• Scriptural Allegory?
• Timing of End Events?

Scriptural Allegory?

READER COMMENTS:

Having read the last few months missives, I can say I agree with much
of them.  I take the time to check the references and that helps me
too.

But your last set have been a bit off the mark.  Particularly the one
mentioned above.  You fail to mention that the number 7 is the
cornerstone of allegory in the bible - it does not always literally
mean seven, so why should we tout the sunlight increase of seven times?
You also allude to the "nova" of the sun and the fact that flares have
been increasing the last two years.  But you do not mention that flares
undergo normal cycles (http://www.sunspotcycle.com/) and have done the
past thousands of years.  Nor do you mention that our sun is destined
to nova quite naturally, but in a few billion years.  Certainly, we'll
have changes as the sun's output is variable, but you can't extrapolate
well-expected "changes" into Nova!

Others more sceptical would just say you are perveying "junk science"
instead of the Word.  That's a bit harsh, but your words are often so
well grounded in the Lord I am truly surprised at the stuff I read in
the last missive.  It's just plain misleading and seemed more from
*your* heart and mind than God's.  What worries me most is that all it
takes is a single "prophecy" to be proved wrong for people to turn
away, and I think that would be an enormous loss.


VW ANSWERS:

[so why should we tout the sunlight increase of seven times?]

Because the Scripture says so.


[You also allude to the "nova" of the sun and the fact that flares have
been increasing the last two years.  But you do not mention that flares
undergo normal cycles (http://www.sunspotcycle.com/) and have done the
past thousands of years.  Nor do you mention that our sun is destined
to nova quite naturally, but in a few billion years.]

Did I say that the sun -will- "nova" and that -is- what is going to
cause those prophetical events? Did I not couch them as questions? As
'possibilities'?  As "perhaps"s? ...Also not being blind to current
events?

Darwininan evolutionistic man, worshiping the Carl Sagin school of
wishful thinking, thinks in terms of "[B]illions and [b]illions" of
years. But does man -really- know why stars nova?  Evolution does not
accept the Scriptural time table of a 7000 year earth and creation. So,
with such a disparity between reality and evolution, I'd say it's a
safe bet that we haven't really a clue as to exactly 'how' it all is
going to happen, until it happens. All we know, for sure, is the fact
that -SOMETHING- major -IS- going to happen...  and it will be of
astronomical proportions... and, the earth -will- "move out of its
place", after something has happened to the sun to make it many times
brighter/hotter, such that men are being "scorched" from its heat.

Yes, of course the sun goes through cycles. But do the 'experts' know
at which set of cycles a star novas? Just remember that in the earth's
past history, there have been other major astronomical events. How do
you suppose Noah's flood occured? How do you suppose the continents
were formed as they split apart? How do you suppose the various
mountain ranges were shoved and pushed up where they are? How do you
suppose things like the Grand Canyon were formed?

Don't be lulled into complacency about the coming judgment because you
wish to see the Scripture as "allegory". Wishful thinking has
allegorized that the Church has replaced Israel in Biblical prophecy.
So, I suppose that little nation over there in the middle-east,
struggling for its very existence against a world that would wipe it
off the map, is an "allegory"?  It is Scripture being fulfilled, daily!

If you don't believe it, why not go over there and stand in the
line-of-fire of those 'allegorical' bombs, and 'allegorical' bullets,
resulting from the 'allegorical' hatred of Islam for Israel's
existence, and see if your resultant death is merely an 'allegory'.

No, I don't wish for your death. The 'suggestion' of that last
paragraph was only an "allegory"...!  But the bombs and bullets are
VERY "real", and have been continuing, even after the media showed
Arafat proclaiming a stifling of terrorism, and then went silent.
Media "silence" surely must mean that things are now 'calm' over there,
like they depicted Arafat commanding his troops? Right? Not hardly!

But the following is NOT an "allegory": "Behold, now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2Cor6:2) Amen!

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Timing of End Events

READER QUESTION:
Your comments about the sun increasing 7 times and your explanation
about novas led me to pondering the following.

Matt 24:22  Except those days should be SHORTENED, there should be no
flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be SHORTENED.
(emphasis mine)  Does Matt 24:22 mean the days of the tribulation are
going to be shortened or does it mean that the 24 day is going to be
shortened?

When the sun increases 7 times, there might be other cataclysmic
events.  Maybe an increase in the speed of the earth's rotation.  Thus
with that sun now scorching down, changing a 24 day to an 18 hour (or
less) day might be a way God preserves the elect.

VW ANSWER:

I think we need to understand that statement in the light of 24:29 and
'when' it is that these things will happen, "Immediately after the
affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of
the heavens will be shaken."

Jesus is not saying that Daniel's 70th week of "7 years" will be less
than 7 years. Nor is He saying that the 42 months of (Rev11:2,13:5) or
the  1260 days of (Rev11:3,12:6) will be less than those amounts. But
while things get crazy in the world, God is going to protect Israel for
those final 3 1/2 years.

But "after those days" is when all the astronomical stuff happens.
Notice that Daniel speaks of 1290 and 1335 days. (Dan12:11-12) 1290 is
about a month beyond Revelation's 42 months (1260 days).  And 1335 is
another month and a half beyond that. So, after the 70th week is over,
there's 2 1/2 months of "something"; Daniel doesn't specify.  Putting
it all together, it seems apparent that the major upheavals will occur
mostly during those few months.

At Noah's flood it rained 40 days/nights. But they were in the ark a
whole year before the waters all subsided enough that they could be
back out on dry land again.

I wish I could lay my hands on the information. It was many years ago
that I heard some interesting facts from a person (speaker at some
meeting/conference) who knows the science and biology, about how the
earth has been created and designed. The very delicateness of earth's
eco-system. Things like: if the atmosphere was x-number of miles
thicker or thinner in altitude, that life as we know it would not be
possible. If the earth was x-number of miles closer/farther to/from the
sun, that we would either be totally frozen up, or scorched to death,
etc. These things also included data on the earth's rotation related to
the thickness of its crust and tectonic plates, etc. and the way the
ocean tides behave, etc. If the earth was spinning any faster, the
equatorial bulge (at present the diameter at the equator is about 20
miles greater than the polar diameter due to the centrifugal forces of
its rotation) would cause all sorts of problems, and if it spun any
slower, the climate from the day/night temperature changes would create
such tides and storms that life would be impossible. From my memories
of that, I really think an 18-hour day would be an impossibility...let
alone something even faster.

Something I didn't include in that commentary is all the "stars falling
from heaven". When that object "something like a great mountain" is
thrown into the sea (Rev8:8) that adds more to the equation than simple
nearby objects pulling on earth's gravitation, and the sun going nova.
We tend to think in terms of "terra -FIRMA-". But this earth is
anything -but- "firm". Its core is molten/liquid. And the regions
between the core and surface have various layers of a fluidic activity.
Shooting a BB or pellet into a robin's egg might provide a visual
representative picture of that passage, "The earth is split open and
cracked through!" (Is24:19) Or, visualize a perfectly calm pond, and
drop a pebble into it, and watch the ripples. Those ripples are how the
earth is going to shudder and shake. The mountains all shaken flat, and
islands vanishing out of the oceans. (Rev6:14,16:20)

Remember the 25-cent piece? But with, proporationately-to-size, the
delicacy of a robin's egg. And how big is man in relationship to this,
on the surface, as that BB is shot into the egg?

Scripture is pretty clear regarding the catastrophic nature of what
will be happening (even if we don't yet know the specifics), because,
by the time a person adds up all the various death counts throughout
Revelation, etc., between all the various pestilences and famine,
Armageddon and these astronomical events, Waaay more than half the
earth's population will be killed. Israel, alone, even though under
God's special hand of protection, will lose 2/3 of its population.
(Zech13:8-9) So, just imagine what it will end up tallying up to for
the rest of the world! And Zechariah is worded on the order of,
"..everyone WHO IS LEFT from all the nations.." (Zech14:16)

But it seems from Zech14:1~~  that the nations will be gathered to
fight against Israel, and God will come and give deliverance. Sounds
like the Armageddon/Valley of Jehoshaphat event. (Rev16:16, Joel ch3)
And the culmination of that battle will be the astronomical events.
And then at the end of that, Christ returns in His blaze-of-glory.
(Mt24:30) That's why the book of Revelation is not a verse-by-verse
"time-table" starting at ch1 and ending at ch22. A lot of people teach
it that way, so they end up with an entire 70th week (7-years) full of
earthquakes and asteroids.  However, all the concentration of those
things will be at the very end.

The 70th week begins with a "peace" agreement. And the man of sin
implements all sorts of things, and the one-world religion and
government will be martyring any who come to faith "calling upon the
name of the Lord", and refusing to take the beast's "mark" and joining
the one-world system. The way we see things unfolding technologically
for all these to take place, these major earthquakes and happenings
cannot happen 'quite' yet, can they. Otherwise, the power sources that
make the computers work would be wiped out. And if there were too many
asteroid-type objects too soon, all the communication satellites would
be wiped out, also making the beast's "mark" not work as intended.
Remember, they will be "marrying and given in marriage" (Mt24:38), life
going along seemingly 'normal', and then "-SUDDEN- destruction" comes
when they will have been saying "peace and safety". (1Th5:3)

But to answer your first question...if 2 1/2 months is the worst of
it...well, that is certainly shorter than the "year" Noah was in the
ark. Perhaps Jesus was saying something like, considering what -could-
be possible for God to inflict upon the earth, what it will be getting
is a shortened version...? In other words, God will be shaking things
up on earth, -just- short of total human annihilation..? At Noah's
flood He destroyed "all" life that had breath. (Gen6:17) This next
up-coming set of events will see 'some' people left alive.

That's what it seems to me, considering all the various Scripture
passages.  I don't know that there is anything magical about the
grammatical structure of what Jesus said. I think one has to understand
how God has dealt in the past, and take the whole of Scripture into
account, to understand this basic overview.

Q/A -When is: Day of the Lord?

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