Eschatology is the study of end-times prophecy and will relate to any religion that believes that the world will end some day (although I only study Christian eschatology). Over the next two or three years, there is going to be a lot of buzzing among the various End Times proponents (Hal Lindsay, Tim LeHay, J.R. Church, etc.).
Most of this stems out of the Six Day War in 1967. After Israel captured the Temple Mount in 1967, many prominent theologians declared that the “time of the Gentiles” was over. Some had already been talking ever since Israel was refounded as a nation in 1948, it was the capture of Jerusalem that got the majority of people’s attention. Hal Lindsay published Late Great Planet Earth and boldly predicted that the church would be raptured by 1988 (40 years since the founding of Israel). Of course, 1988 came and went and no one disappeared. Several other dates were offered based on other calculations: 1994, 1997, and 2000. Meanwhile, people are still waiting and still convincing themselves that they can date set the start of the End Times.
2007 is notable, as it will mark the 40th anniversary since the capture of the Temple Mount. Back in 1967, Israel completely controlled the Temple Mount for all of one day before Moshe Dayan gave governing control of the Mount back to Jordan. Many theologians (and Orthodox Jews) believe this represents a rejection of God’s protection in Israel, much as when the Israelite spies convinced the Israelites not to journey into Canaan after the Exodus. Israel’s punishment then was to wander in the desert for 40 years. Israel’s modern punishment has been to live in the midst of her enemies and steadily give back the land that is rightfully hers. However, May 16th is the 40th anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem (by the Jewish calendar) and there is a feeling that just as Joshua was allowed to begin conquest once the time of punishment was over, so will Israel begin to throw off the chains that the Arabs and the rest of the world have placed on her.
All of this might be simply an academic question if 2007 didn’t also include one other notable event. Throughout her history, Israel has been required to observe a Sabbatical Year (or a year of rest) every seven years. In these years, there is supposed to be no tilling of the soil, debts are to be forgiven and other things that call the people back to God. Thus, a group of seven years that ends with a Sabbatical Year is viewed as a cycle that Israel must complete.
A reference to this cycle is found in the prophecies of Daniel 9:20-27. In this prophecy, Daniel is told that 69 of these 7-year cycles are to be completed before the Messiah will be cut off from his people. After this, one additional cycle is given in which a terrible man will come and defile the Temple before Israel can be saved by the Messiah. Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that after his death and resurrection in AD 30, there has existed a gap in the Jewish cycle in which the Church Age exists. The belief among many theologians is that once the Church is raptured, the final cycle will begin with the Antichrist signing some sort of pact with Israel. But, since the prophecy seems to discuss events in light of the 7-year cycle of years that Israel observes, some theologians think that the treaty that the Antichrist signs with Israel will occur around Rosh Hashanah of the first year of a 7-year cycle of years. This would in turn imply that the rapture would occur in a Sabbatical year.
Now we come back to the importance of 2007. The actual count of Sabbatical years has been lost to history, although two different men looked at historical documents and reconstructed when they though the various Sabbatical years fell. One calculation (and the one used by the Israeli government) has Rosh Hashanah of 2007 (Sept. 13) start the Sabbatical Year of the current cycle. The other method of calculation (which I think meshes better historically) would have the Sabbatical Year start on Rosh Hashanah 2008.
Whichever cycle is correct, Eschatologists and theologians are practically giddy with excitement over the possible turn of events starting around May of this year and ending in September of 2009.
So what do I think? I concede that this does look like an interesting set up and that there are a lot of signs pointing towards the End of Days. However, I also note that my own studies have suggested that the start of the 7th millennium is still a few years away (unlike many people who rely on Bishop Usher’s calculations) and I’m also cautious of any attempt to calculate the start of the End of Days. We are told that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night and that of the day, no one knows its beginning save the Father Himself. So, while I will keep a curious eye out at the newspapers, I would not advise anyone to sell their house and go sit on a hill anytime soon.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
One Game Left
Well, I was wrong in both my predictions for this week. I was firmly convinced that New Orleans would take advantage of a lax Bears defense and I thought that the beast that was the New England Patriots would be too much for the Colts. Obviously, I don’t know what I’m talking about, but that’s okay.
I didn’t pay as close attention to the NFC Championship game. I find sloppy games rather boring and the New Orleans ineptness was particularly difficult to watch. Then, the Bears failing to take advantage of it were also a little disappointing. Realistically, the game should have been 24-7 at the half, with the Bears just grinding down the Saints for the rest of the game. If the Bears punter had not done such a good job of pinning the Saints to such poor field position, New Orleans could very easily have come back and won the game. But the Bears finally wore out the Saints defense and poured it on at the end. Congrats to the Bears for making the Super Bowl. Hopefully their defense plays as well there as it did yesterday.
The late game was very nerve racking for me. In the NFC game I really didn’t care who won. On the AFC side, I was really hoping the Colts would win just so we wouldn’t have to hear any more slurping of the Brady-Belichick duo and so we wouldn’t hear any more of the “Peyton can’t win the big one” talk. At first, I was despairing that my prediction would be right, especially after Manning tossed that interception for a score and the Pats were up 21-3. Mrs. X and I switched it over to watch the Simpsons rerun after that. But the Colts drove the field for a field goal right at halftime and having noticed that and knowing that the Colts would get the ball to start the second half, I decided to give the game another chance. I was glad I did and I started getting my hopes up once the Colts managed to tie it up. I was sure the Pats were going to find a way to pull off another last minute miracle, just as they had done so many times before. In fact, after the Colts tied the game at 31, I commented to Mrs. X that the Colts had left too much time on the clock and that the Patriot would go ahead with little left on the clock. I was partially right. The Pats committed a procedure penalty that forced them to kick the go-ahead field goal with more time left on the clock than they wanted (just over 2 minutes). I actually started to believe the Colts were going to win after they added the extra point to force the Pats to get a touchdown. That meant Brady had to be more aggressive and could play into the Colts strength of a secondary. I actually thought the Pats would drive near the 20 or 30 and have Brady throw into the endzone as the game clock expired to see who would win. But, instead a pick was thrown and the game ended.
Early on, I’m leaning towards the Colts in the Super Bowl. I’ve maintained that the AFC was better than the NFC and I think that Rex Grossman will make a couple of bad throws against the Indy defense that will allow the Colts to dictate tempo. Of course, I could be completely off and the Bears will dominate the game. We shall see in 13 days.
I didn’t pay as close attention to the NFC Championship game. I find sloppy games rather boring and the New Orleans ineptness was particularly difficult to watch. Then, the Bears failing to take advantage of it were also a little disappointing. Realistically, the game should have been 24-7 at the half, with the Bears just grinding down the Saints for the rest of the game. If the Bears punter had not done such a good job of pinning the Saints to such poor field position, New Orleans could very easily have come back and won the game. But the Bears finally wore out the Saints defense and poured it on at the end. Congrats to the Bears for making the Super Bowl. Hopefully their defense plays as well there as it did yesterday.
The late game was very nerve racking for me. In the NFC game I really didn’t care who won. On the AFC side, I was really hoping the Colts would win just so we wouldn’t have to hear any more slurping of the Brady-Belichick duo and so we wouldn’t hear any more of the “Peyton can’t win the big one” talk. At first, I was despairing that my prediction would be right, especially after Manning tossed that interception for a score and the Pats were up 21-3. Mrs. X and I switched it over to watch the Simpsons rerun after that. But the Colts drove the field for a field goal right at halftime and having noticed that and knowing that the Colts would get the ball to start the second half, I decided to give the game another chance. I was glad I did and I started getting my hopes up once the Colts managed to tie it up. I was sure the Pats were going to find a way to pull off another last minute miracle, just as they had done so many times before. In fact, after the Colts tied the game at 31, I commented to Mrs. X that the Colts had left too much time on the clock and that the Patriot would go ahead with little left on the clock. I was partially right. The Pats committed a procedure penalty that forced them to kick the go-ahead field goal with more time left on the clock than they wanted (just over 2 minutes). I actually started to believe the Colts were going to win after they added the extra point to force the Pats to get a touchdown. That meant Brady had to be more aggressive and could play into the Colts strength of a secondary. I actually thought the Pats would drive near the 20 or 30 and have Brady throw into the endzone as the game clock expired to see who would win. But, instead a pick was thrown and the game ended.
Early on, I’m leaning towards the Colts in the Super Bowl. I’ve maintained that the AFC was better than the NFC and I think that Rex Grossman will make a couple of bad throws against the Indy defense that will allow the Colts to dictate tempo. Of course, I could be completely off and the Bears will dominate the game. We shall see in 13 days.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Some New, Some Old
Before I get started with this weekend's games, I just want to say that I did watch some of the Florida beat down of Ohio St. and had intended to say something, but I got swept up in things and didn't get a chance last week. All I can say now is that it seems that the Ohio St. fans were not the only ones who were looking for a coronation rather than a contest. Kudos to Florida, although they should send a very, very large fruit basket to UCLA for allowing them to even be in the game.
Now to the NFL. I watched a little bit of all four games, although I didn't get to watch any game in its intirety due to various household tasks that need to be done (stupid toilet). I had a feeling that New England could win their game with San Diego, but I was surprised as to how shaky NE actually looked during the game. They didn't really win it as much as San Diego handed it to them. Several very sloppy and unpoised moments gift wrapped that game to a much more mentally strong New England team.
I was actually more surprised that Indianapolis secured a win against Baltimore. Baltimore's offense has not been very good this past year, but I would have expected more than 6 points out of it, especially against the Indy defense that still has quite a few holes in it. Still, I'm not going to complain, especially as Baltimore did nothing but talk about how they were going to all but kill members of the Colts. The Ravens (and their fans) are a rather thuggish group and I like to see bullies get slapped around a bit.
On the NFC side, the Bears looked quite mortal in their win against Seattle. Seattle made a lot of mistakes and the Bears never capitalized. The Saints will be a lot more hungry and I think that even though New Orleans gives up the big play a lot, they will still be quite a match for the Bears. If the weather turns cold and windy, that might favor the Bears, but Shaun Alexander put up a good game and I see no reason why the Saints dual threat running game won't hammer the Bears just as hard. I can't make too many comments on the Saints as I only saw the last 5 minutes of the game. Mrs. X and I were busy laughing at the hilarity that is The Office: Season 2.
I think its fairly obvious that I think the Saints will win the NFC championship unless the Bears defense rights itself in a hurry. Things are not so clear on the AFC side. In the playoffs, New England has owned Indianapolis and I don't think that having the game played in Indy will change that. On the other hand, both teams have looked very mortal and with both teams knowing each other as well as they do, one gets the feeling that its Indianapolis' turn. I would like to see this as I am already quite sick of the "will Peyton Manning ever win a Super Bowl?" talk. This season has been set up to allow Peyton Manning and the Colts exercise their demons and get over the hump. So, my head tells me to pick New England and my heart tells me to pick Indianpolis. I'll have to get back to you on who I'm going to take in the game.
Now to the NFL. I watched a little bit of all four games, although I didn't get to watch any game in its intirety due to various household tasks that need to be done (stupid toilet). I had a feeling that New England could win their game with San Diego, but I was surprised as to how shaky NE actually looked during the game. They didn't really win it as much as San Diego handed it to them. Several very sloppy and unpoised moments gift wrapped that game to a much more mentally strong New England team.
I was actually more surprised that Indianapolis secured a win against Baltimore. Baltimore's offense has not been very good this past year, but I would have expected more than 6 points out of it, especially against the Indy defense that still has quite a few holes in it. Still, I'm not going to complain, especially as Baltimore did nothing but talk about how they were going to all but kill members of the Colts. The Ravens (and their fans) are a rather thuggish group and I like to see bullies get slapped around a bit.
On the NFC side, the Bears looked quite mortal in their win against Seattle. Seattle made a lot of mistakes and the Bears never capitalized. The Saints will be a lot more hungry and I think that even though New Orleans gives up the big play a lot, they will still be quite a match for the Bears. If the weather turns cold and windy, that might favor the Bears, but Shaun Alexander put up a good game and I see no reason why the Saints dual threat running game won't hammer the Bears just as hard. I can't make too many comments on the Saints as I only saw the last 5 minutes of the game. Mrs. X and I were busy laughing at the hilarity that is The Office: Season 2.
I think its fairly obvious that I think the Saints will win the NFC championship unless the Bears defense rights itself in a hurry. Things are not so clear on the AFC side. In the playoffs, New England has owned Indianapolis and I don't think that having the game played in Indy will change that. On the other hand, both teams have looked very mortal and with both teams knowing each other as well as they do, one gets the feeling that its Indianapolis' turn. I would like to see this as I am already quite sick of the "will Peyton Manning ever win a Super Bowl?" talk. This season has been set up to allow Peyton Manning and the Colts exercise their demons and get over the hump. So, my head tells me to pick New England and my heart tells me to pick Indianpolis. I'll have to get back to you on who I'm going to take in the game.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Year in Review
Here’s a fun little game. Take the first line of the first post for every month last year and see if you can spot a trend in what you talk about on your blog. Mrs. X did this and I thought we’d see what I talk about:
January:
“Yesterday, at church, the pastor gave a little sermon about reading and studying the Bible.”
(A post about some of my theological research).
February:
“To quote Bart Simpson, ‘I didn’t think it was possible, but this both sucks and blows.’”
(Steelers win Superbowl)
March:
“So the Oscars were on last night.”
(I do a little entertainment now and then).
April:
“The West Wing has been referred to as ‘if Hollywood had run the Clinton White House.’”
(Entertainment review mixed with some politics).
May:
“Well, its election time here in Ohio.”
(More politics).
June:
“I recently read a post on Real Clear Politics that accused RFK Jr. of reviving the Democratic shriek of how Ohio was stolen in 2004 to discredit Ken Blackwell, who is now running for Governor.”
(Even more politics).
July:
“Two down, two to go.”
(Israeli-Lebanon/Gaza War post)
August:
“Several months ago, if you had said that Joe Lieberman was going to lose the Democratic nomination for Senate, most people would have laughed at you.”
(I’m noticing a trend here).
September:
“I apologize for being away for over a month.”
(The meat of this post was about Pope Benedict’s comments about Muslims)
October:
“Well, things went to hell for the Bengals this weekend.”
(Finally getting into football posts again).
November:
“Well, it becomes official sometime today that the Democrats have officially won both the House and Senate.”
(Politics in November. Shocking!)
December:
“So a few things happened on the way to the Ohio St.-USC game.”
(More football).
So I think we can all see that I’m something of a political junkie (at least during election years), but I enjoy mixing a little sports and eschatology in as well. If you like those, please stick around. If not, I’m sure there are more nice blogs out there for you.
January:
“Yesterday, at church, the pastor gave a little sermon about reading and studying the Bible.”
(A post about some of my theological research).
February:
“To quote Bart Simpson, ‘I didn’t think it was possible, but this both sucks and blows.’”
(Steelers win Superbowl)
March:
“So the Oscars were on last night.”
(I do a little entertainment now and then).
April:
“The West Wing has been referred to as ‘if Hollywood had run the Clinton White House.’”
(Entertainment review mixed with some politics).
May:
“Well, its election time here in Ohio.”
(More politics).
June:
“I recently read a post on Real Clear Politics that accused RFK Jr. of reviving the Democratic shriek of how Ohio was stolen in 2004 to discredit Ken Blackwell, who is now running for Governor.”
(Even more politics).
July:
“Two down, two to go.”
(Israeli-Lebanon/Gaza War post)
August:
“Several months ago, if you had said that Joe Lieberman was going to lose the Democratic nomination for Senate, most people would have laughed at you.”
(I’m noticing a trend here).
September:
“I apologize for being away for over a month.”
(The meat of this post was about Pope Benedict’s comments about Muslims)
October:
“Well, things went to hell for the Bengals this weekend.”
(Finally getting into football posts again).
November:
“Well, it becomes official sometime today that the Democrats have officially won both the House and Senate.”
(Politics in November. Shocking!)
December:
“So a few things happened on the way to the Ohio St.-USC game.”
(More football).
So I think we can all see that I’m something of a political junkie (at least during election years), but I enjoy mixing a little sports and eschatology in as well. If you like those, please stick around. If not, I’m sure there are more nice blogs out there for you.
NFL Playoffs: Round Two
Happy New Year ( a week late).
So the first week of the playoffs is over. I had been intending to post my picks before the game, but I never got around to it. As it stands, all the higher seeds won. I had thought about picking the Cowboys over the Seahawks as the most likely upset, but even there I couldn’t quite pull the trigger. The game ended up being closer than I thought it would, but it’s the final that matters.
So now we go onto the next round, starting with the NFC. Seattle at Chicago should be the most lopsided of the four games. Seattle came in and got thumped back in October. Granted, they will have Shawn Alexander back and the Chicago defense is more beaten up, but the Seattle defense is in tatters. The Bears should have little problem pounding the ball, mixing in a few short passes (and maybe one bomb here and there) and completely control the game. If Rex Grossman commits 5 turnovers, I could see Seattle winning this game, but there is no need for high-risk offense and the Bears should be able to just grind Seattle down.
Philadelphia at New Orleans is a much harder game to pick. Philly’s offense didn’t look that great against the Giants, but they are riding a hot streak right now. New Orleans has a very good offense, but their defense gives up the big play a lot. I think if Drew Breese is careful with the ball and doesn’t throw picks in the end zone, New Orleans will win in an squeeker. But any major mistakes by the Saints will result in an Eagles win.
On the AFC side, Indianapolis will face the Ravens in a match-up of the two Baltimore teams. The game matches up Indy’s high-powered offense vs. Baltimore’s stingy defense. Defense usually wins, but I’m not sold that the Ravens are as good as everyone thinks they are. But, in Baltimore, the Colt’s defense will not be able to run like at home and against Jamal Lewis, the Colt’s will get very tired, very quickly. I lean towards Baltimore in this game, because of ball-control offense (as the Chiefs were supposed to do) rather than any great performance of the Baltimore defense.
Finally we have New England at San Diego. New England was not overly impressive yesterday. If the Jets had managed to punch it into the end zone rather than settle for field goals, New England would have had a much harder time of it and might have lost the game. Still, they are resourceful, and it’s hard to go with Marty Schottenheimer (who has lost a lot of playoff games) vs. Bill Belichek. New England’s defense will pressure Philip Rivers, but I think LaDamien Tomlinson will play enough of an equalizer to get San Diego to the next round.
So the first week of the playoffs is over. I had been intending to post my picks before the game, but I never got around to it. As it stands, all the higher seeds won. I had thought about picking the Cowboys over the Seahawks as the most likely upset, but even there I couldn’t quite pull the trigger. The game ended up being closer than I thought it would, but it’s the final that matters.
So now we go onto the next round, starting with the NFC. Seattle at Chicago should be the most lopsided of the four games. Seattle came in and got thumped back in October. Granted, they will have Shawn Alexander back and the Chicago defense is more beaten up, but the Seattle defense is in tatters. The Bears should have little problem pounding the ball, mixing in a few short passes (and maybe one bomb here and there) and completely control the game. If Rex Grossman commits 5 turnovers, I could see Seattle winning this game, but there is no need for high-risk offense and the Bears should be able to just grind Seattle down.
Philadelphia at New Orleans is a much harder game to pick. Philly’s offense didn’t look that great against the Giants, but they are riding a hot streak right now. New Orleans has a very good offense, but their defense gives up the big play a lot. I think if Drew Breese is careful with the ball and doesn’t throw picks in the end zone, New Orleans will win in an squeeker. But any major mistakes by the Saints will result in an Eagles win.
On the AFC side, Indianapolis will face the Ravens in a match-up of the two Baltimore teams. The game matches up Indy’s high-powered offense vs. Baltimore’s stingy defense. Defense usually wins, but I’m not sold that the Ravens are as good as everyone thinks they are. But, in Baltimore, the Colt’s defense will not be able to run like at home and against Jamal Lewis, the Colt’s will get very tired, very quickly. I lean towards Baltimore in this game, because of ball-control offense (as the Chiefs were supposed to do) rather than any great performance of the Baltimore defense.
Finally we have New England at San Diego. New England was not overly impressive yesterday. If the Jets had managed to punch it into the end zone rather than settle for field goals, New England would have had a much harder time of it and might have lost the game. Still, they are resourceful, and it’s hard to go with Marty Schottenheimer (who has lost a lot of playoff games) vs. Bill Belichek. New England’s defense will pressure Philip Rivers, but I think LaDamien Tomlinson will play enough of an equalizer to get San Diego to the next round.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
