Facts & Faith Vol 2 "Is God Real?"

We believe that God has given mankind sufficient evidence to establish both of these facts.

One of the most interesting and clear ways of showing these assertions to be true is by showing that between more than 1900 years ago God clearly foretold a series of events that are coming to pass before our very eyes. What makes the prophecies of the Bible different than simple fortune telling is that all of these events are said in the Bible come to pass at the end of the present age or in the last days as the Bible calls them.

If the Bible simply foretold one or two events that were widely spaced in time and unrelated, it would be easy to claim coincidence. However because God loves us and desired to give mankind plenty of opportunity to trust Him, He related the prophecies of the end time that all have to work together--one depending on the other. In this way no honest and objective person could claim that he did not have an opportunity to believe and be saved.

In observing the amazing convergence of Bible prophecies being fulfilled in our day, one Bible student made the following observation: This is the first generation that has ever lived that has the possibility of being the last. Are these the last days before Christ comes again? We will present a small portion of the evidence. You are the jury. Your eternal destiny may be decided by your decision.

The logical conclusion of this paper is that if God in the Bible was right about prophecy, then He is also right about the need of mankind for salvation through Jesus Christ. Additionally, if God is in fact the One who controls the events of history (not just foretells), then that same God is the only one who can be reliably trusted to tell us the truth about life after death. Listen to some of the evidence.

Daniel 12:4 states: But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Notice the time that God tells us that many would be running to and fro is called the time of the end. There has always been travel. Travel has always been increasing over the last 2500 years since Daniel uttered this prophecy. However the increase toward the time of the end is would be so out of proportion with the rest of history that it would be worthy of remark.

Before the 1900's, train and ship transportation were the only means of mass transportation. However with the advent of the automobile transportation has dramatically increased in this century enabling many to run to and fro. In 1900 only 4100 automobiles were sold in the US. Today more than 10 million cars, trucks, and buses are sold each year in the US alone averaging more than 2,000,000,000,000 (2 trillion) vehicle miles per year in the US alone. However with the increase of air transportation this traveling to and fro has reached astonishing proportions. Consider the following table provided by the FAA.

Year	Total Passenger Miles of US Airlines	Percent Increase from 1930
1930	92 million	--
1940	1.2 billion	1,300%
1950	10.2 billion	11,000%
1960	38.9 billion	42,000%
1970	131.7 billion	143,000%
1980	288.6 billion	313,000%
1994	509.9 billion	554,000%

Again looking at Daniel 12:4, we find that in the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Again we must admit that knowledge has always been on the increase. However the Lord reveals that in the time of the end knowledge would increase in a notable manner. Has this been the case?

Although it is difficult to measure the increase of knowledge and information, knowledge approximately doubled every 1000 years before the invention of the printing press. With the advent of the printing press the knowledge and information received a dramatic boost doubling approximately every 100 years. The increase of knowledge received a great boost with the discovery of electromagnetic waves capable of carrying radio and television signals. However, the information age that unofficially began in the late 1970's has been overtaken by a new age according to the U.S. Department of Justice study. The new period is being called the electronic information age. The ability to link databases and combine knowledge and information is increasing at the rate of an explosion. In the last ten years the number of on-line databases which can transfer information from computer to computer expanded 1153% in the ten year period from 1980 to 1990. It is possible that by the year 2000 nearly every vital record of every person in America, Canada, and Europe will be on interlinking databases. top

In Revelation 11:8-11 the Bible tells us that two prophets from God will be hated and killed in the streets of Jerusalem by a world ruler who will be the head of the a group of 10 European nations. When this beast kills these two prophets, the apostle John relates to us what will happen. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

A careful reading of this prophecy reveals that in order for the people and kindreds and tongues and nations to see their dead bodies for those 3 days and a half some amazing changes would have to be made from the time John wrote these words. In 95 AD it would have been difficult in 3-1/2 days for all the people in Israel to be able to know that these prophets were dead let alone most of the people of the world. John must have wondered at the impossibility of this as God gave him these words to record. In John's day it took several weeks to travel from Jerusalem to Rome--if the wind was favorable. During the winter--news and travel would take months. How could it be possible that seemingly all the earth could see their dead bodies lying in the street for those 3-1/2 days. Only by the development of instantaneous worldwide communications could such be possible! In John's day of horses, sailing ships, and sandals and even until 50 years ago such possibilities could only have been imagination.

With the advent of worldwide television coverage, Americans could watch Baghdad being bombed in real time. Amazingly in 1994, two American companies proposed to establish a series of 840 interlinking communication satellites that would enable instantaneous voice, video and data transmission simultaneously to any and every place on the earth! The Bible is more up to date than tomorrow's newspaper. top

Probably one of the most well known Bible prophecies developing right before our eyes is that of Revelation 13:16,17. In these verses God reveals to us that in the last days a world leader that God calls the Beast and in another place calls the Antichrist will be able to gain tremendous control over the lives of nearly every person on earth. This man will have a religious helper that the Bible says will be a miracle worker. This charlatan will be able to demand worship from nearly every person on earth. The means he will use is economic. He will require that only people who have a certain mark on their forehead or on their hand will be able to buy or sell. Those that refuse his mark and his worship will be put to death. Read these amazing verses: And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. As long as cash is the medium of exchange, there will be no way to control commerce. Drug dealers are able to carry on billions of dollars of business each year in cash alone. Law enforcement officials are leading the way in the push to rid ourselves of cash. One foreign-services officer writes that cash is the criminal's vital accomplice, "the very mother's milk of the spy, the terrorist, the thief, the drug pusher, the drug user, the tax evader and the embezzler." Because it leaves no paper trail, it is "the interface between the legal and the illegal." His solution is simple--eliminate cash in favor of computerized, theft-proof smart cards. The US government estimates that $100 billion per year of tax revenue is lost because of cash transactions. Banks want electronic checking, stores want electronic debits, and people want to exchange cash and checks for cards.

Amazingly even here the Bible is ahead of today's rapidly changing technology. It seems that when Revelation 13:16,17 takes place, all that will be necessary for transactions will be a mark with a number (probably invisible) like your social security number to be permanently placed on your right hand or forehead. To buy you simply get your groceries, place your hand over the scanner and the money for your groceries is instantly deducted from your bank account to the store's account. The same is true for any and every transaction. The down side of this technology which is available today is that when the wrong persons gain control, they can monitor every purchase of every person on the globe. People who do not believe in God will gladly worship this Antichrist for the privilege of being able to buy and sell. This reminds us of the slogan, "Better Red than Dead." People without faith are often willing to sell out for security. But beware! There is a price for this mark. To take the mark will be to sell your soul. According to Revelation 14:9-11, those who take this mark will have committed an unpardonable sin. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. top

In 2200 BC God promised Abraham that He would give him and his descendants all the land of Caanan as an everlasting possession. Genesis 17:8 However because of their sin, God had allowed the Jews to be dispersed from the land of Israel for 1800 years. But many promises exist in the Bible to remind the Jews that the day would come when God would give them back that land and it would become theirs again until the end of time. Listen to some of these prophecies. Amos 9:14,15 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God. Many promises of Israel's return to the land abound in the Old and New Testament. Before the amazing prophecy of Revelation 8:8-11 (see the prophecy about Worldwide Communications given above) could come to pass, Jews would have to be in the city of Jerusalem.

Never in the history of the world has a nation of people been disbursed to the 4 corners of the earth for any extended period of time and then been able to somehow regroup, return and regain their homeland. Yet after 1800 years (from 135 AD to approximately 1900 AD) very few Jews lived in Palestine. The Romans had conquered them and they were disbursed into over 100 different countries of the world. Many skeptics through the years had said--The Bible is not true. There are no Jews in Palestine. It is impossible and inconceivable that they will one day again be able to return and take over that land. However the most amazing thing has happened before our eyes. Just before the year 1900, God began to put it into the heart of Jews to regain their promised homeland. The table tells the story.

Year	Jewish Population in Palestine
1882	Small Jewish settlement
1919	58,000
1939	445,000
1946	678,000
1990	4,000,000

The creation of the Jewish state of Israel occurred May 14,1948. The May 15, 1948, New York Times stated this amazing fulfillment to prophecy as follows: TEL AVIV, PALESTINE--The Jewish state, the world's newest sovereignty, to be know as the state of Israel, came into being in Palestine at midnight upon termination of the British mandate.

It was not until the 6 days war in 1967 that the Jews finally regained control of Jerusalem, the beloved city. Egyptian King Nassar had vowed to utterly destroy Israel. Outnumber 50 to 1 by the Islamic Arabs, the Jews delivered a knockout blow to the Arabs in 6 short days that enabled the Jews to regain control of Jerusalem. Failure to see the hand of a sovereign God in the return of Israel simply implies willful blindness and rebellion against the Living God.

It should be noted that Israel has not yet accepted Christ as their Messiah. They will one day do so according to an exciting prophecy in Zechariah 12:9,10. We must beware of making the same mistake that the Roman Catholic Church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Seventh Day Adventists and others who say that the Jews no longer have a part in Bible prophecy because they rejected Christ. In truth we all are responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. It is our sin as human beings that compelled Him to die on the cross. It was Israel--yes; however it was you and I also. Make no mistake however in thinking that God is finished with Israel. Beware lest you miss out on the blessing promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, I will bless him who blesses you and curse him who curses you. top

In a prophetic passage dealing with the return of Israel to the land and God's promised blessings to them, Zephaniah prophesied that God would turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. This passage indicated that God would cause the nation to again speak the pure language of their forefathers.

When Israel was disbursed from the land in 135 AD, Hebrew ceased to be spoken. However through the vision and work of one Jew and his family, the nation adopted Hebrew as the native tongue. At first no one spoke Hebrew. Everyone had to be taught the language. What seemed totally impossible is now the common experience. Hebrew is used by the newspapers, the media, the university and the common people in the home and market. Could such a thing be other than the hand of the Living God? top

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ prophesied that before the end (meaning His return) Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in various places. (Luke 21:10,11)

The following chart reveals the increase of earthquakes. Your newspaper and TV reveal that these great quakes are in various places on the earth--

Earthquakes 6.5 or Greater Causing Significant Death or Damage
Years	Earthquakes	Average
1900-1969	48 earthquakes	6 per decade
1970-1989	33 earthquakes	17 per decade
Jan-July 1990	10 earthquakes	200 per decade
July 1990 - Oct 1992	133 earthquakes	600 per decade
Source: Energy, Mines, and Resources Canada

The small quake in Berlin, NH (4.0 Richter) motivated an article in the Hartford Courant November 17, 1988, that reminded us that since 1929 New York and New England have had 4 earthquakes exceeding 5.3 on the Richter scale. top

In Matthew 24:6,7 Jesus told is followers ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

In the October 25, 1992 edition of the Sunday Hartford Courant, an entire section was set aside to detail all the wars taking place in the world. The title of the article was, 1991: The 30 Wars Year. According to unbelievers, World Wars I & II were the wars that were to end all wars. However Jesus plainly tells us that as the time of His coming approaches wars will increase. In that same Hartford Courant article, 153 countries are listed by the Department of Defense as having agreements to buy weapons and defense services from America in fiscal 1991 amounting to $62 Billion. The Bible says the Christ's return will be in the midst of the great mother of all battles--the Battle of Armageddon. Read Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19 for details of that great battle. top

In Matthew 24:24 Jesus told us, For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. He further warned us not to be deceived by their prophecies and miracles. Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

How many people can you name who have claimed to be messiahs, or apostles or prophets but were fakes--Mohammed, Jim Jones, David Koresh, Moon, Jim Baker, etc. Many have come in the name of false religion claiming to have the answers for society from the promoters of yoga, Eastern religions, Transcendental Mediation, to modern psychology and philosophy. Jesus Christ said, I am the Way the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by Me. (John 14:6) Peter said in Acts 4:12, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Don't be tricked into believing some false Message. Jesus Christ alone is the Light of the World, The Door of Salvation, The Bread of Life, the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, The Savior, and the Coming Judge. He alone has the key to salvation. top

Revelation 9:16 & 16:12 Revelation 16:12 tells us that God will dry up the great river Euphrates...so that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. In verse 14 we see that God's purpose will be to gather these kings and their army to the battle of that great day of God Almighty--in which is the Battle of Armageddon. This army is mentioned also in Revelation 9:16, Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. It seems that God specifically emphasizes the exact number to the apostle John--200 Million. (See the next topic for a discussion of the "horses".) What makes this statement so amazing is that in John's day--about 95 A.D. there were less than 200 Million people in the entire world. According to Edward Gibbon the expert on the Roman Empire, the total Empire of that day contained about 120 Million people. Not only is God very specific about the number but also the location from which they would originate--east of Israel.

Although John must have wondered at writing such a number in 95 A.D., an army of 200 million from the east of Israel is not only possible today--but a fact. For nearly a generation the People's Republic of China has boasted that in an all out war they could field a people's army of 200 million--the exact number mentioned by John nearly 2000 years ago! One of the great nightmares of armies fighting the Chinese is the threat of being inundated by literal waves of human beings being marched against them. Apparently this will be a reality during the final battle before Christ returns. top

Revelation 9:17 Listen to John's description in Revelation 9:17 of the weapons that will be used by the army of 200 million during the Battle of Armageddon. And thus I saw the horse in the vision: those who sat on them had breatplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horse were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. Verse 18 says that a third of mankind will be killed--by the fire and smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. Apparently God allowed John to "see" the battle through a vision.

If you had never seen a motorized vehicle, a gun, an airplane, a tank how would you describe modern military weapons?

God has not given us prophecy for our own idle curiosity. He has prophesied these things because He loves you and I and desires that we be saved. Faith is not a leap in the dark but a trust in the black and white promises of scripture. God has given prophecies to demonstrate His great power and knowledge and to demonstrate that the rest of His Word is also true. When Jesus says, Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3), a prudent person would take heed. Jesus Christ solemnly prophesied in Matthew 13:49,50, So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. If God has kept His word about Israel, about earthquakes, about wars, about communications--be sure He will keep His word about judgment and salvation.

In Acts 16:30,31 a jailer in the town of Philippi asked that very question. Paul's response was simply, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Are you saved? Is your name in the Book of Life in heaven? Jesus promised again in Revelation 21:27, And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Friend, only a fool would reject God's offer of salvation. Christ paid for your sin with His own blood. All you have to do is admit that you are lost and ask Christ to save you. Why not do it now?

Is God Real? Is the Bible True?