36F11    Are there words of God that were spoken in then past  that destined to take place at some latter time which in fact had been fulfilled?

In Mathew 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus these things:

 And while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives the disciples came and asked him when they were by themselves, "Tell us, when is this going to happen, and what sign will there be of your coming and of the end of the world?" (, New Jerusalem Bible)

And Jesus answered and said to them:

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled;  for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.    "For nation will rise against nation,  and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.    "All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Mathew 24:6-8, NKJV)

These are the words of prophesy spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ in the first century that has already been fulfilled in our time:

Part 1.  "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. 
Part 2.  "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.   
Part 3.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 

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36F21   How was the first part of the prophecy "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars" fulfilled?

The First World War  (WWI) which broke out in 1914 and ended in 1918 is the fulfillment of the wars foretold ("And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.") by our Lord Jesus Christ to herald that His second coming is near. 

• This was the very first war wherein many nations were involved so it was called the First World War.
• It is also for the first time many people around the world heard news of wars or rumors of wars which was rapidly spread throughout the world.

This prophecy was fulfilled with the use of  the newly developed Radio Communication Equipment which was capable of making two-way  communications in many parts of the world by using the newly discovered technologies.

• Wireless Telegraph - about 1895
• Wireless Telephony - about 1906 

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 3.   Second Part Of Prophecy

36F31   How was the second part of the prophecy "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" fulfilled?

The Christian era is likened to a book with seven seals (Rev. 5:1), each seal heralding things to happen as prophesied.  Please note that:

• For every seal there is a beginning and an end.
• As in a book, the end of one seal is followed by the beginning of the next seal.
• The seventh seal is the last seal of the Christian dispensation of time or era. Hence, the end of the seventh seal is the end of the world or earth.
• Since the Christian era is divided into seven seals, the "doors" to the end of the earth are the end of the sixth seal (one end) which is also the door to the seventh seal (another end), the last seal of the Christian era, hence the term "ends of the earth".

In a related prophecy written in Revelation 6:12 & 15, this is written:

Then I saw the lamb open the sixth seal. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. (Rev. 6:12&15, International Standard Version)

At the end of the sixth seal or the sixth division of time, which is also the door or beginning of the seventh seal in the Christian era, people from all walks of life would hide themselves in dens and in the rocks of the mountains . . . . . . . . .
Why and what kind of war was happening at the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh seal?  

In another related prophecy written in Jeremiah 4:13 &19, this is written:

Our enemy rushes down on us like a storm wind! His chariots are like whirlwinds; his horses are swifter than eagles. How terrible it will be! Our destruction is sure!  My heart, my heart-I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries. (NLT)

This is the first war that is using new kind of armaments. This war heralded the dawn of modern warfare beginning at the end of the sixth seal.  In biblical terms these are:

• Chariots like whirlwind
• horses swifter than eagles

Hence, people from all strata of society had to hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains or bomb shelters to hide from the effect of the new kind of armaments being used for the first time in the history of man.  The First  World War in 1914 was the first war in the history of man to be fought in three dimensions - land, sea and air.
These modern weapons and equipment are:

• the battle tanks (which were described in biblical or ancient term as chariots like whirlwind), 
• and the airplanes (which were described in biblical or ancient term as horses swifter than eagles and used during the first world war as an air cavalry).

This part of the prophecy was fulfilled with the use of  modern weapons and equipment made possible with the use of newly discovered technologies such as:

• Internal Combustion Engine - about 1884, 
• Automobile - about 1890
• Airplane - about 1905.  

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 4.   The Time Differential

36F41   Is there a time differential between the First and Second part of the prophecy?

Looking back at the prophecy, please note what our Lord Jesus Christ said in between the First Part and the Second Part of his prophecy:

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled;  for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.    "For nation will rise against nation,  and kingdom against kingdom.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " (Mathew 24:6-8, NKJV)

As shown in the verse, there is a time differential between the First and Second Part of the prophecy.

What is the fulfillment of this time differential in the prophecy?

Please notice these historical fact:

• The First Word War in 1914 ended in 1918,  Although attempts were made to avert the occurrence of another world war, man's desires and efforts were futile. What had been spoken had to pass.
• The Second World War erupted in 1939 to fulfill what was said,  "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." 
• Please note that the Second World War happened about 21 years after the First World War.

This time differential is the 21 year of peace between World War I and World War II. This is in fulfillment of the time difference between the First and Second Prophecies which says "See that you are not troubled;  for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."

36F42   Why are we sure and what is the proof that the first and second part of the prophecy was indeed fulfilled when the First and Second World War happened?

The proof is written in Revelation 8:1. . . . .

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Rev. 8:1, KJV)

The First World War ended in 1918 and after a peace of about 21 years the Second World War erupted in 1939.
Why is this the fulfillment of the prophecy in the above verse?

The verse in II Peter 3:8 confirms that it is indeed about 21 years as explained below.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (New King James Version) 

Based on the above verse,
we compute the number of years as follows:

1 day     =     1000 years
24 Hrs   =     1000 years
1 Hr      =      41.66 years
1/2 Hr.  =      20.83 years       
Therefore about half an hour  =  about 21 years

Therefore as the verse says:  "When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour"  This "about half an hour silence in heaven refers to the about 21-years of peace between World War I and World War II.

What does the above biblical proof mean?

• We are indeed very sure that the prophecies uttered by our Lord Jesus Christ in the first century was indeed fulfilled with the outbreak World War I in 1914 to 1918, the peace of about 21 years and then the outbreak of World War II in 1939. 
• We are also indeed very sure that we are now on the Seventh Seal, which is the last seal or the last division of time in the Christian era.

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 5.   Third Part Of Prophecy

36F51  How was the third part of the prophecy "And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places." fulfilled?

The two world wars, as foretold,  would be followed by famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places.  The following events were recoded in history starting from the First World War in 1918 - - - - 

Source of information:
World's worst natural disasters since 1900
CBC News Online | January 11, 2005
www.cbc.ca/news/background/forcesofnature/natural-disasters.html

Pandemics

1918-1919 - An epidemic of "Spanish Flu" spread around the world. At least 20 million died, although some estimates put the final toll at 50 million. It's estimated that between 20 per cent and 40 per cent of the entire world's population got sick.

1957-1958 - The Asian flu swept around the world, making it the second flu pandemic of the century.

1968 - The Hong Kong flu became the third flu pandemic of the 20th century. The World Health Organization estimated that a total of 1.5 million died in the Asian and Hong Kong flu pandemics.

1980 to present - Toll from AIDS worldwide since 1980 is estimated at 25 million, with 40 million others infected with HIV.

Famines

1959-1961 - The "Great Leap Famine" cost an estimated 20 million to 40 million lives in China. China was also hit by major famines in 1907, 1928-1930, 1936 and 1941-1942.

1921 - A Soviet famine in 1921 began with a drought that caused massive crop failures. The Soviets later estimated that 5.1 million died.

1984-1985 - Famine killed at least one million in Ethiopia as severe drought led to desperate food shortages.

Earthquakes/Tsunamis (with 100,000 deaths or more)

July 28, 1976 - The world's most devastating quake of the 20th century (magnitude 7.8) hit the sleeping city of Tangshan, in northeast China. The official death toll was 242,000. But some unofficial estimates put the actual number of dead as high as 655,000.

May 22, 1927 - A magnitude 7.9 quake near Xining, China, killed 200,000

Dec. 16, 1920 - China was also the site for the world's third-deadliest quake of the 20th century. An estimated 200,000 died when a magnitude 8.6 temblor hit Gansu, triggering massive landslides.

Dec. 26, 2004 - A magnitude 9.0 quake struck off the coast of Sumatra, triggering tsunamis that swept through the coastal regions of a dozen countries bordering the Indian Ocean. More than 156,000 died and thousands more are missing.

Sept. 1, 1923 - A third of Tokyo and most of Yokohama were levelled when a magnitude 8.3 earthquake shook Japan. About 143,000 were killed as fires ravaged much of Tokyo.

Dec. 28, 1908 - Southern Italy was ravaged by a 7.2 magnitude quake that triggered a tsunami that hit the Messina-Reggio-Calabria area, killing 123,000.

Oct. 5, 1948 - More than 110,000 were killed when a 7.3 quake rolled through the area around Ashgebat in Turkmenistan.

The above events, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places were seen fulfilled and recorded in history in less than a hundred years after the First World War.  Up to the present time, more and more serious problems are being experience by the world, bringing untold sufferings into the life of millions of people.

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