Prophetic Things Are Happening But People Don't See It...

On November 9th, 2021, the United Nations tweeted a photo of

the statue it placed outside of its headquarters in New York.

A guardian for international peace and security sits on the visitors' plaza outside

UN headquarters.

The guardian is a fusion of jaguar and eagle donated by the government of Oaxaca,

Mexico.

Many have commented that this statue looks like the beasts described in Daniel chapter seven

and Revelation chapter 13.

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings.

And the beast, which I saw was like unto a leopard and his feet were as the feet of a bear

and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.

And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority.

But they made this strange animal and they put it there in the United

Nations in New York.

And they say that that thing is the representative of peace.

That seems strange.

So I cannot look at that and say, this has got

nothing to do with the end.

I just, I see it as a little piece of the huge stage that is being set up

by the spirit of the Antichrist for the showing of the Antichrist.

Now look closely at this UN symbol for peace.

It looks like a leopard.

Its feet look like the feet of a bear.

Its mouth is like the mouth of a lion and it has eagle's wings.

Also, you can see a line of spikes running from the top of the head to the tip of its tail,

which can be seen on drawings of dragons.

And in the Bible, Satan is described as a dragon.

Is this just a coincidence or is this another sign of the end times before

the coming of Jesus Christ?

On Facebook, Kelly Coddle wrote, wow, you just can't make this stuff up.

The new United Nations sculpture for peace and safety.

Was this the beast John saw in revelation in his vision of the end times?

Folks, you just can't make this stuff up.

Is this statue really a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and a sign of the end times?

Most people have a view of the end times that involves trying to match up events today with

what they see in the book of Revelation in order to determine when Jesus will return

to establish his millennial reign.

However, there are several other ways to interpret the book of Revelation.

And there is the idealist approach, which interprets Revelation as a book of principles that contrast the

victorious Christ and his people with the defeated Satan and his underlings.

The apocalypse is not a history of events that have occurred in the past or prophecy

of events that will happen in the future necessarily.

It is a book that fills God's people with comfort and motivation to endure to the end.

Idealists stress the principle in the book, the principles in the book rather, so that its message is applicable to

Christians of all generations.

Key question there is, why should we have hope?

The preterist, key question there is, when did it happen?

Most argue in 80, 70.

The historicist, the important question there is, where are we now in the process of this being unfolded?

For the futurist, the question is, how close are we to chapter four?

For the idealist, the question is, how do we have hope?

How do we have hope?

That's what this book is about, how do we have hope?

The people who believe the United Nations statue has end time significance, usually

believe there are three ages, the current age, the millennial age,

and the age to come.

And that current events that match up with things that happen in the book of Revelation, point towards the

imminent coming of Jesus to establish the millennial age.

However, Votibachum explains that instead of three ages, scripture actually

teaches that there are only two ages, the current age and the age to come.

In the scriptures, we have this picture of two ages, not three.

We don't have in the scriptures, a picture of the present age and in the millennial age and in the

age to come.

We don't find that anywhere.

In the New Testament, when Jesus speaks and when his apostles speak, they speak about the present

age and the age to come.

And that's it.

When they speak about Christ's return, they don't speak about Christ's return in stages.

They speak about Christ's return in the end, period.

Now he comes and does a few things, and then there's a different.

No, he comes and that's the end of the age.

There's this present age and there's the age to come.

Votibachum lists numerous scripture passages to support this.

Titus 2, 11 to 13.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to

renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self -controlled, upright and

godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great

God and Savior, Jesus Christ, this age and the

age to come.

Listen to Matthew 12, 32.

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,

either in this age or in the age to come.

Matthew 13, 37 to 43.

The sower who sows the good seed.

Again, a reference to this age and the age to come.

Luke 18, 29 to 30.

Let's read that one.

And he said to them, truly, truly, I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife

or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more in this

age or in the age to come.

Now, Ephesians 1, 19 to 21.

And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great

might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his

right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and

above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in

the one to come.

It's clear that there are two ages and only two ages.

There's this age and the age to come.

What does all of this mean?

Well, it means that we don't need to be looking for signs that point to the end of this age and the

imminent coming of Jesus to establish his millennial reign because it's biblical to say that we

are already living in the last days.

People ask, do you believe we're living in the last days?

I don't believe we're living in the last days.

I know we're living in the last days.

Again, Bockham lists several scripture passages that teach this view of the last days.

How do I know it?

Well, because according to Acts 2, 15 to 18, Hebrews 1, 1 and 2, the New

Testament defines the last days as the period between Christ's first and second coming.

There's no other definition of the last days.

The only other reference is a reference to the day of the Lord, which is not the

last days.

That's the last day, amen?

So when the Bible talks about the last days, when the New Testament makes reference to the last days, it is making the reference to

now, right now.

We're in the last days.

Peter was in the last days.

Paul, John, they were in the last days, just like us.

Bockham continues with two more passages that he describes as cardinal passages

concerning this topic.

The first passage is 1 Corinthians 15, 20 -24.

Let me address these two first.

These cardinal passages to look at in this regard.

1 Corinthians 15, 20 -24, turn there.

I want you to turn there and look at this.

1 Corinthians 15, 20 -24.

And I'm gonna want you to turn to the last one as well.

So we see that this reference to the last days in the New Testament is a reference to the time between the first and second coming.

We see that there's a reference to two ages, the present age and the age to come, but

there is no other division.

Now I want you to see two of the clearest passages about the return of Christ that make it clear that this is what we're talking about.

1 Corinthians 15, 20 -24.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, for as

by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

For as Adam and Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own order, Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ,

then comes the end.

Let me read that again.

But each in his own order, Christ, the first fruits, he's already been resurrected, then at his

coming, those who belong to Christ.

So when he returns, those who belong to him are gonna be resurrected just like he was.

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God, the father, after destroying every rule

and every authority and power.

There it is.

When Christ returns, he doesn't return to establish a millennial reign.

When he returns, that's a wrap.

And the second cardinal passage is 1 Thessalonians 4 .13

-18.

And again, 1 Thessalonians 4 .13 -18.

Turn there, 1 Thessalonians 4 .13 -18.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not

grieve as others do who have no hope.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring

with him those who have fallen asleep.

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left

until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice

of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the

clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will always be with the Lord.

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

There it is.

The return of Christ is the end of the age.

That's it.

When he comes, it's over.

Which further testifies to the fact that this idea of the millennial reign of Christ has to

be now.

There's no room for it anywhere else.

The conclusion of all of this is that people are misinterpreting the book of Revelation when they are

trying to match what they see in Revelation with current events, in order to predict when

Jesus will return and establish a millennial reign on earth.

Rather, the Bible simply teaches that nobody knows when Jesus will return.

First Thessalonians chapter five, verse two, tells us that the day of the Lord

will come like a thief in the night.

We are already living in Jesus's millennial reign, which Jesus established with his

resurrection and victory over sin and death.

There's the amillennial view.

The amillennial view, again, a lot of people just go and they'd say, ah, that means no

or not millennial.

There is no millennium.

That's not actually what the amillennial view is.

The amillennial view sees the millennium as the age between Christ's first and

second coming, which is now.

The amillennial view is that Christ is reigning now.

And because we are already living in Jesus's millennial reign, there is no reason to be

looking for signs today that point towards Jesus's imminent coming to establish his millennial

reign.

This means that the United Nations statue really has no end time significance.

It's not a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and we should not be saying that it's a sign that

Jesus must be returning soon.

Of course, what we have presented here is the amillennial view of end times.

And there is certainly a lot more to say about this.

A link to Vodibachum's sermon will be in the description below if you want to hear his arguments in more

detail.

We recognize that the issue of end times is one that is open to debate, and those who hold a

premillennial or postmillennial view of end times are certainly not outside the

Christian faith.