The Prophetic Top Ten

According to Rapture Ready, here are the top ten current prophetic issues (Click here: Top Ten):

1. Iran's nuclear program
2. Putin's grab for power in Russia
3. The supply of oil
4. Subprime loan crisis
5. The declining value of the dollar
6. China's growing economic and military might
7. Global terrorism
8. Nation ID initiatives
9. Global weather changes
10. Tension between Israel and Syria
    

Boy, do I miss the good ole days when the Soviet-Arab confederacy was about to invade Israel, and when everyone was worried that the EU would soon add the tenth and final nation reconstituting the Holy Roman Empire. 

I guess you gotta change with the times . . .

Comments

[Greg]

Sunday night I watched Jack Van Impe (I can hear the gasps). Not having heard him for a little over 30 years, I had no idea was a treat was in store. (The whole show seemed like a Saturday Night Live spoof... no kidding.)

Anyway, about half way through, Jack gets going on some numerological predictions. Using A=6, B=12, C=18... Z=156 he proceeds to warn everyone (hopefully not more than a dozen of us) how C-O-M-P-U-T-E-R adds up to 666 (more gasps) and then C-A-L-C-U-L-A-T-I-O-N totals 666, too! (Understand that I'm trembling as I type on this vile COMPUTER keyboard... at least KEYBOARD is far short of the numerical total!). A couple CALCULATIONS later he comes up with A-r-a-b-S-u-i-c-i-d-e-s.

By now, my daughter who was in the room with me, has joined me in incredulous laughter. In a moment of inspiration, that may go down as a great contribution to the dispensational hermeneutic, I suggested that we try a calculation for ourselves... some kind of cheese (if there are any dairy farmers out there, please forgive me!). Bravely, my daughter risks eternal peril with her CHEESE CALCULATION, but, mercifully, CHEESE is a bit short of 666; so, I suggest she try CHEESE WHIZ. Guess what? 666!!! She checked it three times. (Nothing happened to her, so I think that maybe she was inoculated.)

It was lucky for Jack that he had earlier posted his toll free number on the screen and that I had a DVR so I could call and warn him of his peril should he, even in ignorance, consume even a minute quantity of this "beastly" dairy product. (I wonder UPC CHEESE WHIZ was assigned?)

Finally, maybe a #11 should be added:

11. A significant increase in the consumption of CHEEZE WHIZ.

[Wayne Rohde]

As dispensationalism evolves, devolves, evolves, devolves ... (you get the picture) ... swinging from one "in the headlines" view of the end times to another, there really is one CONSTANT.

It's called:

S-P-E-C-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.

It's the glue that holds the crazy predictions of sites like "Rapture Ready" together.

[Gary Patterson]

Dispensationalists become very upset when they are accused of "speculation". But good grief, any thing that happens whether it is the price of oil or the stock market going up or down is seen as a sign of the end times. So isn't that speculation?

[Zechariah]

Are you a state dept. head Kim ? Do you have some type of insight the rest of us don't ? Do you know for a fact Russia does not have it's eyes on Isreal ?

Like it or not the two largest oil producers control the world - Saudi Arabia and Russia, and you are going to radical changes as Russia, China and OPEC continue their rise topower.

Why are you so cynical and cruel ? You call yourself a Pastor ? All I see is a spoiled rotten California Native.

[Kim Riddlebarger]

Zechariah:

You are such a kind and gracious man. And so brave to leave behind these drive-by comments anonymously . . .