna have a discussion?

This may come as a surprise to you - but not really. I didn't sign onto this site so that I could argue religion with you. I can do enough of that on Christian sites. As I said, I KNOW that no one is going to agree with me and I don't have a problem with that. Virtually no one agrees with me there either - and I don't have a problem with that either. I state my beliefs, hope that some of them are remembered, and then see what, if anything, happens.
I'm of the opinion that MOST of the people on this site are liberals and liberals don't like seeing the rise of dictators - and if what is prophesized about him is correct, he and his religious ally will appeal to EVERYONE, including atheists.

(July 25, 2014 at 1:02 pm)John S Wrote:

(July 25, 2014 at 9:32 am)FatAndFaithless Wrote: Don't wanna have a discussion?

This may come as a surprise to you - but not really. I didn't sign onto this site so that I could argue religion with you. I can do enough of that on Christian sites. As I said, I KNOW that no one is going to agree with me and I don't have a problem with that. Virtually no one agrees with me there either - and I don't have a problem with that either. I state my beliefs, hope that some of them are remembered, and then see what, if anything, happens.
I'm of the opinion that MOST of the people on this site are liberals and liberals don't like seeing the rise of dictators - and if what is prophesized about him is correct, he and his religious ally will appeal to EVERYONE, including atheists.

What a bizarre response.

(July 25, 2014 at 1:02 pm)John S Wrote: This may come as a surprise to you - but not really. I didn't sign onto this site so that I could argue religion with you. I can do enough of that on Christian sites. As I said, I KNOW that no one is going to agree with me and I don't have a problem with that. Virtually no one agrees with me there either - and I don't have a problem with that either. I state my beliefs, hope that some of them are remembered, and then see what, if anything, happens.
I'm of the opinion that MOST of the people on this site are liberals and liberals don't like seeing the rise of dictators - and if what is prophesized about him is correct, he and his religious ally will appeal to EVERYONE, including atheists.

So, in essence, you invited yourself into our foyer and took a big shit with the promise that you'll leave without cleaning it up. Your shitbag god must be very proud.