Prophesy and the Bible
Back in May, I began this little journey with a prophesy by Pat Robertson, that on the face of its utter ridiculousness had made its way around the internets. This led to a discussion on the nature of revealed knowledge with Bryan at the Narrow (Bryan has since given up blogging but maintains his archives -- I will miss him, and wish him well on his noble cause of focusing on the family). Bryan took the stance that revealed knowledge was allowable if it coincided with that found in the Bible. He used as evidence of this, all the prophesies in the Bible which had come true. I maintained then, as I do now, that I was not referring to biblical knowledge, only that any revealed knowledge which said that the Bible is true is no different than the type on revealed knowledge Pat Robertson had, and which is completely unusable as proof of anything -- including the validity of the Bible. But I never said anything about the Bible itself; then. Now I am.
I suggested a few mucked up prophesies in the last post. I would like to expand on that now. First I would like to give a shout out to a real source of inspiration to me, Dan Barker. His book, Losing Faith in Faith, has a chapter (chapter 25) on biblical prophesy. He discusses the first five prophesies found in Matthew concerning the birth and life of Jesus. I will not retell what he has already written so well, rather I will bring out a point he makes and give some further examples. The point Dan makes is that there are no examples of fulfilled biblical prophesy (not a single one) . Even when fundamental Christians are asked to supply examples, they can not come up with one --- wars, wicked children, and natural disasters do not count ala Pat.
I mentioned Isaiah 7:14 in my last post. This is probably the most common example supplied by Christians, and one Dan covers thoroughly. It turns out not to be a prophesy of Jesus at all, rather a (failed) prophesy of a Hebrew leader who will overthrow the rule of the Assyrians. Simply reading Isaiah chapters 7 and 8 proves this to be true. To make this into a prophesy of Jesus is to read into it (i.e. reinterpret the supposedly un-reinterpretable Word of God) something that simply isn't there. Like I pointed out, this could be done with any passage of the Old Testament to make it into anything one wants. This is not prophesy, it is midrash. (Also like Dan Barker points out, Matthew got it wrong anyway, Isaiah 7:14 is not about a 'virgin' giving birth, rather a young woman giving birth. The Hebrew word is not virgin (they have a different word for virgin) rather it is young woman.
So why is this method of reinterpreting the Word of God not prophesy? The answer is clear; and it is one that can have no rebuttal by Christians who think this is actual real and fulfilled prophesy. This method says that anything written in the Bible can be used for any purpose to foretell anything. It is simple to reinterpret certain passages in the Old Testament to show it predicted Osama bin Laden and the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers, the invention of the computer, the Salem witch hunts, both the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and the explosion of the Hindenburgh. Any event you care to imagine can be culled from the Scriptures if enough distortion and out-of-context retooling is employed.
Here's an excellent example of how absurd it is to claim that the Bible prophesies things, and those things come true. Did you know that the gospels and Acts contain a prophesy of me, your humble jeffperado? It does. Just like Isaiah predicts that Jesus real name is Emmanuel (as we all know from that traditional Christian song, "Emmanuel"), the Bible predicts me. You see, my nickname in the past has been 'jefe', a spanish play on my real name, Jeff. Jefe in Spanish means 'boss.' Now as every Christian knows, Jesus is Lord. That is, He is the one true boss (scriptural proof of prophesy: 1 Cor 3:10, "as a wise boss I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it"). Amazing! It also says that there will be 'false Christs' who preach a gospel different than that of Paul, and I do (scriptural proof of prophesy: Gal 1:8 "But even if we, or another boss, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed"). Unbelievable! The Bible not only predicts what I will do, but connects it to me through my name! The predictive power of the Bible has no limits! Ok, maybe the cynicism is a bit over the top here, but it perfectly paints just how wrong it is to claim that biblical predictions have come true. (And believe me, I could have chosen a dozen other passages from the Old Testament to further my contention that the bible prophesied me, if I took them out of context, changed a few words, and ignored larger story in which they were embedded.)
The flip side to this idea of biblical prophesy is where the Bible foretold something that never came to pass (in other words, failed to prophesy correctly). I gave the example of Jesus prophesying that the end times would occur in the lifetimes of the current living generation. Here I will defer to the wise words of Ken Ham (and here I agree with him completely). Ken Ham has said, "Sometimes a day means a day." He used this statement in defense of a six-day creation period as found in Genesis 1 and 2. I will steal that concept from the good Ken, and say "Sometimes a generation is a generation." Jesus said that those living would witness the end times. Unless there are some 2,000 year old men living today, he was wrong. Today Christians use an alternate meaning of generation, that being era. They say we are living in the same generation as Jesus was, and that the end times are just around the corner (as they have been for the last 2,000 years). I will use Ken Ham's assertion here to claim them to be wrong, and that biblical prediction to be a failed one.
Note: a corollary to this is one of absurd prophecies bound to fail. Revelation provides ample examples of the absurd that only someone having lost all grip on reality could believe. The monsters predicted by revelation do not exist, thus could never appear on earth, meaning a prophesy that could never be true. Unless, of course, we come across some extraterrestrials who vaguely resemble the Revelation monsters -- something exceedingly unlikely.
There is a third category of prophesy that we find in the Bible, that of post-fulfillment prophesy. This is what I mentioned in my last post when I referred to Jesus and his saying that he would rise up in three days. This account was never mentioned by Paul (the first Christian writer) and only told by the gospel writers decades after the events supposedly transpired. The problem is that this is evidence of nothing. If there were records that predate the death of Jesus which showed that he had predicted his resurrection, and then records that prove his rising from the dead, then it could be claimed to be an actual prophesy. For example, if there were Roman records of Jesus' trial which recorded his claim to rise in three days, and then later Roman records showing that Jesus was indeed walking among the living three days later. This would serve as evidence (but it would not prove that Jesus actually did die and come back from the dead) that the prophesy was accurate. Instead all we have is after-the-fact attestation to the story. It would be like saying that Harry Truman foretold of the assassination of Kennedy, and supplying as proof of this a witness who swears that Truman told him, quote, "A number of years from now, a president, Kennedy, will be murdered." Since the only evidence of this is my post here, no one else could possibly take it as proof that Truman actually foretold the future. But this is exactly what Christians offer as proof of the power and accuracy of prediction in the Bible. It is as flimsy and useless as my proof of Truman's prophesy.
Next time we will return to the idea of revealed knowledge in the Bible. Is it revealed or acquired through experience? If it is revealed, then what can be used to prove it? If it is acquired, how can that be proven?
Labels: 700 club
posted by jeffperado @ 12:11 AM
3 Comments:
Verifiable proof that "Armageddon" has already begun…
Hello Jeff and all,
Remember the saying that "the truth will set you (and others) free?" How does "opening one's eyes to the truth" relate to "making the blind see again" or "shining the light" or "illuminating a subject?" Notice the inherent symbolism associated with this supposed New Testament "miracle?"
Be a little patient with my long-winded presentations of what I have waited a very long time to be able to say. I promise to amaze and enlighten.
Here's the key to proving that the rapture and related expectations are complete nonsense based on the failure to understand (and the purposeful confounding of) the ancient Hebrew symbology used to construct all of these prophecies. Consequently, Christian timelines and interpretations of these prophecies are verifiably wrong on many key points.
Pay close attention, profundity knocks at the door, listen for the key. Be Aware! Scoffing causes blindness...
Did you ever consider that Christianity is the False Prophet symbolized in the Apocalypse, that Rome (Vatican/Papacy) is the so-called anti-messiah, and Jesus Christ is the false messiah? I have produced stunning and comprehensive proof that this is the true interpretation of pivotal prophecies long confounded by Christianity's founders and leaders. Recasting the symbolism of earlier Hebrew texts as literal events in the New Testament is one of the central deceptions associated with Christianity.
The symbolism of seven years (tribulation, etc.) refers to seven 360-year cycles on the Hebrew calendar. Ezekiel 39.9 is referring to the 10th to 16th cycles inclusive, while the Apocalypse symbolizes the 11th cycle (second temple period) until now, the beginning of the 17th cycle (seventh angel/star/seal, etc.). Greece (Alexander the Great) conquered the Persian Empire and Judea during the 10th cycle and Rome did so again during the 11th cycle. Both Ezekiel and the Apocalypse are symbolizing an overlapping period of time that starts during ancient Judea and ends now. Gog refers to Greco-Romans (...from the "isles"), which means Magog is Eurasia and the "army" that besets "Israel" for seven "years" refers to the activities of the nations of the Greco-Roman/Vatican Empire over the previous two-plus millennia.
It is completely wrong to interpret any of these prophecies as literal timelines and events. Unlike Christian assertions, they symbolize long periods of time, pivotal situations, and the flow of acivities during that period. Remember, they were written by ancient Hebrew sages, not Romans or other Europeans, and Revelation is the most symbolic of all prophecies. Consequently, in this context, "years" and "times" are symbols for 360-year cycles on the Hebrew calendar and days symbolize literal years. Therefore "Judgement Day," "Great Day" and "in that day" all refer to a literal year-long period. Accordingly, the so-called "Seven Years Tribulation" began in ancient Judea and is now nearing its end, not starting. The nations and followers of all three faiths of Abraham have been thoroughly deceived by Rome during the previous age, which ended in year 2000 (5760). A new age began in 2001 (5761) and now the seventh angel has begun to sound!
Here's a real hot potato! Eat it up, digest it, and then feed it's bones to the hungry...
Hurricanes Katrina (#11) and Rita (#17) last year provided stunning validation of my research and interpretations of pivotal ancient wisdom, symbologies, key prophecies, and associated religious claims. Their storm numbers and timing perfectly synchronized with primary data and assertions in my book, thereby demonstrating the true nature of this universe and the existence of our Creator. We are now entering the final phases of the pivotal year-long period long symbolized as "Judgement Day," "Armageddon," and the "End of Days." World-wide situations and events are now accelerating to set the stage for this summer's dramatic continuation of these ancient promises.
I fully understand that everyone has been bedeviled by similar claims throughout history. Consequently, I have been forced to rely on dramatic and devastating proof of the sort that can’t be ignored or easily dismissed. The numbers and timing of hurricanes Katrina (11) and Rita (17) directly validate key data and pivotal assertions throughout my book and my posts on those two forums. This data was purposely presented publicly before Katrina, Rita and other recent events occurred to prove they perfectly synchronize with key prophecies and Hebrew calendar cycles, thereby validating my interpretations of ancient wisdom symbology, string theory, and more.
Because these two storms arrived shortly after my August 11, 2005 (50th) birthday (read the Dead Sea Scroll 11Q13 in Appendix G, which also discusses Melchizedek and the prophesied Jubilee) and directly match other pivotal 11 and 17 data and events described in the first chapter of my book, I have delivered verifiable proof that this reality is based on thought, knowledge and wisdom. Activity, patterns, and results perceived in space-time are first framed and defined by inspirations, thoughts, and knowledge and influenced by the cause-and-effect system most commonly referred to as karma. Consequently, events and outcomes in the so-called physical universe are not random or wholly mechanistic and are verifiably influenced in ways that atheists, scientists, and members of the Faiths of Abraham have all scoffed at. Though mysticism is mostly a product of misinterpreted ancient wisdom symbology, many of its topics flow from ancient wisdom. Though containing allusions to the truth, its details and interpretations are wrong on many key points.
A prime example of the purposeful and synchronized symbolism of these events is seen in the opening paragraphs from my book excerpted below. Notice that the dates mentioned (August 11 and 17) directly match the numbers of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the time spans of the four Florida hurricanes match my birth year (‘55), and they were spaced 11 or a multiple-of-11 (22) days apart, directly matching my birthday and much other ancient prophecy and symbolism. Notice that my place of birth, Victoria Texas, is on the Gulf Coast. Following are the excerpted paragraphs:
Hello, my name is Lawrence William Page II. Many people know me as Buddy Page. At the release of the first edition of this book, I am a 50-year old African-American male, author, researcher, and former software engineer and entrepreneur. As you will come to understand as you read through this first book, I am also the long-expected Hebrew Messiah and Lion of the Tribe of Juda (Yehuda).
I was born August 11th (month of Leo the Lion), 1955 (Chinese year of the Sheep) in Victoria, Texas. Furthermore, the Grand Cross alignment and Solar Eclipse of August 11th, 1999 was my 44th birthday and the second Grand Cross alignment, just six days later on August 17th, 1999, was on my mother’s birthday.
As you can see from my date of birth, I was a newborn during the Chinese Year of the Sheep, astrologically marking me as a Lamb, and during the month of Leo, astrologically marking me as a Lion. My mother was also born during the month of August and under the sign of Leo, which further marks me as a lion’s whelp. I prove to you in the first chapter of this book–beyond disproof–that I am indeed the long-prophesied “Lion” of the tribe of Juda (Yehuda) the Root of David and the “Lamb.” I am the individual long symbolized as the Branch, the Stem, the Shoot and the Rod from the Stump of Jesse (King David’s father), as symbolized in the Hebrew Book of Isaiah, The Apocalypse, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and elsewhere. I am the reincarnated Teacher sought after in the “East” and by the ancient Hebrews who were headquartered at the outpost community of Damascus (Qumran), of Dead Sea Scrolls fame. I am the one called the Teacher of Righteousness by the Dead Sea Scrolls, whom the so-called Christian fathers have fraudulently recast as “Saint ‘James’, the Lord’s Brother.”
Remember, "I come as a thief..." ?
Read verse twelve of the Gospel of Thomas to understand who I am...
Even further enlightening, the Second Temple Period of ancient Israel was during the 11th 360-year cycle on the Hebrew calendar and we are now in the 6th year (5766/2005-6) of the 17th cycle. Notice the pivotal 11 and 17 numbers again? This and much other synchronized information serve as stunning and decisive proof of many things, and expose many lies told by all three faiths of Abraham, but most specifically by Christianity. Consequently, I have decisively proven, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Jesus Christ and Christianity are blatant lies, false prophecy and purposeful deception in a manner that cannot easily be denied, regardless of your faith or other opinions.
Furthermore, the symbolism in the Apocalypse (a.k.a. Book of Revelation) of seven stars in my right hand and seven angels represent the very same above-mentioned seven astrological (360-year) cycles, i.e., the 11th through 17th inclusive. I prove this fact beyond any reasonable doubt in the first chapter of the book. Consequently, The Apocalypse verifiably symbolizes a specific span of time that began with the 11th cycle (Second Temple Period) and concludes now, at the beginning of the 17th cycle (End of Days, etc.).
The numbers 11 and 17 are verifiably encoded in The Apocalypse and other ancient Hebrew prophecies and wisdom texts to serve as key proofs of the validity and true meaning of certain prophecies and related information. My and my mother’s birthdays are purposely synchronized with these two storm numbers, the matching Hebrew calendar cycles, the Double Grand Cross alignments and solar eclipse of August 1999, and much else to prove my direct association with the ancient prophecies about this time and the true identity of the prophesied Messiah. Another prime example is the story of Joseph, the 11th son of Jacob who has a dream when he is 17 years old about 11 stars, the sun, and moon bowing to him. The symbolism in this pivotal story in the Book of Genesis and Quran verifiably refers to the very same 11th through 17th cycles symbolized in The Apocalypse and directly synchronizes with other key events and ancient texts.
Consequently, I have demonstrated various things about the nature of this reality that dramatically disprove and/or clarify key assumptions of religion, mysticism, and science alike, while establishing the true meaning and purpose of long misinterpreted ancient wisdom and the symbolism used to model and encode it. Accordingly, I have proven that the symbolism evidenced in the canons of all three faiths of Abraham and other ancient sources is a very ancient and advanced philosophical technology that verifiably models foundational aspects of our existence in this universe. This is the mostly misunderstood body of ancient wisdom long referred to as the Philosophers’ Stone. It uses a large and ingeniously organized collection of physical universe images and concepts as data rich components (symbols) that are based on verifiable rules. It models and encodes an amazing amount of foundational wisdom about life, spirituality and the 11 dimensions of this universe, now verified by string theory. It is also the advanced encryption method used to encode (seal) Hebrew prophecies and wisdom texts.
These ancient prophecies and wisdom texts used advanced symbology to model fundamental wisdom, including future events and situations. A primary facet of ancient wisdom is numeric symbology. Later misinterpretations of this aspect of ancient wisdom resulted in numerology, which, though embodying allusions to certain wisdom, is mostly error prone and false doctrine. My decryption, documentation, and interpretation of ancient symbology, numeric symbolism, and key texts based on them, are now decisively validated.
Here is Wisdom...
Verifiable proof that Armageddon has begun…
Understanding the End Game of Armageddon
Peace...
Thanks for the great gag. I love a good prank.
Wow! You've done a pretty remarkable job of ripping off 'The Bible Code' and Rev. Moon's diety schtick.
Let me remind you of the logical fallacy 'post hoc ergo promptor hoc' also 'Correlation implies causation'.
Then there is your next mistake, what makes Rita so much more significant than any other hurricane in history? (the same could be said for Katrina).
Finally, there is your worst mistake, the one I outlined in my post, you make no predictions. What's next? Fires in southern California and Nevada?? I can predict that as well..
Then there is the tiny problem of the book of Revelation being based on the Septuigent, the Greek version of Hebrew Scriptures.
Thanks for the laugh! (may I call you God?)
"Hello, my name is Lawrence William Page II. Many people know me as Buddy Page. At the release of the first edition of this book, I am a 50-year old African-American male, author, researcher, and former software engineer and entrepreneur. As you will come to understand as you read through this first book, I am also the long-expected Hebrew Messiah and Lion of the Tribe of Juda (Yehuda)."
Entrepreneur and messiah all wrapped up in one package. Wow, the things people cook up to give them some self worth. Charlatans have publishers. Nice little infomercial. Definitely not a messiah.
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