Current Events and Prophecy Archives - Christian Questions Bible Podcast

The last week of Jesus’ earthly life was both eventful and tumultuous. His riding triumphantly into Jerusalem four days before his crucifixion was a dramatic and unmistakable display of hope and respect by the hundreds of thousands who honored him as he rode. The events that would take place after his kingly entrance into the city would also be dramatic, as the wheels of betrayal and murder would furiously spin towards their grisly end. Through all of this, Jesus never faltered in his character or objectives. Today we will focus on the powerful messages and prophetic fulfillments that came from his inspiring ride into Jerusalem, as its meaning is far deeper than many realize.

When considered, they give us a panoramic picture of what many of the details of his life would look like. Not the least of these revealed details is the prophecy in Zechariah chapter 9. This prophecy plainly revealed that the Messiah would come to Jerusalem and the people of Israel riding on a donkey and being proclaimed as their king. The prophecy shows the expansiveness of Messiah’s future kingdom, and sadly also alludes to the people rejecting their Savior.

Jesus literally fulfilled this prophecy. He literally borrowed a donkey and rode into the city. Now, one could argue he staged the event. After all, he did have to borrow the donkey! While that detail is true, we need to remember that it was impossible for him to stage the hundreds of thousands who welcomed him, lauded him as king and sought for deliverance through him as their Messiah. He could not have staged such love and adoration.

Why did Jesus know it had to happen? It turns out that this prophecy is unquestionably linked to some other Old Testament events that also foreshadowed Jesus and his earthly mission to save the world. It also turns out that this prophecy had to be fulfilled at a precise time because of its connection to these other Old Testament events. One of the amazing parts to this whole puzzle of God’s foresight and providence is the fact that Jesus knew so many of the details and fulfillments ahead of time.

Check out our recent podcast, “Why Did Jesus Ride Into Jerusalem?” for the details. We go over the details of this event commonly known as “Palm Sunday” and their larger meaning. What we find are amazing connections to many other scriptures that profoundly deepen the meaning of God’s plan behind Jesus’ sacrifice. There is one other thing we discuss that we will simply state as a question here. What if the traditional view and appreciation of Palm Sunday was flawed? What if the Bible plainly stated that some important details of this event were absolutely different than the tradition we so easily accept? Join us for this fascinating and inspiring journey into Bible prophecy and its fulfillment!

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Talking about the end of the world is scary. The amazing thing is that predicting it has been going on for thousands of years. Quoting a few lines from a 2009 Smithsonian Magazine article: “An Assyrian clay tablet dating to around 2800 B.C. bears the inscription: Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching.” So, does the Bible actually tell us how the world will end? It doesn’t, but the more appropriate question is, does it give us prophecies that describe how the world will dramatically change? Absolutely! We are not piling on to the mountain of end-of-the-world predictions here; instead, we are seeking to interpret world-changing events as prophesied in Scripture.

Sometimes Bible prophecies can be really cryptic and mystifying, especially when they speak of the things like the earth collapsing or melting. We can look at what is being described and easily draw the wrong conclusions. The 46th chapter of Psalms is such a prophecy. It tells us of raging ocean waters, mountains shaking and falling into the sea and the earth melting. People seem to gravitate to the drama of these kinds of descriptions. They are the types of things you see in those end times, apocalyptic movies. As Bible-believing Christians, we have to ask ourselves if such statements in Scripture should be taken literally or figuratively.

According to this prophecy, will the physical earth be turned into a molten mass of liquified elements? Will all life cease to exist? If we say yes, then we have to answer the question of why. Why would God create this world, inhabit it with humanity, allow sin, and then bring a Savior only to utterly destroy it? Would this reveal a God of love, wisdom, justice and power, or a God of chaos, reactions and rage?

Fortunately, God reveals Himself to be the God of love, wisdom, justice and power. His stated intention regarding the earth is that it will remain forever (Ecclesiastes 1:4). That being said, what does having the mountains fall into the raging sea mean? It means trouble – world-changing, chaos-causing trouble.

Check out our April 4, 2022 podcast, “Does the Bible Tell Us How the World Will End?” for more. We examine the language Psalm 46 and define what these scriptural symbols mean. We then follow how these symbols apply in our present day. The conclusion is startling! We are here and now living in the time of this prophecy’s dramatic fulfillment. While this can be scary, it can also be comforting. Join us as we put the pieces together and watch God’s masterful plan unfold.

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People believe in the Bible to varying degrees. Some of us see it as the unerring word of God while others see it as an account of history, wisdom and standards. Still others see it as sprinkled with both wisdom and folly. Then we have those who see no value in it at all. For the most part, one of the common threads that all who know something about the Bible seem to share is the belief that it speaks of God’s wrath and apocalyptic events. While these are true perceptions of the Bible, they are by no means a complete picture. How can we know what the “End Times” are and when they start? What kinds of things happen during these times? Is there any tangible proof of the End Times that can establish the credibility of Bible prophecy to the skeptic? Where do we start with all of this?

We know this because of prophecies from the Bible. Now, many would say that Bible prophecy can be easily misinterpreted. It does often speak in symbolic terms about some nebulous future time and proclaims some event that is hard to understand. So, we can see where such skepticism comes from.  Yet, we know that Bible prophecy is sound. What if there were some prophecies that were able to be understood because the facts of our day support them? What if these prophecies could be accepted not because they are from the Bible, but because they are obvious and in plain sight?

In the 12th chapter of Daniel, he is prophesying about the End Times.  We all know that according to the Bible, the End Times are a time of significant change. Daniel’s prophecy includes the statement that humanity will be “running to and fro and knowledge will be increased.”

These ideas can be perceived as over-generalized conjecture until we look at the facts. In his book Critical Path, (1982) Buckminster Fuller coined the phrase “Knowledge Doubling Curve.” He reported that worldwide knowledge was thought to have doubled once every century until 1900. By the end of World War II, it was thought to be doubling every 25 years. Now it is thought to double every 13 months! Surely, anyone viewing these facts must admit we live in a unique time of increasing knowledge never before experienced!

As dramatic as this factual confirmation of prophecy is, there is even stronger and more compelling evidence that biblically proves where we are in the stream of time. Check out our July 12, 2021 podcast, “Are We Living in the ‘End Times’?” for more. We lay out numerous details of the Daniel 12 prophecy already mentioned. We carefully examine another crystal clear and often-repeated biblical prophecy that points to the present time as well. Ours is a remarkable time in history as we witness Bible prophecy unfolding. Join us and see for yourself what historical specifics we should know about and what current events we should be watching.

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As time goes on, many of us will look back at 2017 and remember it as a year of storms. We have had storms of political division and unrest, storms of tragic events ranging from terrorism to the senseless taking of innocent lives. We have also had literal storms – specifically three major hurricanes that came back to back-to-back and left a wake of devastation, homelessness loss and death. It is the hurricanes, the natural disasters we will focus on today. Are these events a coded message from God? Is God punishing us for our blatant sin or is He telling us to mend our foolish ways? If you don’t believe in God, could these natural disasters be a coded message from “Mother Earth”? Have we have messed with her precious and vital ecosystem for too long? Are there lessons here for us to learn?

After witnessing the destruction of our present hurricane season, one of the inevitable conclusions drawn by many well-meaning and sincere Christians is that these things are messages. They say God IS, by way of magnitude and location of storms, warning us to back off of and away from sinful ways. These sincere and well-meaning Christians will look at current events from specific locations and essentially say that it was no accident that they were hit by such destructive power. My question to these well meaning ones is simple – how do you KNOW that?  How do you know for sure?

Just how would you go about deciphering any messages from God sent by way of storms or earthquakes or volcanic eruptions? What would constitute a message and what would constitute a mere event? Is there a pattern that God would use to do such things? The answer is yes. In the Bible, we can see where God did use natural events for specific purposes. The logical thing to do would be to observe when He used these natural events, who He used them with and why He used them.  Finding the answers to these qualifying factors would give us a reasonable basis to look for a identifying a continued pattern from God with His messages.

One Bible message regarding weather that is loud and clear was spoken by Jesus himself. While teaching us about loving our enemies in Matthew 5, Jesus said that God brings rain down upon the just and the unjust. So, our first message is one of equity – God does not arbitrarily “shut off the faucet” when it comes to those who are out of harmony with Him. Having said that, we also know that he DID one time withhold rain for 3 1/2 years. He did use an earthquake to destroy some evil people. He did destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with “fire from heaven.” How and why did these specific things happen?

They all happened in conjunction with God’s established patterns for using natural events. What was that pattern? Check out our October 9, 2017 podcast, “Are Natural Disasters Sending Us a Message?” and find out. Follow along with us as we identify the whys and the wherefores of God and His use of natural elements in the Bible.  Knowing why He did things then can really help to answer questions about what He is or is not doing now.

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We all know that Jesus taught us to forgive. If your brother trespasses against you seven times in a day, Jesus says to forgive. Okay, while this may be difficult, we can see its value and strive to live up to that standard. But, but what about when someone commits a horrible crime – what about when someone guns down in cold blood, innocent God fearing people in church – at a Bible study? Is the same lesson of forgiveness relevant? Do the teachings of Jesus include forgiving those who are simply and purely evil in their actions? Do we HAVE to forgive others? How can we move through a place of anger and start to heal? For audio, video and articles on Relief from Grief:  ChristianQuestions.com/grief

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Sometimes things need to change. When there is a great plan in progress, the need for great change is likely to be a part of that plan. Since Adam’s fall from grace, God’s plan for man’s redemption has been punctuated by changes, including the great Flood which ended the old world, the calling of Abraham which began the age of the Patriarchs, and the death of Jacob which ushered in the age of Jewish favor. Each change had a distinct purpose. Today’s story about the conversion of Cornelius signaled that another change was on the horizon – a change that would be played out through the experiences of the Apostle Peter and Cornelius, the first Gentile convert. God’s plan was progressing and great change was necessary. But why Cornelius? Why a soldier?

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Today is a special day, for it was on this day over 2,000 years ago Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the adoration of the crowd. This would begin the final series of events that would lead to his death. Today is another anniversary as well, for it was on this day over 1,400 years before Jesus came, all of Israel was to take a lamb into their homes in preparation for the Passover and their miraculous delivery from slavery. Now, either this is a startling coincidence or it is a startling revelation of God’s plans and purposes…guess which answer we agree with?

This program discusses “types” and “anti-types” and why that is important for all students of the Bible to unlock connections between the Old and New Testaments.  What does the Jewish Passover have to do with Jesus? You might be surprised to find out just how much once you know how to find the clues.  Search with us!

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Jesus taught us about many things. He taught us how to live, what to focus on, how to be a good neighbor, how to be selfless. He taught us what the most and least important things are. He taught us the simplicity of faith and the magnificence of faith in God. Jesus also taught us about being chosen of God and all that such choosing entails. On this episode, we look at what Jesus taught us about the chosen nation of Israel by use of the example of a fig tree. This is a part of his teaching that rarely gets much attention, but it is a fascinating preview of the End Times!

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Daniel was a good, righteous and deeply faithful man. From a very young age, he showed himself to be wholly keyed in on being in lock-step with obedience to God. God, in turn, blessed Daniel in many ways, from preserving his life, to granting him ability to interpret dreams, to elevating him in power, to bestowing upon him an incredible gift of prophecy. Oh yeah, and God also delivered him from the den of lions! Today, Daniel’s prophecies are among the most discredited scriptures in the Bible! Why? What is it about Daniel that makes so many afraid?

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