Why is it so Important to Study "Bible Prophecy"?

Why is it so Important to Study "Bible Prophecy"?

Bible prophecy confirms the divine inspiration of Scripture. Bible prophecy exalts God above all others as the only One who knows the end from the beginning. We are exhorted to listen to and heed Bible prophecy.

Prophetic declarations exalt God and confirm the divine inspiration of Scripture:

Isaiah 46:9-10

Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

Over one fourth of the Bible consists of Bible prophecy:

In addition to the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel and the twelve Minor Prophets, a good portion of the Psalms and many other passages such as Genesis 49 record future events.

In the New Testament, four books - I and II Thessalonians, Jude, Revelation, as well as many passages in the Gospels and in the other epistles deal with prophecy.

The Second Coming of the Lord is mentioned 318 times in the New Testament.

Salvation is the only subject referred to in the New Testament more frequently than the Second Coming.

The ordinance of communion is only recorded twice in the thirteen epistles of Paul, but the return of Christ is mentioned fifty times.

The Bible contains 1,817 individual predictions concerning 737 separate subjects found in 8,352 verses. These numerous predictions comprise 27 percent of the 31,124 verses in the whole of the Scriptures.

We are exhorted to listen to and heed prophecy:

2 Peter 1:19

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Revelation 1:3

Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

All of the Feasts of the LORD were appointed times which not only commemorated historical events that took place for the nation of Israel, but also are prophetic pictures that foreshadowed Christ. Jesus Christ fulfilled the spring cycle of biblical festivals in His First Advent by instituting the New Covenant at the Passover; being entombed during the Feast of Unleavened Bread; resurrecting on the Festival of Firstfruits; and sending the promised Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Heavenly Father forgive us our sins, open our spiritual eyes and ears to your truth. Amen

Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr...Does This Man Look Like DARTH VADER? Where is he now? What has he been doing?

 Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr... Who is this man?  What has he been doing? Where is he now? What is he up to now?

Against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7), "Even now are there many antichrists."

(1.) This name has been applied to the "little horn" of the "king of fierce countenance" (Dan. 7:24, 25; 8:23-25).

(2.) It has been applied also to the "false Christ's" spoken of by our Lord (Matt. 24:5, 23, 24).

(3.) To the "man of sin" described by Paul (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8-10).

(4.) And to the "beast from the sea" (Rev. 13:1; 17:1-18).

He is often referred to as Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr. The title Sayyid ("Mr." or "Sir") is generally used among Arabs to denote persons descending directly from the Prophet Muhammad, through his daughter Fatimah's marriage with Ali. Thus a great deal of respect is paid by the Muslims to the Sayyids throughout society. The al-Sadr family has a clear and distinct lineage that can be traced directly to Muhammad. The lineage is traced through Imam Jafar al-Sadiq and his son Imam Musa al-Kadhim, the sixth and seventh Shi‘a Imams respectively.

Western media often refer to Muqtada al-Sadr as a "firebrand" or "militant" cleric, but his formal religious standing is comparatively low, at a mid-ranking Shia religious rank perhaps reflecting his young age, and he does not claim the title of mujtahid (the equivalent of a senior religious scholar) or the authority to issue fatwas (religious edicts). In his youth, he was more preoccupied with videogames than Islamic studies which earned him the nickname "Mullah Atari". In early 2008, however, al-Sadr was reported to be studying to be an ayatollah, which would greatly improve his religious standing.

Family

Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of a famous Iraqi Shi‘a cleric, the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. He is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr.

Muqtada al-Sadr is of Iraqi and Lebanese ancestry. His great-grandfather is Ismail as-Sadr. Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, Muqtada al-Sadr's father, was a respected figure throughout the Shi'a Islamic world. He was murdered, along with two of his sons, allegedly by the government of Saddam Hussein. Muqtada's father-in-law was executed by the Iraqi authorities in 1980. Muqtada is a cousin of the disappeared Musa al-Sadr, the Iranian-Lebanese founder of the popular Amal Movement.

Positions

Muqtada al-Sadr gained popularity in Iraq following the toppling of the Saddam government by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Al-Sadr has on occasion stated that he wishes to create an "Islamic democracy".

Al-Sadr commands strong support (especially in the Sadr City district in Baghdad, formerly named Saddam City but renamed after the elder al-Sadr). After the fall of the Saddam government in 2003, Muqtada al-Sadr organized thousands of his supporters into a political movement, which includes a military wing known as the Jaysh al-Mahdi or Mahdi Army). The name refers to the Mahdi, a long-since disappeared Imam who is believed by Shi'a Muslims to be due to reappear when the end of time approaches. This group has periodically engaged in violent conflict with the United States and other Coalition forces, while the larger Sadrist movement has formed its own religious courts, and organized social services, law enforcement, and prisons in areas under its control.

His strongest support comes from the class of dispossessed Shi‘a, like in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. Many Iraqi supporters see in him a symbol of resistance to foreign occupation.

Always Watching...Rev. Ed Sarnella

LOVE, PEACE and JOY in JESUS CHRIST!