As a Christian, I always believe that the Bible is the compilation of books recorded by the messengers of God that consist the true Words of him. God’s Words recorded in the bible are the Truth and are capable of correcting errors and reproof.
In line with that, when the bible recorded the events happened from the creation of the world, it also records the future and the things which will happen to human races in the whole world. When the Book of Genesis recorded the creation of the world, the Book of Revelation, on the other hand, tells us the coming of the world’s destruction as it is destined to be and about the Judgment Day.
The Book of Revelation, moreover, recorded the events in the Christian era, that is, the birth of Christianity and up to the end of the world. One of which is the symbolic event paralleled to the world’s first worldwide destructive war – the World War I, which broke out on 27th of July 1941.
The Bible has this to say:
“After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” Revelation 7:1-3
Obviously the ‘wind’ being mentioned in these verses is not the literal wind, which can be held back. The Bible has its own interpretation of the ‘wind’.
“At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people; not to fan or to cleanse;
a wind too strong for these will come for Me; now I will also speak judgment against them."
"Behold, he shall come up like clouds, and his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. woe to us, for we are plundered!"
O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.” Jeremiah 4:11-13, 19
"Wind as mentioned in the preceding verses came "not to fan or to cleanse" as the literal wind does, but it came up with "chariots like a whirlwind" and "horses [that are] swifter than eagles". The use of these instruments or weapons of war, as described, is heralded by the sound of a trumpet that was prophesied to cause pain in people's hearts. "Wind", therefore, refers to war.
This wind or war is what the four angels, as mentioned in the prophecy, must stop or hold back. No man can stop the blowing of the natural wind. However, the war referred to by "wind" can be stopped and such is the work of the prophesied four angels.
The expression "four winds" does not refer to the number of wars but to the magnitude of the war which, as prophesied, would involve all directions - the four corners of the earth; the war, as fulfilled, involved the whole world. That war is a world war. The textual proof that the expression "four winds" does not refer to four wars is in the contents of the same verse - "that the wind [not "winds"] should not blow..."
History books made some remarks regarding the First World War:
The First World War was the first general war, the first war to involve most of the members of the world state-system since the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon a century earlier...
The Great War, as it was called, was unlike any men had fought. As the first war fought with modern equipment and scientific devices, it was bloody and destructive... Its cost in life, in prosperity, and in human suffering were beyond comparison with previous experiences. Even the attempts to keep the peace after this war were difficult. Man's Culture, p. 281
This war, as the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced, is just the beginning of birth pains (Mt. 24:6-8). As to the use of modern equipments:
The First World War was unlike any war in the past... This was the first war 'in three dimensions', the first war in which cities were bombed from the air and winged warriors fought among the clouds. Of course the airplanes of 1914 were not so fast, so formidable, nor so numerous as those of today. They were really more important as scouts (a kind of aerial 'cavalry')... the British had invented the tank, or land battleship - an armored automobile which could move on rough ground because it was built like a tractor. World History, pp. 478-479
It looks to me--and I'm sorry if this is coming accross as rude, but not sorry enough to keep me from saying it--as though you're picking at parts of the Bible, trying to make them somehow "prophetic." It doesn't really work.
If the "winds" of Revalations refer to WWI, then before they blew, according to the Bible, people of God should have been marked on the forhead. I once saw someone with a tatoo on his forhead, but that's pretty much it. Even if that bit was supposed to be symbolic, God's children were clearly supposed to be protected; durring WWI, all people died alike, good and bad. In fact, aside from the fact that they both involve war, I see nothing in common with WWI and Revalations; you could as easily draw parallels between WWI and the Norse Ragnerock.
You talk about the "wind of war" having to hold back. I'm not sure what you're point is; the war happened, with no indication that it was "held back."
World War I did not "involve all directions," and it was not universal. To the best of my knowledge, only a minority of the countries of the world ever got involved, and it was basically a European war.
I'm not sure what modern weapons have to do with anything. I'm not even sure that it's correct; by today's standards, the weapons used durring WWI are ludacrously obsolete; did you know that fights between plains were originally conducted by the pilots shooting at each other with pistols?
I see you quoted Matthew. That's interesting, mainly because, after the "wars and rumors of wars," Jesus prophosised that Christians would be "hated by all nations," something that doesn't seem to have panned out.
So sorry, but no.
__________________ "Men curse the Communist Party, but eventually it may release them. If hell were endless, then God would be worse than our Secret Police."--Pastor Valentin
Last edited by Gregory on Jun 21st, 2004 at 11:24 PM
Well, I am not sorry at all- no, this is all balderdash, stretching anything to mean anything. Hogwash and nonsense from top to tail, even if you had gotten the date right. Those parallels you have attempted to make are gibberish- as Gregory says, you could probably attemtp to draw what look to be parallels between WWI and any destructive conflict prophecised or done in mythology ever. Frankly, any damn big war was going to be made to try and fit the exisiting religious prophecies- and people tried to do it with the Napoleonic Wars at the time as well.
WWI did, however, involve all continents, Gregory.
Cannot really see this as philosophy though.
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"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"Basically" European. Some South American nations, for example, might have sent troops, but South America itself was not engulfed in war; neither was North America, as far as I know, even thought the US and Canada sent troops. The war itself was distinctly European, with some fighting spilling over into Asia and Africa.
__________________ "Men curse the Communist Party, but eventually it may release them. If hell were endless, then God would be worse than our Secret Police."--Pastor Valentin
Focussed on Europe. But major fighting happened on three continents, the results of which were all vitally important; naval engagements occurred worldwide, troops came from every inhabited continent on the planet, and only the interception of the Zimmerman Telegram prevented the Mexican/Japanese invasion of the States.
It was a truly World War- that is why it got its name. European powers were fighting, at first for politics, and then for survival. Jews were fighting for a homeland- something very few people remember about WWI. Japanese were eliminating German colonial possessions with British aid. Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians were fighting in the name of the Empire. The Americans were fighting in the defence of their own country against people who planned a war on them that would have taken a quarter of their country. Africans fought to ensure the only goods that gave them any prosperity were protected. Arabs fought to overthrow their Turkish oppressors, and make sure they were in a position to stop the Jews.
Just about everyone of any note was in that war.
__________________
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Last edited by Ushgarak on Jun 22nd, 2004 at 09:21 PM
There was actually if i rmember several world wars... WW1 is like the fourth. 100 years war, napoleaonic, etc... i think we have yet to se the war that it speaks of in the Bible. The battle of Armeggeddon.
No; the telegram proposed that if Germany and America went to war, Mexico should ally itself with Germany; we can't know that America and Germany would ever have gone to war if the telegram hadn't been intercepted, nor do we know that the Mexican president would have agreed.
Regarding the rest of your post: I knew most of that already. But my definition of a "world war" says that unless the actual fighting (not merely the countries involved) is world-wide, the war isn't either. And the fighting wasn't world-wide; it missed half of the world's populated continents. So, without actually disagreeing with the points you raise, I still claim that using my definition (and I suppose we're all entitled to use whatever definition we want), WWI was not a "world war."
__________________ "Men curse the Communist Party, but eventually it may release them. If hell were endless, then God would be worse than our Secret Police."--Pastor Valentin
@ Jury Copeland Ok first off Revelations is a really hard book to interpret so unless u really know what ur doing i woodnt try! but if u want to make those comparisons, go ahead! Im all 4 Christian ppl!
@ Gregory. Children of God ARE marked. They have the light of God inside them. Where did u read that they wood be marked on the forehead? Unusual . . . . . anyway
Secondly (tho im not sure whether this really has anything to do with the topic), we suffer at the hands of man, not God. God knew after Adam and Eve blew it in the Garden of Eden that people wood quarrel. God gave us the ability to chose what we do and whilst he loves us more than anything, if we chose to persecute each other then, well basically, we r just being as foolish as Adam and Eve were. (erm im really having trouble explaining what i mean here!) but when God shows himself to the world, there will be no more wars and all those that suffered at the hands of men, even tho they were children of God will be taken to heaven and find peace. (man now i sound like im prophesizing!)
Well u guys can make ur own conclusions but thats just what i think!
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Jun 21st, 2004 04:58 AM
im really having trouble explaining what i mean here!) but when God shows himself to the world, there will be no more wars and all those that suffered at the hands of men, even tho they were children of God will be taken to heaven and find peace. (man now i sound like im prophesizing!)
