Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | Mommapbs | 136408 | ||
Greetings Kalos - I read an interesting post on another site that suggested the two witnesses may be the remnant of believng Israel and the Church. Any thoughts here? I am finding that when I see "Antichrist" as a movement (ie Islam), instead of JUST a singular individual, I am more open to other possibilities. (But I do also believe an individual will be revealed.) What do you think? Is our dogmatic adherence to a literal interpretation of Scripture limiting? Jesus used metaphor and symbolism in His teaching - Weren't His parables spoken to all but their understanding was for His disciples?) When His disciples struggled with the meaning, He interpreted for them. We have the mind of Christ in the Holy Spirit as believers. Might we put ourselves at risk to miss the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us into HIS Truth when we rely upon a natural or literal interpretation of the text alone? Comments? Blessings, mommapbs |
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2 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | kalos | 136473 | ||
'"Antichrist" as a movement (ie Islam), instead of JUST a singular individual...' THE antichrist is a person, the "man of lawlessness". However, 'THE TERM "antichrist" is also used to describe a spiritual condition.' 'Who or what is the antichrist?' (Quoted from www.carm.org) 'The term antichrist is only found in the epistles of John (1 John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7). The antichrist is the one who opposes Christ and thus God. The antichrist is an eschatological (end times) person who will appear and deceive countless people near the time of Christ's return. The antichrist is associated with Satan and will be aided by demonic forces in his unholy movement against God and in his attempt to rule the nations of the world. Most scholars agree that the antichrist will claim to be God and will rule many nations in Europe and bring the world to the brink of destruction. 'Paul does not use the term "antichrist." Instead, he uses the term "man of lawlessness" in 2 Thess. 2:3 to describe an evil person who will stand in great opposition to God and His people. Paul speaks regarding the Day of the Lord... '"Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God," (2 Thess. 2:3). 'There are Old Testament references to the antichrist, though the terms "antichrist" and "man of lawlessness" are not used. Instead, "the little horn" and "worthless shepherd" are used as they prophecy his arrival. 'Dan.7:8,22, "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts...22 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them." Zech. 11:17, “Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, and his right eye will be blind.” 'From the Zechariah passage and the one found in Rev. 13:2-3, some theologians believe that the antichrist will suffer a head wound that will be fatal. But, like the devil who imitates the truth in order to deceive, the antichrist will rise from the dead. His resurrection will be assisted by Satan. However, he will retain his wounds. His right arm will be withered and he will be blind in his right eye. '"And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast," (Rev. 13:2-3). 'The Spirit of Antichrist 'The term "antichrist" is also used to describe a spiritual condition. In other words, it is descriptive of those people who oppose the true God. "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour...22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son," (1 John 2:18,22). In 1 John 4:3 John says that all who do not confess Jesus are of the spirit of the antichrist, "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." 'The cults such as Mormonism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the Christian Scientists, etc., are all of the Spirit of the antichrist since they deny the true Lord and Savior, Jesus.' (http://www.carm.org/questions/antichrist.htm) In summary, THE antichrist is a person, the "man of lawlessness". However, 'THE TERM "antichrist" is also used to describe a spiritual condition.' |
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3 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | Mommapbs | 136480 | ||
Thanks for these great posts Kalos - I have no doubt that THE antichrist is waiting in the wings . . . while antichrist is moving across the face of the earth, preparing his way . . . sounds familiar doesn't it?! Blessings, mommapbs PS: Where does apostacy grow best? |
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4 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | kalos | 136488 | ||
Mommapbs: One could say the immediate cause of apostacy is the teaching of false doctrine. But I would venture to say the underlying cause is a lack of biblical discernment. The underlying cause is a peron's ignorance of the Bible, which results in his being vulnerable to heretical or apostate teaching. How does one recognize false doctrine if he has not learned true Bible doctrine? 'Discernment - the ability to think biblically about all areas of life - is indispensable to an uncompromising life. It is incumbent upon the Christian to seize upon the discernment that God has provided for in His precious truth! Without it, Christians are at risk of being "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14).' To read more go to: (www.gty.org/IssuesandAnswers/archive/discern.htm). So to answer your question, where ignorance abounded, apostacy did also abound. Grace to you, Kalos |
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5 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | Mommapbs | 136497 | ||
Grace back to you! Great question: "How does one recognize false doctrine if he has not learned true Bible doctrine?" I'm going to play the Post-Modern card of relativity here and ask: What consitutes "true Bible doctrine? So much of the time I suspect that we follow the teaching of others like "groupies" instead of calling out to God to confirm His truth to us in a personal way. All this being said, what God gives to us for OUR edification may or may not be applicable in a corporal setting - imo, here is where discernment also must be active! As evident on this Forum,(ie baptism; works righteousness, some even may think that Sodom and Gomorrah are people etc) lack of Bible knowledge is rampant and Biblical discernment is also often absent. There is so much disagreement - yet I'm not quite ready to label it as as "apostacy." How might we at least encourage unity in this "body?" (imo, too much of the time some responses are a bit lacking in love which promotes defensiveness rather than a teachable spirit.) Blessings in Christ, mommapbs |
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6 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | mark d seyler | 136505 | ||
Hi Mommapbs, What part do you think our level of devotion to Christ plays in apostasy, or, for that matter, how well we learn true doctrine? Love in Christ Jesus, Mark |
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7 | "Two witnesses." When? Who? | Rev 11:3 | Mommapbs | 136509 | ||
Greetings Mark - God's desire is for us to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4) He also desires truth in our inner being (Ps 51:6) which I understand as direction to self examination,what do I believe, even wrong things - what are my motives, do I desire God or what I want of Him, etc. Ps 37:4 promises that when we "delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart." HIS desires (for us to know the truth, about me and about Him etc) will become OUR desires. So I see a strong connection between our devotion to Christ and knowledge of the truth ("The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom AND knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" also comes to mind.) Apostacy might be the expected result of a life that was complacent toward one's relationship with the Lord. I do think that folks can be sincere in their professed devotion to the Lord, but be sincerely wrong in their knowledge of the truth. I'll process this for a bit. Blessings, mommmapbs PS:I also believe that apostacy can also be the result of false shepherding. |
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