> ... I don't think it's worth bothering with, because you can't argue with prophesy. If God says something's going to happen, it's GOING TO HAPPEN, and who is anybody to try to change that? Sorry, that's my religion, and I'm probably rubbing people the wrong way. Oh well.

The difference here (and in Brunnen-G's sub-thread) is between the words "prophecy" and "predestination".

Prophecy results from someone revealing some information as a result of divine inspiration (or as a result of something thought to be divine inspiration).

Predestination means that everything that will happen (or at least some things) has already been ordained by God. Nothing you or I will do will cause any change to be made in God's plan.

I am not a believer in universal predestination. It is a complete contradiction to the concept of free will.

> Basically, I'm a Christian and I believe that the people in the middle east will continue to fight until shortly before the end of the world. Everybody keeps saying how great peace would be over there, and yeah, that would be nice and stuff, but if it happened that would pretty much be the end of everything, and then the rapture of the Church and so on and soforth...

I've just been looking over the Book of Revelations and didn't come across any line that read "Once Isrealite and Palestinian forces broker a peace agreement that every nation on Earth can agree with and are happy with, it's time to start breaking seals and blowing trumpets."

Somehow I don't think it's the translation I'm using.

Where is it written that once there is peace in the Middle East, it's the End Of The World?

-FP